TYMIMA Chapter 103

Inside the iron door was dark and damp. In front was a long, dark corridor, with a strong smell of seawater in the air.

 

Sandro fell into a puddle of water in front of the door.

 

He had become so small that even the puddle of gathered moisture could accommodate his body.

 

He didn’t remember where he came from or what this place was, but he had to go to the sea. He didn’t know when this place would dry up, and there weren’t enough plankton for him to eat.

 

He looked up. The corridor was very tall, with stalactites formed on the rock walls above, dripping water with a ticking sound. But the water droplets disappeared upon hitting the ground.

 

He looked down and found a patch of writhing dark green substance on the ground, like spilled oil paint, sucking up water wherever it went.

 

Its body was just like a sponge, absorbing all the puddles dry, and it was slowly surging toward the puddle where Sandro was.

 

Sandro looked carefully and found that beneath its liquid body was actually a row of dense teeth, scraping the algae on the ground.

 

At this moment, Sandro no longer knew what mutant beasts were. In his eyes, this was a monster several times larger than himself, easily able to swallow him.

 

He trembled, desperately trying to escape the puddle, but as soon as he extended a tentacle out of the puddle and hooked the ground, his delicate tentacle was cut by a sharp stone.

 

He sulkily retracted it, hiding the tentacle under his body, but had to extend more tentacles to pull himself out of the puddle.

 

Before leaving the water surface, he drank a bellyful of water. The water here was hard to drink, faintly flavored with mud and metal, but he had to swallow it to survive.

 

Fortunately, after transforming into a jellyfish, most of his body was transparent, with only a faint red in the stomach and reproductive cavities.

 

Ignoring the pain in his body, he quickly crawled to a corner of the corridor. The flowing monster indeed did not discover him and quickly absorbed the water in his puddle.

 

Sandro breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Although he had lost his memory, his thinking ability had not disappeared. Since the air here smelled of seawater, there must be sea around.

 

Where the air flows is the exit of the corridor. As long as he kept pushing against the air, he couldn’t be wrong.

 

So he began a long trek in the corridor.

 

Fortunately, as a human, he could breathe in the air. Also, relying on his small size and transparent body, he encountered various monsters along the way but cleverly avoided them all.

 

After crawling for an unknown time, he vaguely recovered some human memories and some basic common sense.

 

But he still had no clue why he was here and why he had become a jellyfish.

 

Finally, he saw the light at the end of the corridor and the fresh sea breeze blowing toward him.

 

He stood at the end of the corridor, grabbed the rock wall with his scarred tentacles, and peeked out.

 

Just one glance scared him back.

 

The sea in front was actually green, and huge bubbles surged in the seawater, as if the entire sea area was a big pot on fire, boiling vigorously.

 

Strangely, no hot steam rose from the sea surface, and some strange creatures were still swimming leisurely under the green sea surface.

 

Sandro stayed by the rock wall all day, his thirsty umbrella shrinking. He finally mustered the courage to take a risk.

 

He found a place where the reef was densely grown. Although jumping down here was very risky and he might be smashed by the reef, it was better than being swallowed by those strange creatures.

 

He estimated the airflow and wind speed, carefully observed the movement trajectories of nearby creatures, then resolutely let go of his tentacles and leapt down.

 

Fortunately, he landed in the seawater between the reefs, immediately drank his fill, and his umbrella became plump and light again.

 

Unfortunately, he found that those originally leisurely swimming strange creatures suddenly scattered like startled birds.

 

He keenly sensed the change in water flow, a dangerous aura. These creatures were actually fleeing for their lives.

 

Sandro staggered backward, tightening his tentacles.

 

In this sea area, he was really too small. Even the bubbles rising from the seabed could knock him over. He had no ability to fight any monster.

 

He could only try to hide behind the reef, praying the opponent wouldn’t find him.

 

Indeed, a terrifying shadow swam from the depths of the seawater. The shadow was long, easily stirring the water flow into chaos. Those strange fish that couldn’t escape in time were trapped once touched by the shadow.

