Fifteen minutes later, Tyrone had the urge to toss the fishing rod into the lake water out of pure frustration.

His sharp gaze narrowed at the floating Spryta.

Every minute on the dot, Tyrone would feel something tug at his fishing line, no doubt a large fish judging by the strength of the tug; however, every time he went for the catch, nothing would remain on the line.

After the third minute of such an incident, he spun around to eye Spryta who was floating languidly in the lake’s water.

She glanced at him, directing a knowing and mischievous smirk in his direction.

‘She knows something!’ he thought frustrated.

It was hard not to blame Spryta for something when she always wore a teasing smile that screamed ‘I know something you don’t’.

And hence started the building frustration within Tyrone…

Tyrone instantly grew suspicious of Spryta and decided to observe her all the time, but such an action caused any tugging on his line to cease.

Still, when he didn’t pay attention to Spryta, the tugging on the line would continue but he was not able to catch anything regardless.

It was as if the fishes were giving him an ultimatum – either stare at Spryta and we stop biting, or don’t look at Spryta and we tug on the line, but either way you won’t catch us.

Tyrone even had the thought to grab a bucket from somewhere and empty the lake one bucket full at a time…

Such was the extent of his frustration, it gave birth to illogical thoughts that he usually suppressed.

It also didn’t help that his stomach was aching for sustenance…

After fifteen minutes of such treatment, Tyrone tossed his fishing pole on the ground and pointed at Spryta angrily.

Since coming to the 1940s, he had been captured by police, forced to deal with no internet, almost assassinated, exploded in an ambulance, and now some fishes were trying to fuck with him!?

The fishes were the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

“What are you doing!?” he demanded angrily, walking a bit into the water, gathering water in his hands, and tossing it at Spryta.

It was a childish retaliation, but it was a retaliation nonetheless.

Actually, a small part of Tyrone was happy for the distraction since his mind would usually be filled with everything that was going wrong with his life.

However, right now he was only frustrated by annoying fishes, which was completely normal for fishers.

Spryta still floated nonchalantly, placing her index finger beneath her chin to demonstrate her confusion like an Oscar-winning actress “Whatever do you mean, Ty?”

Tyrone retreated from the water, picked the fishing pole from the ground, and shook it to check if it was real “Did you do something to the pole? Is it real… maybe you cursed it?”

He wasn’t entirely sure how Spryta’s mutant ability worked but he had a strong feeling that she was the constant cause of the elusive fishes in the lake.

“Hehe he he he he… haha haha haha…” Spryta couldn’t help but giggle at Tyrone’s accusations.

She reveled in the moments of Tyrone’s frustration and confusion…

Those were the moments when his darkness would flare and Spryta found the dark smoke intriguing.

However, while Spryta reveled in his discomfort, Tyrone lost himself in Spryta’s beautiful smile, and he wasn’t the only one since even the trees seemed to wiggle in joy at hearing Spryta’s beautiful laugh.

“You’re beautiful…” Tyrone murmured unconsciously, but the intention with which he complimented Spryta was tinted with sadness as if complimenting her beauty brought him pain.

“Does it hurt to find the world beautiful once more?” she asked probingly, trying to hide the disappointment in her eyes.

As a girl, she loved being complimented by someone as handsome as Tyrone, but she also felt undeniable disgust since she knew Tyrone was comparing her beauty to Jessica’s.

Spryta knew that Tyrone was unable to associate the word beauty with anyone but Jessica, so when he said beautiful, what he truly meant was ‘compared to Jessica’.

Tyrone sighed, turning his back to the floating Spryta, not willing to continue a discussion that would bring him only sadness “Just stop doing whatever you’re doing…”

Spryta felt a pang of unwillingness mixed with anger; she couldn’t stomach the thought that Tyrone would think of someone else while spending time with her.

She didn’t particularly like Tyrone but she still had a sin that all humans possessed – pride.

