Byron Bay, Australia.
This was a small town famous for its beaches and lighthouse, situated on a bay in the northeastern corner of New South Wales in Kangaroo Country. Cape Byron, within the town, was the easternmost point of mainland Australia and a world-famous tourist destination.
It was peak tourist season in Byron Bay, and bikinis and board shorts filled the long stretch of surfing beach!
Waves kept washing over the white sand, then receding again.
But after one such surge and retreat, a strange, fist-sized object resembling a black lump of coal suddenly appeared on the white beach. It was none other than the strange mutant octopus that had appeared before.
The little black octopus watched the passing tourists with excitement in its eyes.
I was a little octopus from the deep sea, only three months old. In human terms, I was about the equivalent of a ten-year-old child.
About two months ago, by sheer chance, I ate some silver powder off a pitch-black rock. Then my head spun, and I fell into a deep sleep.
During that long sleep, I seemed to have a very, very long dream. In it, an unknown, powerful being desperately tried to eat me!
As it frantically tore at me, it kept saying, "Intelligence level of contacted organism too low. Devour! Intelligence level of contacted organism too low. Devour..."
Devour my ass! I was furious!
The thing I hated most was getting caught on a hook! The second was anyone trying to eat me!
You wanted to eat me? Then I would eat you first!
So we desperately bit and tore at each other, but... it was powerful, and I was no match for it! Then instinct told me this was because I wasn't smart enough yet!
*So I thought, if only