[Ophidia POV]

While master and the others were working on the ship, Skadi decided to take me on a date under the sea.  On the day we started, the most we did was walk in a direction with hardly any change in the scenery of rocks, sand, and the occasional giant fish.  That night we found an undersea cave to rest.  It was a strange feeling, falling asleep knowing I was underwater, but Skadi’s embrace more than made up for that.

 

When I woke up again, my head was still fuzzy.  I looked around sleepily when my eyes met Skadi’s shining red ones.  I smiled happily and wrapped my arms around her neck as I pulled her into a hug.  I nuzzled myself in the crook of her neck and let out a small chuckle.

 

“Ehehehe.  Skadi all for me.”

 

Since I have a habit of unconsciously transforming into my lamia form in my sleep sometimes, I wrapped my body around Skadi’s so she couldn’t move as I removed my head from her neck to look into her eyes again.  She had a gentle smile on her face as she freed one of her arms and started running her fingers through my hair.

 

“How’s my adorable serpent this morning?”

 

I simply smiled at her in reply.  I was about to go back to hugging her when she stopped her hand behind my head and pushed our faces closer together.  Our lips met and we both closed our eyes as we enjoyed this kiss.  Once we separated, I was completely awake.

 

“Are you fully awake now?” (Skadi)

 

“I am, but I also don’t mind just staying like this for a while if you don’t.” (Ophidia)

 

“While extremely tempting, I think we should move on.  This cave isn’t really the right kind of environment for that.” (Skadi)

 

“That’s true.” (Ophidia)

 

I uncoiled myself from Skadi and transformed into my full humanoid form.  I then held my hand out to Skadi and she took it.  I pulled her up from the ground and we went over to the mouth of the cave.

 

“So, how far exactly is it to the place you’re taking me?” (Ophidia)

 

“If we keep the same pace from yesterday, then we have about two more hours of walking.  After that we have a brief dive and we’ll be there.” (Skadi)

 

“Alright, let’s go then.” (Ophidia)

 

We left the cave and started the journey to our mysterious destination.  As we walked, I looked around at the unchanging scenery.  Just rocks and sand.  Fish would occasionally swim by but for the most part it was just us.

 

“You know, I expected to see more fish and other creatures, but there is hardly anything.” (Ophidia)

 

“Well, this isn’t the time of year that fish are in this part of the sea.  They’ll be in warmer parts closer to shore or in the even deeper parts.  These medium depth places don’t really get much activity until summer.” (Skadi)

 

“I see.” (Ophidia)

 

Soon after this little conversation, I saw a change in the scenery.  A little further in front of us was a sheer drop.  It was like someone had stabbed a sword into the ground and then pulled it out.  When we reached the edge, I looked down to see darkness.

 

“Now the fun part.  We jump.” (Skadi)

 

“Eh?” (Ophidia)

 

“Hahahaha.  Don’t worry, it’s completely safe.” (Skadi)

 

She came up behind me and picked me up in what master calls a princess carry before taking a casual step off the cliff.  We plummeted down into the deep.  I instinctively hugged Skadi tighter and closed my eyes.  After what felt like hours of falling, Skadi spoke up.

 

“Get ready.” (Skadi)

 

I slightly opened one eye and looked down to see a stream of bubbles coming towards us.  When they hit us, are falling speed slowed down to the point where we slowly floated down.

 

“Hahahahahahahahahaha!  I always loved that part.  Anyway, we’re near our destination.” (Skadi)

 

I opened my eyes once more and looked at Skadi.

 

“Skadi, at least tell me what will happen the next time we decide to jump down a deep, dark ravine.” (Ophidia)

 

“And ruin the surprise?” (Skadi)

 

“Yes.  While I know the most that would have happened is some soreness, I hate the weightless feeling of falling like that.” (Ophidia)

 

“Alright.” (Skadi)

 

She put me down and I looked up.  I could still barely see the light of the surface, but is was so dim that it looked more like an illusion than reality.  When I turned my attention back to the scenery around us, I froze.  The vista in front of us was stunning.  Brightly colored formations were everywhere.  Some gave off a mysterious glow and others let out streams of bubbles.  In places there were large ball shaped formations that gave off orange and red glows and streams of steam.  Multicolored fish and other strange looking creatures swam about.

 

“What is all of this?” (Ophidia)

 

“Hehehehe.  The beginning.  This is the entrance to the place I call the coral forest.  Once we head inside, it will be like an entirely different world than the one you’re used to.” (Skadi)

 

She grabbed my hand and started leading me in the direction of the coral forest.  As we passed by the place Skadi called the entrance, the vibrancy of the entire area increased even more.  It was a mesmerizing sight.  Corals gave off multicolored lights that lit up the area like the sun.  This light reflected off of crystalline structures that gave this place a truly otherworldly feeling.

