Awakening: I Ascend Alone-Chapter 31: No Way...

The freezing water crashed around Melvin like a heavy weight.

His chest burned as he sank deeper into the icy darkness. Every movement felt slow and useless. The cold stabbed into his body, stealing the strength from his arms and legs.

’I’m going to drown...’

Just as panic was about to completely take over his being, his hand suddenly brushed against something solid. Without thinking twice, Melvin grabbed it immediately.

The surface was rough and sharp. Hence, pain shot through his palm as his fingers pressed against the surface of something that felt like a thorn. He gritted his teeth and adjusted his grip, ignoring the sting.

Only then did he realize something strange.

The thing he was holding onto... felt like flesh.

Melvin froze.

A terrible thought crept into his mind.

’Please don’t be what I think it is...’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Before he could process it further, his body suddenly jerked forward. He began to move, keeping the same pace as what he was holding onto.

In protest, Melvin kicked his legs furiously, trying to both understand what was happening and clear his doubt. Just then, his feet struck against another surface that was above him.

His heart skipped.

Slowly, he looked downward.

And his eyes widened in horror.

The dark space around him wasn’t a swamp; it was a throat. And the thorn-covered surface he was holding onto was the teeth of whatever he had fallen into.

Melvin had arrived in the Silver Spire... inside the mouth of a massive creature.

"Damn it!" he cursed silently.

The creature moved through the freezing waters while swallowing everything in its path. Other small sea creatures were constantly dragged inside by the powerful current flowing into its open mouth.

Unlike Melvin, the tiny creatures had no chance of resisting the pull. They were been swallowed instantly.

The rushing current of sea creatures pushed against Melvin again and again as he tried to climb upward along the creature’s inner flesh. Each movement felt like fighting against a raging river.

Good enough, creatures that were being swallowed weren’t harmful... or so he thought.

As he continued to climb, something massive suddenly slipped into the water above.

Melvin looked up and saw it.

A huge metal chain had descended from somewhere beyond the icy waters, sinking slowly into the creature’s mouth.

Hope flared inside his chest.

Gritting his teeth, Melvin pushed forward with everything he had. The swarm of creatures rushing past him slammed into his body, trying to drag him back down into the monster’s throat, but he refused to give up.

Little by little, he forced his way forward.

Finally, he reached the creature’s mouth and climbed out.

The moment he escaped, the powerful suction suddenly stopped.

Melvin floated in the freezing water for a second, confused.

’Why did it stop?’

But there was no time to think.

He turned and began swimming toward the giant chain. He didn’t have any compatibility with or wasn’t able to train with water... hence, any attack in this freezing snow water could possibly end his—

Why was he even thinking about that kind of misfortune?

If only he hadn’t been limited by the use of fragments as cost for using his abilities, he could have tested his ability this once.

’Or, I don’t think it will be of any use now,’ he thought discouragingly.

For him, his survival solely depended on reaching the giant chain.

Just as he swam forward, a long, jagged tail suddenly shot from the side, slicing through the water toward his neck.

’My head, again?’

In time, Melvin twisted his body as he dove inward at the last second. The sharp tail missed his head by a hair but simultaneously began to return horizontally, threatening to cut Melvin through in equal halves.

But he performed an evasive reaction he didn’t think he would have been able to inside water.

His legs swung forward instead, barely avoiding the deadly strike, as it threw his head forward to return to his original position. Melvin could have sworn that front-flipping in water was an impossible deed.

But now that he did, it was good. Very good.

Without wasting more seconds, Melvin straightened himself and swam even faster. The front flip earlier also lent a hand with its momentum.

Luck was finally on his side.

He reached the massive chain and grabbed one of the thick metal links.

The moment his fingers locked around it, the chain jerked violently upward.

Melvin couldn’t even react.

The sudden pull dragged him out of the water with terrifying speed. Before he could understand what was happening, his body was launched through the air.

A second later, he crashed onto solid, snow-covered ground.

THUD!

Melvin lay there for a moment, stunned, cold air burning his lungs. For a brief moment, he imagined what would have happened if the creature closed its jaws while he was climbing out.

Those teeth... that jagged tail. What was that creature?

Gladly, he was safe for now.

"No way could I have become the second Jonah," he sighed in relief.

Then he slowly lifted his head and froze at the same time.

Shock filled his face as the sight before him registered.

"You... how... No! I mean, what?" he stuttered.