It took a few days, but eventually, I felt comfortable enough to leave the temple for a time. I didn’t want to raise suspicion by leaving immediately; I needed to bide my time. But if I waited much longer, the flesh ball might start to rot. I’d done what I could to preserve it, but my abilities have their limits.

  I made my way back to my cave, but when I arrived, I hesitated, lingering outside the entrance. I couldn’t muster the will to go in. I didn’t want to ruin my clothing or damage the scales that Nomi had worked so hard to perfect. My mind drifted as I thought of what I’d left behind: the dolphin, a few bottles filled with light, the water maker, and some bits of chain I’d kept thinking they might be useful one day.

  In my distraction, I almost didn’t notice the shadow moving toward me. Panic flared, and my hand instinctively went to my knife, but as the figure bumped into me, I realized it was just a shark. Hoka. Relief washed over me as his massive head, about the size of my upper body, nuzzled against my side, pushing me slightly with his weight. It had been so long since I’d seen him. He must have missed me.

  “Hey, boy,” I murmured, reaching out to stroke the rough skin of his snout. “How are you? I’m sorry I don’t have a snack for you right now, but I was just about ready to go hunting if you want to come along.”

  Hoka responded with a nuzzle, pressing his head against me more insistently, and I smiled. There was no way I could feed him the flesh ball, not with what I had planned. But hunting together would be a good way to reconnect,

  With Hoka by my side, I felt a little less apprehensive

  I had to slow my pace considerably so Hoka could keep up. He’s just a big shark, after all, and there’s no way he could match my speed if I put my full effort into swimming. I’ve always known Nahesa are one of the fastest swimmers in the sea but it’s different when you’re seeing it from another perspective, watching someone else struggle to keep up. It reminded me of the fun I had at the temple, watching the children chase each other.

  When I truly focus on speed, the best technique is to keep my upper body rigid, locking it in place while letting my tail do all the work. The powerful muscles in my lower half snap my tail back and forth with minimal effort on my part. These same muscles allow me to strike with my tail in an instant.

  As I swam beside Hoka, I found myself adjusting my rhythm, slowing down to match his pace. It gave me time to think. The ocean around us was calm, the water cool and clear, and for a moment, I just enjoyed the sensation of moving through it, the way it flowed over my scales.

  Hoka, sensing the change in my speed, nudged me gently with his snout. It was his way of letting me know he appreciated the slower pace. I smiled and reached out to pat his head, feeling the rough texture of his skin beneath my fingers.

  We continued like this for a while, side by side, keeping a steady, relaxed pace. It was peaceful, and I found my thoughts drifting back to the temple. It made me realize how much I missed those moments, the simplicity of just swimming for the sheer pleasure of it.

  The shallow water here wasn't deep enough for a beast as large as the one I needed, so we swam toward deeper waters. In the Akuric, the deepest of the three oceans, at least according to what I've read, finding such depths wasn’t difficult.

  At my slower pace, it was easy to reach over and retrieve the spear from my back. Surprisingly, the temple was quite open to the idea of me borrowing more weapons. I had considered taking a trident, but they were simply inferior as weapons. While tridents were excellent for fishing and held significant religious importance, the spear offered a greater piercing point, which was generally more effective in combat. I wasn’t sure how well it would fare against something like a large turtle or a shelled beast, but there were plenty of other creatures I could hunt with it.

  As we ventured into the deeper waters, I kept my guard up. Despite my size, we were entering a zone where creatures existed that might still view me as prey. I couldn’t afford to let anything harm poor Hoka. The light grew dim as we descended further, the sun’s rays barely penetrating the depths. Nearby schools of fish scattered at our approach, sensing the danger that followed in my wake.

  Ahead, I spotted the carcass of a whale. Smaller fish were feeding on its remains, but there were massive bites taken out of it far too large for any of the scavengers present. I couldn’t be sure if the bites were from whatever had killed it or simply from a larger predator taking advantage of the meal. Creatures that size tended to feed wherever they could, not particularly choosy about the source.

  I swam closer to the whale, carefully avoiding any of the larger crustaceans or more aggressive scavengers. The bite mark was immense, nearly half as wide as Hoka was long. As I examined the area, I noticed a broken off tooth lodged in the flesh. It didn’t seem to belong to any shark, which was a relief a shark wouldn’t do for what I had in mind. On closer inspection, a tooth wasn’t quite the right word to describe it; it had more in common with a turtle shell. It was hard and sharp, clearly having inflicted serious damage on the whale.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  That’s when I saw something even more unusual: portions of the whale’s flesh had turned to stone. There was only one creature I knew of that could cause such a transformation. My heart raced as I distanced myself from the remains and pulled a scroll from my pack. I had been researching large animals that might suit my purposes, and only one matched these signs the basilisk.

