Oh god, what is this?! ….

I see them all raise their arms up before the entire lake itself starts glowing with a deep blue light. It seems to be pulsating akin to the heartbeat of a titan. In there I can see the remaining goldfishes flash brightly before starting to vanish.

What is happening?! With every fish disappearing the very water below me shakes, all a precursor to what is to come. The calm lake is no more. That is when it all raises in the air before forming a giant shape in the air.

There is a serpentine-looking humongous body, a gaping maw that can clearly devour me whole, shiny stars in place of eyes, and it is roaring like a waterfall. It's a goddamn dragon! One entirely made of water that looks deadly enough to kill anything in existence.

Oh damn! How am I supposed to survive this?! No, wait. How are my friends supposed to survive this?! Both my naked and pink-haired companions for the first time stop their counterattacking. In fact, the whole sect comes to a halt.

The air is heavy, filled with water vapor, it even feels constraining. My feet are still stuck in the water surface, that is when the creature coils on itself, its gaze coming to rest on me. It seems as vast as the ocean itself.

In its eyes I see savagery, power, but not just that. No, I also see a desire for freedom. This ginormous monster is but a small freshwater snake that longs for the bigger sea. I see this for a fleeting instant.

A very fleeting moment for the water mages soon bark orders at it. "Go on! Kill this man! He is a danger to the sect!"

That is when the somewhat innocent look of it changes. I can feel how angry it feels at being chained, I can feel how helpless it feels about its whole fate. After all, its life is bound to be but an ephemeral existence, once that will vanish as soon as the spell is over. Yet all of this turns into rage.

*ROAR! *

That is when it plunges at me! *BAM! * A sharp and piercing pain strikes my entire body, one that never comes to an end. I can feel my skin rupturing, I can feel my bones breaking, I can feel the air leaving my lungs, I can feel the water invading me, I can….

I want it to stop! Just leave me alone you dumb dragon. I can see the aqua blue, I can see the sky blue, and it all keeps switching so fast I can't tell which is which. All I know is that I'm getting thrown in the air, dragged underwater, and toyed with.

For once I feel like my own life isn't under my control. I imagine getting repeatedly hit by a truck while having a pleasant session of waterboarding feels like this. I want it to cease but I don't know how.

Well, there is an easy way, I could simply give up. Just as I'm having these dark thoughts akin to bubbles in my head, comes a wind waking me up. This wind is trying to fight the dragon without succeeding. Seeing my naked friend try to help me I come back to my senses.

So what if I am helpless against such a monster? So what if I am condemned to get tortured for what feels like an eternity So what if all that happens is an infinite circle of destruction and healing of this broken body of mine? I just need to endure.

I can barely hear anything, I can barely see anything, but I do notice one thing. The general sect members are all cheering loudly while watching me get beat up. How bored are they?

Have they forgotten how nice they have it here? Have they begun thinking that their life would require a little more excitement? Right now, my troubles are nothing but a show to them.

If that's how they think then I don't have to mind them one bit. There are no innocents here. I'd breathe out in relief, but my lungs are still full of water, yes it burns!

This dragon has a spirit. I have no clue on the why or how. Perhaps they invoked the spirit of a true dragon or maybe it is the mana itself creating this. All I know is that it won't stop me. I may have lost my taming emblem, but I remain a professional tamer, kinda.

I focus my mind. I simply wish to talk to the creature. I wish to converse with it. Am I wasting my time? Perhaps, but I feel it can work. I felt life from it. In my eyes, it doesn't matter if it is human or not. It doesn't even matter that it is not made of flesh and bone.

I focus hard and a few seconds later my entire vision goes dark. *Drip Drip Drip* That is when I awaken to the sound of dripping water. I find myself sitting cross-legged. Looking downward I am atop a pond. This one is extremely tiny and shallow.

I can see glistering shells on the sandy floor. There is nothing else. There is no wind, there is nothing else but a white background all around.

[Hello, anyone here?!]

That is when comes a few bubbles out of the water. Then before my eyes appear a very snall snake. A small red one with big eyes. It looks at me guarded before growling lowly *Purr*.

The sound it produces is so cute that it doesn't sound threatening at all. I start petting its small head.

[No need to act tough with me. Anyway, do you have any idea where the big water dragon is?]

Part of me is believing it to be the tiny creature in front of me but the other part is denying that theory, it's just so cute after all! As they say, cuteness is justice…or something. It shyly slitters around awkwardly.

[Are you IT? If you are there is no need to hide. I simply want to help you.]

It sadly and pitifully shakes its small head. That is when glowing glyphs appear on its body. I have no clue what they all mean but they are the same color as the mark of Aqua's pledge. It seems to be somewhat restrained by it.

I know exactly what to do! I lick my finger akin to an annoying mother and I grab the now panicked snake. Then I vigorously rub it, even using divine energy. I keep at it until the markings all disappear.

That's when the snake completely transforms under my very eyes!...