Aurora didn't know what to do honestly. she could only silently stare at levy...

Who… honestly didn't even know what to do. Levy simply stood there or rather, was held there and in position he is.. All he could do was stare at the ground for a moment, because looking directly at Aurora while that blade pressed into his neck made everything inside him feel.bad. He wanted to say something anything to tell her not to do it, to run away, to save herself…or something wlse but his mouth refused to form the words.. He was.. well scared.

He took a slow, shaky breath and turned his gaze away from her on purpose. Because if he looked at her right now, she might think he wanted her to dance, that he needed her to humiliate herself to save him. And he didn't want that. He didn't want her to sacrifice something just because of him. It made him feel small, pathetic, even ashamed.

She was immortal. She could run. She might even have a chance to hide or survive in this place long enough for help to arrive. But she stopped.. stopped everything because of him. And that knowledge made something heavy settle painfully in his chest.

Aurora watched him turn his face away, and her stomach twisted. Seeing him refuse to look at her… she understood somewhat as what he might be thinking. But knowing didn't help. She took in a breath, shaky and uneven, her eyes flicking down toward her own feet as if the simple idea of dancing was somehow more terrifying than the monster-like men in front of them.

Dancing.

She didn't even know how to dance. Not even a little.

And even imagining it being forced to dance in front of dozens of staring strangers made her skin crawl with embarrassment. It was humiliating, ridiculous, degrading… and yet when her gaze drifted back to Levy, when she saw that blade, saw the tiny line of blood beginning to form…

Her heart felt weird.

They just became boyfriend and girlfriend today. And already, she was standing at the edge of something she didn't know how to escape.

Yes, she could run.

Yes, she was immortal.

Yes, these men couldn't kill her at least not permanently. But even so, she didn't want to leave. She didn't want Levy to die. And she didn't want to live with the guilt of abandoning him.. Well she was serious about relationship even if just minutes ago.

But she also wasn't stupid. She knew these people would never keep their word in the end. Maybe they'd let him live for a few minutes. Maybe an hour. But eventually, they would kill him anyway, and she'd be powerless to stop it.

The whole situation was a nightmare she couldn't wake from.

"Are you doing it, or we kill?" the octopus man barked loudly. His voice echoed through the large watery chamber, bouncing off the stone walls with enough force to make Aurora flinch. The yell drew attention instantly. Guards who had been patrolling lazily earlier turned toward the noise, swimming through the water or stepping closer across the stone floors.

Within seconds, a crowd began forming Atlantians, fish-men, strange hybrids, all murmuring excitedly, all watching Aurora and Levy like they were some sick kind of show.

Aurora's throat tightened.

The octopus man Irritatingly arrogant as he lifted his tentacles proudly. "Well?" he shouted again. "Do you dance, or do we spill his blood?"

Aurora swallowed hard and quickly raised her hand. "I'm doing it! I'm doing it.. don't! Just" she paused, voice trembling, "but why should I trust your words? What if you kill him anyway?"

Octopus man let out a deep, throaty chuckle, all eight tentacles spreading like a grotesque flower to show confidence.

"Do you think I am someone who goes back on his words?" he said, voice swelling with pride. "People here call me Krolious. I've earned that respect with my own hands. My own rules. My own promises."

He puffed his chest. "How do you think I'm able to show my face here? To command this place? Because my word is law. If I say he lives while you dance, he lives. Until You Stop ofcourse."

His voice vibrated the ground beneath them.

The crowd began swelling even more. Dozens of guards formed a circle, murmuring eagerly between themselves. Some pointed, others laughed, some nudged their companions while whispering things Aurora didn't want to hear.

Many looked at Levy with pity, others with amusement, but all of them seemed to think the same thing:

She won't last long.

She'll give up.

No one ever makes it.

Aurora exhaled shakily. Good. Let them think that.

Because she was immortal. She doesn't get tired nor run out of stamina. She could move her feet for hours if she had to.

If she danced long enough, someone her father or Razeal would eventually find them. And once they arrived… none of these bastards would be laughing anymore.

Aurora straightened her back, her expression hardening. "Fine.. Just don't go back on your words."

