Cerulean Planet (Blue Dust Trilogy #1)

Chapter 8

The ice by the shore had mostly melted. The ones in the distance were thicker, breaking with a dull crack as they thawed, splitting off piece by piece. They were slowly warmed by the water, becoming islands, each to each.

Jiayun stepped into the water with bare feet. The water was warm and gentle, rising and falling in tame cycles as they teased the hairs on his legs. When he stepped deeper, he felt a cold current by the bottom of his feet, cold enough that it made his toes curl.

He continued further, until his body was floating in the water. The cold current had disappeared; warm water surrounded his body.

He turned and shouted at the monster standing on the shore, "You coming?"

The monster moved, slipping a tentacle into the water as though in response.

Their body immediately began to transform, almost like it was being sucked into the ocean. The solid form they maintained on land seemed to turn to liquid, merging into the body of water like a droplet.

The monster's enormous form had disappeared. Knowing that they had entered the water, Jiayun paid them no mind and swam deeper into the ocean.

The water near land was fairly shallow, exhibiting a faint blue hue. Soon, he passed a giant, bottomless trench in the ocean where the water turned cold. Past that, the water was sprinkled with floating ice that had not yet melted; the temperature remained constant thereafter.

A few translucent blue fish trailed after him as he swam, pecking at his legs and feet from time to time.

He couldn't be sure whether there were bigger creatures lurking in these waters.

But Jiayun wasn't afraid because he knew that the monster was in the water too.

He took a deep breath, then dove headfirst underwater. After a few downward strokes, he gradually opened his eyes.

The water was like that on earth, mildly salty. It stung his eyes a little. There were plenty of blue fish, the kind he had seen from before, swimming in groups. But Jiayun didn't pay attention to them; a giant, translucent creature spread out quietly underneath him. Their body was nearly transparent; the scattered light cast onto its surface gave it a faint blue tint. They had no fixed shape; their form remained ever-changing, sprawling in the waters with seeming abandon. Light penetrated their body, refracting in different colours. Jiayun's shadow had imprinted onto their body too.

Light seemed to gather within the transparent form, illuminating it from inside. A sprinkle of dull blue light twinkled inside their body like a flowing, luminous river. Lights that were lit up just for him. They pulsated in waves, cascading to the rhythm of one's breathing, or perhaps, heartbeats.

"Beautiful...." Jiayun couldn't help but mutter the words under his breath. A small flurry of bubbles escaped from his lips.

Jiayun knew better than to categorize this creature as one of the species from this planet. This was his monster. Seeing how they look now, it made Jiayun think that they merely chose to change into their other forms in order to adapt to their environment; the form in front of him right now must be their original form. Their home planet was likely one covered in oceans, he thought. He imagined the monster gliding in the oceans, wandering for hundreds of years, then hundreds more. Unfathomably many years that he dared not count.

Jiayun was starting to feel out of breath and began to rise. He broke out of the water, gulping for air as he kept himself afloat.

The monster followed and, too, began to rise up to the surface. Jiayun felt something soft wrap around one of his feet. He didn't struggle and, instead, took a deep breath before he was dragged under once more.