 

Obviously, that thing was the top predator in this sea area.

 

A creature covered in sharp spikes, like a super-large sea urchin, was brought near the shadow by the water flow. Its spikes immediately turned angry red, and black venom seeped from the tips.

 

Sandro peeked out from behind the reef with one eye, carefully observing.

 

The large sea urchin was obviously a ferocious and aggressive creature, perhaps able to fight the shadow, he guessed.

 

However, the next second, reality shattered his naive thoughts.

 

A beautiful tail covered with purple ink-colored scales suddenly swept over, and the blade-like tail fin forcibly cut through the water flow, precisely hitting the long spikes of the sea urchin.

 

Instantly, the seawater trembled violently, bubbles shattered, and the area became foggy like mist, rolling into countless chaotic and intertwined currents.

 

Light Sandro was inevitably swept out of the reef nest by the currents, carried into the deep sea. Countless bubbles hit him, and he felt like being thrown into a high-speed washing machine, tumbling up and down among the bubbles!

 

Sandro immediately felt dizzy and short of breath. Just when he thought he would be tossed around by the whirlpool half dead, the spinning suddenly stopped.

 

The white mist formed by bubbles gradually dispersed. When he looked again, he found the sea urchin had been split in half, its strangely shaped digestive cavity spilling out. Those deep red, sharp poisonous spikes were like fragile branches, broken in large pieces, yet they hadn’t harmed that long fish tail at all.

 

How terrifying!

 

Sandro silently marveled in his heart.

 

Just when he thought he could spread his tentacles, relax his umbrella, and play dead to escape disaster, he found the shadow gradually covering him.

 

His breathing stopped as he slowly looked up along the purple ink-colored fish tail.

 

He was suddenly stunned.

 

The upper end of the fish tail was actually connected to a human-like torso similar to his own. Those purple ink-colored fan-shaped scales extended all the way to the hip bones. At the tailbone and lower abdomen, the palm-sized scales gradually became smaller and softer, their color gradually fading as they connected with the gently undulating skin.

 

Its skin was pale and looked very thin. Through the clear seawater, one could vaguely see the blood vessels flowing beneath the surface.

 

At the V-lines on both sides of its abdominal muscles, two dark blue blood vessels were hidden. Having just devoured many strange fish, that area was gently rising and falling, rapidly digesting the hard bone shells of the strange fish.

 

While Sandro observed it, it also looked down at Sandro.

 

Its eyes were covered with a pale yellow membrane, blocking the golden pupils, so it tilted its head slightly and perked up one pointed, transparent ear.

 

Sandro immediately realized its eyes couldn’t see—this was an obvious characteristic. When detecting movement, its first reaction was to listen with its ears.

 

Sandro’s body stiffened.

 

He understood that this creature with features so profound they were exquisite, yet emanating danger and evil, was not human.

 

It only looked like a human. That hair emitting ghostly light wasn’t actually hair but some kind of light, seaweed-like substance. It also had a three-meter-long tail with astonishing destructive power.

 

Thinking of how it had just used its tail fin to shred the large sea urchin, Sandro knew he was powerless to fight it.

 

However, he didn’t understand how such a small, transparent self—like inconspicuous duckweed in the sea—could be noticed by such a terrifying predator.

 

The subtle water flow had already allowed the monster to sense Sandro’s exact location. It swayed its long tail again, assuming an attacking posture.

 

Sandro quickly tried to flap his umbrella to escape, but when he moved his arm, he discovered that somehow, he had changed back to human form.

 

No wonder… no wonder the monster noticed him!

 

While he was stunned, the blade-thin tail fin was already slicing through the water toward him. Sandro’s nerves tensed as he cried out—

 

“Don’t kill me!”

 

The tail fin stopped just at Sandro’s waist, almost severing his fragile spine.

 

The monster tilted its head, seeming somewhat puzzled. It had never heard such a pleasant voice speaking a language it didn’t understand, carrying suppressed panic.

 

It squinted and swayed its tail fin, feeling the contours of this ‘fish.’

