Mira, Maria, and Celaine began their underwater after talking about what their next move will be.
They wanted to split up, but there were so many reasons not to do that, and decided to just stick next to each other while traveling.
The biggest reason for this is how dark it is underwater. Even going a few hundred meters underwater is almost pitch black and there is essentially no light the farther down they go. They can only rely on Maria's light element to help them search or lookout for enemies.
The ocean can be considered one of humanity's greatest enemies, no matter what world you're in. Throughout history, even in some of the more primitive worlds she lived on, the sea was always mysterious and dangerous.
There are always stories about legendary creatures coming out of the ocean and slaughtering a bunch of people or travelers going out to sea only to never be found again, divers going down to explore only to die mysteriously or return to the surface in small chunks.
Mira also knew that creatures that grow up in the ocean evolve faster than those on land. Even creatures that have no cultivation can grow up to 50 meters and hundreds of thousands of kilograms.
She can't imagine what sort of creatures lay within the ocean in a cultivation world. The only thing she can think of is things beyond her imagination.
When she was explaining what she knew about the ocean to Maria and Celaine, they could sense her reluctance and slight aversion towards the sea. They knew that Mira rarely feared things so if she didn't like the ocean, that just further proves how terrifying it is.
They had no idea what might be lurking in these dark waters, but they were in a state of awareness at all times. They didn't want to be swimming through the ocean only to be chomped in half by some unknown entity.
They moved extremely slow since they would often go back up to the surface to check their surroundings. The sky never changed with the sun beating down on them, but they instinctually knew which way to go thanks to Kayda's path.
They often came across strange creatures while moving underwater, but Mira just assumed that it was probably because of Maria's light that was constantly searching for things.
They weren't particularly tough and were dealt with swiftly, but they knew that if they let down their guard against them, they might have a leg or an arm taken from them.
The only worrying thing is that they haven't found any large predators yet. It might sound good, but it was utterly terrifying for nothing strong to attack them as they always felt like they were being watched. Well, maybe not watched since that's rather hard with how deep they are, but they could tell that something was always inspecting them.
One of the problems came from the fact that they couldn't tell where it was coming from. Or maybe it was coming from all around them? That's what's scary about the ocean.
Mira went ahead and made a small Ice Barrier around them.
While making the barrier around them, Mira also tried making something like a submarine but found it to be either useless or less efficient. Keeping the water out of the Ice Barrier was a problem in they wanted to move and even if Mira used her Qi to try and propel the makeshift submarine it wouldn't move very fast.
They also tried testing Celaine's wind element, but they'd have to make small holes in the ice which would cause water to enter.
Therefore, Mira just ended up making something akin to an Ice mesh barrier to alert them if any enemies approach.
***
The three of them didn't know how long they've spent swimming in this ocean, but they felt like nothing here can actually be of use to them even with how large this place is Or more specifically, there is nothing other than things trying to kill them in this massive ocean.
The attacks started increasing the further they went and they also had to avoid massive whirlpools underwater, water spouts and storms above water, or weird currents tried to drag them along.
The number of things trying to kill them increased and they found that nowhere was safe. Above the water were monstrous waves that had a height of several kilometers along with storms that would last for days at the very least.
Under the water had crazy sea creatures that were constantly trying to kill them and to make matters worse, whenever they did kill something more creatures would come! That's not even the worst of it!
Sometimes they'd come across something that looks like a cave, there will be walls that look like rock and even small items or skeletons in it only for it to turn out to be the mouth of a massive creature. They would end up having to dig their way out of this beast since as soon as they would enter they'd be stuck.
Occasionally, they'd spot an area in the ocean that seemed to produce some light. And being deep in an ocean that's pitch black makes it hard to avoid these things. You never know, maybe it's some type of treasure. Therefore, they'd always check out these lights, but every time they'd end up getting attacked by a fish that was at least 100 meters long and 50 meters tall. The light would dangle in its mouth and wait for its prey. If it didn't catch its prey then it would lash its tongue out like a frog and try to grab it.
They almost got nabbed the first time this happened, but after the 5th time they got pretty used to it and these creatures became rather easy to take down. They weren't fast nor tough, but their teeth and jaws were incredibly strong and sharp.
There were also sharks, tentacle monsters, schools of fish that would attack them in the thousands, plants, and even things that they'd mistake for rocks would attack them. Nothing was safe and even the things that looked safe weren't. Sometimes smaller creatures would secrete some kind of poison or paralysis or others would try and leech off of their blood.
They tried exploring a bit deeper into the ocean, but the three of them got whapped by something and ended up breaking quite a few bones and rupturing some internal organs. Luckily their bodies were much stronger than before or they might've turned into mean paste without even knowing what hit them.
With nowhere to go and hide, the only thing they can do is keep moving forward. Though this was easier said than done as they'd often lose their way after being attacked or dragged along by a current and would end up having to backtrack.
Currently, they were swimming underwater at a much faster pace than they started with. All three of their expressions said, 'Fuck!! Just get me out of this place! Dammit!'.They'd rather be swimming in magma than through this goddamn ocean.
One good thing though is that their eyesight is starting to adjust to their pitch-black surroundings. This is mainly due to them agreeing on not using Maria's light as much because they are attacked nonstop by sea creatures.
After traveling for an unknown amount of time something interesting finally happened that wasn't them being attacked.
"Gurgle… @#%^$!..."
…
The three of them looked at each other when they heard some strange language.
"@#$%^! @#%^$!"
Mira's expression said 'What the fuck?' while the other two had question marks floating above their head. Being unable to talk underwater is such a pain in the ass...
The three of them readied their weapons and waited for whatever was seemingly speaking to them to come.
Off in the distance, they noticed a bright light pointed in their direction and a group of 5 beings approaching them.
Celaine and Maria might not know what was coming towards them, but Mira knew of them. They were creatures in every man's fantasy, often depicted in mythology or stories. They are usually extremely beautiful or handsome and can live both on land and underwater.
'Mermaids…?'
