Chapter 79: Ocean’s Embrace

Cold.

Not the nice “ooh, let me snuggle under blankets” kind of cold, but the slimy, gross “something is very wrong” kind that slithered right into Grace’s bones.

She blinked awake and immediately noticed two things: Petriel was gone, and water was seeping under their door.

[Well, that’s not good.]

Grace tumbled out of bed, almost face-planting when her feet hit the wet floor. The water was only an inch deep, but it was spreading fast, dark and oily-looking.

“Petriel?” she called, her voice bouncing off the empty walls.

No answer.

Grace yanked on her clothes, not bothering with all the complicated angel robes—just the basics. As she reached for the door handle, her medallion went from ice-cube cold to fireball hot against her skin.

[Is that a warning or are you cheering me on? Make up your mind!]

No time to figure it out. Grace threw the door open, half-expecting a wall of water to knock her on her butt.

Instead, she found total chaos.

The hallway was flooded ankle-deep. Downstairs, she could hear shouting, splashing, and Diana swearing with the creativity of a drunk sailor.

Grace sprinted down the steps, nearly wiping out twice, and burst outside into the early dawn light.

The village square was a shitshow. Diana was backed against the inn’s wall, golden sword slashing as she fought off three blue-skinned villagers. Meridian hovered above like some judgmental bird, firing blue energy blasts from her palm. And about twenty feet away, four more creepy water zombies were dragging a kicking Petriel toward the shoreline.

“PETRIEL!” Grace shouted.

The healer’s head snapped up, eyes wide with panic.

“Grace! Help!”

Not all the villagers had gone full fish-person. Some—the ones who’d barricaded themselves in their homes—were fighting alongside Diana, stabbing with fishing spears and boat hooks. But they were clearly getting their butts handed to them.

Grace summoned her Blade of Dawn, the light construct materializing in her hand. She charged toward the group hauling Petriel away, dodging a blue-skinned woman who lunged at her with freaky speed.

“Mother Water wants the healer!” one gurgled, his voice sounding like he was gargling marbles despite standing on dry land.

She swung her rapier at the nearest water zombie, aiming for what she hoped were non-lethal spots. The blade sliced through his arm, but instead of blood, sea water gushed from the wound like she had punctured a water balloon.

[What the heck?]

Grace froze for a second, and that tiny hesitation nearly got her killed (or, painfully injured, actually) as another villager tackled her from the side. They crashed onto the wet ground, Grace’s head smacking against stone hard enough to make her see stars.

The villager—a young woman with skin turned an unnatural blue-gray—pinned Grace down, her eyes completely black like some deep-sea nightmare. Water dripped from her mouth as she spoke.

“Join us,” she gurgled.

“Thanks for the invite,” Grace grunted, “but I’m busy.”

She slammed her knee up between the woman’s legs. Not as effective as it would be on a guy, but enough to make her grip loosen. Grace shoved her off and rolled to her feet, rapier still clutched tight.

[Aura Cleanse. Maybe I can fix them like I did with the plant zombies.]

Grace focused, channeling divine energy into her free hand. Golden light flickered to life, and she lunged forward, slapping her palm against the nearest corrupted villager’s chest.

Nothing happened.

“Crap!”

The villager backhanded her hard enough to rattle her brain. Grace stumbled back, spitting blood onto the flooded ground.

[Plan B it is.]

With a grim “what the hell am I doing with my life” look that didn’t fit her former turnip-farmer self at all, Grace drove her rapier straight through the villager’s chest. Water exploded outward from the wound, and those creepy black eyes went dim. The body collapsed and started dissolving into murky water.

No time to process that. Grace spun around to see Petriel now only ten feet from the water’s edge, still fighting but clearly losing steam. The healer’s movements looked sluggish, and her wings dragged in the water.

Grace sprinted toward her, cutting down another water zombie who tried to block her path. This one dissolved immediately too, turning into nothing but dirty seawater that joined the flood.

“Diana!” Grace shouted. “Cover me!”

“Oh, well, I guess I’ll just drop everything I’m doing and do that, then!” Diana yelled back, but she doubled down, drawing attention from the villagers holding Petriel.

Grace reached the healer just as they were about to drag her into deeper water. She slashed her rapier in a wide arc, forcing the corrupted villagers back. One lunged at her, and Grace’s blade went straight through its neck. Another gush of seawater, another body melting like sugar in tea.

