Nothing to Complain About

Rune nodded at Perdikion's words as well.

'Well, it was practically centuries of secluded training to purify the darkness she'd been harboring.'

Amelia had, without meaning to, staked her life on hundreds of years of closed-door cultivation.

Startled by the unexpected praise, Amelia caught her breath and let a quiet smile bloom.

"Th-thank you... everyone."

Her gaze took in each of her companions one by one.

Then, as if some weight had lifted, she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.

At that moment, a small light flickered into existence before Amelia.

It was the 'Fragment of Memory' granted to her as a reward for clearing the dungeon.

The girl opened her eyes and gazed at it, cupping the fragment in her hand.

"I can feel it. I've... known this place for a very, very long time."

Her blue eyes quivered with distant longing.

The mermaid's pale hand tentatively traced the light.

There was a tremor in her touch, but her steady voice carried unwavering certainty.

"You've been here before?"

"Yeah... I think so."

Amelia gave a small nod in response to Rune's question.

But her answer stirred doubt in Rune.

The Water Lair had been a cursed sea domain even before Amelia was born.

All living things there had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fallen dormant or perished, which was how Amelia had survived.

But the dungeon was different.

It was a den of monsters steeped in madness.

No frail young hatchling, wounded and weakened, could have endured in such a place.

In that instant, the small fragment shimmered and resonated with Amelia.

"Th-this is..."

She couldn't finish her words; the blue mermaid's eyes shook violently.

'Looks like that fragment is showing her something.'

As Rune pondered this, Amelia closed her eyes and swam through the illusions conjured by the fragment of memory.

A cool, transparent sea etched with rippling wave patterns, free of darkness and curses.

Beneath the water-colored ceiling stood a white altar.

'Amelia.'

A faint voice echoed in her ears.

A memory from an unimaginably distant past.

A woman's voice, somehow familiar.

Warm, tinged with sorrow, yet gentle.

'We've chosen to endure what must be done, in exchange for no longer taking part in the war.'

'Swallowing the poison and curse is the only way to protect you, our beloved.'

A man's bitter voice joined ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in.

'I'm sorry to burden you with this.'

'We love you, Amelia.'

As two hands tenderly stroked the egg's surface amid affection and grief, the two mermaids whispered softly and absorbed the ominously churning mass.

"No... don't..."

The mermaid's voice began to tremble.

"You said you loved me... I thought you'd abandoned me to the darkness..."

When she hatched from the egg, all she remembered was being left alone in the ocean depths.

Always hungry, always lonely.

For a child who didn't even know how to cry, solitude was overwhelming, and the pain spreading like poison was the first sensation she'd ever known.

"It was... out of love?"

Her mind could rationalize their unavoidable circumstances, but her heart had harbored doubts and anxiety.

Yet the emotions of Amelia's parents in the fragment of memory—

Sorrow, pain, love—all tangled together—pierced her heart.

"You wanted... to protect me. Mom, Dad."

Her heart, her very soul ached.

The fact that her existence had forced her parents to swallow poison.

'I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. But... I won't run away anymore.'

The old Amelia might have resented them, wondering why they hadn't just discarded their useless child.

But not anymore.

After meeting Rune, Heungmi and Baekya, Dullahan and Perdikion, she no longer wanted to give up on life.

She wanted to cherish the precious things and happiness she'd found in this life.

'Now... I'll protect you, Mom and Dad. Because you're... so dear to me.'

Tears streaming down her face, Amelia managed a faint smile.

Paat!

The shimmer that had conveyed memories from before her birth vanished into her fingertips, absorbed like mist.

"Sis, are you crying?"

"Y-yeah, but I'm okay."

Her tender, poignant gaze lingered on Heungmi before warming with light.

"Now... I'm really, truly... okay."

Perhaps because she'd learned the truth.

Though her heart still throbbed with pain, it felt like the tears she'd always carried inside had finally drained away.

The mermaid smiled refreshingly, her face still wet with tears.

Heungmi blinked at the sight, then pulled Amelia into a tight hug.

"It's okay. You've done amazingly well all this time, Amelia sis."

Amelia felt comforted by Heungmi's warm body heat and words.

Once Amelia had calmed, the others checked their rewards as well.

Heungmi and Perdikion had received deep-sea stones imbued with the power of the ocean and bracelets embedded with pearls.

"It's the 'Guardian Bracelet,' proof for those who aided the Water Clan."

"Mine's the same. Seems like a common reward for the group."

Naturally, everyone's eyes turned to Rune.

Floating before him was an orb where mysterious blue light rippled like waves.

'This... no matter how I look at it, it's an incredible item.'

Amazed by its abilities, Rune stared at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Orb of Water.

Perdikion offered to appraise Rune's artifact.

