Her Tentacles 82p2

Chapter 82: The Darkness p2

The [Lighthouse] was really not satisfied with this batch of children.

They were supposed to be the weapons It had derived, the longer stinging tentacles It had extended to other vibrant worlds. But what were they doing now?

They had developed emotions they shouldn’t have, and had even asked It to sacrifice Its own energy to resurrect those weapons that had long since died.

It felt that It should have acted earlier.

When they had sheltered the Glutton, and had even privately praised that rebellious child as a unique existence in the abyss, It should have taken back their talents and lives.

Next time, It would remember to create beings that didn’t need so many emotions, but only needed to serve Its will and execute Its commands.

Otherwise, it would be like now—

After It had said that, the octopus in the jellyfish swarm immediately pulled Flower Hat back and let go of the tentacles that were connected to the other jellyfish.

She had already guessed the [Lighthouse]’s plan.

Now her dark eyes were filled with vigilance.

And because of this, when the [Lighthouse] took back the gifts and lives of those children through its stinging threads, this time’s ball no longer had graceful dances, no colors that fluttered like colored flags.

There were only one after another of dull, gray, lifeless jellyfish corpses.

Countless corpses were piled up next to the [Lighthouse]’s main body. They didn’t even have time to say an extra word before they became nourishment to feed It back.

And the [Lighthouse] just sighed at these two children who had escaped.

【Believe me, after you are reborn, you will be better than the original.】

…

Shu Yao had long since felt that something was wrong.

From the first time the [Lighthouse] had heard Flower Hat’s question and had fallen into a long silence, she had predicted that the resurrection of those jellyfish would be fraught with difficulties.

But she didn’t say.

Because she felt that as long as her big sister Flower Hat was happy, it would be fine. She was willing to do anything with Flower Hat. It didn’t matter if she became a tool of the [Lighthouse], as long as she could keep her family this time.

But…

Flower Hat, who was also full of emotions, and usually joked and chatted with the other jellyfish, and fought together, witnessed them returning to the embrace of the [Lighthouse] in this form, and seemed to be completely stunned.

She was dazed as she was pulled by the little octopus, which had not yet handed over its energy, to dodge the fine threads of the [Lighthouse], and was led by Shu Yao all the way to a place that the [Lighthouse] could not reach.

Until they had escaped very, very far.

The little octopus used two tentacles to hold her bell and comforted her softly, 【Don’t be sad, big sister. You still have me. I will always be with you.】

【Look at me. Don’t be sad, okay?】

She took out the beautiful scale that she had hidden, which had been repaired by Flower Hat before, and carefully tied it next to Flower Hat’s bell hat.

Every time a sea wave flowed past, that scale would flutter like a wind chime in the water, making her even more beautiful.

From that day on, Flower Hat refused any communication with the outside world.

Shu Yao could completely understand her state. She learned from her previous appearance, searched for strange foods in the corners of the abyss for her, shared delicious food with her, and even found the delicacies she had secretly eaten before and had never shared with her.

But this jellyfish did not eat again.

She was deeply immersed in the grief of her companions’ deaths and could not extricate herself. She even blamed herself, if she had not made that request to the [Lighthouse] back then, would the other still-living jellyfish not have died?

She was depressed.

The little octopus could not cure her, and could only watch as she slowly became haggard.

Just as the little octopus was no longer going out to hunt, and was just staying with her in the ruins of the abyss, wanting to fall into an increasingly long sleep with her, a jellyfish floated past where they were.

【Huh?】

That jellyfish was wearing a large blue hat, with intricate patterns on the edge. It curiously pulled at the edge of the ruins with its stinging tentacles and asked, 【Why is there a companion here too?】

That was the first time Flower Hat had reacted to the outside world.

As more and more jellyfish emerged, pink, purple, a small group gathered around, and she also moved her stinging tentacles.

But Shu Yao was very wary of this. She had no interest in these strange jellyfish that had been reborn by the [Lighthouse].

But Flower Hat seemed to have seen her former companions.

At first, with the octopus’s obstruction, she had only stared at the other jellyfish surrounding her in the ruins. Later, one day, she was finally willing to speak, and the first thing she said was:

【I want to play with them.】

Shu Yao looked down at her black and red tentacles, which could not be turned into the form of a jellyfish no matter what, and fell silent.

