Chapter 26 – From Ancient Times.
From the moment he grabbed his wrist, all sorts of thoughts flashed through Usher’s mind and then disappeared. Wouldn’t it be like being caught by mermaids and living in a cave forever? When I forgot to even struggle and stood still. He noticed that the mermaid he caught didn’t say or do anything for a long time.
“You are sleeping.”
The mermaid, whom he thought had noticed and caught him trying to escape, was still asleep. He was relieved even though he thought it was pitiful to be surprised by the mere drool talk. As his tension fluttered, his hand that was holding on to the waterweed loosened up and he almost fell into the water. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. It was a problem that his wrist was held, but when I carefully moved his hand, the force holding him was not as strong as I thought. Still, in case he woke up, he carefully removed the mermaid’s hand and went into the water, and he saw the scene he had seen when he first drowned here.
In dark water. Illuminating the place are strange aquatic plants that emit blue light that stretch out from the darkness where it is questionable whether there is a bottom. The water plants, like giant pillars, hung in places the green berries that Pohati had fed him. I couldn’t go deep because I had to breathe, but although the spacing between the water plants was close, I felt like I could move somehow by grabbing the stem and moving. The only thing that bothered me was the mermaids sleeping on the plants. Perhaps the upper half of the body was placed only on the water plant and the lower body was submerged in the water, but some of their large tail fins can be seen rustling over the water plant.
Perhaps mermaids slept like that. To avoid waking them up by touching their tails, Usher first reached for a plant whose caudal fin was not visible, and then dropped it. It seemed that he came down slightly because he couldn’t swim, but it was enough to climb up again on the waterweed. Thanks to that, I was convinced that I would be able to get out of this place if I kept doing this over and over again. Every time he moved, the staggering and slanting waterweed was unsettling, but there was no other way, so being as careful as possible was the limit.
“Sigh, ha.”
When I was out of breath, I climbed aquatic plants and breathed in the air silently, observing the movements of the mermaids as they moved away. Fortunately, they didn’t wake up, and Usher moved slowly but steadily from plant to plant. But Usher grew more and more impatient. Even though they had come so far that they could no longer see the mermaids, they could hardly see the exit of the cave. Even the worst situation came to mind that this might not be the exit. Still, the cave continued. How many times did he repeat moving between plants?
-!!!
From behind Usher heard a shrill voice, like a woman shouting. It must be because this is a quiet cave that you can still hear it even at a considerable distance. Hearing the sound, he felt sweat running down his body, even though he had entered the cold water. He moved from water plant to water plant as fast as he could, but whenever he poked his head out of the water to exhale, the countless sounds of water were quickly approaching. The closer the sound got, the more nervousness began to grip his chest and press. Then he realized that there were no more plants to hold on to.
When I put my head out on the surface of the water, embarrassed by the unexpected situation, I couldn’t see any of the shining aquatic plants that I had been seeing until now. Even at a distance, the walls were faintly illuminated by the light of the plants. There was no such thing as an exit. As Usher gazed at the wall in vain, he heard the sound of water getting closer. The moment he thought that the only thing left to do was to be captured by the mermaids. He noticed that the water he thought was still was flowing. Now that I see it, the water plants here are not standing stiffly above the water, but slightly slanted. Maybe this
“There he is!”
“Catch!”
Hearing the voices of the mermaids behind him, he didn’t have time to think anymore and pushed the plants away and swam clumsily. Thanks to the flow of water, despite his clumsy gestures, Usher was moving forward. But is it still not up to the swimming skills of mermaids? The moment he thought he had finally been caught by someone’s hand reaching behind his back. The hand did not hold him. No, isn’t it rather pushing his back? Startled by him, he tried to look behind him, but he was already being swept away by the strong current.
“Coke! Coke!”
When did you lose your mind? As he coughed in his consciousness, he felt the dry sandy floor. When he opened his eyes thinking that he was outside the cave this time, what he saw was still inside the cave, disappointingly.
“Uh?”
But for Usher, who never thought that someone else would be waiting for him to wake up, the sight in front of him was enough to make him sound bewildered. Could Usher be dreaming? He thought Even in the cave, on top of the brightly shining lake, a white horse with no other color was taking a bath. The only problem was the horn in the middle of the horse’s head. At first, he thought it was just an illusion, but no matter how much time passed, the pure white horse and the horns on its head showed no signs of disappearing.
-Purrrr!
No, rather, it sounded like hallucinations. The sound of the horse pulling out of the glowing lake and brushing itself was vivid in Usher’s ears. Up to this point, he had thought that the scene was an absurd fantasy or a dream. But even that thought vanished as the snow-white horse moved wildly in the lake and the splashing drops of water touched him.
“It’s cold! Is it cold…?”
The water droplets on his skin were as cold as ice. Aren’t dreams usually the kind that don’t even feel this kind of sensation? When Usher was perplexed by the vivid feel of the water. The pure white horse approached him. He immediately became wary as the words approached. He thought it was an overreaction, too, since it was just a simple word, except for the horns on his head. Even so, Usher could not be relieved. He barely escaped the mermaids, but he was still inside the cave. When he first fell into the cave, what he thought were ordinary stones opened his mouth and tried to eat him.
