Charles sank deeper and deeper into the water, the cold gripping his chest like an invisible claw.

His arms flailed desperately, searching for something—anything—to grab onto, but he found only more water.

The darkness was absolute, and the weight of his soaked tunic dragged him down mercilessly.

He couldn't feel the bottom, and that terrified him.

Each passing second drained the air from his lungs, and panic clouded his mind.

He tried to scream, but only a useless gurgle escaped, stealing more of his oxygen.

He couldn't speak, couldn't call the system for help, and the blue arrow glowing in his vision seemed to mock him, pointing to a spot even deeper in the water.

'Damn it!' he thought, his heart pounding so hard it felt ready to burst.

His legs kicked aimlessly, but they couldn't propel him upward.

Suddenly, Charles remembered what the system had said earlier about using his electric power to overload the lantern.

While using the lantern now wouldn't be very effective…

Why not try the same thing, but directly with the water?

Charles closed his eyes, ignoring the burning in his lungs, and focused on the sparks he sometimes felt coursing through his body.

He visualized the energy gathering at his fingertips, as he'd done with the lantern.

At first, nothing happened. His hands trembled, and the cold water numbed his fingers.

'Come on… come on!' he thought, a mix of frustration and desperation.

He was running out of time.

Finally, a faint tingle sparked in his hands, followed by a blue flash.

The sparks grew, and a bright blue light burst from his fingers, illuminating the water around him for a few seconds.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to see.

And what he saw chilled him to the bone.

Far below, several meters down, was Nora.

She floated motionless, her eyes wide with sheer terror on her face.

Her brown hair billowed in the water, and her hands moved weakly, as if struggling not to sink further.

Charles blinked, confused.

Why wasn't she using her powers?

The last time they'd fallen into a lake, Nora had gotten out without issue, but now she seemed completely helpless.

The light from his hands faded, plunging them back into darkness.

Charles felt a rocky wall beside him and, without thinking, pressed his feet against it with a muffled thud.

He used the surface to push himself toward Nora, focusing again on generating electricity.

Another blue flash lit the water, and this time he reached her.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her with one arm while using the other to keep sparking.

They couldn't speak, but the contact seemed to calm her.

Nora stopped thrashing, her frantic movements ceasing, and for a moment, they floated still, sinking together in the darkness.

Charles felt the weight of the situation.

They were trapped underwater, out of air, with no clear way out.

For a fleeting moment, it felt like they were both accepting the inevitable, as if sinking together was the end.

'No, wait… I'm not dying like this!' Charles thought, a determination surprising even himself.

He gripped Nora tighter, refusing to give up.

He tried to call the system in his mind, but the water stopped him from speaking.

'System!' he thought desperately, feeling his lungs on the verge of collapse. 'Do something, damn it!'

But only bubbles escaped, stealing the last of his air.

For a moment, it seemed hopeless, but then the system's interface flickered before his eyes, blue letters glowing in the dark.

[Critical situation detected,] the message read. [Verbal communication unavailable due to aquatic environment. Analyzing alternatives…]

Charles, with the arm not holding Nora, pointed to his chest and then the surrounding water, desperately trying to make the system understand he couldn't speak.

His movements were clumsy, and panic threatened to overwhelm him, but the system seemed to catch on.

[Understood,] a new message appeared. [Initiating emergency override. User's current energy control level will be exceeded due to the severity of the situation. Calculated risk: 15%. Bypassing safety restrictions…]

Before Charles could process what that meant, a sharp pain stabbed through his eyes.

It felt like someone had driven burning needles into his pupils.

He screamed in his mind but could only grit his teeth and cling to Nora.

The pain was unbearable, but when he opened his eyes, something had changed.

He could see everything clearly.

The water's darkness was gone, replaced by a sharp vision that let him discern every detail: bubbles rising from his mouth, cracks in the rocky walls, and Nora's pale, resigned face, her eyes now closed.

For a second, a chill ran through him.

He sensed a presence—something large and heavy moving in the distance, within the water tunnel they were in.

He couldn't see it clearly, but the feeling of being watched pushed him to the edge of panic.

Charles shook his head, forcing himself to ignore it.

There was no time for that. Nora was in danger, and so was he.

The blue system arrow still glowed in his vision, but to his surprise, it didn't point upward to the surface—it pointed downward, deeper into the tunnel.

Charles frowned, confused.

'Down…?' he thought, his tone a mix of disbelief and desperation.

But he had no other choice. If the system was guiding him there, there had to be a reason.

Holding Nora with one arm, he kicked with all his strength, using the rocky wall to propel himself downward.

Each movement was a titanic effort, and his eyes burned with unrelenting pain.

His strength was fading, but he couldn't stop.

The blue arrow guided him to a specific point, and though he didn't understand why, he trusted it was their only hope.

Suddenly, he spotted a gap in the wall—a narrow opening the arrow was pointing to.

With a final burst of effort, he pushed Nora upward toward the gap, using all his strength to get her out of the water.

His hands slipped, and the pain in his eyes was nearly blinding, but he succeeded.

Nora went first, her body sliding over the edge of the gap.

Charles followed, bracing against the wall with a painful thud, and finally broke the surface, collapsing onto a rocky ledge.

"Haa… haa!" he gasped, coughing as air filled his lungs.

Beside him, Nora coughed too, breathing heavily, each gulp of air a struggle.

Charles collapsed onto his back, his chest heaving rapidly.

The lantern was still tucked in his tunic, but when he tried to turn it on, it didn't work.

The ability the system had activated in his eyes shut off abruptly, and darkness enveloped them once more.

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