After a long time, she finally said, 【Big sister should come back early.】

She said, 【I found something delicious. I’ll bring it back for you.】

…

That day, Flower Hat came home on time, happier than ever before. She pulsed her bell and told the little octopus that she had misunderstood her mother, and that those sisters had really been reborn.

They were the same as before, but they had just forgotten the past.

Shu Yao thought of what the [Lighthouse] had said, but was unwilling to believe it.

But she looked at Flower Hat, who went out every day to find those jellyfish, danced with them, and swam freely in the abyss with them, holding their stinging tentacles, and couldn’t say a single word to ruin the atmosphere.

She had also secretly followed them, wanting to see the true face of those jellyfish, but had not found any clues. Later, she could only wait at home for Flower Hat to be slowly healed by these familiar faces.

Because there was less and less to eat in the abyss.

So Shu Yao, who went out to hunt, ran farther and farther.

Until one day.

When she came back, Flower Hat was not at home.

She swam all over the ruins of Atlantis, using her tentacles to touch the fragments of pillars and bricks, and searched back and forth four or five times, only finding a piece of a broken red string with a scale in the corner.

It hadn’t been maintained for a long time, and had become dim again.

Did big sister throw it away on purpose?

Just like she had abandoned her?

The little octopus thought so, dazed.

But she was still unwilling to believe it. She swam out to find every passing jellyfish, wanting to ask them if they had seen Flower Hat.

【No.】

【There’s no one called Flower Hat among us.】

【And who are you? Why have I never seen you by the ‘Lighthouse’s’ side?】

Those jellyfish surrounded her curiously. Shu Yao ignored them and continued to search in this vast abyss, wanting to find that colorful bell.

But she couldn’t find it anywhere.

Except for the area where the [Lighthouse] was, her big sister was nowhere to be found.

She would swim for a while, then return to those ruins, for fear of missing the time when the other would come home. But that figure was no longer in the ruins.

Until she found a few familiar jellyfish that Flower Hat had liked to play with.

【No,】 they looked at her in surprise. 【We didn’t see her today. Why don’t you go and look somewhere else?】

Shu Yao could only continue to swim.

She didn’t know how long she had been swimming in this area. She was exhausted and was thinking about whether she should go to the [Lighthouse]’s side to look, when she suddenly heard a rustling sound of chatting.

It was no longer as curious and kind as before, but extremely malicious.

【Hee hee, that traitor, is she dead?】

【I originally wanted to bring her back to the ‘Lighthouse’s’ side, but how could she be worthy? Only obedient children like us are worthy of being by mother’s side. A traitor like her is not.】

【She didn’t like that dilapidated place very much, did she? Then she can just sleep there forever. And that stupid alien. If it weren’t for her being too vigilant, the two of them could have been buried together.】

【How long do you think that fool will have to look?】

【Haha, she’ll never find her! Oh, I know that alien’s name. It’s an octopus. It’s a heretic that the ‘Lighthouse’ accidentally gave birth to!】

…

Shu Yao dazedly returned to the place where she had picked up the scale.

Her tentacles, as if they knew what she was going to do, began to transform into digging tools, vigorously pulling at the bricks, rubble, and sand. Now these ordinary building materials would no longer scratch her.

It was unknown how deep she had dug when she saw the familiar, semi-transparent bell hat under the ground. The colors inside were more than half dimmed, but it was still breathing.

Her stinging tentacles were torn to shreds.

Worse than ever before.

But she was still alive.

Until she was halfway dug out by the little octopus, she even gave a light greeting. 【Hey.】

She said, 【I suddenly wanted to play hide-and-seek with you just now. I didn’t expect you to find me so quickly. You’re pretty amazing.】

Shu Yao said nothing, but dug hard, trying to dig out the rest of her. The tentacle that could heal her also tried hard to secrete the mucus that could make her recover—

But there were other poisons in Flower Hat’s body.

The new jellyfish, the updated poisons, were also poisons that the little octopus had not tasted and had not had time to develop antibodies to.

She didn’t want the little octopus to do useless work, so she said, 【Bao Bao, you were right. They really… are different from before.】

【Don’t be silent. Say something to me. Are you angry?】

【Don’t dig anymore, please. I’m so ugly now. I don’t want to be dug out…】

Shu Yao said nothing, until she saw Flower Hat’s torso again under the ruins.

Not a single stinging tentacle was left.

More than half of the colorful part had dimmed, and the remaining half was covered in an ominous black. And no matter how she smeared her mucus, it could not be restored to its original state.

Even the central core organ had changed color.

