Chapter 45. Dice vs. Crab

Volume 3. Jennie

Everything was dark, I couldn’t see clearly. Where is this?

The air felt cold and strange, and the space around me stretched pale and endless. There was no one else around me. Nothing… except for me. After a moment, my eyes adjusted enough to make out the shape of the room. It didn’t look like any place I recognized.

But just a few meters ahead, a small, simple table stood quietly, and resting on it was something all too familiar. My throat moved on its own. Something inside forced a single name out, dry and cracked. And my chest ached the moment the voice left my mouth.

“Jennie!”

I moved forward to grab the Dice. But something stopped me. The moment I moved, I heard it, metal scraping against something hard and unmistakable.

Chains.

I felt them then, digging into my wrists and ankles, pulling tight from all four corners. My arms were stretched outward just enough to strain my shoulders, and both legs were pinned with the same cold tension. I hadn’t realized it until now, but I was chained.

What’s going on?

Why am I locked like this?

Did I die again?

Did I overdose on beer after drinkiing too much with Kevin?

Suddenly my head throbbed so violently I could barely think. Every sound sliced through the air, warped and unbearable. The room twisted at the edges. Walls pulsed. The floor stretched away like it was falling into itself. Shapes around me refused to stay still. Sometimes they were too close, sometimes too far. Nothing made sense. I couldn’t tell if the world was shrinking, or if I was.

Why does this feel like Alice in Wonderland Syndrome?

I knew this feeling. Back on Earth, I used to get sudden episodes of AIWS. But this, this was so much worse. Another wave hit. The noise exploded—louder, sharper, unbearable. My skull felt like it was splitting open. I screamed with everything I had.

“AAAARGGHHHHH!”

I had no idea how long it lasted. I didn’t know if it lasted seconds or centuries. My mind begged for help with every pulse. Sound crushed my ears. Pressure seared my skin. I wanted to scream, but even that was stolen. It was all too much. I couldn’t take it anymore.

Finally, the episodes ended. Everything fell into silence but only for a moment because I heard footsteps. I couldn’t see the person, only the outline of robes dragging across the floor. They were carrying something. A large glass jar, nearly full, sloshing with a thick black liquid that moved far too sluggishly to be water. I didn’t know what it was, but it looked like tar, and the smell hit me so hard it curled my stomach. It was the kind of smell that didn’t just sting your nose, but lodged itself deep in your mind and refused to leave.

A sick, chemical stench.

The figure reached me in silence and raised the container just slightly, just enough to set it down in front of my face. My throat tightened. I swallowed instinctively. I already knew where this was going. Then, from behind, another hand grabbed a fistful of my hair.

There was no time to react, my head was shoved straight into the black liquid. The moment I sank into it, I understood exactly what hell was. The liquid invaded everything. It surged into my mouth and nose in a single, suffocating rush, crawling down my throat and everything inside. It clung to my lungs and sealed everything shut.

Breathing became impossible.

Every instinct screamed for air, but there was nothing to inhale except the taste of something thick and oily. My whole body screamed at me to move, I thrashed upward but the hand held firm and pushed harder, forcing me deeper into the muck. The tar spread inside me, my throat burned from the inside, the longer it stayed inside, it made me feel less human with every second. I couldn’t scream. There was no breath to carry the sound. Panic was the only thing left.

Then, just as fast, I was yanked upward.

Air slammed into my face. My mouth opened before I could think, and I gasped, coughing and choking as thick sludge poured from me in wet, gurgling heaves. One breath. That was all I got and then they shoved me back under.

This time it felt worse. Not because it was deeper or longer, but because I knew what was coming. I braced for it and still couldn’t stop it. The panic turned into something colder. My muscles started giving out. My vision faded behind my eyes. My arms stopped fighting. My legs floated uselessly. Even my thoughts began to slide apart, melting into the liquid, slipping further away as if they too could drown.

Just like that, my mind was shutting down, I gave up on screaming, I couldn’t even remember what I was fighting. I stopped hoping something would save me. The last piece of me that cared… slipped away.

Again, I was pulled up.

Water slammed against my side.

I jolted up with a sputter, spinning and coughing so hard it felt like my magic core rattled in my chest.

Water??

It wasn’t tar anymore.

It was river water.

Cold, fresh, clean. Clear as crystal washing over me in a shallow current. The sunlight shimmered on the surface. The sky above stretched wide, painted in soft blue and warm morning gold.

“You finally awake?” Lyra asked, her tone dry as she dipped a soaked cloth back into the current beside her.

I didn’t answer. My mind was still reeling, trapped somewhere between chains and darkness. The memory clung to me, thick as the sludge that had once filled my lungs.

What the hell was that?

A dream? I was deep in water again, this time rushing past my sides with a splash that soaked my outer shell. I realized I was strapped to her wrist.

Lyra knelt by the riverbank, washing her clothes from yesterday. The shirt was already soaked in the current as she scrubbed at a sleeve, brows furrowed like she was in battle with the stain itself. I watched her for a moment, still half-spinning, unsure what was real.

Did she just pull me out of that nightmare? Saved me from spiritual asphyxiation… or was she the one who sent me there?

