Alone

Its attention was stolen. No longer would it march towards the kingdom, for a gleaming green aura had drawn its attention. Yet Perses couldn't help but feel concerned, not only for Amelia, who alone intended to face the overwhelming monstrosity. But for himself. 

Despite his quandaries, a sense of responsibility persisted within him.

"I'll push the raft."

The devil sighed as she went to sit on the opposing end of the raft without even a glance at Perses. Asteria shifted uncomfortably as she combatted the urge to turn and face both Perses and whatever loomed in the distance behind him. 

"...Ok, good luck."

Asteria squeaked out a response, giving Perses the go-ahead as she shivered from the cold. Conflicted, he looked towards the ocean's surface, gazing down at it anxiously. The dark blue depths were not alien to him. Their darkness was eerily familiar. Reluctantly, he lowered himself in one leg at a time, almost capsizing the raft as he went. 

"Dam!"

Perses cursed under his breath as he entered the water's unforgiving cold embrace. Hugging onto the raft, he risked dragging it down with him as he kicked his legs helplessly. Whilst inefficient, his force more than sufficed to keep himself afloat. 

Doing her best to pretend she was not concerned, the devil glanced at his clumsy display. Recognizing her anxiety, Perses did his best to adapt to the strange sensation of buoyancy. After a little while, he started to feel confident, but with the ability to concentrate on something different, he found himself afraid as he looked downwards.

"Asteria. You said the kingdom had abandoned the ocean for a long time. Why is that?"

Raising his head from the rear of the raft, Perse's shaky voice reached the back of the stiff girl. Without moving, her figure receded as she hugged her knees tightly in thought. 

"Well, it's not like... I know either. The ocean is dangerous. That much is just common sense."

Asteria hesitated as she spoke, and her tone was inexplicably strained as she looked down at her knees. Soon enough, her eyes rested on the spot where inky black water continued to distil. 

"Just hurry up and push. Neither I nor Amelia knows where. But there should be land and other countries, as long as we are fast enough. At least, Amelia seemed to know so."

Chills ran down Perse's spine as he listened to Asteria's words, gazing distrustfully at the water. He'd asked for her opinion. No, her confirmation. But just like him, she refused to verbalize the obvious. 

Looking down at his isolated feet that kicked below him, he did the only thing he knew and blocked out the idea. Before he knew it, he was kicking his legs with a different level of vigour. Large quantities of water were displaced as slowly they propelled forward. Eyeing the devil from his vulnerable state, she quickly avoided his gaze. 

If she were to move into his mind, his strength would increase, even if only a little. But her scrunched features and elusive eyes made it clear she had no desire to share in his position. Tied to him for the rest of his life, now unable to leave or go anywhere except sit aboard the raft, he couldn't blame her. 

'Are you ok?'

Taken aback, the devil made the mistake of looking at Perses, surprised by the voice in her head. Usually, it was the reverse flustered she shared an estranged look with him. However, her guilty gaze was wiped clean as she looked behind him.

A fearful premonition took hold of Perses as he kicked. 

It was a different kind of force, the sort he had used when he had broken Machia's nose. A desperate instinctual urge drove his legs into concise kicks, as they were propelled forwards. He turned back just in time to see the shadow of something rise towards the surface. 

"Hey, stop! Be careful! I'm gonna fall."

Almost thrown aside, Aster gripped the raft's deck desperately. The devil slipped into a nervous stand as she backed away from Perses. She appeared to be shockingly balanced as she tottered back and forth on the rickety raft. But Perses paid them no mind as he was the only one to notice the flat dark head of something breach the surface.

"Asteria! Just don't fall off."

Its dark, flat head was ordained with tiny white objects that outlined the tip. It attempted to breach the surface for only a moment before carefully lowering itself back into the water. Looking down beneath his feet, Perses realized he had been misled. 

On closer inspection, its enormous black body seemed to possess no end. It ominously blended in with the ocean's darkness, and he could see nothing below himself but its unimaginable body. He had no idea when it had appeared below them. Clearly, it was far larger, far deadlier than what Amelia had fought. 

