Chapter 63: Possession Attempt
Cindy’s presence pressed against his consciousness like a hand closing around his thoughts. It pushed inward, searching for the cracks in his mental armor, the gaps left by exhaustion and pain.
’Let me in, Gray. It will be easier if you don’t fight.’
’Go to hell.’
He slammed his awareness shut. The crystalline barbs along his tentacles clicked together as if echoing the closure of his mental walls. His thoughts tightened, coiling around the core of his identity like a fortress closing its gates.
Cindy’s presence withdrew slightly, then pressed again.
"You can’t fight me forever. You’re dying. Let me take over, and we’ll both survive this."
’We had a deal!’ Gray snarled, his mental voice cracking with fury. ’We were supposed to escape together. No hostility. That was the bargain!’
"The bargain was survival," Cindy replied, her tone cool and steady. "And right now, survival means I take your body. You can still exist in here, with me. You wouldn’t be gone. You’d just be... quiet."
’You think I want to be a prisoner in my own body?!’
He pushed back against her, pouring every ounce of his remaining will into the resistance. Yet exhaustion dragged at every part of him. Two HP remained, his MP nearly spent. Every fragile pulse of his bell sent fresh waves of pain threading through the cracks in his shattered armor.
Cindy felt his weakness.
"Don’t make this harder than it needs to be."
[POSSESSION ATTEMPT — RESISTANCE AT 42%]
Gray thrashed mentally. ’If you take my body, you won’t survive out here! You don’t know this ocean! You’ll die in minutes!’
Cindy laughed softly. "Is that what you think? That’s easy to solve."
Her presence pressed deeper, coiling around his thoughts like vines. "I can access your memories, Gray. Everything you know about this ocean—I can take it. Once I’m in control, I won’t need your guidance. I’ll have your knowledge. Permanently."
The words cut deeper than any fang. She could take everything he’d survived for. Everything he’d become. And she’d call it easy.
"Just give me your body," Cindy said. "It’s easier for both of us. Stop fighting, and I’ll let you sleep. You won’t feel a thing."
’No.’
The word was quiet at first, then louder. It echoed through his mind like a bell.
’NO.’
He pushed back.
[POSSESSION ATTEMPT — RESISTANCE AT 58%]
Cindy’s presence recoiled, surprised by the sudden surge of will.
"Gray—"
’I said no.’ His thoughts sharpened, crystallizing into something unbreakable. ’I didn’t crawl out of a monster’s stomach just to become a passenger in my own body.’
"But your body is failing—"
’Then it fails. But if I die, you die with me. You can’t possess a corpse, can you? You need me alive and right now, if you keep pushing, I’ll burn through every last point of HP I have. We’ll both fade into nothing.’
"You’re bluffing."
’Try me.’
[POSSESSION ATTEMPT — RESISTANCE AT 71%]
Cindy’s presence flared with sudden fury.
"You should have listened to me!" Her voice cracked through Gray’s mind, sharp and desperate. "If you had just swum to the surface like I told you, we could have escaped! I could have found a new body there! But no — you had to dive deeper, and now look at us!"
’That’s ridiculous,’ Gray shot back, his mental voice cold. ’That monster would never have let us reach the surface. It was faster than us. It would have caught us in open water. Your plan would’ve killed us both.’
"It would have worked! I know how to escape!" Cindy’s presence pressed against him, hot with frustration and grief. "But you’re too stubborn to listen!"
’Back off,’ Gray said quietly. ’I’m done listening.’
He reached up with a trembling tentacle and wrapped it around the silver chain around his bell. The locket was warm against his armor, pulsing faintly. He began to pull it off.
"NO!!" Cindy’s voice shrieked through his skull. "What are you doing?!"
’I’m taking this thing off.’
Cindy’s presence lunged at his consciousness. He felt her will snatch at his tentacles, trying to seize control of them, trying to force them to stop.
But she was clumsy. The tentacle holding the chain twitched and spasmed, but it didn’t let go.
"What—" Cindy’s voice was strained with effort. "What is this body?! Why is it so hard to control?!"
’Heh! That’s your mistake. A jellyfish body isn’t something you can just grab and use.’
He pulled the chain over his bell and let it fall.
The locket tumbled from his tentacle and struck the rubble with a soft clink. The faint silver light flickered once and went dim.
Cindy’s presence vanished from his mind like a snuffed flame.
[POSSESSION ATTEMPT — FAILED]
[PSYCHIC INTRUSION REPELLED]
He lay there in the darkness, trembling with exhaustion and relief.
Then, faintly, from the locket on the ground, he heard it.
"No... please...Don’t leave me here... I don’t want to be alone..."
Gray stared at the locket. It lay among the rocks, faint silver light barely visible through the dust.
"Please..." Her voice cracked. "I’m sorry... I’m so sorry for trying to possess you... please..."
"I’ll be useful!" she pleaded, her words tumbling over each other. "I’ll teach you things! Magic, knowledge, survival! Please, I’ll be loyal to you, I swear it! I’ll follow your orders, I won’t try anything again! Just... please don’t leave me here!"
He didn’t move. The chain lay in a tangled heap beside the locket, its silver links dulled by dust and stomach acid. His tentacle still tingled where it had held the chain.
’She tried to possess me and now she wants mercy?’
"Gray...?" Cindy’s voice came again, thin and trembling. "Please... say something..."
"Please... don’t leave me alone... I can’t do this again... I can’t..."
’Alone,’ Gray thought. ’You tried to take my body and now you’re begging because you’re afraid of being alone. Pathetic.’
"I’m sorry..." she whispered. "I’m so sorry... I was scared... I’m still scared..."
Gray’s tentacle moved before he’d consciously decided. It reached out, brushing the silver chain. The moment his flesh touched the metal, Cindy’s voice snapped back into his mind.
"—hear me? Gray?! Please—"
’Shut up.’
Cindy fell silent. The sudden quiet was almost as loud as her pleas.
’You’re noisy. Annoying. And you cry too much for someone who just tried to take my body.’
"I..." Cindy’s voice faltered. "I know. I’m sorry. I was—"
’I don’t care.’
Gray pulled the chain tighter, lifting the locket from the rubble.
’You tried to possess me. You broke our deal. And now you want me to trust you again?’
Gray felt her presence waver.
’Do you think I’m stupid?’ Gray continued. ’Do you think I’ll just forget what you did and carry you around like a pet? You’re a parasite in a necklace. A lying, desperate, backstabbing parasite.’
"No... that’s not..." Cindy’s voice cracked. "I’m not lying."
’Your promises mean nothing. You already broke one.’