CHAPTER 172: [MY ORION]

The moment the realization hit, Eli’s breath caught in his throat.

A flicker—sharp, blinding—flared beneath the surface. Not blue this time, but yellow. Then white. Like lightning being born underwater.

His heart dropped. "Everyone, watch out!" he yelled, voice raw, desperate—because he already knew it wouldn’t matter.

There was no time to move. No chance to run.

And maybe that was it.

Because in the space of a single heartbeat—before even the echo of his own voice could fade—he felt it.

The water had risen high enough to touch his neck, cold and heavy. And the instant it did—

Pain.

Pure, searing pain.

It wasn’t like being burned—it was worse. It was every nerve on fire, every muscle locking at once. His body jerked violently, his vision flashing white. His throat clenched, and a sound—half-scream, half-choke—ripped from his lungs before it drowned in the current.

The shock tore through him in waves, each one sharper, heavier, relentless.

’It hurts—it hurts, fuck, I can’t—’

His thoughts shattered under the force of it. His body wouldn’t move.

He could feel his fingers twitching uncontrollably, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth as he bit down hard to keep from screaming again.

The moment the realization struck, Eli’s stomach dropped. His instincts screamed run, but it was already too late.

A flicker of light sparked beneath the water—first yellow, then white. It pulsed once, then twice, building in rhythm like a heartbeat before bursting into a blinding glow that swallowed everything around them.

"Everyone, watch out!" Eli’s voice cracked as he shouted, throat burning, but deep down he knew—there was nothing anyone could do.

And then—

Agony.

The water had risen to his and Kairo’s necks, cold and heavy, when it hit.

The world convulsed.

Pain lanced through every nerve in Eli’s body, so sharp and immediate it ripped the air from his lungs.

It wasn’t just electricity—it was liquid fire, coursing through his veins, seizing every muscle. His spine arched against Kairo’s hold, eyes rolling back as the world turned white.

He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t scream. Every breath felt like inhaling lightning, every heartbeat a hammer blow in his chest.

His fingers clawed uselessly at Kairo’s sleeve, skin burning from where the current tore through both of them.

Kairo grunted behind him, low and guttural, his voice breaking through the static. His body spasmed, but his arm never let go. His aura flared in a desperate flash of red, blood rising like a shield—but the electricity tore through it, unstoppable.

Sparks leapt from skin to water, from hunter to hunter, until the cavern became a living storm.

The air stank of ozone and iron. Blue light flickered everywhere—reflected in the serpent’s slick body, in the ripples, in the splashes of their movement as they struggled to stay afloat.

Eli’s teeth clenched until his jaw ached. ’It hurts—it hurts—it HURTS—’ His mind was a whirl of panic and pain, no space left for thought or reason.

He could hear them—faint but raw through the roar of electricity.

Mio’s shout.

Zaira’s scream.

Punzo’s string of curses.

Jabby’s cry for help.

Arman’s strained groan.

Mel calling out, voice breaking as he shouted for his sister.

They were all screaming.

’They’re all—screaming—’

Tears mixed with the spray of water on Eli’s cheeks, the heat from the shock clashing with the cold around him until he couldn’t tell one from the other. The smell of burnt air filled his lungs.

’I think... we’re actually going to die here.’

That thought cut through everything—cold and clear, like a knife through fog.

And then—

A flash.

Not from the water.

From above.

"Cae...len?" Eli’s voice came out a broken whisper.

Through the blinding light and crashing waves, he barely turned his head—just enough to catch a blur of motion.

"What—" Eli gasped, but the word broke apart, lost in the crashing surge around him. His lungs burned, every breath a struggle as the water churned violently beneath the flicker of lightning.

Above him, Caelen twisted midair—grace and violence fused into one. His hand shot out, palm slamming against the serpent’s gleaming, scale-covered hide.

The effect was immediate.

A flash of red—sharp, pulsing—ripped through the darkness, followed by a crack so deep it made Eli’s bones ache. The sound wasn’t thunder. It was something worse.

Eli felt it before he saw it. The vibration crawled through the water, through the stone, through him.

He knew that skill.

Pain Echo.

The ability that weaponized agony—turned every wound, every flicker of suffering into a mirrored strike.

’He’s... reflecting it—’ Eli realized, heart hammering.

And then it happened.

The lightning that had scorched the water just moments ago flickered again—this time not from the serpent’s body, but from Caelen’s. It ran up his arm, through his veins, his aura igniting crimson and gold.

The current twisted, reversed, slamming back into the monster with enough force to make the air itself scream.

The serpent convulsed.

Its entire body jerked upward, scales sparking, mouth wide in a silent, guttural roar. The light beneath its skin fractured into thousands of shards, its own electricity eating it alive.

Eli’s breath hitched, awe and fear mixing in equal parts.

