As the creature poised itself for another attack, Ty locked his gaze on it, bracing for the impending strike. But instead of waiting for the creature to make its move, he acted first.
With a burst of speed, he propelled himself out of the water, escaping the creature’s grasp.
Above the surface, Ty found the man with the eyepatch floating casually on a small silhouette of smoke, lounging as if on an invisible bed. He seemed oddly relaxed, gazing up at the night sky where distant fireworks provided a faint backdrop of noise.
"Took you long enough," the man said lazily, turning his gaze towards Ty. "I thought you might have drowned and died down there.
That would have been quite the anticlimactic end, you know." His voice carried a blend of sarcasm and what seemed like a hint of genuine concern.
Ty, still catching his breath, was momentarily taken aback by the sight of his bare arm, the sleeve missing from his previously intact clothing. "Hey, hey, hey, what were you doing down there anyway?" he asked, confusion and worry edging his voice.
The situation had taken a bizarre turn, and Ty was trying to piece together the man’s motives and the nature of the threat they were facing.
Ty set his jaw and declared, "I think it’s time I test something out." The water around his feet started to bubble, signaling the move before he made it. A red glare flickered off the water’s surface, adding urgency to his words.
"Let’s go ahead and test your speed," Ty challenged, as he surged forward. His black flames ignited, propelling him at a blistering speed towards the man with the eyepatch.
He lunged and grabbed the man’s wrist just as the creature burst out of the water, its massive jaws open wide, threatening to engulf them both.
The man, caught in Ty’s grip, transformed his wrist into a vapor of smoke and slipped free. Unfazed, Ty used the momentum to drive a flame-enhanced punch directly into the man’s face.
The impact resounded through the air, and Ty slid back on a stream of smoke, putting some distance between them.
But their momentary duel was cut short as the creature lunged forward, snapping its jaws shut around the space where Ty and the man had just been.
Believing it had successfully captured Ty, the creature dove back into the water. However, its victory was short-lived. Pain soon wracked its body as smoke began to seep from its jaws.
A tooth broke free, followed by a burst of bones erupting from within, revealing Ty’s counterattack. The creature, overwhelmed by pain and confusion, let out a piercing cry.
Inside the water, Ty quickly reassembled himself, noticing a slight change. "I think I got a bit taller again," he mused to himself, a brief moment of levity amidst the chaos.
His attention then snapped back to the creature, its bloodshot red eyes locked on him with anger and fear.
Ty drove his skeletal fist directly into the creature. The impact sent a jolt through its body, and electricity coursed through Ty’s skeleton, intensifying the blow.
Startled and injured, the creature turned and fled into the depths of the ocean.
Ty, reeling from the sudden and brutal attack, struggled to maintain his composure. The man with the eyepatch, emerging from a cloud of smoke, had pierced Ty’s skin with a spike-like projection, stabbing into his stomach and chest.
The man reformed from the smoke, standing in front of Ty with that same ugly calm.
Blood trickled from Ty’s mouth as he gasped for air. The man taunted him, "Perhaps you can regenerate indefinitely, but you aren’t as special as you think you are." He blew a stream of smoke into Ty’s face, further disorienting him.
Ty, driven by instinct and determination, attempted to counter with a punch. The man answered first, delivering a sharp elbow to Ty’s chin and forcing his head to snap back.
He then slammed an open palm into Ty’s chest, engulfing him in a tightening grip of smoke and a mysterious black light.
The man’s voice went cold as he declared, "Let’s see if you can escape the bottom of the ocean inside an unbreakable barrier."
Raising his hand, he made a chopping motion at the top of the black light surrounding Ty, sending him plummeting back into the water.
The force of the motion dragged Ty deeper and deeper, the pressure of the water intensifying around him as he descended rapidly into the ocean’s dark depths.
As Ty continued his rapid descent towards the ocean floor, his mind raced through every possibility. How could he escape this trap? He hadn’t even seen his weapon since the encounter began.
The thought occurred to him -- could the man’s cigarette be the source of his power?
In desperation, Ty punched at the barrier surrounding him. Each strike bounced off, the energy reflecting back at him and compounding his frustration.
He cursed under his breath as he finally slammed into the ocean floor, pressure and darkness closing around him. The barrier gave no sound, no breath, no answer, only the steady squeeze of the deep.
The trap was ugly. The thought of being pinned under the water forever pressed against his mind.
This was not a fight anymore. This was being buried alive under the sea, and fear shoved everything else out of his head.
Then light appeared in the murk, gold and distant. It moved towards him, brightening with every second.
Ty focused on the light, wondering what it could be.
Even without lungs begging for air, the weight of the ocean made every second feel borrowed.
As the gold light hurtled towards him at an alarming speed, Ty braced for impact and raised his arms in defense. The object revealed itself to be the Kama Blade he had acquired at the Cathedral.
The blade, glowing with a golden aura, collided with the barrier surrounding Ty. To his astonishment, the impact caused cracks to spiderweb across the barrier’s surface.
The Kama Blade bit into the barrier and held, opening a visible fissure.