Elliot blinked, almost suspecting he was hallucinating.
How could a Blood Vampire grow the limbs of a Dream Creature? It even looked somewhat as though it was being distorted and transformed.
But this was not a condition he had never seen before.
Humans could not stay in the sea for too long, or they would contract "Deep Diving Sickness."
This disease caused mental dissociation, confusion, hallucinations, and delirium. In more severe cases, extra body parts such as eyes, tentacles, and heads would grow on the body-exactly what the monster before him looked like.
After that, they would undergo an irreversible transformation into Dream Creatures.
Blood Vampires could get Deep Diving Sickness too?!
This almost overturned everything Elliot knew!
Could they also become Dream Creatures if they stayed in the sea too long?
Wait, those miners who worked in the Mine, like Old Henry, also grew distorted limbs, just like the symptoms of Deep Diving Sickness.
But in the end, they turned into ore, not Dream Creatures.
Ore seemed more like a trait of Blood Vampires. Before they awakened, ore could be extracted from the Mine, and the Empire kept Blood Vampires because they could turn into supernatural materials.
A conjecture surfaced in Elliot's mind:
"Could those miners who turned into Human Ore actually have been affected by both the Dream Creatures' Deep Diving Sickness and the Blood Vampires' Ore Sickness at the same time?"
And Blood Vampires were not immune to Deep Diving Sickness either, while Dream Creatures also had to endure the Ascent Curse.
Elliot vaguely sensed something. He slowly lowered his head and looked toward the Seabed.
"Between Blood Vampires and Dream Creatures, who is the true master of this place?"
"Or perhaps neither is."
*"The Sea of the Moon, or even the entire moon, is a fourth