Apocalypse Reset: My Crab Can Heal the World!

Barns emerges from the water slowly, his breath steady, and his body weightless. He inhales deeply when his head breaks the surface - not because he needs to, but out of sheer force of habit. For the first time in his life, he doesn't need to breathe the air.

He blinks in the moonlight, water trailing down his face. His lungs feel stronger. Like they've been restructured from the inside out, adapted to something beyond human limits. He draws in another breath out of habit, but it's hollow. Unnecessary.

He's starting to truly embrace 'the crab'.

Francois stands above him, still poised gracefully atop the water, her kimono flowing despite the stillness of the night. A phantom in the dark. Her crimson eyes gleam in the dim light, studying him, unreadable.

"So…that's it? I did it?"

Francois tilts her head slightly. "You seem to have survived my little test, yes."

"That's a weird way to phrase it."

She smiles - a slow, deliberate expression that bores into his soul. "Would you like me to hold you down for another ten minutes?"

Barns shakes his head rapidly. "Nope. No, ma'am. I'm good."

He wades toward the edge of the pool, planting his hands on the tile to haul himself up. Water sluices off him, soaking his clothes even further, but at this point, it's the least of his problems. He glances back at Francois, his mind drifting to the deal she offered before she nearly drowned him.

"You said you'd give me something. Your power." His voice is careful, measured. "You know, as a prize for not dying."

Francois laughs lightly, a velvet-soft sound that carries too much danger. "Oh, little hero," she croons. "You misunderstand."

She steps backward onto the air, floating as though gravity is merely a suggestion. Shadows curl around her ankles. Her entire form begins to fade, dissolving into black mist.

"The power is yours to take - but only when the time is right."

Barns' stomach drops. "And when is that?"

Her voice echoes through the night as she vanishes completely.

"You'll know."

Then, silence.

Barns groans, rubbing his face with both hands. Of course she left him with cryptic nonsense. Typical vampire behavior.

Still, he did it. He learned Bubble Breath. And tomorrow, he can finally head to the Undersea Kingdom.

…Once he tells everyone about the pending invasion, of course.

The next morning, Barns stands with Clancy in the Dimartino Courtyard, fresh from explaining the news he learned last night - as well as his newly unlocked 'Bubble Breath'.

Clancy clicks his claws together excitedly. "PROVE COMPETENCY."

Barns stands at the pool's edge, fully prepared to flex on his crustacean best friend. He takes a deep breath - not because he has to, but because it feels right - and dives in.

The moment he submerges, everything feels natural. The water isn't suffocating, isn't hostile, but rather it welcomes him now. He inhales beneath the surface, and a stream of tiny air bubbles form around his lips, maintaining a perfect supply of oxygen without a single drop of water entering his lungs.

'Feels easy now,' Barns thinks, watching the bubbles rise like silver coins in the sunlight. He's now fully amphibian - or half crustacean, depending on how you look at it.

He stays under for five minutes, long enough to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and long enough for Clancy to start clicking his pincers furiously from above.

Finally, he surfaces, shaking the water from his hair and grinning triumphantly. "Well?"

Clancy's purple eyes gleam brighter than twin moons. "AGAIN."

Barns rolls his eyes. "I just did, King."

"PROVE AGAIN. AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN."

Barns groans. "I'm not just gonna live in the pool now, Clancy! We've got work to do."

The mighty crab claps his claws together like a king making a royal decree. "IF READY, THEN WE GO. TO OCEAN."

Barns stops short. "Wait, right now?"

"RIGHT NOW."

"…You sure we don't need to prepare?"

Clancy rotates to his full height, towering over Barns with his full regal majesty. For the first time in a long time, he looks serious. "SHORT TIME. BIG HORDE IN A WEEK."

Barns feels the weight of those words settle into his gut. The stakes have never been higher, that's for sure. Francois wasn't lying. If the First Undead is truly behind this horde, then this is war.

His kingdom - the bastion of humanity - was on a countdown.

Barns grits his teeth. He turns toward the gathered Adventurers and Dimartino leaders, who have been observing from the courtyard. He'd explained the horde to them just before as well.

Maria stands with her arms crossed, watching with unreadable eyes. Osmond hovers beside her, looking as smug as someone who obliterated a Zombie Lord yesterday should look.

Barns steps forward, clearing his throat. "Alright, listen up!"

The courtyard falls silent.

"The King and I are heading out to the Undersea Kingdom. I'll be gone for three days, max—but when I come back, we're gonna have a lot more firepower on our side. At least…that's what I'm hoping for."

Maria quirks an eyebrow. "And if you're not back in three days?"

Barns grins. "Then I probably drowned."

Clancy clicks excitedly. "NO DROWN. BARNACLES SAFE WITH KING CRAB."

Barns addresses Maria directly, his expression sobering slightly. "Hold things down while I'm gone. Thirty thousand undead—that's not a fight we can afford to lose."

Maria exhales sharply. "We'll make as much preparation as we can, but we'll be relying on you when the time comes."

"Keep Roscoe on his training. Keep Skado out of trouble. And for the love of everything, someone make sure Absalom doesn't keel over up there. He seems like a good trump card to have against a horde of undead."

"No promises on any of that," Maria smirks.

Barns chuckles, but his stomach churns. This is real. They're on the verge of war, and he's about to embark on a mission that will take him away for days. Everything matters now.

He glances at Eldrie, who simply nods. No words needed. Just silent support.

He looks at Roscoe, who brims with energy, eager to prove himself.

He finally turns to Clancy. "Alright, King. Let's do this."

The mighty crab lowers himself, allowing Barns to climb onto his shell. He grips Clancy's back, steadying himself as his best friend scuttles toward the castle gates.

The last thing Barns hears before they set off is Osmond's voice, playful but tinged with genuine respect.

"Don't get eaten by a sea monster, Barnie."

Barns flashes a grin over his shoulder. "With King around? We'll be the ones eating them!"

Then, with one final lurch, Clancy leaps forward, into the unknown.

The gates of Dimartino vanish behind them, and the sea awaits.