After successful tests across various sites, Dr. Philippe had deployed CCP staff to assist in calming the berserk Coralites at all the affected reefs, but this one, way out from Atlantis, had on solo duty.
I checked the speaker setup one more ti, double-checking every dial and switch. A single mishap out here would an scrambling for hours to fix it, precious ti we couldn't afford.
The tide was due in two days, and once it does, tackling the coral issue underwater will be a hassle. Every minute counts.
I straightened up, satisfied everything was set, when suddenly—a massive wave slamd into out of nowhere, scattering my equipnt like a child's abandoned beach toys.
The force sent sprawling, salt water filling my nose and mouth as I was dragged under the turbulent water.
I fought to stay upright, but another wave crashed over , this one even more massive. I barely had ti to catch my breath before the current yanked back down.
I struggled, the weight of the ocean pressing in on all sides. My vision blurred as the world spun in dizzying circles, darker and darker until—
WHUMP.
Sothing rough and powerful caught by the waist, hauling upwards. Through bleary eyes, I saw a gigantic tentacle coiled around .
My heart froze, terror squeezing every last ounce of strength from . The last thing I glimpsed before blacking out was that enormous limb pulling towards the surface.
I sputtered awake, my body sprawled unceremoniously on the sandy shore, tangled in slimy seaweed. Coughing up seawater, I flopped onto my back, the shock of air flooding my lungs. For a mont, I lay there, dazed and disbelieving.
"I'm… I'm alive?" I choked out.
Scanning the beach, I spotted my equipnt strewn around the sand like the aftermath of a storm. With a groan, I sat up and checked for injuries, but there wasn't a scratch on . I had to be the luckiest intern in all of Mythica.
"What was that? Why did a tsunami hit here out of nowhere?" I muttered, bewildered.
A shadow lood overhead, stretching across the beach like a dark on. I froze, swallowing hard as I turned, craning my neck upward to see a towering, inky figure silhouetted against the sky.
My heart thundered in my chest.
"K-Kraken?" I stamred, dread twisting in my gut.
The colossal creature gave a piercing look, its massive eye narrowing before the corner of its mouth slowly curled up into... a smile?
No—was that a grin?
Oh, fantastic. It's thrilled to see , which can only an one thing—I'm it's food.
Just great.
In that instant, a ntal obituary flashed in my mind. "Carl Suis, Devoured by Kraken. Services to be held… well, nowhere."
"Oh, thank goodness, man! You're alive!" bood a deep, surprisingly friendly voice. "I thought you'd drowned out there. Good thing I scooped you up in ti, huh?"
"Huh? What?" I stamred, feeling a rush of bewildernt.
Is this really THE Kraken?
The legendary terror of the seas, the monster that sent Olympians scrambling in the myths? Or… could it just be an abnormally large octopus?
I stared, dazed and slack-jawed, at the Kraken towering in front of , its eyes the size of boulders. And then, of all things—it blinked, twice… no, three tis, as if sizing up.
Finally, it spoke. "You good, dude?"
The creature's tone was so casual, so genuinely concerned, that I stared at him in total bafflent. "You… you're a Kraken?"
The sea monster let out a booming laugh that rattled the water around us. "Yeah, I'm the Kraken," he confird, his voice dripping with casual cool.
"I know what you're thinking—'A Kraken? Friendly? But I thought you terrorized sailors or sothing!' Ha! Nah, man, I don't get into all that. I'm just here to dance, you know?"
"Dance?" The words felt strange in my mouth.
"Yup!" he bead. "But call OK. It's my B-boy na." He winked, as if I should be impressed.
I blinked. "Uh… okay, OK."
He chuckled, clearly amused by his own joke.
"Those rumors about terrorizing people? Nah, man, total misunderstanding. I was just breakdancing. But, uh… turns out breakdancing can cause, you know… a little destruction when you're my size."
Oh. So that's it.
That's why the tsunami hit. He was probably throwing down so coffee grinders or windmills, and the ocean just couldn't handle it.
"I was working on so new moves out in the trench, you know, deep enough that nobody would notice. But I, uh, might've gotten carried away."
Yikes! Imagine when he tries a B-boy move, it'll be like a natural disaster—each flip and spin sends shockwaves that could sink an island if he's not careful.