Spryta’s eyes narrowed and she spun her body to swim further toward the center of the lake…

“Let me tell you a story Tyrone…” she whispered, getting further away but Tyrone still heard her voice as if it was whispered directly next to his ears “There was once a city… one of the greatest cities mankind had ever created…

The place stood proud and basked in the glory of the Gods, but they didn’t grow complacent at all… they sought to share the knowledge of their marvels with the world…

But a group decided not to learn the knowledge, they decided that all men should be equal so they destroyed the city so that nobody could have it…

You see, if someone can’t make something themselves, then they expect you to get rid of whatever you made… ‘It is only fair; it is only just.’ They said.

And so the city sunk to the bottom of the ocean, away from even the sights of the Gods… but they didn’t die and instead adapted to the cold waters of the oceans…

After a couple of years, they sought to know the men above the waters once more… they missed the home that didn’t love them back…

So they linked secret entrances to their kingdom in the oceans, lakes, and rivers of the surface world to shorten the gap between mankind and the water-dwellers…” Spryta paused when she had reached the center of the lake and giggled foolishly “But sadly, I forgot how the story ends but I bet it didn’t end well for them…”

Tyrone was slightly engrossed with the story so he hoped for a better end than 'I don’t know the rest', but alas, it was just like Spryta to leave things on a cliffhanger.

He spun around, expecting to see the mischievous girl floating somewhere in the lake but she was nowhere to be found.

The only thing he could see were a couple bubbles rising to the surface at the center of the lake, clearly denoting that she presided somewhere below the waters.

Of course, he was already used to her tricks so he didn’t have cause for concern at first, but as the bubbles stopped rising to the surface and Spryta was nowhere to be seen after a minute, stray thoughts started to plague his mind.

Tyrone stood on at the shore of the lake, staring intently at the water for another minute until he finally detected an all-too-familiar scent rising to the surface– the scent of fear.

His body froze in place and his mind trembled…

His breathing quickened, and his hands clenched into stiffened fists as if electricity was passing through them.

His consciousness felt faint as if detached from the rest of his body, but his nose still indulged in the scent of fear from the lake…

Fear was supposed to have no scent, taste, or feel, but Tyrone could feel fear on his skin, taste it in the air, and smell it from miles away…

How could he?

Very simple, to Tyrone, fear felt like the moment Billy died…

Fear tastes like the distinct iron of fresh blood…

Fear smelt like letting go… like the moment something precious slipped through your fingers for the first time…

Like a mother clinging to her daughter, but the daughter still slipped through her fingers…

Like a kid shooting the final shot of a basketball game with scholarship scouts nearby but coming up short…

Like borderline close to death but not nearly as profound…

“Are you just going to let her go?”

“What?”

“Are you just going to let her go?” the voice asked once more, causing Tyrone to focus on the teenage girl standing in front of him – Jessica.

“Wha-How?” Tyrone struggled to speak coherently.

Suddenly, the lake was no more and flames clouded his vision for as far as the eyes could see.

The ground beneath his feet trembled as the structure he was standing in started to collapse, and of course, he knew which building he was in – the Outreach Center.

Jessica stood in front of him, looking him in the eyes with a gaze he could not determine.

After all, he had never seen her wear such an expression before, perhaps it was something specifically reserved for the dead?

“Then answer…” Jessica urged, pointing at the place of Tyrone’s heart “Are you just going to let her go?”

Tyrone placed his hand over Jessica’s hand, and subsequently his heart as he replied “Never! I would never let you go!”

“Then swim…” Jessica whispered.

“What?” Tyrone replied confused “Swim?”

“Then SWIM!” Jessica screamed as Tyrone’s vision collapsed into smoky darkness, revealing the lake of just moments ago.

He didn’t waste a single second wondering what was happening, the only directive in Tyrone’s mind was what Jessica last said ‘SWIM!’…

Two quick steps from the shore and Tyrone leaped into the air with his legs that were primed for basketball dunks, sending him leaping nearly four meters into the water.

He quickly took on a diving position, breaking the water with the tips of his fingers as he quickly sank, leaving behind only a small disturbance and some bubbles in the calm lake.

At first glance, the lake appeared relatively shallow but opening his eyes below the water, Tyrone was greeted by an expanse of transparent water that seemed to not bend any sunlight.

Actually, sunlight didn’t seem to break the surface, giving Tyrone the impression that the lake’s water was somehow bright all on its own.

