NIXIE IV

Difficulty level: 5

Status: Negotiations with Nixie

Two slender hands crossed over each other and wrapped around his mouth. He reached up both hands to try and pull them away, but they held a firm grip. As his body was swept away by the current of walking nymphs, he felt hopeless and weak.

He stopped resisting when he realized that he had been pulled too far away to turn back and walked with the flow. The nymph removed her hands from his mouth and moved them up to cover his eyes. With careful steps, he moved forwards, trying to remember each and every turn so that he could make it back when the chance came, but eventually, there were too many to keep track of.

He didn't know how long they made him walk, but he knew, when they finally let go of his arms and eyes, that he was brought too far away from the people he knew, and suddenly, it felt like he was leaving home to join the military for the first time again.

He opened his eyes to a smaller pond, hidden under the entrance of a cave. Vines hung from the rocky roof, obscuring it from view. The nymphs pushed him forwards into the water and he looked around for any signs of his target.

"Come forth." An echoing voice was heard from his front, further into the cave. He stared at it, and the void seemed to stare back. Suddenly, there were two glowing yellow orbs peeking up from the water. He turned around to ask his leader what he should do, but only saw unfamiliar faces, and he felt so lost. "No need to be afraid." It said, so he took a deep breath and moved forward.

"You are a special one, Mark Adams." He pointed to himself and raised an eyebrow, "you are different from the rest of your team. Yes, I see an honest boy, a boy eager to improve. It is hard to find ones like you in these times." The voice moved closer to him. It was hard to identify whether it was a man or woman speaking. He felt anxious as he anticipated, but kept his feet steady on the ground.

"What do you want from me?" He asked.

"I should be the one asking you, what do YOU want from me?"

"Our team has been dispatched to capture and bring you back to base. We are not here to harm you, but the abductions of humans are getting out of hand. We only want to keep this area safe." He replied, squeezing his hands into fists.

"Pardon my appetite. I have a preference greatly inclined towards humans. After all, they are what hold the most nutrition for us enigma creatures, not to mention that they taste to swell." It chuckled. With every word, it seemed to be taking a step closer to him. "You are trying to keep this area safe, huh? Safe for who? The humans? Then what about us creatures that have to live here and share this world with you? Isn't it quite unfair for us?"

"Yes, but we are the true inhabitants of this planet."

"You are so used to being the apex predator, but now that the world has changed, don't you think it is time for new rules to be set?" It was less than a meter away from him now. Half of its body was sticking out from the surface of the still water, but darkness kept its form hidden.

"I do agree, but your behavior has been too dangerous for you to be considered a neutral creature. Creatures that prey on an acceptable amount of humans are allowed to continue living their old ways, but you are different." He spoke in a steady tone. The Nixie chuckled as it strode forward quickly, now he could see its face.

A humanoid with navy skin and long black hair that hung down to the waist, covering the face. Glowing yellow eyes like that of a cat's with slit pupils like a snake's. Long fingers that reached out to touch his face and a tall physique that loomed over him.

"I am willing to go with you, but I have one question." Mark nodded, "will you be able to provide me with the humans that are needed for my living? Are you humans brave enough to offer me ones of your kind to be preyed on?"

"Is it any different from letting you roam these areas and taking humans to feed on? At least we get to choose the amount of humans that will be killed, and those served to you will be deserving of that fate…"

"But how will you decide which humans fit those conditions? Is it up to you to judge which lives are worthy of continuing and which are not. You humans have a weakness of guilt and will not be able to choose to give up a life with all its responsibilities lying on you. If you let me hunt in this area, you will have no such guilt. Do you think you and your team will be able to carry that responsibility?" The Nixie was smarter than they thought, but it wasn't hostile. He could tell by the way it touched him that this creature held substantial intelligence.

"We already carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. We are responsible for the lives taken by your kind, whether it comes from our choices or not. It has been like that since the day we decided to leave our homes and join this team. I would be much grateful if you agree to be kept in our base until your appetite becomes adjusted to that of an adequate amount. And even then, the guilt still befalls upon us. So yes, we will be able to bear the responsibilities of handing lives over to you from our own hands." For some reason, he wasn't nervous like he used to be. Every word he spoke seemed to hold more power than it used to. Being close to enigma creatures draws mental power from you, but he has been here and speaking for quite a while, and he wasn't wavering at all.

"You sound so very sure. Then I have no other choice than to agree with you." The Nixie raised its hand to his chest level, and he shook it. A strong headache hit him and he fell into the water. When he opened his eyes again, he was laying down in the middle of a circle of his group members.

"Mark!" Timothy called out as he pulled him up from the ground. Mark looked behind him to see the Nixie standing with the clean up team. It looked ethereal in the broad daylight, with its height reaching about two meters and hair glistening under the sun.

"It… it worked! Dom! Your potion worked!" He turned around to face each of his teammates and threw himself at Dominique, who happily took him into his arms.

"It was all you kid! The potion only helped with confidence, the rest was you!" They all rushed to pat his head and back, congratulating him. Mark smiled wider than he ever did as he was embraced by the ones he held close.

"Good job Delta." Timothy smiled as he spoke, there was pride in his eyes as he laid an arm across Mark's shoulder and pulled him close to ruffle his hair. "We already talked to the Nixie, let's head back to base." Mark silently thanked the Nixie as the team walked back to their bus.​​ The creature had no constraints and voluntarily walked behind them.

"Hey, I will keep my words." He reassured the creature. The figure smiled at him and laughed. "You are like no other I have talked to. You are wise and intelligent, and I thank you for coming with us."

"It is my pleasure. Do not hesitate to come to me for advice then, if you think I am so wise." He smiled back and continued his way back next to the Nixie.