“What nightmare and dream?” Lyra asked without looking at me.

“I think I was dreaming just a moment ago…” I mumbled, still dazed.

“No, you weren’t.” Her tone was firm. “I’d know if you were dreaming.”

She glanced my way. “Your cube usually glows when you dream.”

“Huh? How could you be so sure I wasn’t dr—”

She cut in quickly, her voice carrying a strange edge.

“Because when you glow... I always know when you dream. I see it in the morning, and you always talk about it after. But today… there was no glow. That’s… that’s how I know.” She didn’t leave any room for questions. As I started to process that, she changed the subject fast.

“So, what exactly were you talking about? This dream?” Her voice came too quickly. I hesitated, then told her everything, about the chains, the room, the sludge, the tar filling my lungs. Her expression shifted so much. That bothered her more than I expected.

“So, did you die this time?”

“No, but I think I was about to, then I woke up while you was washing clothes...”

I narrowed my eyes. “Wait a second. Why did you strap me to your wrist, huh? Maybe that’s why I had that freaky dream!”

I glared at her, venomously.

She huffed. “I woke up. Everyone was still asleep, and the whole cave reeked of beer. Especially you, idiot dice. You smelled like fermented trash.”

“Excuse me?!”

“The stench was dense, okay? I couldn’t stand it. I brought you here to rinse you off, but the smell wouldn’t go away no matter what I did.”

She flicked water at me with the cloth. “So I tied you to my wrist. Figured you’d get clean while I washed the clothes.”

“That’s not how magical sanitation works!” I snapped. “I’m a cube, not a bar of soap!”

She stood up and gave the wet shirt a sharp flick, snapping the sleeves outward with both hands. Water sprayed off in scattered droplets. Mana began to gather in her palms, glowing faintly as it wrapped around the fabric. I hovered back, watching like I always did. Lyra was doing her thing again.

She whispered under her breath, focusing. Fire mana threaded into the cloth, precise and controlled, just enough to evaporate the moisture without burning it. Steam hissed softly from the fabric, curling into the morning air. Slowly, the shirt dried, left soft and perfectly dry, like it had never been soaked at all.

“Wow. You did that even faster than before. Been leveling up your laundry magic, huh?”

Lyra didn’t smile. “Want to try it?” she asked flatly. Then her eyes narrowed. “But… are you sure you’re alright? Nothing’s wrong with you?” Her brow creased deeper than usual.

“Ah, come on. Don’t be a busybody.” I tried to wave it off. “I’m not taking that dream seriously. You worry too much.” But I was lying.

Because deep down, it had shaken something loose inside me. It felt too real. I didn’t even realize it was a dream until I woke up. There was no point overthinking it. None of it made sense but still, I couldn’t stop worrying. Lyra’s brow furrowed even tighter.

Crap.

I forgot she could read my mind.

She started bickering immediately, her voice climbing into that annoying, familiar nag. All the while, she folded the clothes with practiced ease, packed them up, and slipped them into her space ring. I tore myself off from her wrist and floated beside her in silence for a moment, pretending to listen.

“Okay. Yeah. The dream was definitely weird. Chains, tar, choking. Nothing made sense.”

“But what was I supposed to do? I didn’t understand any of it. And if you're going to keep worrying like this...”

“…How about you just come play with me?” My eyes sparkled with brilliance.

Lyra blinked, thrown off. “Huh?”

I dance dramatically in front of her. “I want to swim.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You what?”

“I haven’t swum once since I dropped into this world and let’s catch some fish while we’re at it!” I grinned.

“Come on, tether me to your hand so I don’t float off and die tragically. You don’t want a haunted river, do you?” With a tired sigh and muttered complaint, she flicked her wrist, tied a glowing mana-thread around me like a leash, and yeeted me straight into the river.

“WHEEEEEEEEEE! SUMMER TIME, BABY!!!” I screamed as I hit the water.

Cold water rushed around me. The current tugged at my sides, but the tether held strong.

Huh? I can breathe underwater? But I couldn’t breathe in that tar earlier… Was the dream just designed so I’d suffocate in it?

Forget that. Let’s have fun.
Dice privilege, I guess.

I drifted along the surface for a second before diving down, twisting through the water like a highly trained aquatic idiot. If Ariel saw me, she’d cancel her Disney contract and propose on the spot. Why turn into a bubble when you could marry a legend like me? I kept my unhinged freestyle going as I swam deeper.

A freshwater crab paused mid-crawl, turned to stare at me with what could only be described as visible judgment.

...We locked eyes.

It blinked. Slowly. Then scuttled away like it had seen too much nonsense today.

Damn. I got insulted the moment I started my aquatic life.

Never mind.

Because underwater, everything looked... cinematic.

Wow. Crazy.

Beams of sunlight filtered through the surface above, scattering gold across the riverbed. Bubbles floated up around me. Fish darted between rocks, shimmering silver and blue. I shrank my dice body a little and started wiggling in the current. A perfect bait.

Behold.

My newest, most epic form yet.

Diceworm.

“Lyra, can you hear me?” I asked her in my head.

“Yes...” she replied, flat and unimpressed.

