Chapter 17: Never Mind, the Universe Still Hates Me
The second set of vibrations was closing fast. Gray’s tentacles painted a frantic picture in his mind—one Morrath circling ahead, waiting for the Toxin Cloud to fade, and another approaching from behind, its sinuous body weaving through the kelp with the same terrifying silence as the first.
’Fuck!! Fuck fuck fuck fuck—’
He’d thought zero luck meant neutral. The universe no longer actively trying to kill him. But apparently the universe hadn’t gotten the message.
’My luck is still absolute shit.’
The second Morrath emerged from the kelp behind him, its flat, shovel-like head sweeping side to side as its electroreceptors locked onto his bioelectric field. It was slightly smaller than the first, but not by much. Its body undulated with the same predatory grace, muscles coiling and uncoiling as it positioned itself to cut off his retreat.
[MORRATH — Level 8]
HP: 135 / 135
Threat Level: MODERATE
’Level 8. Slightly weaker. Still more than capable of killing me.’
The first Morrath lunged. Gray pulsed upward, fourteen SPD carrying him toward the canopy. The jaws snapped shut beneath him, close enough that he felt the rush of displaced water against his bell. But the second Morrath had anticipated his escape. It surged upward from behind, its flat head slamming into his trailing tentacles.
[-18 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 142 / 200]
’Eighteen damage. Fourteen DEF and it still hits that hard.’
He spun in the water and deployed Toxin Cloud directly in its path. The second Morrath plowed straight into the venom sphere.
[TOXIN CLOUD — 6 DAMAGE]
[TOXIN CLOUD — 5 DAMAGE]
[MORRATH (2) — HP: 126 / 135]
[PARALYZE — RESISTED]
’Resisted. Of course. Because why would anything ever go right?’
The first Morrath had circled back. It lunged again, and Gray activated Toxin Cloud in a desperate spray. The nematocysts spread between him and the oncoming predator, and the Morrath veered off at the last second, its body contorting to avoid the venom. But the evasion cost it momentum. It retreated into the kelp, waiting for the cloud to thin.
’Overcharge. Eight seconds. Come on. COME ON.’
The second Morrath didn’t wait. It lunged from below, and Gray pulsed sideways. Too slow. The creature’s jaws grazed his bell.
[-12 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 130 / 200]
’This isn’t working. I can’t dodge both of them forever.’
He needed a plan. The boulder field had taught him that terrain was a weapon, but the kelp wasn’t his terrain. He couldn’t control it. He could barely see through it. The Morraths, on the other hand, moved through the fronds like they were extensions of their own bodies. Every patch of darkness was a hiding spot. Every stalk was cover.
But cover worked both ways.
He pulsed hard toward the densest patch of kelp he could feel, a thicket so tightly woven that the fronds overlapped like scales. The Morraths followed, their vibrations sharp and eager. They thought he was panicking. Fleeing into a dead end.
’Come get me, you shitty eels.’
He slipped between the fronds, his bell compressing to squeeze through the narrow gaps. The kelp pressed in from all sides, slick and cold against his translucent flesh. The Morraths pursued, their sinuous bodies weaving through the same gaps with practiced ease.
But the thicket was tight. Tight enough that they had to slow down. Tight enough that they couldn’t attack from both sides at once.
The first Morrath lunged. Gray deployed Toxin Cloud directly in its path. The nematocysts filled the narrow channel between the fronds, and the Morrath couldn’t veer away this time. It plowed straight through the venom to reach him.
[TOXIN CLOUD — 8 DAMAGE]
[TOXIN CLOUD — 9 DAMAGE]
[MORRATH (1) — HP: 103 / 150]
But it also reached him. The flat head slammed into his bell, and the hidden jaws clamped down.
[-22 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 108 / 200]
Gray wrapped his tentacles around its body and held on.
’You want to bite me? Fine. Stay close.’
Overcharge came off cooldown.
