Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 168: Episode : A New Task at Hand.

The sobbing eventually stopped, mostly because Roxy ran out of hydration.

There was a limit to how much she could cry.

She sat on the edge of the giant clam shell, her knees drawn to her chest, breathing in the damp, salty air of her pearl prison. Now that the adrenaline of panic and the wave of grief had receded slightly, she was left with a strange, hollow clarity.

She looked at her captor.

Caspian was hovering near the coral table, arranging the pile of raw squid he had brought earlier. He moved with a hypnotic fluidity.

Roxy had heard stories of Merfolk. Myths claimed they were nightmares, cold-blooded monsters with rows of serrated teeth who dragged sailors to their deaths. She expected him to look like a humanoid shark, all grey skin and dead eyes.

But Caspian was... distracting.

He had the ethereal, untouchable beauty of Syris, that pale, porcelain skin, but he also had the sheer, magnetic presence of Ren, the way his silver hair floated around him like a silk halo, and the grace in his long, powerful tail.

He could breathe air like us. But only for some time.

His scales weren’t slimy; they were shimmering with iridescent blues, purples, and teals in the dim light of the cave. His eyes, rimmed with gold, held his curiosity.

He’s beautiful, Roxy admitted to herself, a little grudgingly. If I weren’t terrified of being crushed by water pressure, I’d probably be asking for his skincare routine.

Caspian turned, sensing her gaze. He smiled, revealing teeth that were indeed sharp, but the expression was gentle.

"You are calm," he noted, his voice vibrating in the air. "Do you feel better now?"

"For now," Roxy muttered, rubbing her eyes. "I’m dehydrated."

Caspian picked up a wriggling, translucent tentacle from the pile. "Then you must feed."

He extended the raw squid toward her. It dripped green slime onto the sand.

Roxy recoiled, pressing her back against the shell. "I told you, Caspian. I can’t eat that. It’s raw. It’s... alive."

"It is fresh," Caspian insisted, looking confused. "It is full of life-energy. Why do you reject it? Are you a scavenger? Do you prefer dead things?"

"I prefer cooked things," Roxy corrected. "Food that has been prepared with fire and salt..."

Caspian frowned. "Fire?"

He said the word like it was a myth. And down here, seven miles below the surface, where the water was freezing, and oxygen was scarce, maybe it was.

"The Red Flower," Roxy clarified, using the term he had feared earlier. "I need to make the Red Flower to clean the food."

Caspian’s golden eyes widened. He backed away, clutching the squid. "Impossible. The Red Flower cannot live in the Deep. The Ocean swallows it."

"Not in here," Roxy said, gesturing to the air pocket. "Not in the bubble."

She took a deep breath. She needed to eat. Her body was screaming for calories to heal her ribs and produce milk for a baby she couldn’t reach. If she starved, she died. If she died, she would never see her mates and babies again.

"System," she whispered. "Inventory."

The grey, glitchy screen flickered into view.

[System: Safe Mode.]

[Inventory Access: Unstable.]

[Item Retrieved: Survival Lighter (1).]

[Item Retrieved: Dried Oak Bundle (1).]

Please work, she prayed.

She reached her hand into space. The air rippled, distorting like a heat haze. Caspian hissed, his tail lashing nervously as he watched her pull objects from the void.

Roxy dropped a small bundle of dry wood onto a flat stone slab near the entrance. She held up the red plastic lighter.

"Stay back," Roxy warned, seeing Caspian tensing as if to attack. "I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just making dinner."

She flicked the wheel.

A small, yellow flame sprang to life.

Caspian gasped. It was a sound of awe mixed with terror. He scrambled backward, his tail knocking over a vase, pressing himself against the damp wall of the cave.

"The Sun!" Caspian whispered, shielding his eyes. "You hold a piece of the Sun!"

Roxy ignored him. She carefully lit the dry leaves at the base of the wood. The fire caught quickly, crackling comfortably. The smell of woodsmoke filled the cave—a scent so alien to this environment that it felt like magic.

"It’s just fire, Caspian," Roxy said calmly. "It’s warm. Come closer."

Caspian didn’t move. He stared at the dancing orange light with wide, unblinking eyes. He watched Roxy skewer the squid leg on a clean stick and hold it over the flames.

He watched the meat turn from translucent to opaque white. He smelled the savory aroma of roasted calamari replacing the scent of raw brine.

"You are a witch," Caspian breathed. "A Sea Witch."

Yet he was inching closer to learn what had that sweet smell in the air.

