Companion? Envoy? Enemy?

Peaceful...

Maria felt... that long-lost tranquility.

This journey through time seemed slightly different from the previous ones... There was no dizziness, no restlessness, only an indescribable tranquility.

The seawater, like a musical note, slowly enveloped her; this mother who gave birth to everything, embraced Maria once again at this moment.

The air could no longer transmit its voice to Maria; only the sound of the ocean's breath reached her ears, little by little.

Countless waves surged up, supporting her body.

Then...

"Um?"

Maria slowly opened her eyes.

But the world was pitch black.

At the same time, her body felt as if it were filled with lead, so heavy that she couldn't move...

No... it's not that I can't move, it's that something is squeezing me.

Maria paused for a moment, then slowly got up.

Even with just this one movement, Maria could feel that she was encountering an unprecedented obstacle.

No matter which direction you walk, you can feel a strong resistance.

Underfoot was a thick, strange layer of mud.

Um?

Maria blinked.

Slowly get up.

His pupils were slightly reddish.

As Maria switched states, things in her field of vision gradually became clearer.

But... it was at this moment.

A hideous, flattened head appeared before Maria!

Its teeth, white as bone, were sharp and pointed; its protruding eyeballs were veiled in a layer of gray mist...

"Um?"

Upon noticing Maria turn her head, the strange fish almost immediately fled in fright.

Maria didn't specifically pursue the other party; she simply glanced at them and then looked around.

The oppressive darkness and the sticky resistance made her realize her current predicament.

"Deep sea?"

Maria for a moment, also somewhat puzzled.

At this moment, she may be more than just the deep sea.

She may have even sunk to the deepest part of the ocean...

The surroundings were cold, dark places where even light could not penetrate.

This made Maria hesitate.

She came here to find Aegir, but she started in this desolate, chaotic land with nothing. How was she supposed to find him?

Take it one step at a time, and try your luck while searching?

Maria frowned slightly, her expression subtle.

Fortunately, Maria didn't have to think for long before a bright light suddenly shone in the darkness.

It pierced through the darkness of the seabed, forming a straight path of light that faced Maria.

The intense light startled creatures that were already protected from light.

They fled from the path of light in a sorry state, like rats.

"Um?"

Maria tilted her head, facing the source of the light.

With her eyes, she could clearly see the uniquely shaped oval object.

It looks like...

It looks a bit like an egg?

Maria pondered.

But even faster, the other party's lights started to twitch.

It changed from being pointed directly at Maria to one aiming and the other moving.

From facing the ground, twisting to facing its own hull, and finally...

"Click..."

Inside the sleek black hull, the hatch opened, revealing a path to the interior for Maria.

"Is this... an invitation?"

Maria blinked, somewhat curious.

"This... this is impossible!"

Inside the driver's cab, a group of figures dressed in light clothing stared in astonishment at Maria as she moved.

Judging from her posture, she seemed completely unaffected by the water pressure that could crush a person into a pulp; her body showed absolutely no change whatsoever!

She's practically a superhero!

"Don't think anything is impossible..."

Beside her, a slender woman smiled and slowly walked to the front of the crowd.

Through that amazing glassmaking technique, she could also clearly see Maria slowly walking in the deep sea.

After she stared at the other woman for a moment, Maria seemed to sense it, stopped, turned her head, and looked at the woman.

Her white hair swayed gently on the seabed, and her blood-red pupils carried an unsettling indifference, yet resembled vibrant red blood, drawing everyone's attention.

"She... she's looking this way?"

The man who was initially surprised was now even more astonished. After hesitating for a while, he frantically denied it.

"Impossible. No matter how powerful she is, she couldn't possibly defy the laws of light refraction. She couldn't possibly..."

"Don't resist so much, Malitus..."

The woman smiled as she looked at Maria in the distance, and only after Maria turned her head again and walked towards her did she slowly exhale.

"Have reverence for this world, Malitus... have reverence for this world..."

"Splash--"

As Maria walked down the corridor, she found a cold iron gate at the end of the path.

As the machinery operated, the heavy seawater was rapidly lowered, and before long, Maria was breathing in the not-so-fresh air again.

And at that moment, the iron gate opened.

A group of two women and one man stood before Maria.

The woman leading the group was a Platinum blonde with striking eyes.

She held up a strangely shaped staff, smiling at Maria with curiosity in her eyes.

The other woman, with blue hair and black eyes, blinked, her curiosity about Maria's behavior purely tinged with amusement.

On the contrary, the man looked at Maria as if he had seen a ghost, with an incredulous expression.

"That's impossible!"

He cried out in a hoarse voice.

The blue-haired woman beside him looked at him with some annoyance and shook her head helplessly.

"You've repeated this many times... I know there may be things in this world that you can't believe, but I think that, at least now that the facts have occurred, you should learn to accept and understand them, instead of simply denying them."

"You don't understand!"

The man shook his head firmly, his eyes once again falling on Maria.

After pausing for a moment, he could no longer contain his curiosity and took a few steps forward to examine Maria.

He couldn't imagine it.

Even after the water receded so quickly, eliminating the water pressure Maria had experienced, she still showed no reaction whatsoever.

At this point, a normal person shouldn't be unconscious, right?

No, no, no, that's not right. It should be said that he died outright!

But... if we consider Maria's ability to move freely at depths of tens of thousands of meters, then all of this seems to become understandable...

Thinking of this, Malitus's expression became complicated and conflicted.

But just as he was about to observe Maria further, the Platinum- haired woman finally spoke.

"I think we should maintain certain etiquette when interacting with guests..."

"But..."

"No buts."

The woman's voice remained calm, and even the smile on her face didn't change.

But even these calm words caused Malitus's expression to change abruptly.

The initial joy of discovery was instantly dampened, replaced by indifference and silence on their faces.

He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and returned to stand behind the woman, side by side with the blue-haired woman.

"A very strict hierarchical system."

Maria saw through the situation, and after a moment of silence, she nodded slightly and offered her thoughts.

The woman just smiled.

"A clear division of labor and hierarchy is conducive to the smooth operation... There can only be one captain on a ship, right?"

"..."

"Nice to meet you, madam. I am Heratia, the leader of this ship. It is an honor to meet you."

As Heratia spoke, she extended her right hand.

After a pause, Maria also extended her hand.

"Maria ..."

"What a beautiful name."

The two held hands, marking their first meeting.

Behind the woman, a man and a woman watched the handshake with obvious surprise.

Before Maria could even turn her head in curiosity, Heratia reacted.

She chuckled softly, bent down slightly, and kissed the back of Maria's hand with her lips.

This surprised Maria.

To be honest, this might be the first time she's been treated as a woman since she came into this world.

This action was also a test by Heratia.

After she finished kissing Maria, she paused for a moment, then lowered Maria's hand and looked at her with a gentle smile.