Cold water touched Yuna’s boots the moment she stepped through the gate.

  The blue light faded behind her.

  She looked down.

  Water covered the stone floor of the chamber.

  Ancient pillars rose from the flood like broken teeth. Half collapsed staircases led upward along the ruined walls.

  The air smelled damp and stale.

  More climbers appeared behind her.

  Someone groaned.

  “A water dungeon?”

  Another player splashed forward and frowned.

  The water already reached his knees.

  A calm voice echoed in their minds.

  System message.

  Floor six reached.

  Dungeon type: Sunken Ruins.

  Warning! Water level rising.

  Primary objective: Reach the upper ruins.

  The message vanished.

  For a moment the ruins were quiet except for the slow dripping of water from the ceiling.

  Lily looked around nervously.

  “The water is going to keep rising?”

  Yuna nodded.

  “Yes.”

  She scanned the ruins quickly.

  The architecture was layered vertically.

  Lower halls already flooded.

  Upper platforms still dry.

  If the water continued rising, the lower floors would disappear entirely.

  “We climb,” Yuna said.

  The group began moving through the flooded ruins.

  Each step was slow.

  Armor dragged through the water.

  Weapons splashed with every movement.

  Behind them more climbers from other routes entered the dungeon.

  Soon dozens of survivors were moving through the ancient ruin together.

  The water slowly rose.

  From knees.

  To thighs.

  Then nearly to their waists.

  Someone cursed.

  “This place is going to drown us.”

  Something moved beneath the surface.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Yuna stopped walking.

  The ripples were wrong.

  Too fast.

  “Careful,” she said.

  A scream cut through the chamber.

  A man near the back was dragged under the water.

  The surface exploded upward.

  A massive serpent burst from the flood.

  Its long body twisted through the ruins like a living river.

  More shapes moved beneath the water.

  Serpents.

  Players scattered.

  Jin’s sword flashed.

  The blade struck the serpent as it lunged again.

  The monster recoiled with a violent hiss.

  Another serpent surged upward nearby.

  The flooded ruins erupted into chaos.

  Fighting in deep water was slow.

  Every movement heavy.

  Every step unstable.

  But the serpents moved effortlessly.

  One creature struck a climber near the stairs.

  The man collapsed into the water.

  Blood spread across the surface.

  Lily reacted instantly.

  “Hold still!”

  She splashed toward him.

  Golden light gathered around her hands.

  Healing magic closed the wound slowly.

  The man gasped as the bleeding stopped.

  “You’re okay,” Lily said softly.

  Then the water behind her exploded.

  A much larger serpent erupted upward.

  Its jaws opened wide.

  Lily slipped in the rising water.

  For a moment she could not move.

  Yuna turned.

  But something crashed into the flood first.

  A massive shield slammed between Lily and the monster.

  Water exploded outward.

  The serpent’s jaws struck the shield with a thunderous crash.

  A voice shouted over the splash.

  “Hey!”

  “Pick on someone your own size!”

  The man behind the shield grinned.

  “You almost ate the healer.”

  He planted his feet in the water and shoved the serpent back.

  Behind him two climbers appeared.

  A nervous archer and a young fighter.

  “Diego!” the archer shouted.

  “That thing is huge!”

  The man laughed.

  “Relax.”

  He lifted the shield again.

  “I’ve seen worse.”

  He glanced back at Lily.

  “You alright?”

  She nodded quickly.

  “Y-yes.”

  He smiled.

  “Good.”

  Then he turned back toward the serpent.

  “Because you’re not becoming snake food today.”

  For a moment Yuna forgot the rising water.

  Diego.

  In the previous timeline she had watched this man stand against monsters far stronger than this.

  Always smiling.

  Always protecting the people behind him.

  Until the day he died buying them time.

  But now he stood here again.

  Alive.

  The serpent lunged again.

  Diego braced behind his shield.

  “Stay behind me!”

  The monster crashed into the metal wall.

  Jin moved instantly.

  His sword carved across the serpent’s neck.

  Yuna stepped in from the side and struck the exposed scales.

  Lily’s healing light spread across Diego’s armor as the serpent’s tail whipped through the water.

  For a moment the battle moved perfectly.

  Shield.

  Blade.

  Strike.

  Heal.

  The rhythm felt natural.

  Too natural.

  Yuna realized it suddenly.

  This…

  This was how they had fought in the last timeline.

  The memory lasted only a second.

  Then the serpent roared and twisted violently.

  Jin leapt onto a broken pillar and drove his blade downward.

  Yuna followed with another strike.

  Diego slammed his shield forward.

  The monster collapsed into the water with a final hiss.

  The remaining serpents retreated deeper into the ruins.

  Silence slowly returned.

  Water continued rising around their waists.

  Diego rested the shield against the stone floor.

  “Well,” he said.

  “That woke me up.”

  The archer behind him laughed nervously.

  “You call that waking up?”

  Diego shrugged.

  “Better than drowning.”

  Then he looked at Yuna and Jin.

  “You two fight pretty well.”

  Yuna studied him quietly.

  Still loud.

  Still fearless.

  Still protecting everyone around him without hesitation.

  Just like before.

  Diego glanced at Lily again.

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  She nodded.

  “Thank you.”

  He waved a hand casually.

  “No problem.”

  Then he looked around the flooded ruins.

  “Alright.”

  He raised his shield again.

  “Everyone move. Water’s getting higher.”

  Yuna pointed toward a staircase climbing along the wall.

  “Upper level.”

  The survivors began climbing.

  Diego stayed near the back with his small group.

  Shield ready.

  Watching the water.

  Watching the slower climbers.

  Protecting them naturally.

  Because that was exactly how he always fought.

  The staircase led them to a higher platform overlooking the flooded ruins.

  The lower halls were already gone beneath the water.

  Ripples spread slowly across the surface.

  Something moved far below.

  Ahead of them stood the entrance to a massive submerged temple.

  Half of the structure was underwater.

  Ancient statues lined the stairs descending into the dark flood.

  Jin stared into the water.

  “Something big is down there.”

  The ruins fell silent.

  Even the dripping water seemed to stop.

  Then the system spoke again.

  System message.

  Large elite enemy approaching.

  The water bulged upward.

  Something enormous shifted beneath the temple ruins.

  The flooded chamber trembled.

  And the next fight was coming.