Myra's eyes slowly opened as she looked around. But then they shot wide as she found herself in a strange place. Floating... Can barely see anything..
"What is this... Where am I...?" She opened her mouth to speak, but bubbles came out. At this moment, she realized she's underwater.
She panicked as she tried to swim to the bright light up above, now tinted in a blue hue from the water.
But it was too far away. Myra's arms and legs gave out as she thought this is it.. Whoever killed those creatures, must have thrown her in the ocean, to make sure she can't tell anyone what she saw.
She waited for her doom as tears welled up in her eyes, though quickly being washed away by the ocean water.
She recalled the last day of her life. The report card. The irony, how she thought she's gonna spend another year of her life in school, turns out she's gonna spend it in the afterlife.
She recalled the phone call from her mother... And how she ignored it, a wave of guilt washed over her. She thought it's her fault.
Had she answered the call.. She could've found this out early... She could've called for help. She could've saved them—So she thought.
Then... Myra looked around. Expecting herself to be unconscious by now, her lungs filled with water as she fell into a deep sleep she would never wake from.
But.. She's still alive. She still has breath... She still can breathe...
"What's going on?" She asked herself silently as she swam forth. Looking around the deep darkness she's in.
Except, that deep darkness looked bright to her. Shouldn't it be dark? She's so deep underwater. How can light reach so deep?
She wiped her tears then looked up again. The light felt unnatural. It wasn't that way the many times she went diving with her friends. Could it be...?
She looked at her hand, it felt bright.. Brighter than usual. At that moment, Myra realized. It's not that the light reaches so deep.. It's that she can somehow see in the dark. So suddenly.
"What the...?" she spoke out, bubbles spewing out of her mouth as she did so. Yet, as the water filled her mouth and slid down her air pipes—She didn't cough.. Didn't choke.. Didn't feel damaged at all.
"This is so weird..." She thought to herself as she swam downwards.
As she went deeper and deeper, she noticed something strange—There was something falling down.
Weapons, shields, instruments, statues, and many other objects were slowly descending from the surface of the ocean.
"The hell?" She swam upwards quickly, to see where those objects are coming from.
[Long after.]
And after what felt like an eternity, Myra had finally reached the surface.
"There we go!" she thrusted her head out of the water, almost forgetting the feeling of pure air against her face as she took a long liberated breath.
She then noticed that those objects were still calling from much higher above. From the sky.
She looked up and saw similar objects hurtling down from above and splashing against the water as their descension slowed down massively.
"All for nothing.." She muttered. Thinking the amount of time she spent swimming upwards was useless.
But she quickly was proved wrong as she noticed something floating far away on the surface of the water.
"What's that?" She thought to herself as she swam over. The closer she was, the eerier things felt.
Eventually, she was close enough to make out what that object was. It was a box.. A small wooden box.
It looks really intricately designed, with a valuable looking shiny orb on top, a golden keyhole on the front.
"What's this...?" She reached out for it. And the second her finger brushed against it—A sudden bright light filled her vision.
She screamed out and shut her eyes tightly, but the light was still there. She suddenly heard a soft voice.
"You are a myth."
The voice echoes through her mind over and over and over again, as if telling her to change her thoughts about her own existence.
Myra gasped and opened her eyes, finding herself completely dry. Sitting on a solid surface.
"Wha-" She looked around and found herself in a strange place. On a soft bed, In a bright room.
The walls were ornately rippling through black and red. The floor had unique shapes on each tile.
The roof had a strange symbol on it. It looked like a large wave and a dragon crashing against each other, forming and sinuous "M" shape with a small star at the dead center.
She looked down and noticed a cannula embedded into the back of her right hand. She understood that she's in a hospital. But why does it look that way?
"Was this all a dream?" She questioned as her gaze landed on a person. A woman.
"Finally up? Are you feeling well?" The woman asked in a calm, soothing voice.
Myra's eyes widened at the sight of that woman. She's beautiful... Long brown hair that reaches her lower back, with tips that fade to red.
A slightly above-average height with curves in just the right spots.
She was clad in a white coat, with a black top under it. The same "M" shape on the roof was also on that woman's chest. As well as some tight-fitting white jeans with a black belt that had a gold-yellow hook that also took on the same "M" shape.
