Tides of Desperation

"Are you kidding me?" Atlas said out loud while staring at the tentacle.

One insane situation after another, and he didn't even have time to think about what to do next. If this creature attacked everyone now, it would make all of their efforts to survive in vain.

Atlas couldn't stand how frustrating this trial was. No matter what he faced, it had to be the most ridiculous thing possible. The tentacle belonged to yet another squid, this time larger than the one before.

It moved through the water at an incredible pace, gliding toward the slab. Iris saw the same thing, and looked at Atlas, but instead of sharing a glance and coming up with a plan, Atlas saw fear in her eyes.

The squid was only seconds away, and Atlas knew his luck had run out. Any hope for a last-minute save was gone—no mist was going to show up, no distractions, no slab suddenly moving. It was up to him and the three people on the slab to either take down the monster or scare it off.

They each readied themselves to fight off the tentacles, knowing it would probably be a fruitless endeavor.

Atlas knew once again that his life was on the line.

The squid hurtled toward them, raising a large tentacle and slapping it down on the slab, right in the center. Atlas was surprised by the squid's strength. The slab was split in half—not like a blunt object striking it, but as if a hot knife was slicing through butter.

The impact sent both halves of the slab flying into the air, including Atlas.

He grabbed his damaged sword mid-air and tried to regain balance. Somehow, he still had a slight grip on the fractured slab with the soles of his dress shoes, which he had been wearing all this time.

He looked at the squid's eyes and got an idea. If he could get to its eye and shove his sword into it, surely the squid would retreat.

His plan was set, and he knew that now, of all moments, was the time to make a move. Just before he pushed off, he looked for Iris.

He found her doing something similar on the opposite platform, about 10 meters into the air. She was also preparing to attack the eye.

They hadn't had a chance to come up with a plan, but through sheer luck, they reached the same conclusion. Aether flowed into Atlas's legs, filling them with energy, mimicking what he had seen between Sebastian and Near.

He then pushed off with all his might, heading directly toward the squid, while on the opposite side, Iris was doing the same, both with swords in hand.

One strike through all the tentacles should be enough. At this speed, and with both of them attacking, at least one of the strikes was destined to land.

Sadly his hopes of fending off the monster quickly ended.

Instead of reaching the heroic moment where he slid through the tentacles and won, reality hit him.

He was still weak. Weak and pathetic, a prey who could be killed with a simple flick.

The squid raised a tentacle, grabbing both him and Iris out of the air at the same time. It then lifted them high, one on the left and one on the right, holding them there for a second.

Atlas was trapped and tried to warp away, but the squid's grip was simply to strong. His ability wasn't working.

It felt like the grip wasn't just squeezing him but also squeezing the ability out of him, making him powerless.

Atlas felt fear grip his heart. All the moments leading up to this seemed pointless.

He wanted to live. He wanted to go back to his house in the real world and enjoy his life as a librarian.

He wanted to show off his powers to his coworkers and maybe even become an official Challenger of the Door trials.

The grip tightened so much that Atlas's ribs felt like they were about to explode, and a lack of oxygen became more apparent. Just before he was squeezed to death, the squid loosened its grip enough for Atlas to feel his technique return.

Atlas instantly warped out, landing on the outside of the tentacle rather than inside.

This made Atlas elated to be alive, but his thoughts quickly shifted to Iris, who was still trapped by the same type of tentacle. In his mind, he had two choices: leave and try to save himself, or attempt a desperate rescue.

His weapon was already gone from his hands, and he knew using his fists would be futile. Instead, Atlas relied on instinct.

He rushed every fiber of Aether into his legs and pushed off the tentacle he was standing on.

The direction he chose wasn't towards Iris, but towards the platforms on the ground. He landed with a thud and rolled toward the edge. Sliding, Atlas finally saw what he was looking for in the water. Sticking close to the slab was the arm of one of the attackers from earlier.

He grabbed it, not worrying about the reality of holding a dead man's hand, and reached for his pocket.

Atlas was glad to have kept one thing with him just in case this scenario arose.

What he pulled out was beautiful, a stark contrast to the chaos around him.

It was the Flower!

The same one the rabbit ate before it collapsed, giving Atlas a chance to kill it.

He stuffed the whole flower into the arm and started his plan. Once again, he channeled as much Aether as he could into his leg muscles and pushed back towards the squid. The waves caused by the creature's actions made it even trickier than before. He had to close the gap to the squid while dodging waves and tentacles.

Atlas knew he didn't have much time if he wanted to save Iris, but Iris came second to his own survival. In fact, she came third—he even placed keeping his limbs intact before her.

To him, Iris may have saved him, but he didn't feel an ounce of wanting to give reciprocation. He was only doing this because now was the best opportunity.

The squid's tentacles were still flailing in the waves, shoving the remains of fallen people into its mouth, one after another. Pieces of the cracked slab also entered the creature's mouth.

Atlas had nothing left to do but hope and pray.

Mid-air, still closing the distance, a tentacle swung at him. Finally, he was forced to use his warping ability and blinked to the side of the large tentacle. He had to blink a full two meters away due to the tentacle's width.

He was then met with a wave about to crash into him, slowing his momentum. This time, he couldn't blink through it—the wave was too thick. Instead, he tried something different. He blinked upward.

Sensing the Aether in the air, he made a connection with his core and tried to place himself a meter above his current height. Suddenly, he felt it.

The Aether in his body reacted, and he was folded into the space above him. The sensation drained his Core significantly, using four times the amount it took to blink two meters forward.

Atlas was worried about what would happen next, and the fatigue was already building up.

He was now almost at the squid's body, still flying. The momentum he used to push off remained through his blinks, rapidly closing the distance.

But Atlas didn't need to land on the squid for his plan to work. He just needed to get close enough.

Atlas used almost every last drop of Aether in his core, channeling it into his arms. Reeling back, he threw the arm he was holding directly at the squid's mouth.

The squid didn't seem to care and swallowed it easily.

Atlas, still in mid-air, was forced to land. He hit the squid's squishy body and bounced off.

As he started sliding off the edge, he channeled the last droplet of Aether into his fingers and tried to dig in. But it was no use. A monster like this was simply too tough. Even if he had a sword no even if he had ten thousand swords, nothing could pierce it.

With nothing left to stop his descent, Atlas slid off the side of the squid, directly into the mass of swirling tentacles.