The higher up he swam the thinner the water became. His breaths came out in gasps, and his lungs burned as he reached for the surface. He heaved in as much water as he could, but it wasn't enough. His heart began to beat rapidly. He was wrong. He would die. Should he turn back?
The division between ocean and air was so sudden that he gasped in surprise. He inhaled the dry air so quickly his lungs contorted with spasms. He went into a coughing fit and water spewed from his mouth.
Between each cough he couldn't stop his body from sucking at the air in an attempt to breathe. It seemed to be working. Cough by cough, water drained from his lungs and he breathed in the cool nothingness. It was a strange sensation; the air was so thin it didn't seem to exist at all. His head lolled on his neck, feeling both heavy and weightless at the same time. He closed his eyes and relaxed his muscles, letting the waves cradle him while he continued to take measured breaths.
Slowly, his eyes came open and squinted as he observed his surroundings. There was no giant ball of yellow light in the sky, only a small white one that looked paler than the illuminator orbs in Atlys. Countless smaller lights surrounded the white light, twinkling overhead. They were stunning. He lifted a hand in their direction, but they were too far away to touch. What lengths would he have to swim to reach them?
He tried to lift himself up but fell back into the water. He pulled at the air with cupped hands, but it was impossible to swim above the surface.
His skin prickled as he looked up again; the twinkling lights were like thousands of eyes bearing down on him, making him feel exposed, vulnerable, but they were certainly beautiful. He floated on his back and watched them, mesmerized. Did they come from human cities up above? If so, did humans know a way to swim through the air?
He was still alive. What's more, despite a dull pain in his ears, he felt all right. His lungs wheezed, and the air tasted strange, but it was still breathable.
He looked around. There were no humans, and no human dwellings like the one below. There was nothing but rippling waves for as far as he could see. Perhaps the space between the sea and the twinkling lights was some sort of limbo that only the humans knew how to cross.
He wanted to gaze at the lights a bit longer, but he had been gone too long already. He should have pushed himself to reach the Upperworld harder those times before. Here was a new wilderness so unlike what he had imagined. Taking one last breath of air he plunged back into the depths.
He gagged as he took in his first lungful of water, and his body rejected it. His skin flushed with heat and black spots swam before his eyes. He pulled himself deeper, but it felt like someone was driving nails into his ears. He opened his jaw as wide as he could until something burst between his temples, freeing him of the sensation. He took several more breaths and his body cooled as his lungs readjusted to their natural state.
The experience played out in his mind over and over again. Maybe the humans had retreated into the sky for the night. Perhaps the day would bring them back down. If only he had more time to explore, but he had to get back to his father. It was the last time he had with him before—, the fact that he was getting married punched him in the gut. He had longed for a change, but had never expected it to come so suddenly. Now he was grossly unprepared.
He had failed to find a gift for Nerine, but maybe one day they could sneak out of the city together and he could take her to the sunken vessel. She would like that, but it still didn't cover up the fact that he had to present something before the whole city. If it wasn't deemed suitable, he would bring shame not only to himself, but the entire royal family. He gripped the oannes shell around his neck and tried not to imagine the Nyxus's glare.
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The Blue Divide
الخيال (فانتازيا)When Eko is kidnapped from his home in the deep Atlantic by members of an ancient cult, his only hope of returning to his life as a merman is the Heart of Poseidon, the source of his people's power, and the object the cultists want most. Following...
