'Whoosh'
The mutated fish with jet-black eyes swam towards a nearby fish and bit into its fins. It then began to tussle with that fish and became the victor after a couple of rounds, finally tearing into its flesh. After every bite into the flesh of the fish, the cancer-like growth on the mutated fish's body began to grow bigger.
After eating part of the fish's flesh, the mutated fish then proceeded towards another fish and began to tussle with it. After devouring the fourth fish in such a manner, the cancerous growth on its body had developed to such an extent that it alone occupied half the body size of the mutated fish. There were also the features of many fish species that were beginning to form on the cancerous growth of the mutated fish, starting to take a definite form as time passed on.
Prakash felt a bit of clarity return to his mind as the shade of his skin that was deep blue in colour became a bit lighter. He also noticed that he had lost major sections of his limbs while most of the skin on his torso had also been torn to shreds.
Prakash willed for his 'Record' to manifest with what little clarity of mind he possessed; he started to become muddle-headed the moment his skin started to turn a deep shade of blue and had also lost his sense of pain due to which his struggles had steadily decreased until he floated like a piece of log in the water.
'Pboom'
A muffled explosion occurred as the body of the mutated fish exploded; the purple snake that had entered it before emerged out. Its size had decreased to half of what it had been previously. From its tail that was attached to the heart of Prakash, it began to draw purple smoke from within him.
The memory crystals within its serpentine body immediately multiplied as its body enlarged in size until its thickness was equal to the height of Prakash.
Prakash gazed at his 'Record' in astonishment as the Karma next to 'Fish 3' began to decrease at an astonishing rate until it disappeared from his 'Record' in a matter of seconds.
He then saw the purple snake turn transparent and pass through the bodies of many fishes and objects that were in its way as it slithered towards the Gharial that was having the feast of its life.
The Gharial didn't even notice the approaching serpent as it happily gulped down a fish in one bite and proceeded towards another. Its body suddenly jerked and came to a sudden halt when the purple snake invaded its head and seemed to be executing some mystical effect over it.
Prakash saw the tail of the purple snake that was attached to his heart rapidly shrink when even more purple smoke rushed into it from his body in order to replenish its expenditure. The tail end was continuously shrinking while more of the purple smoke rushed into it and increased its size; the process kept repeating itself over and over again.
Prakash could feel clarity returning to his brain over time as the deep blue shade of his skin kept becoming lighter and lighter until it had almost become the original colour of his skin. As his skin began to turn normal, his sense of pain returned along with it while the surrounding water also began to produce minute sizzling sounds as they began to heal his body, albeit at a snail's pace.
Through some mystical phenomenon, the body of the Gharial began to turn blue as its resistances towards whatever the purple snake was doing began to fade over time.
"Guh," Prakash almost fainted as his sense of pain had completely returned by now; with his skin colour returning to normal, the surrounding water began to heal his broken body at full speed. Stumps formed in the socket region of his shoulders that began to grow into his arms. His legs also began to regrow while flesh wriggled and torn-off nerves got reconnected in his torso.
The aroma that had almost faded till now began to unleash its mesmerising effects at full strength. The surrounding fishes crazily rushed towards him while baring their sharp teeth out in the open. Their eyes were shaking erratically while their mouths produced strange soundwaves that almost seemed to imply their craziness.
The attacks from the surrounding fishes had stopped when his body had completely turned a deep shade of blue which also began to emit a strange odour that repulsed them, the only reason he had lived this long and hadn't been completely devoured. All the injuries that happened to him had occurred when his body hadn't fully become a deep shade of blue. But things changed now that his skin had turned normal and his aroma enveloped the surroundings at full blast.
Purple smoke gushed out of the pores of his skin and formed a cocoon over his body which immediately shattered to reveal a puppy from within. The puppy immediately began to swim towards the surface in order to reach a small log of floating wood for a temporary respite while it tussled with the surrounding fishes.
Prakash felt suffocated, one aspect that his smaller body had an advantage over his canine form. He noticed that he could stay underwater for a long time period without feeling the need to breathe; it seemed his body operated differently than he had expected which was a pleasant surprise, to say the least.
