Chapter 49

The merman stood in front of the wooden cabin, looking eerily lonely. He remained motionless until the moonlight faded and dawn returned to the island. Only then did he finally move again. Elara watched as he slowly turned his head, his features becoming clearer as he transformed into the face of a merman. His platinum-silver eyes locked onto Elara's third-person perspective, as if cutting through layers of mist and staring straight into her soul. His lips moved, forming silent words. It was a strange language Elara had never encountered before. Yet in that moment, she understood exactly what he meant. "I will find you." Elara couldn't tell if she had been startled awake or if she had simply woken up naturally. All she knew was that upon waking, a vague sense of loss spread through her, one she couldn't quite understand herself. The laboratory was silent. She looked around and noticed that the terrifying eel-tailed creature was gone. The sea slug's corpse remained, yet it was twi