The electricity erupted. Blue-white lightning arced across his bell and into the Morrath locked onto him. Its electroreceptors, pressed directly against his body, took the full discharge at point-blank range. The creature convulsed, its jaws springing open as every muscle in its body locked rigid.
[OVERCHARGE — 32 DAMAGE]
[MORRATH (1) — HP: 71 / 150]
[ELECTRORECEPTIVE OVERLOAD — 5 SECONDS]
[STUN — 2 SECONDS]
’Double proc! YES!’
The first Morrath drifted limp, its senses scrambled and its body frozen. Gray didn’t waste the window. He deployed Toxin Cloud, enveloping the stunned predator in a sphere of venom.
[TOXIN CLOUD — 8 DAMAGE]
[TOXIN CLOUD — 7 DAMAGE]
[TOXIN CLOUD — 9 DAMAGE]
[MORRATH (1) — HP: 47 / 150]
The second Morrath burst through the kelp behind him. It had circled around while he focused on its partner, and now it was coming fast, its flat head aimed at his exposed back. Gray felt the vibration, felt the displacement of water, but there was no time to dodge.
’Shit—’
The second Morrath hit him like a battering ram.
[-28 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 80 / 200]
’EIGHTY. I’m below half. This is bad. This is really bad.’
He pulsed free of the first Morrath’s slack jaws and retreated deeper into the thicket. The second Morrath pursued, but the first was still drifting, still stunned, still taking damage from the Toxin Cloud. Its health bar ticked down—forty, thirty-five, thirty-one—as the venom continued its work.
’One down if I can finish it. But the other one is still—’
The second Morrath lunged again. Gray pulsed sideways, but he was tired. Slower. The creature’s tail whipped around and caught him across the bell margin.
[-14 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 66 / 200]
’Sixty-six. This is getting critical.’
He checked his cooldowns. Toxin Cloud was ready again. Overcharge had thirty-four seconds. His MP sat at ninety-eight, still healthy, but that wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t survive long enough to use it.
’Thirty-four seconds. I just need to survive thirty-four more seconds.’
The second Morrath circled him, its flat head sweeping side to side as it tasted his electrical field. It knew he was wounded. It could probably sense his exhaustion, the faltering rhythm of his pulses. Predators always knew.
But it also saw what had happened to its partner. It had watched the first Morrath convulse and drift, still dying in the remnants of the Toxin Cloud. It was more cautious now.
’That’s right. Be scared of the floating blob.’
He used the reprieve to check on the first Morrath. Its health bar sat at eighteen. The Toxin Cloud had dissipated, but the venom was still in its system. It was drifting weakly now, its sinuous body slack, its flat head lolling. Dying, but not dead.
’Finish it. Secure the kill. Then deal with the other one.’
He pulsed toward the wounded Morrath, tentacles extended. The second Morrath saw what he was doing and lunged.
Gray had expected that.
He spun mid-pulse and deployed Toxin Cloud directly in its path. The second Morrath plowed straight into the venom sphere.
[TOXIN CLOUD — 7 DAMAGE]
[MORRATH (2) — HP: 120 / 135]
[PARALYZE — PROC!]
’FINALLY.’
The second Morrath seized, its body locking rigid as the venom took hold. Three seconds of paralysis. Three seconds to finish the first one.
He reached the wounded Morrath and wrapped his tentacles around its head. The flat sensory surface twitched weakly, still alive, still aware. Gray didn’t hesitate. He pulled the Morrath against his bell and activated Overcharge point-blank.
[OVERCHARGE — 30 DAMAGE]
[MORRATH (1) — HP: 3 / 150]
’Almost. One more—’
The second Morrath’s paralysis broke. It lunged with a fury born of watching its partner die, its flat head slamming into Gray’s side. The jaws clamped down and tore.
[-30 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 36 / 200]
’FUCKK. I’m in one-shot territory. One more hit and I’m—’
The first Morrath thrashed weakly beneath him, its health bar flickering at three HP. The second Morrath coiled back for another strike.
Overcharge still had twenty-one seconds on cooldown.
’I need to kill one NOW.’