She grabbed Petriel’s arm, pulling her away from the water’s edge. The healer stumbled, her head flopping weirdly.

“Petriel? Hey, look at me!”

When Petriel turned, Grace’s heart dropped into her stomach. Seawater was dribbling from the corners of Petriel’s mouth, and her normally bright eyes had a bluish tint spreading across them like a stain.

[No no no no no]

“Grace,” Petriel whispered, water bubbling between her lips. “Something’s inside me. I can feel it.”

“It’s okay,” Grace said, trying to sound way calmer than she felt. “Uh, I’ve got you.”

She dragged Petriel farther inland, toward some big rocks for cover. The fighting raged behind them, but from the sounds of it, Diana and Meridian weren’t completely screwed yet.

Grace propped Petriel against a boulder, frantically checking her over. The healer’s skin was turning that same gross blue color as the villagers.

[Aura Cleanse didn’t work on them. But maybe they were just… too far gone?]

“Petriel, hold still for a second,” Grace said, pressing her hand against the healer’s chest.

[Aura Cleanse. Come on, work this time!]

Grace focused every ounce of her concentration, channeling divine energy through her palm. Golden light bloomed between her fingers, brighter than it had been with the water zombies.

The golden glow sank into Petriel’s skin, spreading across her chest like honey. Where it touched, the blue tint receded. Petriel gasped, her back arching as the corruption fought against Grace’s cleansing.

“Keep going,” Petriel choked out, water still dribbling from the corner of her mouth.

Grace gritted her teeth, pushing more energy through her hand. Her arm trembled with the effort, and sweat beaded on her forehead despite the cold air. The medallion against her chest went from lukewarm to burning hot, lending her power.

Beneath her fingers, Grace could feel the corruption – slick, cold, and writhing like some kind of fucking parasite. She concentrated harder, imagining her divine energy as a net, capturing the darkness and burning it away.

Petriel suddenly convulsed, her head thrown back. She coughed violently, expelling a mouthful of seawater onto the ground. Once. Twice. Three times. With each cough, more of the blue faded from her skin, her eyes clearing.

“Almost there,” Grace muttered, her arm shaking so badly now she had to brace it with her other hand.

With one final surge of energy that left Grace feeling like she’d run a marathon, the last of the blue tint vanished from Petriel’s skin. The healer slumped forward, gasping for air – normal air, not that water-breathing bullshit the corruption had been forcing on her.

[YES!] Grace sighed with relief. [I did it!]

“Thank you,” Petriel whispered, reaching out to squeeze Grace’s hand. “I could feel it inside me, trying to… change me. Make me want to join them.”

“Well, it’s gone now,” Grace assured her, trying not to show how drained she felt. “Just, you know, maybe stay away from the water from now on?”

A shadow fell over them. Grace looked up to see Meridian hovering above, eyeing them like they were lab specimens.

“The fighting has stopped,” Meridian reported. “Diana is chasing the remaining corrupted villagers who ran into the sea.”

“Ran into the sea?” Grace asked. “Or went home?”

Meridian’s eyes narrowed.

“… Interesting question.”

Once Petriel could stand without wobbling, they headed back to the village square. The water was draining away now, leaving behind a slimy residue that smelled like dead fish marinated in ass. Diana was cleaning her sword, looking pissed.

“They dissolved,” she complained. “Every single one I killed just turned into water. It’s fucking weird.”

“It’s fascinating,” Meridian corrected, kneeling to examine the goop. “I don’t think these villagers were corrupted like normal. They were being transformed.”

“What’s the difference?” Grace asked.

“Well, technically, corruption is an outside force messing up an existing form. This looks like direct transformation of their physical matter.” Meridian scooped some of the bluish slime into a vial like it wasn’t completely disgusting. “If I’m right, even if we could fix their brains, their bodies would stay changed.”

“So they’re just… water people now?” Grace frowned.

“Pretty much.”

Later, while Diana and Petriel helped the surviving villagers fortify the inn, Grace and Meridian explored the shoreline. In the tide pools, Grace found weird blue pearls that pulsed with energy. She grabbed several despite Meridian’s warnings about unknown artifacts.

“The Tide obviously knows we’re here,” Meridian said, watching Grace pocket another pearl. “It specifically went after Petriel.”

“Why her?” Grace asked.

“Probably because she’s a healer. The Tide might see her abilities as a threat to its transformation process. We’ll have to be careful.”

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