"I’m just a human who wants to eat," Roxy corrected, pulling the squid off the fire. She blew on it, then took a bite. It was rubbery and unseasoned, but it was warm.

She ate quickly, ignoring his stare. When she was done, she felt a little strength return to her limbs.

She looked up. Caspian wasn’t looking at the fire anymore. He was looking at her.

His expression had shifted to that of fascination. He looked at her the way a dragon looked at a particularly rare gemstone.

"You create light," Caspian murmured, slithering slowly back toward her, though he gave the fire a wide berth. "You are... precious."

Roxy wiped her mouth. "I’m just human."

She was already used to this, since it reminded her of Zarek when he first saw she could birth his child.

"No," Caspian shook his head, his hair floating around him. "Humans drown. Humans break. You... you burn."

He turned and abruptly left the cave, passing through the water barrier and vanishing into the dark ocean.

"Great," Roxy sighed, leaning back against the rock. "I scared off the landlord."

She sat by the dying fire, feeding it small twigs to keep the comfort alive. She wondered what time it was on the surface. How were her mates faring?

Ten minutes later, Caspian returned.

He dragged a large, net-like sack made of woven kelp behind him. He entered the bubble, his chest heaving slightly from exertion.

He didn’t speak. He simply upended the sack at Roxy’s feet. And everything fell out of it.

Roxy blinked.

Piled in front of her on the sandy floor was a fortune that would make kings weep.

There were gold coins, thousands of them, stamped with the faces of forgotten emperors. There were rubies the size of fists. There were golden goblets encrusted with emeralds. There were statues made of solid jade.

It was a shipwreck treasure. The hoard of the deep.

A shipwreck? What species can use ships in the beastworld?

Caspian looked at her, then at the pile, then back at her. He looked expectant. Like a cat dropping a dead mouse on the doorstep, waiting for praise.

"For the Sea Witch," Caspian announced proudly. "Shiny things. For the one who makes light."

Roxy picked up a gold coin. It was heavy, cold, and utterly useless.

"Caspian," she said, dropping the coin back onto the pile with a dull clink. "I don’t want this."

Caspian’s smile faltered. He looked confused. "But... Land-Walkers love the yellow metal. They drown for it. They sink their wooden shells for it. I brought you the best pieces."

"I can’t eat gold," Roxy said softly. "And gold can’t take me home."

She stepped over the pile of priceless artifacts and stood in front of him. She had to try. She had to make him understand.

"Caspian," she said, looking into his golden-rimmed eyes. "I don’t want treasure. I want a map."

"A map?"

"A chart," Roxy explained, using her hands to draw a rectangle in the air. "Paper. Leather. Something that shows me the currents. The way up. The way to the Iron-Wood."

Caspian’s expression darkened instantly. The wonder evaporated, replaced by a stubborn, petulant frown.

"No," he said.

"Caspian, please—"

"No map," he interrupted, his voice deepening, vibrating the floor. "You wish to leave."

"I have a family!" Roxy shouted, frustration bubbling over. "I have mates!"

"They lost you," Caspian stated coldly. "You belong to the Deep now."

He slithered past her, using his tail to sweep the pile of gold closer to her bed, as if rearranging furniture in a dollhouse.

"You are safe here," Caspian said, his tone final. "I will bring you more wood for your Red Flower. I will bring you the softest sponges. You will be the jewel of the Pearl Garden."

He turned to look at her, his eyes possessing a terrifyingly innocent possessiveness.

"Why would you want to leave the tank? Everything you need is here. And I will keep you."

He turned and swam out again, presumably to find more "shiny things" to appease his exotic new pet.

Roxy stood alone in the dim blue light, the fire dying at her feet, surrounded by a million dollars’ worth of gold she couldn’t spend.

Fuck, now I am like a cat for a big bad merman.

She looked at the water wall. Screaming hadn’t worked. Crying hadn’t worked. Fire had impressed him, but it hadn’t freed her.

He didn’t see her as an equal. He saw her as a collector’s item. A rare, fragile thing to be kept on a shelf and admired.

Roxy kicked a ruby across the floor.

She looked at the dying embers of her fire.

If I fight him, he’ll sedate me again. If I run, the ocean kills me.

She took a deep breath, smoothing the seaweed bandages over her ribs.

I can’t force him.

She looked at the empty doorway where the beautiful, lonely, possessive Merman had vanished.

If I need to leave here soon, I must gain his trust. I have to make him want to let me go.