Still, not thinking too deeply about the philosophical nature of water, Tyrone followed the scent of fear as he dove deeper and deeper, swimming as fast as he could which would probably rival the world’s best swimmers.

He could see from one end of the lake to the other end due to the transparency of the water, and there was no sight of Spryta.

A few stray bubbles escaped his mouth at the three-minute mark, telling Tyrone that he had about a minute maximum before he was forced to take a breath.

Thankfully, he had arrived at the origin of the fear he smelt with a couple of seconds to spare…

There was a monument at the bottom of the lake that resembled an egress door, just much larger and much more ancient.

The doors were made from grey stone that had bright red runes carved into the surface…

The doors also took up almost twenty meters…

Glancing at the runes carved on the door, Tyrone had the distinct impression that a group of people used their fingers to create everything…

‘Imagine the desperation…’ he thought sadly.

However, the only thing that concerned Tyrone was the scent of fear lingering behind the doors – the scent of unbridled, toxic terror.

Tyrone placed his palm on the door, hoping to budge it open with strength alone but instead, he felt as if he was being drained of everything precious to him.

He felt strangely empty since coming to the 1940s in a freak accidental awakening of his mutant ability, but since then he could tell that his mutant ability was dormant somehow.

Like his ability was recharging, searching for a power source, and failing… at least, it was failing until he met Spryta and gained a sense of normalcy once more…

Now, that sense of normalcy was exactly what caused the runes on the egress door to light up, draining away all the sense of stability Tyrone had gathered since spending time with Spryta.

The egress door flashed with black light and a ripple spread outwards that turned the lake into an expanse of slightly less transparent blue with corals on the left like a garden.

Still, where the corals came to an end, distinct abyssal darkness came into view on his right.

It was like he stood before a border of some kind, just a single step could take him into the depths of hell without a way to make it back to the mortal world.

‘Come…’

Tyrone heard a sweet whisper filled with darkness that made his blood boil in anticipation…

A sudden pressure assaulted his entire body alongside the frigid temperature of the ocean’s depth causing Tyrone to snap his eyes closed.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Tyrone had been transported to the deepest depths of the ocean, but still, he didn’t instantly die as any human at such deep depths was destined to.

The excruciating pain forced Tyrone to open his mouth for a yell that made no sound, only bubbles that were destined for a lonely journey to the surface.

‘Come…’

With another whisper of temptation from the overlapping voices, Tyrone felt the pain ease a bit and his body started to move in the direction of pain relief on instinct.

His bones broke and blood seeped from his orifices and dyed the water blood-black, but Tyrone still managed to persevere…

He waved his arms randomly in one direction until he was sure the voice was right ahead…

‘Come…’

One final push and Tyrone found himself next to the source of a darkness that made his blood boil…

Without any hesitation, Tyrone extended his hands, firmly gripping an object with jagged edges but a smooth overall surface, kind of like a diamond crystal.

‘What are you?’ Tyrone wondered, feeling energy return to his weakened body.

‘The Unforgotten Stone…’

‘What is the Unforgotten Stone?’

‘They call us the malice, darkness, power, and souls of The Great Old Ones… sealed away thousands of years ago with the advent of the first Atlanteans of Earth and Vodan…

But Vodan exists no more and the current Atlanteans are too weak to restrain our might… Hence, the Unforgotten Stone will reign terror once more…’

‘The Great Old Ones?’ Tyrone asked confused, still not entirely conscious due to the water pressure, but his mind was becoming more lucid every second.

‘The Elder Gods as you humans refer to us…’

Finally regaining the minimum consciousness required to realize what was happening, Tyrone opened his eyes and attempted to pull his hands away from the Unforgotten Stone, but his arms would not budge.

‘Now lose your mind and submit to the malice of The Elder Gods!’ The Unforgotten Stone hissed maliciously, sending a potent wave of dark, eldritch energy into Tyrone’s body.

Tyrone was scared and frightened beyond belief until he realized that nothing happened for two minutes after receiving the potent energy into his body.

The Unforgotten Stone sent another burst of dark, eldritch energy into Tyrone’s body but it disappeared like a drop of water in an infinite well, barely satiating the hunger of Tyrone’s mutant ability.

