The sun was high.
The day was warm.
Deep below, a beast slumbered.
A peaceful slumber.
A filled slumber.
It would slumber more.
But something disturbed its slumber.
The maw was hungry once more.
.
.
.
"Rose, will you stop skewering fish!" Vallen shouted as he stared at Rose, who had his roots skewer five fish. Rose looked back at Vallen before dumping the dead fish onto the raft, before walking to a different corner of the raft.
Staring at the dead fish, Vallen could only sigh as he grabbed one. He held it in his hand and activated his Prana. He watched as the Prana covered the fish, the water part flowing over its surface while the flames danced on its scales. After a couple of seconds, Vallen called off the Prana and stared at the dead fish. Its surface had not changed at all.
"So the water and flames are just decoration? But what is the point of having it as decoration? Maybe there is more to it?" Vallen muttered as he tossed away the dead fish. Watching as it arced in the air and splashed into the water.
"Best not to eat raw fish, especially ones that are in the wild. After all the may have parasites," Vallen said as he sat down and brought out a small black egg from inside his coat. He rubbed its surface for a bit before tossing it into the water.
Before the egg touched the water, it hatched and out came a humanoid being. Its entire body was made of black smoke, and its head was a long, tube-like structure with multiple eyes sticking out. Its fingers were replaced with claws, and its body was abnormally muscular.
The being splashed into the water and sank for a bit before splashing up to the surface and staring at Vallen.
"Gather residual Prana," Vallen ordered the being. Obeying his order, the being sank even deeper into the ocean. Its body sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness.
"Best use of Fakes," Vallen said as he activated his Prana and created a Prana line into the ocean. His plan was simple, have a Fake enter the water and gather residual Prana, while he sat above it and fished.
It was a good plan, but it would have been better with Rose because of his roots. But having to constantly stop Rose from committing genocide on the local fish population is annoying. Also turns out Rose is the problem, since every other Twisted Vallen has made don't target fish. Eye Spy nor any of the Fakes ever targeted fish.
"Speaking of Rose," Vallen turned his head to look at Rose. He was just standing on the edge of the raft, his gaze locked onto something in the water. Probably just another school of fish.
"Why can't you be like your siblings," Vallen said, referring to Eye Spy and the Fakes. Eye Spy was just peacefully multiplying or just sitting in the center of the raft, next to the fish carcasses. While the Fake was just in the ocean, being helpful.
Rose didn't react to Vallen's words, his gaze just stared into the water. Every so often, it would move its head to follow something that only it could see.
"You've been acting like this since last night," Vallen said as he continued fishing, "what in the world has gotten you so curious?"
Rose didn't respond, in fact, Vallen didn't think any of the Avatars he made could speak.
"Hey Eye Spy," Vallen called out to Eye Spy, who was currently staring at a dead fish's eye. Hearing its name, Eye Spy abandoned its curiosity and crawled to Vallen. Vallen offered his free hand to it and Eye Spy crawled onto it. Vallen lifted it to his shoulder and Eye Spy crawled onto it.
"Do you mind creating a piece of paper for me?" Vallen asked as he stared at Eye Spy's single eye.
Eye Spy didn't do anything, but from its back, the small embers began to dance a bit more. Soon, a single piece of paper slowly formed and fluttered onto the ground. Vallen leaned over and grabbed it.
"Hey, Rose, get over here and tell me why you attacked the fish?"
Rose twitched a bit before turning around and walking to Vallen. Rose grabbed the paper from Vallen and, using his other hand, shot out some small roots to poke tiny holes into the surface of the paper.
While Rose was doing that, Vallen continued his fishing.
"I wonder, should I make another Avatar? Hmm, best to wait until I get more abilities. Who knows, maybe I'll get enough abilities to make an attack-focused Avatar? Or maybe a speed one," Vallen muttered, already dreaming of his next Avatar.
As he imagined, he felt a slight tug on his Prana line. He reeled it back up, and on the other end, it was just two small clouds of black smoke. One cloud had bumps on its surface, while the other had a smooth surface with small gashes in it.
"Huh, two abilities. My luck today must be good," Vallen said as he grabbed the two and absorbed them. Watching as the black smoke entered his skin and disappeared into his body.
Vallen snapped his finger and pulled up Helper.
—
[Monk Defense]- An ability that allows the user to create a 20-meter golden barrier that protects all that is inside the defense, allowing all inside to attack while repelling all attacks targeting the barrier. The user must be seated on the ground and cross their legs to use it.
[Visible Gash]- An ability that allows the user to leave deep gashes with even the smallest of movements. From a simple touch of a finger or a slash from a sword, the gash will always. The user must make physical contact with the target for the ability to take effect.
—
"... I guess I am making a mix? Uh, how would I make this? Maybe I could make a mix of defense and offense? Yeah, I could probably put [Grand Pierce] and [Eye Beam] in the new avatar. But how should they look? I could probably make them look-"
Before Vallen could finish his sentence, Rose finally finished his writing and handed it to him.
Take the piece of paper, Vallen smiled as he spoke, "thanks, Rose, let's see why you are attacking the fish."
The paper says the following:
"I am attacking because they are not really fish. There are some that are real, but the rest are not. They all tether to something I have seen last night and believe it poses a threat. It hasn't moved from its spot, but as of recently, it has begun to circle us."
Vallen finished reading the paper and felt his heart drop.
The next second, he felt a pang as the Fake in the water suddenly disappeared from his senses.
Vallen quickly turned around and shouted, "Rose! Attack!"
Rose didn't hesitate as it ran to the edge of the raft and hundreds of roots burst from its body. Some bursting from his arms that he had extended out and others piercing through his clothes. All of them plunged into the nearby fish, and some went even deeper than that.
"Eye Spy! Get ready!"
Hearing the command, Eye Spy began to split apart. Its smoky form began to vibrate for a bit before it slowly split apart. Slowly more and more Eye Spy began to appear. They all quickly ran to the edge of the raft, their small beady eyes looking down at the water and prepared to fire at anything.