 

“This place is beautiful.” (Ophidia)

 

“I would have agreed with you in the past, but recently, I’ve found something even more beautiful than this place.” (Skadi)

 

I turned my attention to her to see she was staring at me.  This made my heart skip a beat and I felt my face heat up.

 

“Now, let me show you around.  There are a lot of things to see here.” (Skadi)

 

She started leading me by the hand again.  The place she led me to was inside a giant coral formation.  We entered through a giant opening and in the center I saw a shiny jewel that gave off a soft purple light.  There were offshoots coming from the jewel that connected to the walls of the coral and every so often bolts of lightning shot from the jewel.

 

“This is called a lightning pearl.  It’s made of highly condensed mana kind of like a mana diamond, but it somehow was naturally imbued with lightning magic.  Normally they are as small as a normal pearl, but this one is special.  This is the reason this entire place is the way it is.  Normally coral can’t form this deep in the sea, but this giant lightning pearl made it possible.” (Skadi)

 

“It’s amazing.” (Ophidia)

 

We admired the lightning pearl for several minutes before moving on.  We walked around some of the giant corals before arriving before another hollow formation.  This one however, was surrounded by fish and other sea creatures making it look alive.

 

“That is actually a giant sea creature.  It constantly sucks in water on one side and filters plankton for its sustenance while it spits out condensed stuff that other scavenging sea creatures love.  Those scavengers, in turn, protect the main body from threats.” (Skadi)

 

“How interesting.” (Ophidia)

 

“Yep.  Now, let’s move on.” (Skadi)

 

As we walked, I asked about something that I’ve been wondering about.

 

“Skadi, what are these other crystal things that are everywhere?” (Ophidia)

 

“I honestly don’t know; they’ve always been a part of this place.  They seem like mana crystals, but also give off a more powerful feeling.  That’s why I try not to get too close to them.  When I do, it feels like I’m too close to something I shouldn’t be.” (Skadi)

 

“Then is it really safe to be here?” (Ophidia)

 

“In my mind, it’s safe as long as we don’t touch those crystals.” (Skadi)

 

“Alright.” (Ophidia)

 

As we walked, I saw something that looked out of place in this environment.  It was a massive ship that was laying broken in two.  It was bigger than all three of master’s ships combined and it was pierced here and there with massive pillars of bubbling stone.

 

“This is?” (Ophidia)

 

“An ancient shipwreck of course.  As for how a ship managed to get to this place, I have no idea, but it did.  When I first discovered this place, I was just as surprised as you are.  Now, this shipwreck is like my own little undersea retreat.  I managed to repair several places on it and then pushed all of the water out of it.  I used to come here all the time when I got bored of the surface and didn’t feel like going to the divine domain.” (Skadi)

 

“I’m impressed.  But I’m wondering what those bubbling rock spears are.” (Ophidia)

 

“They are spines from a monster that got here a long time ago.  It was after the lightning pearl, so I decided to fight it to keep it away.  During the fight it shot out those spines and hit the shipwreck.” (Skadi)

 

“What happened in the end?” (Ophidia)

 

“I killed it.  Stupid thing would just keep coming back if I didn’t.  After that, I sold its corpse to some wandering mermaid merchants.  Now that I think about it, I wonder if that thing was a menace to more than just this place?  I mean, those merchants looked at me like I was some sort of savior and when I brought that mermaid back from the pirate island, I was given a hero’s welcome.” (Skadi)

 

“How long do merfolk live anyway?” (Ophidia)

 

“About the same as elves.  And the whole monster fiasco happened about 350 years ago.” (Skadi)

 

“Well, that must mean you did something good for them.” (Ophidia)

 

“Guess so.  Now, want a tour of the place?” (Skadi)

 

“I would love one.” (Ophidia)

 

We moved to the shipwreck and went inside.  The inside of the ship was completely different than the outside.  It was covered in gold and silver and other precious materials.  There were soft carpets in every hallway and room.  It was like the people that built this ship wanted it to be a floating mansion or castle.

 

“I know what you’re thinking, and no, I was not the one that decorated this place.  It was like this when I found it and it was a pain getting everything here clean.  Especially the carpets.” (Skadi)

 

“I was actually thinking that whoever built this ship must have wanted a floating mansion or castle, not your taste in furnishing.” (Ophidia)

 

“Oh.  Well anyway, shall we go and relax a little?” (Skadi)

 

“Of course.” (Ophidia)

 

Skadi led me to a large room that had a bunch of couches and chairs set in a half circle and facing a large window.