Krolious clapped two tentacles together enthusiastically. "Good! Then let's begin!"

She lifted her foot to start.. but

"HEY! No, no, no!" Krolious snapped, waving his tentacles dramatically. "Not like that. Remove your shoes."

Aurora froze. "…What?"

"No cheating," Krolious said smugly. "Feel the floor directly take your shoes off. And no swimming, no lifting yourself with water currents.. your feet stay on the ground at all times. If they leave the floor, he dies."

" Whatver." Aurora clicked her tongue but crouched down, untying her shoes with stiff fingers. She placed them aside and stood barefoot on the damp blue stone floor. A shiver ran through her instantly. The stone was freezing, almost biting like it wanted to swallow the heat from her immortal body.

She lifted her head. Krolious watched her closely.

"Go on," he said, smiling broadly, all tentacles curling inward like claws preparing to applaud the suffering about to come.

"You don't have to do it… you know…" Levy finally whispered, barely audible, his voice trembling with a heaviness that weighed down even his breath. Watching Aurora step forward, about to humiliate herself in front of all these monsters just to keep him alive… it squeezed his chest painfully. He had no words for the emotion ripping through him shame, guilt, helplessness… maybe all of it at once. It felt suffocating.

"Shut up," Aurora muttered sharply, not even glancing his way. She shook her head, brushing off his plea as if refusing to hear it a second time. Before he could say another word, her hand lifted slowly, hesitantly then she began to move her feet.

It wasn't dancing.

Not really.

Not even close.

Her steps were clumsy, random movements she scraped together from vague memories village celebrations, festivals she had walked past as a child in empire here and there. Aurora tried to imitate something.. well anything that counted as dancing. Her foot would slide awkwardly, then she'd step too hard, then sway with second-hand certainty. It looked ridiculous. Embarrassing. Childish even.

But she did not stop.

Around them, scattered clusters of Atlantians began to laugh, pointing and whispering as she stumbled through step after step. Their mocking faces reflected in the glassy water that surrounded the stone platform. Her cheeks burned, but she never paused not even once.

Levy watched in silence, fists curling tighter and tighter until his nails cut into his palms. Every shaky movement of hers, every wobble, every humiliating turn it all stabbed at him. He couldn't look away. His heart twisted at the sight. Someone dancing to save his life?

It felt wrong, unbearable.. And he didn't know if he deserved it.

Like would he have danced to save her if the roles were reversed? The question sank deep into him, and he hated himself for not knowing the answer. Aurora was doing this for him a boy she barely knew for a month, someone she'd officially become "girlfriend" to only minutes ago. She had no reason to go this far.

But she still did.

Minutes passed. Then more.

Ten minutes turned to twenty.

Twenty into forty.

Then an hour.

Then two.

Aurora's feet didn't falter her breathing didn't quicken. Nor stamina fading away.

Immortality had its perks she didn't get tired, didn't lose energy, didn't weaken. Her feet continued to tap, slide, shuffle, step. It wasn't graceful, but it was steady. Her eyes never left Levy's face not the jeering crowd, not the guards. Only him.

Even the Atlantians began to falter in their confidence. Their smirks dimmed. Their whispers grew quieter.

"Is she… still going?"

"She hasn't slowed at all…"

"That's crazy people…"

But Krolious, the octopus-like leader, did not cheer. His irritation grew with every new second. His tentacles twitched, curling and uncurling in annoyance. This wasn't fun anymore. He didn't care about these two weam creatures. He wanted entertainment, not a marathon.

But he couldn't kill them.

Not yet.

Not after his loud, arrogant promise.

If he broke his word now, every slave and guard here would see it. His authority would shatter. His precious ego wouldn't survive the damage.

So instead, Krolious' expression changed.

A slow, slimy smirk crept across his face.

He glanced at one of his men and subtly flicked a tentacle.. a signal.

The guard nodded and disappeared for a moment.

Aurora noticed nothing, still focused on moving her feet, breath steady, her face burning but determined.

Levy, however, saw the exchange. His heart dropped with unease.