He was caught off guard by the beauty of the mermaids and was squeezed by them. Perhaps because of this, he couldn’t shake the suspicion that the horse was just a horse on the surface, and that it might be a completely different and unpleasant creature. Ever since he entered this cave, he had never encountered a normal, seemingly plausible creature. In particular, the horns on the horse’s head made it even more suspicious. So it was.
“Don’t come closer!”
He exclaimed, even as Usher expected it to not listen to him. I was afraid of not knowing what the words would do to me next. But why?
– Purreung.
The sound of the hooves stopped with the short neighing of the horse. When I turned my head, which I had carefully turned while feeling a question about him, to my surprise, I could find the horse standing still. For a moment, I was taken aback by the fact that I could understand what he was saying. Looking at him while rolling his big eyes with a charming feeling somewhere to express them as rolling back, he carefully moves one of his legs close to him. Felt
The horse’s build was bigger than Usher’s. By comparison, is it about the size of the other wolves other than the silver wolf I saw before entering this cave? Even if that horse was a herbivore, just like the horses on the ground, it would be impossible for Usher to win by force, but the way the horse looked at him seemed awkward. Seeing his benign appearance, it seemed that he had no intention of hurting him, but Usher couldn’t let go of his guard. Usher looked around, alert to the horse still staring at him.
It was clear he was still in the cave, but he looked different from where they were. I can’t see the glowing aquatic plants like before, but for some reason the inside of the cave is too bright. Perhaps it was because of the shining lake where the horse bathed. If he had been a little more relaxed, he might have admired the sight, but Usher was too sensitive now to appreciate it. How long have you been fighting like that?
-…Pureung.
Doesn’t the horse seem restless and stomp its feet, then make a noise as if sighing and move towards him? It was absurd that he approached him with a look full of annoyance at the subject of the horse, so Usher just stared blankly at the horse. The moment Usher was caught off guard by the horse’s actions. The approaching horse bit his back and the hem of his clothes with his teeth.
“Keeck!? Cough! Now, wait a minute! Suddenly what!”
And then the horse that forced him on its back did he not jump into the lake in which he had just been bathing? So all he could do was close his eyes and grab his horse’s neck with all his might. His horse’s neck was admirably hard and made of strong muscle, but he gave Usher the impression that it was uncomfortable to hold. Usher could not have guessed what the horse was thinking as it carried him on its back and plunged into the sparkling lake. But he seemed to be submerged only for a moment, and he felt himself coming out of the water and shouted.
“You! What were you thinking…!”
But his words did not follow. When Usher wiped the water off his face with his arm, he opened his eyes. It was because Usher and the horse were standing on a transparent lake where the sun was shining for some reason, and wolves surrounded the lake as if they were waiting for him. Most of the wolves looked surprised.
“Eras is back!”
“I passed through the cave.”
“Is there any reason why you were chosen?”
They were welcoming him Perhaps because of its size, the most notable among them was the silver wolf. Just when Usher thought his eyes met. The wolf had already turned around and was only showing his back. He looked at the sun shining down from the sky. I was in that dark, cold cave just a moment ago. He couldn’t believe that he was out of the cave as he was forcibly picked up by a horse and fell into a lake. It felt like those scary experiences had been scattered like an illusion.
“Ugh!”
However, the pain was felt again in his things. He reminded him of the reality that the pain was receding. Perhaps because he was squeezed by the mermaids, his stuff was still complaining of pain. From the moment I met this horned horse, the events in the cave that had almost been dismissed as a bad dream regained a sense of reality. He bit his lip as he remembered the images of the bizarre creatures and countless mermaids that were hunting him.
“Pooh!”
Then, his thoughts were interrupted by the cold lake water that suddenly washed over his face.
– Purrung!
“Suddenly what? Again.”
When I searched for the reason, the horse was exaggeratedly splashing in the water, breathing heavily as if excited. I didn’t know if the horse was originally a good swimmer, but it was embarrassing to see that the horse was swimming calmly on the water like a small ferry just a moment ago. Thinking that there must be a reason for the horse, who had just been calm, to be like this, he found that the horse’s gaze was fixed on one place and looked in that direction. And what he found was a pair of golden lights that glistened brilliantly in the blazing sunlight. As soon as she faced the golden light, Usher, who took a breath for a moment from the joy that made it difficult for her to breathe, raised her voice to the fullest and called her name.
“Belka!”
Because the golden owner belonged to a girl. Even among the wolves her redness bloomed, although her size made her invisible among the large wolves. But is it because he shouted?
-Hee hee!!
“What?!”