 

“I did put that window there.  It’s made of sea glass so it can withstand the pressure of the water outside.” (Skadi)

 

“That was a good choice.  The view is quite nice.” (Ophidia)

 

We sat down on the longest couch in front of the window and looked out at the view of the coral forest.

 

“Before we get comfortable, I need to ask, but how can we breathe in this shipwreck?  If you completely sealed it off and was at one point filled with water, then there shouldn’t be any air in here, right?” (Ophidia)

 

“Thanks to some stuff the merfolk gave me.  They’ve developed magic tools that make it possible for people to breathe inside places like this.  I don’t know how they actually work, but they do, so I’ve never really questioned it.” (Skadi)

 

“As long as it works, I guess.” (Ophidia)

 

“Yep.” (Skadi)

 

We then sat in silence for a while as we watched fish swim in front of the window.  As we enjoyed each other’s company, I moved over a little causing Skadi who was leaning on my shoulder to fall.  Her head landed in my lap and I immediately started to brush her hair with my fingers.

 

“Hehehe.  How’s this for a change?  Instead of my head in your lap, it’s yours in mine.” (Ophidia)

 

“I could get used to this.  Your thighs are extremely soft and smooth.” (Skadi)

 

“Good.  Like master prides herself with her fluffiness, I pride myself with my smoothness, be it in every one of my forms.” (Ophidia)

 

“Hahaha.  That’s such a you response.” (Skadi)

 

“Why would it be anything else?  We are the only two here.  Of course, you are smooth as well, but I am smoother.” (Ophidia)

 

“Pfft.  That’s not what that means.” (Skadi)

 

Skadi started to laugh more as I was left in confusion.  I tilted my head slightly to the side as I tried to figure out what she meant when Skadi lifted her head up and kissed me.

 

“Don’t think about it too much.” (Skadi)

 

“A-alright.” (Ophidia)

 

“What are you getting all embarrassed for?  It’s not like a small kiss like that is anything that special.” (Skadi)

 

“True.  The only thing that kiss did was make me fall for you all over again.” (Ophidia)

 

“Heheh.” (Skadi)

 

She laid her head back in my lap and looked up into my eyes.

 

“Ophidia, I am truly happy that I met you.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would fall so deeply in love with someone than I did with you.  My life has been full of adventure, but after meeting you and the others, it’s taken on an all new light.” (Skadi)

 

“I can say the same about you, you know.  In the past when I was just a normal ancient serpent that guarded an ancient civilization, all I ever really cared about was when the next wyvern would try to go somewhere or if people would enter my territory to try and conquer it.  After meeting master and joining her, I had a lot of fun, and that fun increased exponentially once I met you.  It feels like the world has become more vibrant with you by my side, and I’d have it no other way.  I had always wondered what the emotion of love felt like, but I never would have thought it would feel this warm and electrifying.” (Ophidia)

 

We smiled at each other as we stared into the other’s eyes.  Skadi lifted her head once again and pulled me into a tight hug.  I hugged her back and we stayed like this for some time.  I then heard Skadi chuckle a little and she pulled the two of us down.  Once she was flat on her back, my head ended up being hugged to her chest.  The sound of her heartbeat was soothing.  Combine that with the warmth of her embrace and I immediately started to feel sleepy.

 

“Skadi, are you trying to make me fall asleep?” (Ophidia)

 

“Maybe.  I do enjoy watching you sleep after all.” (Skadi)

 

“Ahahah.  Then by all means, watch as much as you want since it will be the last time you see it for a while.” (Ophidia)

 

“Hehe.  Have a nice nap, Ophidia.” (Skadi)

 

I smiled at her as I nestled into her chest some more.  The last thing I heard as the sleepiness took hold of me was Skadi’s soft humming and a comforting feeling washing over me.

 

Chaos Realm:
Oh, I see we have a new face here.

Fenrir: Yep, Mio appeared yesterday.

Mio: Hello, I am Mio nya.

Nice to meet you in person, Mio.  My name is Payto and this is Order, my wife.  We are the owners of this place.

Order: Good day.

Mio: Thank you for allowing me to stay and spend time with Fen nya.

Of course.  You are welcome here at any time.

Order: Yes.  Please make yourself at home.

Fenrir: See Mio, I told you they were welcoming people.

Mio: I never said I didn't believe you nya, but it's nyice to actually meet them nya.