Realizing that he was immune to whatever malicious plot the Unforgotten Stone had attempted, Tyrone reaffirmed his grip on the stone, while the stone pulsed with dark shockwaves attempting to toss him away.

The roles had reversed in mere moments.

The longer he held the stone, the darker Tyrone’s veins became so he was sure that the stone provided his mutant ability with a power source, but his body could not contain that power so there would only be one inevitable outcome – his death.

Still, he didn’t relent and held the Unforgotten Stone firmly in his grasp, and when the energy stopped being supplied, his ability reacted on instinct to extract the energy forcefully.

“STOP! STOP! STOP HUMAN!” The Unforgotten Stone no longer whispered thoughts into Tyrone’s mind, instead opting to shout powerfully through the ocean currents.

BOOOOOOOOOM

With a final concentrated blast from the Unforgotten Stone, Tyrone felt the water pressure increase, tossing him away from the stone into the garden of corals.

Gardens would usually bring about the thoughts of soft flowers but a garden of corals was as hard as rocks, shattering on Tyrone’s back and leaving numerous scars as he rocketed through the water.

However, the pain of colliding with corals was secondary to the pressure Tyrone felt from being at the bottom of the ocean.

The crushing pressure of the water came back with renewed vigor, but Tyrone found himself barely able to cope, preserving his life for a couple more minutes at most.

Still, it seemed the Unforgotten Stone was fearful of Tyrone to the point of madness.

Not giving Tyrone the chance to die slowly, another dark pulse of energy exited the Unforgotten Stone, warping several small fishes near Tyrone into monstrosities of legend.

Tyrone wailed in pain as the once small fishes, now as large as sharks, bit into his arms and legs.

Thankfully, his mutant ability also worked along with his survival instincts…

It also didn’t help that the shark-like-fishes had a taste of his toxic blood, weakening them further…

Within a couple of seconds, Tyrone’s felt his wounds slowly healing as the fishes died, expelling black mist from their bodies that allowed his wounds to heal faster.

It was the first time that Tyrone had some conscious control of his mutant ability, and honestly, he still wasn’t sure exactly what his mutant ability was…

Neither was he given time to figure it out since a massive stone fin batted him dozens of feet away the next moment.

Water resistance made no difference since Tyrone felt like he was being tossed in the air and not water, such was the power of the blow.

Tyrone barely managed to flail his arms around, balancing himself upright in the water before a pair of massive pincers were on either side of his neck, ready to separate his head from the rest of his body.

Tyrone knew he was about to die, but his thoughts at the moment were strangely comical…

‘If I have immortality like I was told, what type of immortality is it? Will my head grow a new body or will my body grow a new head? What if they both grew new parts, will there be two Tyrones?

Or maybe I reincarnate… maybe my body disappears and appears at the last safe checkpoint… did I even place a checkpoint somewhere? Fuck! I forgot to place a checkpoint…’

Of course, hypoxia may have been the primary influencer of Tyrone’s thoughts…

The pin closed and Tyrone’s eyes also closed simultaneously…

There was a strange whistle and then a burst of boiling water that felt comfortable in the cold depths of the ocean.

Tyrone felt something fast appearing at his back, it was so fast that it created friction with the water at the coldest depths of the ocean.

Tyrone cracked open his eyes to witness an enormous Dark creature that seemed eerily similar to a fish-crab hybrid.

Earlier he thought that two species were attacking him, but as it turned out, it was only the Dark Crab that had both pincers and fins.

However, even more, surprising were the two slender arms that stretched from behind him, grasping the pincers of the mutated Dark Crab, keeping it from killing him.

A quick glance behind Tyrone was greeted by a blonde-haired, about 5’11”, blue-skinned, female teenager that looked down at him with perplexity and curiosity.

“A human?” She asked curiously, but Tyrone failed to reply due to the pressure of the water coupled with the fact that he was underwater.

Noticing the fact that Tyrone was uncomfortable, the girl bumped her head into Tyrone’s and he instantly felt the pressure on his body disappear.

He could also breathe and speak, although with some difficulty…

“What are you?” Tyrone asked wearily, but he didn’t get a reply since the girl’s hands started to get infected with black wisps of darkness from the Dark Crab.