Flower Hat spoke to her again. 【Don’t be sad. I was the one who ran around. I should have believed you.】

It seemed that only at this moment did she wake up and realize that her former sisters would never exist again, and that the similar jellyfish shells were all filled with strange beings.

Her tone became very gentle, just like the first time she had come to find the little octopus.

【They gave me a choice.】

【I originally wanted to return to the embrace of the ‘Lighthouse,’ but I was afraid that you would be too lonely if you were left alone in this abyss, so I chose to stay here—】

【Bao Bao, eat me. This way, big sister can also be with you forever.】

This was the second time Shu Yao had heard this request.

Previously, she had really thought that she had mistaken her feelings for food, and had developed feelings for the [Lighthouse]’s food, and had treated the other as a friend.

It was like a parent bringing home a puppy. The child thought it was a pet that could accompany her, and they had played together for a long time. But one day, when she came home, she saw her family sharpening their knives, and had made that little puppy into a dog meat feast.

So she no longer got close to the puppy.

And she didn’t get close to any existence that was like a pet or food. She only played with her family.

But this time, the [Lighthouse] had also raised its butcher knife to her family.

The place in her heart that had collapsed before, collapsed with a boom, and a larger hole than before was dug out. It was a hole that had been dug out of friendship, and then out of kinship.

It deserved to die.

Those followers who had deceived her big sister also deserved to die.

A thought inexplicably appeared in the little octopus’s mind.

She thought of the existence she had first felt an appetite for when she was just born, and thought of the racial talents she had eaten before. She calmly judged that now those fine threads should no longer scratch her soft skin and mouthparts.

Since the [Lighthouse] was unwilling to return those family members to her big sister, then she would go and snatch them back for her big sister. This way, her big sister would not be lonely anymore, right?

…

When the [Glutton] reappeared in front of the [Lighthouse], it not only ate all the newborn jellyfish It had just produced.

It also unhesitatingly bit off Its stinging threads.

The [Glutton] talent that had been bestowed upon it, along with a huge body like a Leviathan whale, after ramming the [Lighthouse], it also ate more from It—

The first bite.

She took away the immortality talent that the [Lighthouse] had had since its birth.

As long as she had this ability, the [Lighthouse] could shed its shell when it was on the verge of death from energy overload, and with its former memories, it could start to grow again.

Then, she ate a third of the [Lighthouse]’s body. Those were all once connected to Flower Hat’s kind, and carried their, or the octopus’s, energy.

At the same time, the [Lighthouse] also furiously used those fine threads to cut open her tentacles, trying to take back its talent, but found that this [Glutton] ability that had been separated from it was precisely its nemesis.

It could not take back her [Glutton] ability.

Just like a too-powerful predator born in nature, one day, a plant that could restrain its ability would grow by its side.

Perhaps from the moment It wanted to give birth to the first alien, this fate was already destined.

In order to survive, the [Lighthouse] could only immediately begin to reproduce infinitely, and then even this [Reproduction] ability was also eaten.

Shu Yao, who was overfed by the [Lighthouse]’s energy, suddenly stopped her attack.

She felt that strange, unprecedented heat, which almost made her lose her reason.

The day the [Monarch Slayer] appeared was not because it was defeated by the [Lighthouse] and those newborn jellyfish.

She had left on her own, taking most of the [Lighthouse]’s stinging threads with her, and decorating them by the side of the dead Flower Hat. Then, she herself also lay down next to her, wanting to become a neat family with her.

Eating a part of the [Lighthouse] did not make her feel satisfied. On the contrary, she felt that the empty, collapsed place in her heart was even bigger.

The darkness kept collapsing, falling.

It eroded her three hearts along with it.

It was unknown how much time had passed.

That darkness came out of her huge body and slowly turned into a thick fog, surrounding her and that patch of ruins. The once-shining crescent-shaped scale, and that Flower Hat’s grave, were all swallowed by the darkness.

Having lost her friend and also her family, the lonely [Monarch Slayer] had a will to die.

And then, this pain and the [Immortality] talent fought against each other, until a new existence was derived in her body, an existence that would allow her to live again—

The darkness rolled like a thick fog, trembling more and more violently.

And then one day, it calmed down. A little octopus with black and red tentacles wriggled out from within.

The little octopus opened its eyes in a daze and looked at the abyss in front of it, its eyes filled with clarity and curiosity.

And then.

It heard other childish voices from within its body.

【Wuwu, hungry!】

【Hungry, food!】