Nyo swung her blade with all the strength in her arms; her cord-like muscles felt like they would burst. Struck deep, the water-wraith gave its death wail and swung away to be consumed by the waves. She turned, sensing an entity behind her.
Suddenly the world slowed. The smooth crest of a dark wave-creature began to rise out of the water, gracefully sluggish with its own weight. It gathered momentum and size, lifting and gaining. She heard a scream and realized it was hers. Nyo strained to move her water-laden boots and found she could not. As if in a nightmare, she was unable to move—her body acted asleep, but her mind was fighting and raging and tearing, panic-stricken. The water-creature loomed before her, the surrounding air soft and sticky-sweet from its presence. Saturated, she succumbed to it. Her knees buckled and her eyelids closed dreamily all while her mind screamed resistance . . .