Andria Andromeda Rivera and The Chalice of Belief

The End

"How long should you try? Until."
- Jim Rohn

6 weeks from now.

"There!" Said Jace, and they dived into the sea as the sound of bullets rang through the air.

Andria was gasping for breath just before she dived, but it didn't seem to help much.
She opened her eyes, which burned a little in the salty, murky water, and looked around for Jace. She felt something brush past her sharply: now the bullets were being fired into the water too.

She swam a little deeper in and moved aside, but to no avail; Jace was nowhere to be seen, and the firing continued. Andria couldn't help but wonder if the bullets had gotten him.

She was starting to panic. There was no way for her to breathe underwater, Jace had disappeared, and she couldn't go back to the surface without getting killed.

She grasped around, hoping to bump into him, when finally, she felt something human hold her arm. She felt some pressure, and then Jace was next to her, looking a little dark in the water but still alive. He was smiling.

That idiot! Who smiles after giving someone a heart attack!?

An air bubble popped into existence around Andria's face and she sighed in relief, taking a deep breath. It was definitely useful to have a water elementalist as a friend.

After a moment, when they both had relaxed enough to swim a little, Jace took her by the hand deeper into the water, and they began their search.

The water was like jelly, and for Andria it seemed that she was jelly walking. Like literally. Since the water was vast and she saw no shore or end anywhere, it seemed endless, and every push of hers seemed in vain and rather pointless.

She knew she shouldn't have been complaining, but are legs were so sore from all the running that she was finding it quite difficult to swim and keep up with Jace's pace, despite his sprained ankle. If, no when they got out of here, she needed to work a lot more on her stamina.

After about a mile, it was Jace who stopped as he turned and looked at her in fluid motions... bad pun.

He arched a single eyebrow, a feat she marveled at and thought quite difficult, and had only successfully pulled off twice. He seemed to be asking her whether she could continue further.

As much as it disappointed her, Andria shook her head. She wondered why he was conversing using expressions rather than straight up telepathy, but she assumed it had something to do with not using multiple powers at once. Perhaps it would tire him more?

Jace frowned, but Andria soon realized it wasn't at her, but a frown of concentration.

The water around Andria became more... powerful. She could feel it thrumming all around her. Before she could say anything though, she was caught in a strange current and went along the same direction they were swimming towards‐ forward, and down.

Jace followed her, looking considerably more drained. That was probably why he didn't do it before, and left it as the last resort. It probably takes a lot out of him, Andria thought, The sooner we find it, the better.

A few more miles passed, and the water seemed to be navigating for her, and in another sudden wave of shock, Andria felt another strong presence. Foreign power creeped into the waters, creeped into her mind. She glanced at Jace, who looked a little dazed and vexed, before he regained his wits and took her by the hand... deeper towards the source of power.