You've gotta give him points for commitnt, though. Breakdancing in water, with tentacles, while making sure not to cause too many tsunamis? That's next-level dedication!
He scratched the back of his enormous head with one tentacle. "See, I'm technically banned from dancing ever since that, uh… incident."
He shifted, looking a tad sheepish. "It was at the Mythica Got Talent audition in Atlantis. I was pumped! I thought, hey, why not show my skills? And… let's just say, things got a bit, uh, turbulent."
Okay. Pause right there.
Who in their right mind accepted a Kraken to breakdance??!
Right? Imagine the logistics! I an, how many limbs does he even have to coordinate? A Kraken doing a windmill would be, like… an everything-mill!
I'd heard about that show. The grandest in Mythica, with every creature from dragons to sirens vying for fa. And he thought bringing his colossal moves there was a good idea?
I started to imagine it. OK the Kraken has his eight massive tentacles splayed out, spinning like a tidal top, each one alternating between support and flair.
He's got that "headspin" move down too—except his head is the size of a small house, so it's more like the whole stage's getting pulverized.
And he's definitely got that power move where he flares his tentacles out in a perfect circle, making the whole stage swirl like a blender on high speed.
"Oh, man… no way," I groaned, imagining the chaos.
"So, what exactly happened?" I asked, not sure if I really wanted to know.
"Well, it started with a sweet backspin," he said, enthusiasm gleaming in his eyes.
"The crowd was into it, the judges were giving nods, and I'm thinking, 'Oh, yeah, I'm totally nailing this.' But, uh… then I went for a head spin. Which, in retrospect, was a bad call. When I spun, I spun big. The waves crashed through the audience stands, the judges were screaming—Pandora the Harpy nearly lost a wing."
"Yikes," I murmured, envisioning the pandemonium.
"Yeah, so… banned." OK's shoulders sagged. "They told no more dancing in public. I was crushed, man. This is my dream!"
There was a vulnerable look in his enormous eyes, the kind that you only see in creatures that really believe in sothing bigger than themselves. And as ridiculous as it sounded, I felt for the guy. Here was a Kraken, a creature legendary for terror and chaos, who just wanted to groove.
"Listen, OK," I said, mustering my courage, "I get it. I really do. But… maybe hold off on the tsunami-inducing moves just for a bit? The corals here are in serious trouble, and I'm supposed to calm the Coralites with so soft tunes, not traumatize them further."
"Whoa, no way. I didn't realize!" He looked mortified. "Man, I'll help however I can. You got yourself an ally in OK."
"Actually…" An idea began forming. "If you can keep the tides steady around this site, I might just get this Coralite situation under control. A little peace and quiet goes a long way with them."
"Peace and quiet?" He scratched his head, looking doubtful. "Not exactly my specialty, but I'll give it a shot."
As we worked together setting up my equipnt again, he shared more about his thwarted dreams of dance stardom.
From the sounds of it, he'd poured his whole kraken heart into becoming the best dancer in Mythica. Listening to his story, I realized how easy it was to misjudge creatures based on rumors alone.
"So, OK," I asked as I adjusted the speaker, "what's your plan? Keep practicing in the deep until Mythica finally allows you back?"
He shook his massive head. "Nah, that's not gonna cut it. I need to learn control. If I can manage a subtle dance, maybe I'll get my second chance." He sighed, looking out at the ocean wistfully. "But until then, I guess I'm the rogue Kraken b-boy. Outlaw of the deep."
I chuckled, his grandiose self-description catching off guard. "Outlaw or not, you've got a good heart."
"Sa to you, Carl. You're not like most humans I've t."
We both fell silent as the first soothing notes from the lullaby I'd set up began drifting through the reef. Almost instantly, the Coralites responded, their pulsing glow softening, as if the imagined battle cry had finally dissipated.
"Looks like it's working," I said, relief flooding through . "Thanks, OK. You might've saved an entire ecosystem today."
"No problem," he grinned, a shy pride in his massive eyes. "Hey, if you ever need to keep the peace again, just holler. Maybe I'll figure out this whole 'delicate' thing one day." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs nοvelfire
He gave a casual salute with one of his tentacles before slinking back into the water, his enormous form blending into the depths.
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
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