After examining the Orb of Water, Perdikion narrowed his eyes.

"Rune, this is a high-grade artifact. The usage conditions are restrictive, but it possesses abilities close to precognition, not mere detection."

Finished with his appraisal, Perdikion looked away from the orb.

"'Alters water' means you can turn a stream into seawater, for example. Being able to use something like this without limits is rare. Congratulations."

"I see. Thanks for checking it, bro."

'I was hoping for a weapon, but... this is even better.'

It was a satisfying outcome regardless.

Not only the Orb of Water, but he'd also captured the final boss monster, the kraken, alive.

Plus the byproducts and monster corpses they'd collected after fighting together in the middle hall.

The rewards and materials from Dullahan and Rune spending nearly three hours dismantling the mid-boss were substantial too.

Heh.

Thinking of all they'd harvested so intensively over those three hours brought an involuntary grin.

"Whoa! Master Rune, you got something amazing!"

"Cheep!"

Baekya and Heungmi's eyes sparkled nearby.

"Well... nothing to dislike."

He cleared his throat and schooled his expression.

Just as they prepared to leave the dungeon—

"Peep! Chirp! Cheep?"

Baekya flapped its wings and perched on the white altar.

The little white bird, landing slightly to the left, fixed its gaze as if someone were on the right, chirping insistently.

Perdikion frowned and asked,

"What the hell is that thing doing?"

"Beats me..."

Rune had no idea either.

"Cheep... Chirp. Pweep!?"

The three feathers rising from Baekya's head turned blue, and its eyes grew serene.

The plump bird's body surveyed the group with a dignified gaze.

Then, with an elegance it had never shown before, it bowed its head gracefully.

Whoosh.

Rune instinctively sensed not Baekya, but some other presence.

As he watched warily, Baekya's eyes flashed blue for a moment before fading.

"Pweep?!!"

Baekya's feathers returned to normal.

The bird ruffled its body in confusion, tilting its head and chirping.

"Pee?"

Blinking a few times, the bird leisurely flew back to perch on Rune's shoulder.

Heungmi asked worriedly,

"Baekya, you okay?"

"Cheep!"

The bird lightly lifted one wing, then wagged its tail feathers happily with bright eyes.

'Come to think of it, Christina said Baekya is a bird that sees true essence.'

It was something he'd forgotten until now.

But the recent scene overlapping with Christina's words wasn't coincidence.

'Animals sometimes develop ghost-seeing eyes too.'

He fell into thought.

Should he discuss it with the group who'd witnessed it?

Or head back and consult Christina directly, which might be better?

'To be agonizing over something like this... guess I've changed a bit too.'

They were good folks.

Regardless of age, each had endured their own hardships well.

'Let's try.'

As they exited the dungeon, Rune spoke up.

"By the way, Christina once said the Wave Dungeon is the cradle where the primordial Water Spirit King was born and vanished. Maybe that spirit just possessed Baekya?"

"How could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a dead soul affect the present? That's why they call it superstition. Don't put stock in nonsense."

Rune glanced at Perdikion's face for a moment, guessing at his inner thoughts.

'He must miss his mother more than anyone.'

As Rune quietly pondered, Perdikion sneaked a peek at him.

'Rune. He doesn't say it, but he must miss his dead parents.'

Wanting to look after his young sworn brother, Perdikion furrowed his brow in frustration but held his tongue.

Rune looked at Perdikion and inwardly sighed.

'He's thinking of his mom again, but holding back 'cause he thinks he's the big brother.'

Both swallowed their sighs once more.

Amelia watched them and let out a soft chuckle.

"Heungmi."

"Yes?"

"Brothers seem... really nice. Heungmi, wanna be... Amelia's little sister?"

"Heehee. Yeah, Amelia sis!"

Heungmi beamed, wagging her two tails alternately.

Amelia watched Heungmi grab her hand and bounce playfully like a spoiled child.

Her eyes looked far more at ease than before entering the dungeon.

Moments later, they emerged into the now-purified Water Lair.

"Wow!"

Fish swimming through the deep sea.

Flat crabs burrowing into the sand.

Silent deep-sea clams with mouths shut tight.

Jellyfish weaving between sea anemones and coral reefs. Plankton in vibrant colors.

A mystical underwater landscape unfolded.

"This is... the real Water Lair."

- Kirrroot!

Amelia murmured in awe, while Dullahan quietly surveyed the sea.

A world bathed in the cool bluish hue of the ocean, free of pitch-black darkness.

The dolphin spirit Lamel zipped joyfully across the Water Lair, glowing translucently as if returning home.

Rune took in the changed surroundings before speaking to Amelia.

"Well, we've completed the request, so we'll be heading out now."