Aglea stood frozen, staring in disbelief at the figure leaping into the Black Lake in the distance. From her vantage point, Hoffa had stood alone by the lake for less than a minute. Before she could approach to ask what was going on, he had simply jumped into the water.
"WTF!" she exclaimed.
A heavy sense of foreboding weighed on her. Although she couldn't see the invisible void dragon, she instinctively knew Hoffa wasn't alone there. She refused to believe he'd jump in for something as mundane as a winter swim.
She rushed to the snowy cliff's edge and peered down at the bottomless black water. Only faint ripples remained on the surface.
"Is he insane?"
Cursing, she angrily pounded the snow before leaping in after him.
The water's surface rippled again, and a cascade of bubbles rose as she plunged into the icy depths.
Another figure shattered the stillness before death could claim it.
Hoffa noticed the silhouette following him but showed no reaction. His indifference was absolute—life held no meaning for him anymore.
Aglea swam with all her might, her frustration and anger building as she saw his lifeless descent. Without the burden of air in her lungs, his fall was far faster than hers. Determined, she exhaled a rush of bubbles to quicken her descent.
Even so, she couldn't match his speed. As Hoffa's figure slipped further into the engulfing darkness, she gritted her teeth and expelled another burst of air to accelerate.
Finally, amidst the silent, empty lake, she caught up and grasped Hoffa's icy arm. Adjusting her position, she wrapped an arm around his back, cradled his head, and covered his mouth in an attempt to slow his suffocation.
But as her bubbles dissipated, Hoffa sank like a stone. Though his eyes were open and fixed on her, they were devoid of light, utterly lifeless.
Cursing inwardly, Aglea pressed her lips to his, trying to force oxygen into his lungs.
No response. His lips were as cold as ice. Each breath she gave was expelled immediately, as though his body utterly lacked the instinct to survive.
"Damn it!"
Enraged, she refrained from shouting underwater. Instead, she slapped Hoffa's face—once, twice—trying to rouse him. The blows landed with sharp clarity, but he didn't react, not even opening his eyes.
A gleam of determination flashed through her icy blue eyes.
"Not a chance!"
She flipped Hoffa over in the water, bared her teeth, and bit down hard on the back of his neck. Her teeth sank into his flesh, breaking through the muscle, and blood spurted out.
Like a leopard carrying her cub, she clamped her jaws on him and began to swim upward.
It was a valiant effort, but reality was unkind. The weight of her soaked clothes clung to her like a leaden cloak, dragging her down with overwhelming gravity.
Exhaustion soon overtook her. Her limbs cramped painfully, her arms and legs stiffening.
She failed to pull Hoffa up; instead, his dead weight dragged her down with him. The icy water, now mingled with blood, flooded her throat. She coughed violently but silently, unable to breathe.
Suffocation consumed her in an instant.
"I'm going to die because of this idiot!"
Her face turned blue, her lips purple. Most of her body functions shut down. She could no longer see or hear anything. Time lost all meaning. She felt herself nearing death, teetering on the edge of survival.
But then, in the pitch-black abyss, eight massive eyes opened simultaneously, each as large as a cathedral's rose window.
Aglea's dying mind jolted. Seeing those eight enormous eyes at such close range left her disoriented.
"What is this? A hallucination?"
She felt soft, flexible tendrils wrapping around her waist. A massive outline emerged from the darkness—it was the giant squid that lived in the Black Lake. Sensing the two drowning students, it extended its tentacles with lightning speed, coiling around Hoffa and Aglea, enclosing them entirely.
The colossal creature propelled them through unknown waterways with incredible speed, leaving the Black Lake behind. In moments, they were carried to the vast ocean.
Atlantic Shoreline
On a remote beach along the Atlantic coast, under the silvery moonlight, the squid's enormous tentacles retreated into the waves, vanishing into the depths.
Aglea collapsed onto the rocky shore, retching up mouthfuls of water. Her short silver hair clung to her head, and her body trembled uncontrollably in the subzero air.
After a moment, she forced herself to her feet and staggered back into the knee-deep water. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed Hoffa's lifeless body and dragged him onto the rocky shore.
Shivering violently, she cursed between gasps:
"Id... Idiot! How... how can someone... be this stupid?"
Dragging his limp form onto the rocks, she began performing chest compressions. Between compressions, she pinched his lips, blowing air into his lungs while muttering furiously:
"You're not... allowed... to die without... my permission!"
But his body grew colder in the freezing air, its temperature matching the icy environment. He was like a block of frozen butter, utterly unresponsive no matter how much she tried.
"You bastard!"
Her pale face twisted with frustration, her hair glistening with ice.
