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Chapter 5 no escape

  Chapter 5 – No Escape

  I don’t move.

  The Shadowjaw is gone, but I know it will return. I remain hidden, my body pressed against the cold stone, my heartbeat steady. The water is still.

  [ Status Identified. ]

  ? Crack in Rock Formation

  ? Structure: Stable

  ? Size: Small – Predator Blocked

  I don’t need the system to tell me that. The Shadowjaw was too large to enter. That’s why I’m alive.

  This time.

  I wait longer. The hunger is growing, but if I leave too soon, I could die. The Shadowjaw is patient. I must be more patient.

  Minutes pass. Maybe hours. The deep has no time.

  Then—I move.

  I push forward, slipping out of the rock crevice, my body tense. The water is calm, but the ocean is never truly safe.

  I scan my surroundings. Nothing nearby. I flick my tail, propelling myself forward. I need to feed.

  The hunger won’t let me wait any longer.

  ---

  I drift near the seafloor, searching. I keep my movements slow, silent. I listen for the small, erratic pulses of prey.

  Then, I find it.

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  [ Status Identified. ]

  ? Pale Sandfish

  ? Species: Deep-Sea Forager

  ? Health: 88%

  ? Condition: Unaware

  I approach carefully. It twitches slightly but doesn’t sense me. A perfect target.

  I strike.

  My jaws snap shut around its body, and it thrashes violently. This time, I don’t hesitate. I clamp down harder, twisting my body to tear into its flesh. The struggles weaken.

  [ Health: 32%… 10%… 0%. ]

  It stops moving. I swallow.

  [ Prey Consumed: Pale Sandfish ]

  [ +0.2 Adaptation Progress ]

  The warmth spreads through me, dulling the hunger for now. But my mind is elsewhere.

  Something is wrong.

  A pressure in the water. A shift in the current.

  I am not alone.

  ---

  I turn slowly, scanning the darkness. My senses sharpen. I know something is near.

  Then, I feel it.

  A heavy, steady pulse.

  [ Status Identified. ]

  ? Shadowjaw Eel

  ? Species: Deep-Sea Predator

  ? Health: 95%

  ? Condition: Hunting

  I freeze. It’s here. Already recovered. Already searching.

  It never left.

  It was waiting.

  I do not move. I press myself against the seafloor, my dark skin blending with the terrain. My heartbeat slows.

  The Shadowjaw circles.

  Closer.

  [ Status Updated. ]

  ? Condition: Searching…

  I stay still. I vanish.

  The seconds stretch into eternity.

  Then—the Shadowjaw shifts.

  [ Condition: Locking on… ]

  My mind screams a single command.

  Run.

  I explode forward, my body twisting as the Shadowjaw surges after me. The water thrashes around us. It’s faster, stronger. It closes the distance instantly.

  I jolt sideways, barely dodging as its jaws snap shut where I had been. It recovers immediately, chasing me down.

  I cannot escape.

  I have to fight.

  I twist sharply, turning to face it. The Shadowjaw lunges again, its needle-like teeth gleaming.

  I dodge left, then counterattack.

  I bite down on the side of its head, tearing into flesh.

  [ Health: 91%… 85%… ]

  It thrashes violently. A sudden burst of force slams into my side, knocking me away. I spin, trying to recover.

  The Shadowjaw lunges again.

  I dive downward, barely avoiding its bite. My tail flicks hard, propelling me behind it. I attack again, striking at its gills.

  [ Health: 72%… 65%… ]

  The Shadowjaw twists, its body snapping toward me. I react too late.

  Pain erupts along my side.

  [ Health: 74% → 49% ]

  Its teeth tear into me.

  I thrash wildly, breaking free before it can get a stronger grip. Blood seeps into the water.

  I am losing.

  I need to think.

  I need to end this now.

  I dart backward, circling around. The Shadowjaw follows, but I see it now.

  A weakness.

  Its gills.

  It needs them.

  I dive low, moving beneath it, then I strike upward.

  My teeth sink into its exposed gills.

  [ Health: 52%… 41%… 28%… ]

  The Shadowjaw writhes.

  It screeches.

  It twists, but I do not let go.

  I tear.

  Its body convulses. The water fills with blood.

  The Shadowjaw stops moving.

  [ Health: 5%… 0%. ]

  [ Predator Killed: Shadowjaw Eel ]

  [ +0.5 Adaptation Progress ]

  I let go, panting. The dead body drifts downward, vanishing into the darkness below.

  I do not chase it.

  I do not eat.

  I simply float.

  I won.

  But I do not feel victorious.

  I feel…

  Something else.

  Something new.

  Something I do not understand yet.

  But I know one thing.

  I am not the same as before.

  And neither is the abyss.

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