“Nice. I can begin my noble quest now.”

Outside, I could see her shaking her head.

I swayed left.
Paused.
Swayed right.
Paused.

One fish approached, curious.
Then two.
Then a whole mini-school of riverfish drifted toward me.

Hooked.

A brave, greedy and also foolish fish darted forward, bit me once, then swallowed me whole.

“LYRA, PULL BACK! NOW!”

She instinctively yanked the tether with force.

The fish went flying out of the river with me, flapping wildly.

“HEYYYYY!” I shouted through the tether. “I GOT ONE! DID YOU SEE THAT?! I’M A NATURAL!”

Lyra facepalmed.

“You are the stupidest legendary artifact in history.”

After a brief victory lap in the air and some thoroughly undeserved pride, I plopped back into the river with a splash.

“Round two,” I muttered. “Diceworm returns.”

I resumed the sacred wiggle. Left. Right. Left again. But this time I added flair. A little spin. A corkscrew roll. Pure artistry. A crab from earlier peeked out from behind a rock and mocked me with the same flat, judgmental stare.

Did I owe it money or something...?

“Lyra,” I whispered through the tether. “Are you watching?”

“No,” she replied instantly.

“Good. I’ll make it even dumber.”

I wiggled hard, aggressively twisting my body in the water and yelled, “COME AT ME, FISH! I AM BAIT, I AM DIVINE, I AM—”

WHACK.

The same crab launched off a nearby stone and smacked into me mid-rant, then scuttled away at top speed.

Silence.

Even the bubbles paused.

“…What the f—what’s wrong with it!” I muttered, stunned, watching it flee with a smug face. Damn it.

Above, Lyra coughed, clearly trying not to laugh. “I didn’t see anything,” she said flatly. “But I felt your pride crack.”

Damn you, crab.

Let me show you how a true man fishes.

I floated belly-up.

“This river has no respect for its maker.”

“I will show them who their daddy is.”

And thus, the sacred ritual began again.

I pulsed mana outward from my core, sending a warm, rhythmic wave through the water. I had no idea if it would actually do anything, but it wasn’t like I’d lose anything by trying.

“I call this... Mana Charm,” I announced to absolutely no one. “Nature’s ultimate fish aphrodisiac.”

At first, nothing happened. Then I felt it, a strange vibration through the river. Shapes flickered in the water. Fish began to appear from the edges of the current. Within seconds, an entire school of over fifty fish surrounded me, glimmering silver and blue as they spiraled in slow, synchronized worship around my magnificent, wiggling form. They had come. All of them. Including the crab earlier plus its friends.

I smiled.

Hmph.

“I am your king. Your bait. Your salvation,” I declared with the gravity of a self-important River Poseidon, dice version.

And then I pressed more mana into the charm. My body expanded with a sudden surge, growing rapidly. First the size of a barrel, then nearly as big as a giant boulder. The fish responded instantly, sweetly squeaking as they entered the honeytrap. Drawn in by the magic, they swam straight toward me and slipped inside, one after another, vanishing as if devoured by the world’s strangest vacuum.

It was glorious and deeply uncomfortable.

“Lyra!” I called out, “I need extraction. Pull me out!”

I could see her tug on the tether with both hands, leaning back as the thread stretched tight. Her expression twisted in visible confusion.

“Why are you so heavy now? What did you do?”

“I’m full of fish,” I replied with solemn pride. “So many fish.”

She grunted and pulled again, but I didn’t budge.

With no other choice, I compressed my form, forcing my body to shrink back into mini dice size through sheer magical effort. I trembled slightly, still crammed full of twitching fish.

“Try again,” I said, voice a little strained.

This time, she yanked the thread and pulled me out with ease. I floated above the river, dripping and quivering, while something deeply wrong unfolded inside me.

“I can feel them,” I groaned. “They’re swimming around in there. They’re touching everything.”

Lyra tilted her head, visibly disturbed. “Where are the fish? Try letting them out…?”

“I can’t,” I mumbled. “The mouth hole is too small. They’re bouncing around. It’s disgusting and it tickled.”

Her face twisted like she was watching someone chew on a wet sock.

With a sharp breath, I expanded again. My body swelled until the pressure eased, finally opening wide enough to release the madness I had stored inside. The moment I did, a wave of fish burst from my mouth and scattered across the grassy riverbank. They flopped and wriggled in confusion, but somehow, not a single one was harmed.

We stood in silence.

“…They’re still the same size,” Lyra said slowly, half-amazed, half-disgusted. “How are they still the same size?”

I hovered there, lifting my chin with what little dignity I had left.

“My dice body might operate on non-Euclidean space logic. Maybe I got a side function as an aquarium.”
Honestly, I was secretly amazed too. I had no idea how this thing worked.

Lyra pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “I’m not eating those.”

“That’s your loss,” I said with a proud grin. “Freshest riverfish ever caught. Perfect condition. Sealed for flavor.” She didn’t answer and rolled her eyes at me.

She pointed at the pile. “You even caught crabs? You really are something else, Dan…”

I looked away, muttering shyly under my breath,

“Just… just don’t tell them how I caught them…”

“The crab is mine...”