Moments later, the guard returned with a large bucket of something. He held it carefully, walking toward Aurora. Krolious gave another nod evil, amused, cruel.

Without hesitation

The guard jerked the bucket forward.

Its contents flew out in an arc, scattering all around Aurora's feet.

Sharp things.

Tiny pieces of reef.

Splintered bones.

Jagged shards of stone.

Shredded coral fragments.

Needles disguised as debris.

Aurora instinctively stepped back, her eyes widening in shock. While still her feet did not stop moving. She kept stepping, twisting, shifting her weight frantically to avoid the sharpest pieces, her expression tightening into a glare.

"What is the meaning of this?! What are you doing?!" Levy yelled, anger exploding out of him. His voice echoed across the stone arena, drowning briefly in the murmuring crowd.

"Shut up!" Krolious snapped, striking Levy across the face with a tentacle. The blow sent his head whipping harshly to the side, a red sting burning across his cheek. Levy gritted his teeth, tasting metallic bitterness.

"And YOU" Krolious pointed a tentacle toward Aurora, "don't you dare move from that spot. You dance HERE. I never said you could take a step back."

Aurora's eyes blazed with fury. "This wasn't part of the deal!" she shouted loudly so the entire crowd could hear her. "Are you cheating now? Isn't that embarrassing? What about your WORDS? Your HONOR as Krolious?"

Her voice carried sharply.

Many in the crowd gasped. Others exchanged glances. Several whispered, "She has a point…"

"Is Krolious breaking rules?"

But Krolious didn't care

"Don't teach me what to do," Krolious hissed, the edges of his beak-like mouth curling into a cruel smirk. "My words were simple your feet don't stop. That's all. I never said how the ground must be. Never said what you dance on. Never said I wouldn't make it… interesting."

His voice slithered through the water, slimy and thick with mock amusement.

"And don't try to act clever with me, girl," he continued. "I won't care. If you don't want to dance, don't. I'm perfectly fine with that."

One tentacle suddenly coiled around Levy's jaw, jerking his face upward and forcing him to look directly at Aurora.

"But this lover of yours," Krolious whispered darkly, "is going to die."

He squeezed Levy's cheeks, forcing his mouth to open slightly, his head tilted back, throat exposed. The bone dagger glinted beside his neck, trembling with the muscular man's eager grip. Krolious angled Levy's head to make sure Aurora saw every inch of that vulnerable angle.

"So," Krolious purred, "dance. And stay exactly where you are. Don't run. Don't cheat. Or his blood paints the floor."

Aurora glared at him hatred burning hot in her eyes, deeper than anything she ever thought she could feel. Then her gaze drifted downward.

Those sharp pieces… bone splinters, reef fragments, jagged stone shards. Even the smallest edge looked capable of slicing deeply. If she stepped on that, her feet would be torn open again and again and she couldn't stop moving. The cuts wouldn't have time to close before reopening.

Her throat tightened.

Behind her, Levy shouted desperately.

"Heyyy.. don't don't do this! You don't like pain, I know that! So run! Just run, don't worry about me! You've already done too much way too much I don't even know what to say or what not to say, but PLEASE don't do this! You can get out of here! You have your ability.. you can escape!"

Around them, Atlantians burst into laughter.

"Yes yes, go on, run darling," one jeered. "It's just your little boy toy being sacrificed, nothing big," another mocked.

"Save yourself~!"

Krolious watched the mocking spread and smiled coldly.

Perfect.

Humiliation was working. Most girls broke here others fled. It was all predictable.

But Aurora… Aurora stopped dancing for only half a second.

She stared at Levy.

Their eyes met hers trembling, his terrified.

Then she gulped.

And a spark of stubbornness, quiet but fierce, flashed across her face.

"What?" she said, raising her chin. "Do you think I'm scared of pain? Who told you that?"

Levy froze.

Before he could speak

Aurora lifted her foot.

And stepped onto the shards.

"AHHH!"

The scream ripped out of her instantly, sharp and involuntary. The moment her bare skin touched the debris, several pieces stabbed into her deep, merciless cuts that split open the underside of her foot. Blood welled up instantly, crimson mixing with the blue-tinted stone floor. Her leg trembled violently, nearly giving out.

