Triton’s cold hands covered Livia’s eyes. In an instant, her consciousness faded to black, and then suddenly her eyes flew open as though she were waking from a dream.

“Hah!”

Livia frantically gasped for air while flailing her arms and legs to keep from sinking underwater. She hurriedly scanned her surroundings, but found herself in the middle of a vast, empty ocean.

“T-Triton?”

She called out to him in a fearful voice, but no answer came.

Where was this place, and where had Triton disappeared to? The dark sea was churning with angry waves, and the sky was completely gray with heavy clouds.

Livia’s expression fell at the familiar sight. Soon after, she recalled where she had seen such a scene before.

It was in Triton’s eyes.

‘…Then could this possibly be.’

Livia dared to guess that this might be Triton’s world, but there was no one beside her to confirm her answer.

Moreover, the stormy sea’s waves were so fierce and strong that they wouldn’t leave her be.

“Hup, phu, hoo…!”

Livia’s eyes widened urgently. She could see a wave building up in the distance, swelling as it approached her. Livia moved her body in panic.

Perhaps because Triton’s blessing that had allowed her to breathe and move freely underwater was gone. No matter how hard she flailed her limbs, it wasn’t easy to make progress against the surging waters.

No matter how much she struggled, it was difficult to move forward from where she was. She could feel herself being pulled down into the dark depths the moment she relaxed her body even slightly.

“Huh, hiit, puhu…! Hup! T-Triton!”

She had something to tell him, but it was frustrating that he was nowhere to be seen. No matter how far she pushed forward with her meager strength, there was nothing but endless ocean in sight.

At that moment, a dark shadow fell over Livia, and a wave that had grown as large as a house finally crashed down upon her.

Kwang!

“Ugh!”

As the fierce wave swallowed Livia’s body whole, she felt as if she were being sucked into a monster’s mouth. Her body lost all will and was tossed about by the pressure, and Livia had to struggle with all her might not to lose consciousness.

Her body, which had been swept up in the swirling seawater, barely managed to surface. Flailing her entire body to avoid sinking again, Livia cried out in an anguished voice.

“T-ri-ton! Please, just, li-listen to me!”

Though the seawater kept splashing and trying to silence her with each word, Livia persisted and opened her mouth.

“In the underworld, when you first killed me…! That’s when, that’s when I met him. Zagreus, that man!”

Livia hurriedly explained the circumstances of her meeting with Zagreus.

Though her words weren’t flowing smoothly as she kept nearly sinking into the sea whenever she relaxed even slightly, she tried her best to explain everything that had happened.

How she had tried to break Echidna’s contract after returning to the village but was stopped, how during that process she learned that Lete’s soul was trapped within her, and how Zagreus had offered to help her when she returned to the underworld.

“I was afraid that if you found out, hup… you would prevent me from meeting Zagreus! Even if it was you, you wouldn’t be able to, ugh…! Search the entire underworld like, an underworld god could!”

But as if Livia’s words had only provoked the sea’s anger, surging waves rose up and crashed over her again.

Her body, heavy from struggling, reacted a bit too late. She was instantly sucked deeper into the sea, only to barely regain her senses and swim back up to the surface, repeating this cycle.

Her exhausted limbs felt as heavy as if weights were attached to them, and her water-soaked body trembled more and more. Human flesh was inherently this weak before the forces of nature. No matter how well Triton had fed her, she was still such a pathetically weak being before a god who was determined to test her.

“If I asked you for help, Echidna would, corrupt Lete’s soul even faster, she said…! That’s why I couldn’t, huut…! Tell you. But I was going to tell you as soon as I checked on Lete’s condition! Really, really, Triton!”

He might not believe it, but Livia was sincere.

Of course, her reason for asking to be taken to Demeter’s feast was to meet Zagreus. While she hadn’t told Triton the complete truth, she had never intended to deceive him.

She had been careful because she already knew well enough that this man, who usually behaved like gentle waves toward her, could stir up a storm at any moment.

She just wished he would understand this feeling.

Contrary to what Triton misunderstood, she had never intended to deceive and trick him from the beginning…. That there were times when she had wanted to rely on the kindness he had shown….

“I was worried about my brother, who’s suffering even after death, because of me…. That’s why I did it.”

Cough, cough….

She was becoming increasingly short of breath. Her flailing arms were gradually losing strength. As her face contorted in pain from her lungs feeling like they were being squeezed by her violent breathing, Livia slapped the seawater and shouted.

“Are you listening to me, Triton?!”

She felt completely alone in this vast world. Though she could sense that he was listening somewhere, there was no response. Suddenly, anger welled up in Livia. The defiance that sprouted somewhere in her heart swelled instantly.

“Come out, Triton! Come out! Are you going to leave me alone here forever?”

Thinking about it, she felt wronged – had she really done something so terrible?

Meeting Zagreus behind his back, making some kind of deal with him and kissing him… Yes, that could make him angry. But did that justify such one-sided venting of anger? When she made the deal with Zagreus, she and Triton hadn’t been anything to each other!

Livia’s exhausted head grew hot with anger. Like a cornered rat, she began to direct her anger back at him.

“What was so wrong about me not telling you? Huff, huff…! We weren’t even, close enough to trust each other! Look even now, Triton…! Just because your mood is twisted, you’ve unilaterally thrown me into this ordeal!”

Crackle!

As if mocking her defiance, a sound like the sky splitting apart rang out. Along with it, waves from all directions tossed her about. Now she had neither the strength nor the energy to avoid those waves anymore.

Instead of trying to dodge the towering waves, Livia faced where she thought he must be watching and screamed.

“I don’t believe that causing pain like this is love! Do whatever you want, Triton! Kill me! Go ahead! When I die and go to the underworld, I’ll meet Zagreus who you hate so much!”

After bursting out, she let her body go limp. Her weakened body was pulled down into the sea and seemed to be collapsing. Though she feared that dark deep sea, she realized that this entire ocean was Triton himself.

So that unseen darkness must also be Triton. Upon this realization, all her previous struggles not to sink into the sea seemed foolish. There had been no need to shout into the air.

Because he was right there.

When she first fell into this trial, unlike before, she had resisted out of fear of being unable to breathe underwater and move her limbs freely, but now that she had resolved to face it head-on, things were different.

‘…Go ahead and do what you want. Either kill me like this, or show yourself before me.’

Livia waited for him while barely holding onto her fading consciousness as her breath was cut off.

Though her oxygen-deprived body was in agony and suffering, the thought that he was there in that darkness actually made her fear disappear.

In contrast to the tumult above the sea, beneath the waves there was a quiet turbulence.

Through her dimming vision, she could see the distant ocean swaying back and forth.

‘Surely he’s not planning to not show up at all…?’

She could feel death approaching close at hand. Though she didn’t think Triton would let her die like this, he might not appear before her.

‘…Well, I don’t even care anymore.’

Whether he showed up or not…. As her strength completely drained away, her mind grew distant.

Just as she was closing her eyes with a resigned heart, a massive hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed Livia.

“……!”

The moment Triton’s hand touched her, her blocked breath cleared and her heavy body became light. Livia’s eyes flew open to see the enormous merman who had appeared before her.

Triton, in that beautiful and overwhelming divine form she had first seen him in, was looking at her.