 

The thin, cold fin edge traced inch by inch over the narrow waist, perky buttocks, and tense, slender legs.

 

No tail.

 

It frowned, unable to imagine what kind of structure this was, so its tail fin swept over Sandro’s body from all directions.

 

It discovered this fish not only had no tail but also no scales. This fish was soft and elastic all over. When its tail tip swept over certain parts of the fish’s body, the fish would tremble slightly, trying to avoid it.

 

It realized this was a very fragile fish with no means of protecting itself. Living in this sea area, it would sooner or later be devoured by other predators.

 

For the first time, it felt something like pity.

 

“Malfor malgra da afero……” (Fragile and strange fish)

 

It abandoned the thought of killing Sandro and withdrew its tail.

 

“You can speak?” Sandro asked cautiously.

 

He found this monster seemed different from those low-level creatures he had encountered along the way that only knew destruction and devouring. It had language, thinking ability, and emotions—it was intelligent life.

 

Sandro’s voice again attracted the monster’s attention. It stopped and didn’t immediately swim away.

 

“Bona.” (Pleasant)

 

“I can’t understand what you’re saying.” Sandro pressed his lips together, cautiously observing the monster’s expression.

 

“Endelea.” (Continue)

 

“Are you a fish or a person? Are you a resident here?” Seeing the monster had no intention of harming him, Sandro relaxed and continued asking.

 

It supported its cheek with its webbed palm, enjoying Sandro’s clear, melodious voice. It discovered that as long as it responded with any syllable, Sandro would say a long string of words.

 

“Ang.”

 

“I came here by accident. My name is Sandro. Can you understand?”

 

“Wa.”

 

“The sea here is different from my sea. Ours is blue.”

 

“En.”

 

“I don’t know why I ended up here. I’ve forgotten many things. Can you help me get out?”

 

“Ha.”

 

……

 

After talking at cross purposes for a while, Sandro dejectedly covered his stomach and hung his head: “I’m hungry.”

 

But he knew the monster definitely couldn’t understand. He even wanted to teach the monster his world’s language.

 

The voice disappeared, and it felt somewhat at a loss, so it stirred the seawater with its tail, letting the ripples urge Sandro on.

 

However, Sandro had already lost his strength and completely wilted. Aside from lazily lifting his eyelids, he didn’t utter a word.

 

Seeing Sandro had no reaction, it thought this fish was sick or dying, so it extended its large palm and pressed its cool webbing against Sandro’s skin.

 

It felt Sandro curl up, his back arching into a curve with no spikes—very smooth.

 

Some fish also bent into arcs when stressed; it could only guess this.

 

The monster seemed to sigh and pressed its body closer.

 

“Jeraha lako liko wapi?” (Where is your wound?)

 

Sandro rarely heard it speak such a long string, but he couldn’t understand at all. He could only cautiously observe the monster’s next move.

 

It didn’t hear an answer, so it lowered its transparent eyelashes. It used one webbed hand to support Sandro’s buttocks, covered his back with the other, extended its tongue tip, and began licking Sandro’s skin.

 

It rarely got injured, but before being exiled here, it had suffered a very serious wound and was nearly dying.

 

It could only lie in the sea, licking its own wounds, tearing off the festering flesh to let them heal again.

 

This would recover faster.

 

It first licked Sandro’s collarbone, its tongue tip lingering in the collarbone hollow. It thought that was a depression from a heavy blow, but later found the skin there was soft, covering bone, and seemed uninjured.

 

So it guessed the injured area must be hidden.

 

So it pushed away Sandro’s arms covering his stomach, forced him to straighten his upper body, and licked downward from the collarbone.

 

Sandro asked in surprise: “What are you doing?”

 

The monster didn’t answer him but pressed him firmly with its webbed hands and coiled its tail to bind his kicking legs.

 

It carefully licked this fish all over, and the narrow crevice below the waist that it suspected was a wound was repeatedly licked several times.

 

It guessed that area would heal quickly.