  The basilisk was a massive sea serpent with four large paddles along its body, armored with a hard shell that coated its entire form. Taking it down wouldn’t be easy. Its venomous bite didn’t just paralyze; it petrified its victims, turning their flesh to stone. This was far more dangerous than the paralytics I carried in my venom, a word I had learned recently, and one that I was proud of. Karson would have been proud too, if he were here. For some reason, he’d chosen to stay back at the temple, likely to avoid the long journey. He really should learn to swim.

  I focused back on the scroll, scanning for any information on where a basilisk might nest. If I was going to track this creature down, I needed to be prepared. Hoka, swam patiently beside me, unaware of the danger

  The deeper we swam, the more I felt the weight of the ocean pressing in around us. The water grew colder, darker, and more ominous

  Basilisks tended to nest in the Kaio, the Sea Vents that churned out extremely hot, toxic water. Something about the Kaio's waters seemed to strengthen the basilisk's shell, hardening it into impenetrable armor. Following the trail of black smoke rising from the vents, I found the creature. It was sleeping between two large Kaio, its shape too massive to fully take in all at once.

  Its armored body glinted dully, like old metal worn by centuries in the deep, with plates so thick they looked as though nothing could ever pierce them not even the borrowed spear I carried. The basilisk’s head was enormous, its jaw resembling more of a trap than a mouth. When it opened those jaws, they parted with a force that could crush anything in their path, snapping shut with a sound that echoed through the water like distant thunder.

  The vents around it were covered in small, blind shrimp and large, furred white crabs, along with other strange creatures that thrived in this inhospitable place. The snapping of the basilisk's jaw had frightened several of these animals a group of shrimp that ventured too close to the Kaio spasmed and boiled alive, turning pink in an instant.

  Every instinct screamed at me to swim away as fast as I could, but I owed this much to the Raroren I had killed. The spear felt useless in my hand as a weapon, but I knew it had a different purpose. With a deep breath, I plunged the spear into the flesh ball, hoping it would work. Hoka seemed confused by what I was doing. I wished there was a way I could explain it to him, but all I could do was gesture for him to swim away. It took some effort, but I finally convinced him to leave.

  As Hoka swam off, I readied myself to confront the basilisk. Thankfully, I didn't need to kill it just to outsmart it. The basilisk remained unaware of my presence, its breathing slow and steady as it slept. I knew this was my best chance to act. The spear, though useless for piercing its armor, could still serve as a tool for distraction.

  I edged closer to the creature, feeling the intense heat radiating from the Kaio. The water around me shimmered with the rising temperature, and I could see the steam rising from the vents, mingling with the black smoke. The environment was hostile, but it also provided the cover I needed. I moved with careful precision, keeping my eyes on the basilisk's massive form.

  The plan was risky. I slowly extended the spear, the flesh ball at its tip, my heart pounding. The next few moments would determine everything.

  As I prepared, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the basilisk might wake at any moment. I knew I had to be quick. The basilisk’s massive body stirred slightly, but it didn’t wake. I took a deep breath and launched the flesh ball into the basilisk’s open jaws, feeding it directly. The basilisk's nostrils flared as its eyes snapped open, and its jaws slammed shut with that same thunderous sound, breaking the spear and my arm. My arm wasn’t in its mouth, but the movement was so fast that it snapped alongside the spear. I froze as the basilisk's gaze locked onto me, and with sudden, terrifying speed, it lunged out of the Kaio.

  I forced myself to ignore the pain; it was far from the worst I’d ever had. I swam as fast as I could, putting distance between myself and the creature. I glanced back just once to see it swimming after me, but thankfully, it seemed I was faster.

  From here, I could see it was over twice the length of the Matron Mother, the largest living thing I had ever seen. Its massive head looked small compared to the actual length of the creature, and its four large, turtle-like fins helped it adjust its movement. The basilisk wasn’t built for speed, so I didn't worry too much about my escape. But then, my heart sank Hoka. He hadn’t swum far, and he wouldn’t be able to outswim the basilisk. What should I do? What could I do?

  Without thinking, my instincts took over, pushing me forward again the same instincts that had gotten me into this situation. I rushed to distract the basilisk. I reached for my knife, but my arm was broken. I closed my eyes for an instant and focused, just like when I healed the cut on my lips. I mended the bone, though I wasn’t sure if I did it right. But my arm was moving. I drew the knife, but... what was I going to do against this thing? All I had was a knife meant for skinning fish. It wasn’t even long enough to pierce a skull. The basilisk was getting closer. What was I going to do? Why did I turn back? Karson's right, I'm an idiot.

  Just as the basilisk opened its jaws to devour me, I felt something push me aside. I looked and saw Hoka—he had pushed me out of the way just as the basilisk's jaws snapped shut. Instincts took over again, and I plunged the knife over and over into the basilisk's eye. When the knife got stuck, I abandoned it and started biting its eye, injecting as much of my venom as I could into it. Its eye clouded over with blood and venom. It opened its mouth, and I quickly grabbed Hoka, swimming as fast as I could.

  It was so hard the shark was half my length, so I didn’t have much of my tail left to swim. But the basilisk was more concerned with its injuries. I swam as fast as I could back to the city, hoping someone there could help Hoka.