The horse freaked out and threw Usher off its back and he fell into the lake. He reflexively closed his eyes as the water swallowed up to the top of his head with a splash. Usher struggled, looking for something to hold on to, but he also couldn’t get his hands on anything. Rather, he couldn’t even struggle with the menacing current that brushed her nearby. Perhaps it happened as the horse moved his feet. It wasn’t enough to get him off his back, and he gnashed his teeth inwardly, almost getting beaten by the horse.
‘It’s just this guy’s words!’
He tried to swim, thinking that once he got out of the water, he would break the big horns. However, his body did not float easily on the water. Could it be that he has fallen into a very deep place again? The deep water in the cave reminded me of it, and I was scared. He was in an awkward state, neither completely submerged nor floating under the water, so he closed his eyes to keep the water from entering, and he felt like he was thrown into endless darkness. He barely got out of that terrible cave, but Usher was unfair that he drowned like this. He wanted to open his eyes, but he didn’t want to. If it was a place like that again, Usher would be in despair. It was a time when he couldn’t do this or that.
[It’s okay to open your eyes.]
The voice of someone I thought I wouldn’t hear because my ears were clogged with water flowed into my head. When water gets into my eyes, it stings and hurts. I couldn’t get used to that feeling, so I kept closing my eyes. Open your eyes
[Do not be afraid. It’s okay to float just a little bit.]
As if knowing his confused heart, his clearer voice gently and sweetly caressed his heart. Ah, how can I forget this voice. Usher opened his eyes cautiously, forgetting even the fear of the water coming directly into his eyes. Then the sight that opened his eyes made him forget that this place was underwater. It was because he could see Belka approaching him, slowly walking across a green lawn with white and yellow flowers blooming sparsely, with that vivid red color hanging down like a tail and the hem of her dark red dress fluttering.
However, his body floating in the air and the feel of the heavy, cold water instead of air whenever he moved, said that this place was underwater. But why do his eyes contain the earth? At the dream-like scene, Usher stared blankly until the girl approached. When she finally gets to him. Belka stood where he had to look down. He was still floating in the air, and the girl was standing on the ground. Then she stretched out her hands toward Usher. He cautiously grabbed her girl’s hand as she acted as if to take her own hand and ask her to come down.
Eventually, Usher was finally able to put both feet on the ground, guided by Belka’s hand. The problem was that I couldn’t breathe here.
‘Ugh! Out of breath!’
Usher felt that his ability to hold his breath was reaching a limit. Because of this, the moment his body tried to breathe even though there was no air to breathe, ignoring his master’s will. He felt something soft covering his mouth.
‘Can you… Breathe?’
When he opened his eyes again, which he had closed together because of his blocked breath, he was able to face the golden light that filled his eyes. It was Belka. She kissed him and blew her breath into him. Even as she regained her breath, Usher sighed, feeling a tingling sensation that she was about to run out of breath, and the girl withdrew as silently as she had approached him.
“Belka, where are you?”
He asked her with her mind if she was her. Perhaps because she was trying to speak in the water, air bubbles rose and were buried in the water, and even the sound was faint, but the girl seemed to understand.
“It’s not in the lake.”
It was somehow different from the voice he had just heard, but when Belka opened her mouth, such a small air bubble rose up and tickled his ear with a sweet voice that could not harm even underwater. If there was anything more amazing than that.
“This is inside the lake? But no matter how you look at it.”
Belka said it was inside the lake, but when she turned her head and looked around, she could see green grass and small flowers that often grew on the hill with the large zelkova tree that Belka met at first glance. I couldn’t believe they were plants growing in water. Even if you look at it small, it’s this much, but if you look at it from a deeper place.
“There are also trees there.”
There were only about five trees in the deep recesses, but they were no different from the trees in the forest he always remembered. Even the water is so transparent and clear that you can’t see it with your eyes. The only thing that proved that this place was underwater was the inability to breathe and the touch of heavy water subtly impeding movement. Then then
“Uh?”
He witnessed a strange sight passing by him. Turning his head at the unbelievable sight, Usher was able to confirm that it was not a lie. It was because it was the image of a fish with bright yellow stripes that seemed to be swimming in the air.
“Were you really underwater?”
It was a fact that I already knew, but denied at this unrealistic sight. But when I saw the fish swimming like that, I had to admit it. As he stared blankly at the end of the fish’s tail as it swam away, he heard a girl’s voice.
“Would you like to see a little more?”
Belka held her hand as if he would lead her if she wanted to, and he nodded as if possessed. Then the girl holding his hand pushed off the ground with her feet and flew up. I knew this place was under water, but if I didn’t say I was flying at this sight, what could I say was flying? The place I arrived at was a tree I had seen from afar. The sense of swimming and looking down at the tree that I always looked up to and had to look up at, like flying, gave me an indescribable impression.
The colorful fish flying between the trees did not run away when they approached, but even approached as if showing curiosity. When Usher choked on her breath, the girl had to breathe on him, but he was glad of the slight discomfort. Every time our lips touched each other, the heart pounding and kind and warm touch seemed to wash away all the bad feelings such as anxiety, worry, worry, and displeasure that I had felt in the cave so far.