But the moment he turned into a puppy, the need to breathe intensified immediately, almost knocking him unconscious. The puppy struggled to swim up as numerous wounds riddled all over its frail body, drawing out red blood each time a fish bit into his flesh.
Suddenly, a huge reptilian figure dashed over to his side and swatted his body up towards the water surface.
"Aee," The puppy grunted in pain as it felt its organs get crushed while the impact carried it all the way to the surface. The head of the puppy barely peaked out of the water surface while the water surrounding it had been dyed red as numerous mangled bodies of dead fishes floated.
The puppy wanted to breathe but failed to do so as it had its lungs crushed during the previous impact and a portion of the red in the surrounding waters was due to the blood it bled from its numerous injuries.
The puppy immediately dissolved into purple smoke that was absorbed into the body of a tiny figure who gasped for deep breaths as his legs paddled to help his body stay afloat.
Prakash was uninjured, due to the fact that the injuries sustained from his transformation weren't transferred to his main body; it was something he had found out when he had transformed into a fish the second time while inside the body of another fish.
He felt weak, his body long past its limits, while he seemed to have lost his prior destination during the scuffle with the fishes. Just when he felt his legs give out under him, a solid rugged surface suddenly appeared under him and provided him with support.
"What the…?" Prakash gazed below him in wonder at the sight of the Gharial's back that supported him.
Before he could further gather his bearings, numerous purple snakes of all shapes and sizes gushed out of the water and entered into his body, activating his 'Purple transformation' that lasted for almost a minute. His trance-like state lasted for another minute during which numerous fishes attacked the body of the Gharial but failed to damage its tough scales.
"Is this your handiwork?" Prakash said as he gazed in shock and surprise at the serpentine body that extended from his heart and travelled into the Gharial's head.
The was no response, but as thin black smoke began to dissipate from the body of the Gharial, the huge reptilian body began to move at blinding speeds along the waters until it reached a huge concrete structure that expanded in all sides beyond what his eyes could see. Some fishes died due to the impact when the reptilian body rammed them along its travel, activating his 'Purple Transformation' again and again.
The moment he regained clarity, Prakash noticed that except 'Fish 11' whose Karma was rapidly declining, the rows belonging to all other fishes in his Karma Attribute seemed to have vanished, except for a new row titled 'Fish 15' that appeared along with a significant amount of Karma. He also saw that the rate of decrease in the Karma belonging to 'Fish 11' related to the amount of black smoke that was gushing out of the Gharial's body.
A cloud of thick black smoke was gushing out from all over the reptile's body by the time Prakash stepped onto the solid concrete structure. After he had set foot onto the concrete structure, the Gharial immediately dived deep into the murky waters and reached a depth where no sunlight reached. Only at this point did the decrease in his karma stop.
"That was an unexpected surprise," Prakash exclaimed aloud as he recalled back to the purple snake that singlehandedly turned the tables and saved his life. It seemed to be a part of him but at the same time displayed sentient qualities. He attributed the Karma gain from 'Fish 1' to 'Fish 14' be the handiwork of this sentient ability of his.
He also felt a sudden decrease in his Karma of 'Fish 11' until it disappeared which was followed by the decrease in Karma of the newly gained 'Fish 15'. The decrease in Karma stopped when there were barely 10 units remaining in the Karma of 'Fish 15'.
After the Karma stopped flowing into the purple snake, Prakash felt a connection establish between himself and the Gharial. He felt like he could now command the Gharial any way he wanted to, though his commands could only be the basics of basic for now.
"Hahahaha!" Prakash laughed aloud in joy. He could feel through his connection with the Gharial that the ego of the Gharial had long since been wiped out by the purple snake and it was now occupied by the purple snake. This meant that he had completely gained a strong ally that was sturdy, had fearsome destructive power, and moreover, could be used to travel through the waters. Measuring 3 metres long, it was at the very top of the food chain in these shallow murky waters.
"Karmic Arts: Convert. This ability is the key to change my fate and find my family." Prakash decided to name the purple snake as 'Ugly Shaggy' for his convenience; firstly due to the fact that it held sentience and had been birthed from Shaggy's Karma under mysterious circumstances, and secondly due to the fact that his naming skills were on a whole other level.
He inspected his surroundings with renowned confidence, a sense of hope budded in his wounded heart.