She staggered but caught herself.

Then, without hesitation, she lifted her other foot

And stepped on the shards again.

"ARGHHH!"

The second scream was louder, more guttural. Both feet now throbbed with fresh wounds, small bones lodged inside, jagged coral scraping raw flesh every time she shifted.

But she didn't stop.

Her feet kept moving awkward, uneven steps dragging through pain so sharp it blurred her vision. Every shift reopened cuts, every slide pressed shards deeper. Blood smeared across the stone, her footprints becoming a chaotic trail of red.

"AURORAAAA!" Levy's voice cracked with something close to horror. He lurched forward, instinctively trying to reach her. The blade nicked his neck as he moved, a thin line of blood appearing but he didn't care.

"STOP! Please stop! Don't don't do this! You don't need to! PLEASE! I beg you!"

The muscular guard holding him grunted and tightened his grip, dragging Levy back and pressing the knife just a little away from his neck again. "Stay still, brat. Or I'll slip."

Aurora didn't even look at Levy now if she looked, she might break.

Her face twisted in unbearable pain. Her hands shook. Tears welled in her eyes and streamed freely down her cheeks not out of fear, but because her body couldn't contain the agony anymore.

Her feet were a mess skin peeled, torn, bleeding. Small chunks of flesh stuck to the wet stone. With every movement, healing began… and then immediately tore again, a repeating cycle of torture.

She hated pain.

She feared pain.

She avoided it all her life.

So why now… why was she able to move at all?

She didn't know honestly nor understand.

Maybe it was Levy.

Maybe it was fear of losing him.

Maybe it was the promise they had made a few minutes earlier.

Maybe.. just maybe she finally found someone worth hurting for.

Her whole body trembled violently as she forced another step.

Then another.

Then another.

"Please don't… whyy are you even doing so much for me…?" Levy's voice tore out of him like a wounded breath. His throat was raw, his lungs felt like they were burning, but he still screamed, "I… I… don't… just gooo… you fucking idiot… I don't even love youuu.. I don't.. So Fucking GO! No need for this! JUST GO!"

His voice echoed through the watery chamber, trembling with desperation, helplessness, and a pain so deep it seemed to shake his very bones. Levy struggled wildly against the muscular Atlantian restraining him. Every movement shot agony through his already weak body, but he didn't care. He fought like a drowning man trying to claw his way back to the surface.

His eyes almost exhausted, yet burning with anguish which never left Aurora.

Her tear-streaked face.

Her trembling legs.

Her bleeding, shredded feet.

Her stubborn, painful determination that made no sense to him, yet broke him entirely.

He wasn't crying, but it felt like his soul was.

The muscular Atlantian holding him only smirked, tightening his grip around Levy's arms as if amused by his helpless rage.

"Calm down, dry-bone," he said lazily. "Let her do it. She's really working hard for you. You should be proud."

Proud? Levy felt like vomiting. His heart twisted painfully in his chest.

All around them, Atlantians muttered:

"Strong heart on this fish-girl…"

"She's still moving…?"

"No way she lasts longer. She's losing too much blood…"

Aurora's blood had begun to spread in uneven crimson lines, mixing with the blue hue of the stone beneath her. The sharp debris continued slicing into her skin, deeper with every step. Whenever one cut healed, another replaced it worse than before.

Their captor, Krolious, watched with narrowing eyes. His amusement from before had shifted into irritation. He hated when toys didn't break the way he expected.

"Let's see how long she lasts," he muttered darkly. "She won't get tired, maybe… but her body will die itself. A fish isn't meant to bleed this much."

Levy jolted in terror.

"Nooo… nooooo don't!"

----

And just like that..

Two entire days passed.

And yet Aurora… was still dancing.

What began as a twisted form of entertainment had now turned into something else something eerie, unbelievable, almost unsettling. Even the Atlantians who were used to cruelty, torture, and watching bloodshed daily… now looked at Aurora with a mixture of awe and discomfort.

Most of them had originally gathered with mocking grins and excited chatter. But now, after forty-eight hours of uninterrupted movement, their faces had changed. The laughter had died. The chatter had quieted. The mockery evaporated.