"Without my consent... why... why would you…"
Terror consumed her. Trembling, she slammed her fist into Hoffa's abdomen with all her strength, the impact bending his body at a sharp angle.
"Cough!"
Hoffa suddenly spewed a torrent of water from his mouth, coughing violently.
His coughing grew more intense, tears and snot streaming from his face, tinged with traces of blood. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping as frigid air filled his lungs, forcing his heart to beat again.
After an Indeterminate Time
Hoffa lay sprawled on the ground, his gaze shifting between the clear and blurred images of the pebble-covered shore. For a moment, he couldn't tell if he was in reality or in hell.
Aglea released her grip and knelt weakly on the ground. She looked up at the sky, exhaling a cloud of white mist.
Then, unsteadily, she rose to her feet, a fleeting smile crossing her face before anger overtook her.
She turned sharply, her fury erupting as she delivered a swift kick to Hoffa's face, roaring, "Are you insane? If I'd come back even a little later—!!"
The force of the kick twisted Hoffa's head to the side, and he collapsed motionlessly, his mind blank. He had lost his magic, his strength, his purpose, and even his desire to live.
But one kick wasn't enough to vent Aglea's rage.
Grabbing him by the collar, she struck him hard in the face with her fist. "How could you be so stupid? I really thought better of you!"
Hoffa's head lolled to the side under the impact. His empty, numbed eyes drifted to her furious, distorted face—those piercing blue eyes—and the starlit darkness behind her. His throat tightened.
Smack!
Another slap.
His cheek swelled instantly.
The veins in Aglea's hand bulged as she gripped his collar tighter, shaking him violently. "Are you awake yet, you idiot?" she screamed, her voice raw.
There was no response. Hoffa was as limp as a ragdoll.
Thud!
A punch.
Thud!
Another punch.
Thud!
Punch after punch.
After fifteen punches, Aglea's knuckles were smeared with blood. Hoffa's swollen and bruised face finally uttered a hoarse whisper:
"It's enough. This world has no meaning."
"You don't get to die because of that!" Aglea shouted furiously. "What kind of mindset is this? What do you expect me to think?"
"I didn't choose to be born into this world," Hoffa murmured softly.
"No one chooses to be born!" Aglea snapped. "Why waste time thinking about it? Just live each day as it comes!"
Hoffa stared at her without a word.
Her bloodied fist trembled in the air, droplets falling onto his face and sliding down to the pebbles below. But as she met his hollow gaze, her hand refused to strike again.
"My God..."
She groaned through gritted teeth, her frustration palpable.
Under the starlight, Aglea wrapped her arms tightly around Hoffa. Kneeling, she pressed his head to her chest, her breath forming a misty cocoon around them. Placing her hand on the back of his neck, she whispered softly, "It's okay now."
A twinge of sour emotion stirred in Hoffa's void of a soul. In that moment, his thoughts expanded infinitely. He began to grasp faint, indescribable truths—fragments of an inexplicable destiny.
"What should I do?" Hoffa murmured, as though asking Aglea, or perhaps some unseen force.
"Do whatever you want," Aglea replied gently.
"The world isn't anything like I imagined."
"If it were exactly as you imagined, then what would be left for you to do?" she said with quiet wisdom.
The warmth of her heartbeat against his chest made him shudder. For the first time, he realized he was alive. A wave of bitterness flooded his heart. Unable to hold back any longer, he broke down completely. The emotions he had suppressed for so long erupted. Gasping for breath, his throat convulsed as he buried his face in her shoulder and wailed with all the anguish in his heart.
"What am I even doing? What is the meaning of life?!"
"Don't think about it so much. Just don't," Aglea repeated over and over, her voice a steady comfort.
"I'm only 14!" Hoffa cried. "How many more years do I have to live?!"
"It doesn't matter," Aglea said softly. "There will always be new sights to see."
Resting her chin atop his head, her arms encircled him tightly.
"I'm going to disappoint so many people," he muttered through his tears.
"Let them be disappointed," she replied. "People always are, whether you're here or not."
"Will I disappoint you?"
"You will," Aglea admitted. "But I'd be even more disappointed in a world without you."
"I'm not who you think I am," Hoffa sobbed, clutching her with all his remaining strength. "I don't even understand myself!"
"Does that matter?" Aglea said, patting his back. "You've already made your choice."
Far away, under the vast indigo night sky, a Hungarian Horntail dragon flew past and landed on a rocky outcrop near the shore.
Fatir, who had followed Aglea, watched the two figures embracing on the beach from a distance.
The scene, framed by the deep blue of the night, seemed frozen in time.
He paused, then sighed. Sitting on a rock, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a flick of flame from his fingers, and took a long drag. Exhaling a ring of smoke, he muttered wistfully:
"Life..."
(End of Chapter)
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