Caelen was thrown back by the backlash, his body crashing into the rising water with a sound that cracked like thunder. The impact sent waves rolling across the cavern, soaking Kairo, Eli, and everyone else.

Eli’s body still trembled, the ghost of pain crawling under his skin. But the searing current was gone—redirected, diffused.

He gasped, lungs dragging in wet, metallic-tasting air.

The serpent screamed again.

It was no longer the defiant cry of a predator. It was agony. Rage. The sound tore through the air, shaking dust loose from the ceiling.

Then—movement.

The serpent turned sharply, its massive body twisting as if trying to tear itself from the cavern walls. Its tail whipped upward, slamming through the rocks.

And then it rose.

Straight through the broken ceiling.

The water surged with it, dragged upward in a violent torrent that made the entire cave groan under pressure. Chunks of stone cracked loose, tumbling into the pool below.

The world shook.

"Hold on!" Kairo’s voice tore through the chaos, hoarse but firm. His aura flared around them, crimson light cutting through the storming dark.

Eli barely had time to lift his head.

The serpent broke through the surface above, leaving a vacuum in its wake.

The water didn’t rise anymore.

It collapsed.

The torrent fell, crushing everything beneath it in a roar that drowned out thought, sound, everything.

The shockwave hit them first—a wall of force that threw Eli and Kairo backward like paper in a storm. Kairo’s grip faltered, and for half a heartbeat Eli felt nothing but weightlessness.

Then the pull.

A violent drag downward, cold and merciless.

The water swallowed him whole.

The light vanished. The air vanished. Only the pressure remained—crushing, suffocating, relentless.

Eli’s chest spasmed, his lungs begging for air that wasn’t there. The world narrowed to sound and pain and black water pressing from every direction.

He tried to reach for Kairo—tried to speak, to scream—but the moment his mouth opened, water flooded in.

Cold filled his lungs.

His chest locked. His vision dimmed.

’Not again...’

The cold pressed in from every side—dense, crushing, endless.

Eli couldn’t tell which way was up anymore. The water felt the same in every direction—heavy and suffocating, wrapping around him like a living thing. His arms floated limply at his sides, fingers twitching without purpose. His legs refused to kick. His chest screamed for air.

The darkness swallowed him whole.

Each second dragged like an eternity. His lungs convulsed, the ache spreading slow and merciless, crawling from his chest to his throat until it became unbearable—until it became final.

He tried to move. To fight. But his body wouldn’t listen. It was like being trapped inside himself, a prisoner in fading flesh. His heart thudded faintly, weaker each time.

Then—

A voice.

Low. Soft. Familiar.

"I’m sorry..."

Eli’s eyes fluttered open, but there was nothing—just the dark water, pressing tighter.

He knew that voice. He’d heard it in dreams. In fragments. In whispers that weren’t his.

The voice of him.

The one who haunted Elione’s memories—the one who had held him once, loved him once... and then tried to kill him. The one whose hands had been around his throat.

It came again, clearer now. Closer.

"I’m sorry... I’m so sorry..."

The sound didn’t just echo—it vibrated through the water, through Eli’s chest, like the apology itself carried heat and grief all at once.

And then—something touched him.

Fingers brushed against his skin, light as silk. Cold at first... then warmer. A hand. It cupped his throat gently, thumb pressing just over where his pulse should’ve been. Searching. Pleading.

Eli wanted to flinch, to pull away—but his body felt like lead. His mind screamed for air. His heart thudded once, twice... slower.

His vision dimmed.

The voice trembled.

"I’m sorry, my Orion."

The world stopped.

Or maybe it didn’t—maybe he did.

The name cut through the dark like lightning.

Orion.

’Orion...? No—no, that’s—’

The pain vanished. For one fleeting second, there was nothing—no cold, no sound, no body. Just light. Gold, brilliant, searing through the dark, burning through his chest until—

He gasped.

Eli’s eyes snapped open.

The water erupted from his lungs as he convulsed, coughing, choking, desperate for air. His fingers clawed at the ground, dragging himself forward as he retched up water, chest heaving.

Air.

It burned. It hurt. But it was air.

"Eli!"

"He’s awake!"

"Fuck—don’t move him!"

The voices crashed over him—Mio, Zaira, Mel—some shouting, some crying. His vision was a blur of movement and light.

The cavern seemed brighter now, white light reflecting off pools of water, off weapons, off shaking hands reaching toward him.

His heart was still pounding—too fast, too loud. His head throbbed, splitting open with pain as the faint echo of that voice—the word Orion—still rang in his ears.

He pressed a hand to his temple, gasping. The ache wasn’t random—it was his Danger Sense.

And it was screaming.

"Stay alert!" he shouted, forcing the words through ragged breaths. "The serpent—it’s about to attack again!!"

Eli forces himself to look around, searching for the threat, but for some reason the massive Eel Serpent wasn’t around.

And...

"Where’s Kairo and Caelen?"