She smiled, her plump glossy lips glistened under the light. "I'm glad you're alright."
She stood up and approached her. The scent of herbs and medicinal drugs emanated from her coat. Taking a look at the screen next to her, checking her vitals, before looking back at Myra.
"Who are you...? Where am I...?" Myra asked in fear and confusion.
"My name is Hibiki Amagishi. I'm the head doctress here. And you're in the treatment sector in the Mariana." She smiled and put a hand on her head.
"Mr. Kannazaki saved you, and brought you here for treatment. You're safe now, young one."
She stared at her in confusion, as if she's speaking gibberish. Treatment sector? Mariana? Kannazaki? Is this some secret society of sorts?
"T-.. The Mariana...?" Myra asked, her voice hoarse and shaky from the fear of the unknown.
"Yes, The Mariana." Hibiki replied with a smile. "'Tis an organization that serves to protect this world from the very monsters you've faced. The drowned."
Myra's eyes widened in confusion. "The drowned?"
Hibiki nodded. "Yes, the drowned. That is what we call those vile beings."
She looked down in shock. "That means.. There are more of those.. Things...?"
Hibiki was about to answer her. But her words were cut off.
"Yes indeedy!~" A loud voice echoed through the room as the convoluted black and red door slid open on its own. Giving way to the same person that saved her. Rei Kannazaki.
"Heya, kid!" He said with a grin as he waved at her.
"W-.. Who are you...?" Myra stared at him in confusion and slight fear.
"Name's Rei. I'm the knight in shining armor that saved ya." He sat down in front of her. Resting his right arm on the backrest of the chair and leaning back.
Hibiki sighed. "Rei, please learn how to treat a traumatized patient." She reached out and smacked him on the back of the head.
"Rude!" Said Rei as he rubbed his head in pain.
Hibiki then stood up. "Well, I'll leave you to explain to her everything important. And Behave." She said that last word in a rather scary tone, even Rei shivered slightly at it.
"Will do..." Rei muttered as he looked back at Myra. Who was just staring at them both in shock.
"What the hell is going on!?" She yelled out to Rei in confusion and fear.
"Alright, alright." Rei leaned back. "I guess I do owe ya an explanation on everything that happened."
He pulled a chocolate bar out of his jacket pocket, unwrapped it and took a bite. "What you saw earlier, were known as the drowned." He spoke with food in his mouth as he offered her a bite.
She stared at him with a deadpanned expression. "Yeah, she already told me that." She pushed his hand back. Declining the chocolate.
"Dammit, way to take the cool part, Angel of Mercy.." He muttered. "Welp, for more detail then!"
He put the half-eaten chocolate bar aside and leaned forward.
"You see.. If you hit the books.. You'd know that in the underworld, there are three big levels." His grin widened.
"Elysium. For the noble souls who faced a great death." He said as he dramatically acted it out with his arms. One on his chest, and the other up forward, pretending to hold a spear and shield.
"Asphodel. For the normal souls, who didn't do much bad, nor much good." His tone was starting to grow more.. Eerie. Calmer. Slower.
"And Tartarus. The place of the damned, where they meet their punishment for the sins they committed." He then stood up and circled her bed as he spoke out.
"But what if I tell you.. That there are people out there so bad... That not even Tartarus wants them?" He put a hand on her bed and leaned forward. Her eyes widened as she stared at him in confusion.
"W-.. What do you mean...?" She inched back slightly in fear.
"Even the damned of Tartarus gave Some good in their lives. But those guys.. Oh they're evil to the core. Not a single good deed in their terrible lives." He backed up slightly.
"Those people are then spat back into the realm of the living, not alive, not dead. Think of 'em like... Schrödinger's cat. Except the box is our world." He then reached for the chocolate and took another bite, before setting them down again.
Myra stared at him in shock and fear. "What...?"
"Those guys aren't monitored for their sins anymore, And are given immense power, depending on the sins they committed. We don't know why they give them such power and send them back to the world of the living, yet." His tone grew serious.
"But we're working on finding out. So yeah. That explains why those guys attacked your family."
Myra stared ahead. Trying to wrap her mind around this entire situation.
"Drowned, you said...?"
She looked down after he nodded. This has got to be related to her dream, somehow... Some way...
[Chapter three: END.]