Ecstasy or Misery

'I will be Kaiser!'

It was just as he was thinking that, zooming through the sea with invigorated passion, that a bright silver light materialised in front of him along with a heavy feeling of power.

Not even waiting to confirm its identity, he immediately came to a halt and raised his defences to the max, activating both Metal Enhancement and Water Enhancement with instinctive efficiency that could only be achieved by years of practice.

The Metal Enhancement made his carapace bulkier and his pointier bits sharper, and the Water Enhancement shrouded his whole body in a blanket of water that could only faintly be seen under the Sea.

This M.E provided him with greater defence and enhanced physical power, and the W.E made manipulating his body under the water multiple times more easy, along with a few other offensive things. With this, he could tank any sudden attack and flee right afterwards if need be.

Now, a dweller of the land might think he was overreacting by activating 2 Enhancement skills at once without even confirming a threat, but any Sea dweller worth mentioning would be commending his battle instincts greatly. 

Here in the vicious Sea, it was common knowledge that ANYTHING could be deadly. Something as unassuming as a rock could suddenly sprout tentacles and in the next moment you would find yourself in a fight for your life. It was horrendous!

The number of times he had almost fallen to such a situation was more than a little eye opening, and it wouldn't even be a stretch to say that he had PTSD the way his nightmares operated. There were many like him under the Sea, and as such, the number 1 unspoken rule had become: [If it moved, shined, changed colours, made a sound, or anything synonymous... Never, ever let your guard down.]

Fortunately, it looked like he would not be facing a repeat situation of 'sudden death trap'.

The lights had faded after a few seconds (time he had taken to create a lot of distance) and in their place remained a silver coloured fruit that glowed softly. However, there was something very familiar about it, and it only took him a second to figure out just what.

'This!' Zuko inwardly exclaimed with shock.

It was not that he recognized the fruit. In fact, he had never seen anything like it before in his life (something that wasn't surprising here in the deep sea). What really got to him was the aura the fruit had begun to exude after everything had calmed down.

It was a familiar aura that he had only felt a few times before, however it was something he would never be able to forget even if he had only experienced it once. And it was none other than the aura of the Moon Mother!

'How could this be?!' Zuko thought with rising excitement as the notion of the Moon Mother contacting him again crossed his mind. But even with that thought process, he didn't dare let down his guard. There were all kinds of entities that could entice you before they destroyed you, and even illusions weren't rare down here.

But he was really and truly excited. Fruits, or anything else for that matter, did not just randomly appear out of nowhere. There were all kinds of fruits and other edible plant life that grew under the sea, but the key word there was 'grew'.

They emerged from the seabed or formed on cave walls, starting small and growing bigger and bigger until they reached their maximum capacity, something that could take a span of months to years. Naturally, there were always going to be unique situations, but absolutely not like this. Fruits do not just appear out of nowhere, possessing energy so dense that it made his head feel pressured… So, it was either an illusion, in which case he was already in deep trouble… or a gift from the Moon Mother!

Zuko trembled with anticipation, waiting for the verdict.

He tightened his defences to the max, coiling his body around until his head was buried within, and then watched with unwavering eyes through a tiny gap even with his Spirit Sense spread far and wide.

*1 second later…*

*5 seconds later…*

*15 seconds later…*

Zuko was almost sweating with tension.

*30 seconds later…*

'What's going on? Why has Moon Mother not said anything? Is this really a trick?'

Zuko's throat constricted at the thought, nearly causing him to choke. He really didn't want this to be a hoax, because he could tell that consuming the fruit would be extremely beneficial to him!

Sure, there was that one time in the past where he saw a strange open clam that held within its mouth a peerless pearl that promised him many benefits if he could obtain it, which almost caused him to lose his life a few seconds later when it turned out to be a fat lie, but this was different!

Back then, the enticing promise had made his mind feel hazy, but this time his mind was perfectly clear! It had to be real!

But the Moon had contacted him a few times in the past, even if only saying a few lines, it was still something she could and had done. So if this was really a gift from her, why was she not giving him the okay? Did she not see his worry? Was she waiting for something?

'Or could this be a test? I really don't want this to be an illusion?!'

*40 more seconds later…*

This entire time, time that had felt like minutes, nothing had changed. The fruit had only continued to drift downwards as it was subjected to gravity, rotating this way and that, and completely obeying the laws of physics.

'It's real!' Zuko thought with uncharacteristic glee before lunging forward. But it was just as he was zooming towards the fruit that his Spirit Sense finally picked up something new. Something in the distance had just entered the range of his Spirit Sense, and he knew exactly what, or rather who, it was.

The huge, bulbous yet transparent head, the tens of tentacles and that iridescent colour… but most importantly that daunting aura that could only belong to someone in the 4th Realm.

He knew this person very well, after all, it was the very creature that he had been planning to kill for a very long time but had been avoiding like a curse! It was the one and only Emperor Bilibu!

The strongest Jellyfish alive and the local Sea Emperor!