 

Sandro’s bronze skin turned completely red. He trembled violently, his pheromones scattering chaotically, emitting a sweet fragrance.

 

The next second, he transformed back into an immortal jellyfish. Countless soft tentacles curled up, forcefully hugging his fluffy umbrella, shamefully wrapping himself up.

 

“Gua?” The monster was very confused.

 

It felt the fish had disappeared, and on its webbed palm was a light, soft little thing.

 

For many days after that, Sandro couldn’t transform back to human form because he had just regenerated and had no strength at all.

 

Fortunately, the juvenile jellyfish form made his food requirements very low—he only needed to swallow some plankton from the water surface.

 

The monster brought him to the mangrove forest and had him hide under a tung flower tree to prevent him from being eaten by other mutant beasts.

 

The monster loved listening to his voice, so they often chatted. Although he was so small he could use the monster’s palm as a bed and its tail as a big slide, he could clearly sense the monster’s kindness and care.

 

Gradually, he began to understand the monster’s language a little, while the monster had completely learned his language.

 

Sandro believed this was because he talked much more than it did.

 

Since some pronunciations in English were similar to the monster’s language, it learned faster and better, so Sandro gave it an English name—Ryan.

 

That day, Ryan carved both their names on the rock wall of the corridor with its webbed hands.

 

Its transparent eyelashes were curled, its eyes deep and serious. Fragments of stone left tiny scratches on its light blue webbing, but it didn’t care at all.

 

It lifted the fragile little jellyfish in its palm and let him see the words on the stone wall.

 

Sandro’s heart suddenly trembled, his umbrella flickered, and he couldn’t help wrapping his tentacles around Ryan’s finger.

 

Sandro’s memory was recovering day by day, and he could teach Ryan more things. He could now maintain human form for long periods.

 

But he still liked to rest on Ryan’s long tail as he had when he was a jellyfish.

 

He often straddled that long tail, caressing the hard, beautiful scales. The scales were ice-cold, but the tail would move slightly with Ryan’s breathing, making him deeply feel Ryan’s powerful and vigorous life.

 

Sandro had touched almost every scale on Ryan, and Ryan indulged him.

 

Until one day, he suddenly discovered that a soft scale near the lower abdomen could be lifted. Curious, he transformed a tentacle and reached under the soft scale to touch.

 

If it could be lifted so easily, wouldn’t it be vulnerable to attack? Could this be Ryan’s weakness?

 

Just as he was thinking this, the skin under that scale quickly became engorged and swollen, turning hot and hard.

 

Ryan straightened up, and its fish tail immediately coiled up, wrapping around Sandro’s calves.

 

Sandro was slightly stunned. Looking at Ryan’s rapidly rising and falling chest and deep brows, he suddenly understood something.

 

Realizing he had caused trouble, he timidly transformed into a small jellyfish, jumped over the soft scale, quickly crawled up Ryan’s abdominal muscles, and curled up motionless on Ryan’s shoulder.

 

A few months later, Sandro remembered he was the king of Tasman, remembered he had a long lifespan, remembered he had no need to be shy, especially in front of this pure and powerful mutant beast.

 

“Ryan, can you stay with me for a long time? Not leaving, not dying.”

 

Ryan blinked, lovingly stroking Sandro’s smooth spine with its webbed hand: “I will……”

 

“Then, I want to kiss you.” Sandro said, straddling its tail and leaning down to capture its lips.

 

He knew Ryan was a mutant beast. He had once thought all mutant beasts were terrifying and evil, but Ryan had protected him. Instead, it was his own kind who always schemed to harm and calculate against him.

 

It had licked his entire body with its tongue, caressed all his sensitive parts, but he knew it was the most pure and loyal lover in the world.

 

“Sandro……” It murmured his name, blinking as it tried to learn this new skill.

 

“I have to leave for a while, to take back what belongs to me and take revenge on my enemies.” After the kiss, Sandro rested on Ryan’s chest, his palm against where its heart was. “Wait for me to come back.”

 

The twilight was gentle, time ticking away. Exactly one year had passed since the day he was assassinated.

 

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