Feverently, Perses kicked his legs, not daring to look down again. 

'Why is it, so big...?'

Underneath them, it opened up. A giant oval ring of tiny white things surrounded them just below the raft. What Perses had seen before was just something like a hump with a small maw attached. In reality, its giant body possessed mouths of all shapes and sizes as it cruised beneath them. The largest of which stretched metres in front of the raft below in every direction. Even Asteria could see their outline from the front as her face paled. 

"The hell."

Without a second thought, Perses fervently kicked his legs with a yell. The terror gripping him pushed him forward as they cut across the ocean's surface. The mouth rose from the depths to swallow them whole as Perses raced directly forward. 

But it was no use, even covering dozens of metres within seconds. It couldn't possibly amount to its overwhelming size. Something gripped him. 

'Huh'

A cold, sharp sensation wrapped around his ankles, slowing him to a halt. 

To the others, it looked like he had given up. They turned to him with shocked eyes as he struggled. He tried kicking harder to free himself from its hold, but as he resisted, its vice grip turned sharp as the creature's teeth dug into his calves. His weary face grew pale as he looked towards the others. 

And then it pulled. 

In his last moment, the blank, horrified face of the devil entered his eyes. His distressed pupils widened as they stared at her. Slowly, the raft started to dip as Perses hung on desperately.

With no time to share words or anything else between them, Perses did the one thing she didn't expect, one last glance was shared between them. As he let go.

As he was dragged beneath the surface, he couldn't help but try to breathe even as he was dragged under. The more he kicked, the tighter the maw around his ankles became. Water filled his mouth as his lungs reflexively demanded him to breathe. He couldn't swim; he'd never experienced drowning, and so only the fervent panic remained.

The more he struggled, the lighter his head became. As his vision dimmed, and the seconds passed. He surrendered his fruitless struggle.

Yet time continued forward anyway.

'Devil'

His body was dragged gently through the cold dark water as he called out. A single spark of rationale rose within him as he listened for a response. He cast his eyes upwards, waiting to see if someone would drop from the raft. To save him. 

But the raft remained uselessly adrift above as if mocking him. It seemed no one would be braving the depths to come and save him. 

'Oh'

Huddled safely aboard the wood, they had no reason to try. Accepting their decision, Perses looked away. Gazing down at the creature clutching his legs with idle curiosity. He had also accepted his position. The flat nature of the creature also made him realize something. 

'Ah, I guess it's too late now.'

Had he simply climbed aboard, then he may have escaped its clutches. It had plucked him and him alone out of the water, not because it wasn't hungry, but because that was all it could manage. The various maws that ordained its body made no difference; in all likelihood, it couldn't breach or swallow anything that rested on the surface, as it possessed no head nor neck.

Fortunately, his lung capacity, likely due to being blessed, seemed to hold more vitality than it should. It was thanks to this he had time to realize the two on the raft. They would likely be safe. 

Gazing back up one last time, he smiled. Had he not sent Amelia away, this wouldn't have happened. But it seemed like everyone on the raft, and maybe everyone in the kingdom would make it. Not that this made him happy. 

'Well, maybe a little... Hey devil... it can't reach, the raft... I think you'll, both be fine... if you stay afloat.'

Lightheaded and strangely tranquil, Perses sunk in and out of consciousness. His lingering mind felt a little disheartened by her silence. The darkness swarming his vision was a reminder that he was alone. 

'I know that you're. Listening. You don't have any choice now. You'll... you need someone else to rely on.

Even Perses found himself confused as he lifted his hand, staring at it, no himself curiously. He had no oxygen, and even raising his hand was difficult. That strange numbness combined with the deep panic that overtook his mind made for an odd combination.

'I think I remember now. We met there, inside. I saw you in my mind, alone. Ple...Don't be alone, I ...'

The void of darkness he had tried so hard to escape swallowed him slowly. Again, beholden by that overwhelming darkness... he heard a gentle weeping. Nostalgic, serene, and so, so comforting, he was dragged into a long rest.