All that remained was a stunned, heavy silence.

Some sat cross-legged on crates or rocks, eyes fixed. Some leaned against cages, arms crossed, yet their gazes never wavered. Some who had previously gone out for hunts had returned only to freeze mid-step upon seeing the scene… and stayed there, unable to look away.

The crowd had doubled, even tripled.

Hundreds of Atlantians.

Even more monster-beasts in cages were watching.

And scattered guards patrolling the area had given up patrolling entirely.

Aurora continued dancing atop a small hill of razor-sharp debris broken reef, shattered bones, jagged stones all piled under her feet. And with each movement, with each shift of her weight, something tore. Something bled. Something reopened.

The stone beneath her was no longer blue.

It was a glistening red sheet of blood.

Her blood.

Faint streams dripped from the edges of the hill, forming thin rivulets beneath her, spreading out like red seaweed into the water-soaked ground.

One Atlantian muttered under his breath, voice low with shock:

"She's… a monster."

The word was not said disrespectfully.

It was filled with something close to genuine admiration a rarity among these hardened creatures.

Aurora's face was no longer expressionless.

She had long passed the point where she could pretend this didn't hurt.

Her eyes kept rolling with tears she didn't bother wiping. Her breaths were uneven, ragged, sharp, trembling. Her body shook often sometimes violently yet her feet never stopped.

Every time she staggered, she forced herself upright again.

Every time her leg buckled, she corrected herself.

Every time her body screamed at her to stop, she ignored it.

Because Levy's life depended on it.

And Levy…

Levy was almost gone.

He hung limply in the muscular Atlantian's grasp. The man held him upright like a lifeless puppet, one arm under Levy's chest, the other gripping his shoulder. If he let go, Levy would hit the floor like a sack of stones.

Six whole days without food or proper water. No rest, Fear, Stress and up above all watching Aurora suffer through hell because of him.

His lips were cracked cheeks hollow eyes sunken deep, nearly half-closed even his breath shallow.

Even opening his eyes felt like lifting mountains.

Yet the only thing keeping them open at all… was Aurora.

Even now, even in this half-dead state, his dying gaze stayed locked on her.

He had used every ounce of strength he had left to yell at her.. to beg her to stop. He had screamed, shouted, pleaded until his voice tore itself apart. His throat no longer produced a single word.

But she never listened.

She kept dancing for him.

And that broke him in ways he never knew he could break.

He hated himself for it.

He hated himself more with each second.

Hatred so deep it squeezed his lungs. Hatred so sharp it made his vision flicker. Hatred so heavy he felt as if it was crushing his ribs.

Because of him

because of him

Aurora, the girl terrified of pain, the girl who was so scared about pain now.. doing this she… was drowning in agony.

Her feet were shredded legs trembled uncontrollably her tears spilled endlessly. Her breath hitched with every shift.

And yet she continued, because if she stopped, the knife would end him.

And Levy couldn't do anything.

Not a single thing.

No strength.

No weapon.

No way to break free.

No way to stop her pain.

He could only watch.

He could only hate himself.

The guilt inside him swelled so violently he felt sick.

"Because of me… she's suffering like this… because of me… she's bleeding… crying… hurting… because of me…"

Thoughts repeated over and over, each repetition twisting deeper into him.

He wasn't strong enough to save her.

He wasn't strong enough to protect her.

He wasn't even strong enough to move.

He couldn't even fall to his knees because the guard held him up like a ragdoll.

He was useless.

He was helpless.

He was dying.

Aurora's face blurred before his eyes, but he forced himself to keep looking. If he closed his eyes now… he might never open them again.

His body trembled.

But suddenly

Crack.

A faint, hairline sound slipped through his chest, subtle yet wrong enough to still his breath.

Thump thump thump

His heartbeat surged, growing rapid and unsteady, as though it sensed a fracture forming deep within.

Another crack. Then another sharper, quicker each one striking like a whispered warning. His vision trembled at the edges.

And then it came: a single, catastrophic boom from somewhere inside him.

----

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