Immortal: Curse of the Deathless

Chapter 6 (Part 2: The Fae Realm)

The transition from light to dark blinded him. Asher felt a sensation of falling, and then opened his eyes to see he was falling. He spread out his arms and legs to stabilize himself, the only thing he could think to do what little time he had.

Gripped by fear, he let out a guttural scream, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His scream cut off abruptly. Water almost as solid as a moving wall stole the air from his lungs as he plunged into its cold embrace. He blacked out for a moment, then struggled fiercely against the weight of his backpack, which was dragging him down. Precious bubbles of air escaped his lips as he thrashed this way and that until he could shrug the bag off his shoulders. By then his lungs were ready to burst and the pressure of the deep water pressed against his eardrums. He tried futilely to swim towards a pale light that shone far above, almost mockingly. Then his body lost the strength to move, and water tried to force its way down his throat.

Death by drowning is supposed to be one of the most painful ways to die. I wonder what it'll be like to experience that sensation and live.

Lips softer than he'd ever felt pressed firmly against his and exhaled oxygen into his starving lungs. He leaned into the kiss for all he was worth as life was pumped back into him. Whoever saved him dragged him by the arm, and it was then Asher realized the pale light he'd seen before wasn't above, but below. That was all too apparent when Asher felt his ribs creak, his body straining under the pressure of so much water. His rescuer moved through the depths with liquid grace, gliding effortlessly through the water despite having to drag his dead weight.

When he was close enough to see what was nestled into the deeps, Asher's eyes widened. Beneath all this water sat a city unlike any he'd ever seen. Towers made of blue glass stretched as tall as any skyscraper. Besides the colossal structures, buildings of all shapes and sizes extended as far as Asher could see, although wasn't saying much at the moment. Lush vegetation used the structures to support for their bulk, which sagged with exotic fruits. And everywhere, there were people went about their day as if living at the bottom of the Sea was a normal, everyday occurrence. The water boiled around him and he couldn't see anymore.

Asher fell flat on his stomach and was surprised to discover he could breathe. His rescuer crouched over him while he regained his composure. After his beating heart had steadied, he greeted his savior with a smile. Her legs were supple and strong, body firm and without any fat to be seen. Asher saw blue lips and long, flowing locks of azure hair that fell down to her waist, hiding her petite breasts from view. With her smooth features and lithe body, she was a pleasure to look upon.

"Thanks for the save back there. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't shown up when you did."

"Think nothing of it, I was just doing my job. Most people appear inside the city, but cases like this happen infrequently," she said, her voice rough from exertion. "Welcome to Murias, the ancient underwater city."

Metis conveniently left out the underwater part, although she did say to start my search at the bottom of the ocean.

"My friends call me Asher. Asher Hearst."

"Well met, Asher Hearst. You may call me Luxovius, or Lux for short," Lux said as she grabbed him by the forearm and dragged him up.

"Lux, I'm in your debt. If there's ever anything I can do for you, just let me know," Asher said seriously.

Lux appeared taken aback. "May I give that some thought before answering? Such lien is a rare thing, and the debt owed by a life must be weighed carefully."