Everything was wrong; all her home was messed up.

The mermaid let out a disgusted sound, kicking her tail, pushing more disgusting seaweed off herself. The mass had been in the dark, in the deepest waters, where light did not touch; somewhere where even she rarely submerged. But now, in a matter of days, they had tangled up, grown. They reached for dimly lighted waters, which she lived in. It was still deep, but not as much; a reasonable depth, dark but not as menacing. There were rocks all around, the black chasm below.

Diya had slept. She had been sleeping in her nest, calmly, letting the night pass. She had been curled around herself, fins and darkness lulling her into slumber. The sun did not signal the day in her habitat, but she always knew when it raised in the far distance above. Her light had flickered as her eyes opened. And she could only stare at the mass tangling all through her caverns, almost stabbing the rocks and brown surfaces.

It was not natural. All the seaweed pulsed, in black, moving like claws. With every second, an inch gained, closer. And they just seemed to get faster. Had she not woken up, she would have been reached too. But she woke; and then she moved out of her nest, swimming up for higher waters.

She left the depths she inhabited. Something she never did. She always stayed alone in the dark. But she had to leave, because the mass was crawling up, all around, almost looking alive. It all tangled; all the vines were long and dense, even if they looked rotten, black.

Diya blinked, seeing some light around her, finally. Not her own. The waters were now dimly lit, even if still shadowed. She could finally see slightly without her lure. However, this area was not any better. She hugged herself, glaring at all the surrounding chaos. She thought that fish she saw was unnerving enough. Well, there were more now. Out of the depths, closer to the surface. The faint sunlight reflected over the red seaweed. It was bloody in some places, there were small bulges, something below them for sure, all pulsing.

“What in the name of…”

There was blood, for sure. All was a sea of red and black. It somehow almost glowed in the shadows, all around her. All loomed; the rocks rose high, none could be seen while the mass dressed them. And she could not see its end. She had never seen such a thing. And she was not expected to see it again.

“Look at what crawled out of the dark…” A chuckle, a vile one. “Like I did.”

Diya jolted a little. The calm voice echoed all through, the seaweed shivering with it, moving like waves with its tone. Her white lure moved slowly, shedding light, just enough to discern the figure leaning onto some rocks above. A hand was toying with some vines; two eyes glinted maliciously, once azure, now bloody.

The angler floated there, seeing the same dolphin that she spoke with once. But this time, she could see no trace of what she was. Gone was the emotion in her expression, there was only coldness and calculation; perhaps arrogant pride. Her impossibly sharp eyes were locked onto her, with intentions she could not be sure of. But she could theorize of them.

Diya swayed slightly away, tensing. Because she saw her move down slowly, using her tail and arms to sink parallel to the rocks and seaweed. Only to then loom upright near her, finally out of the shadows, her figure glinting in red.

The mermaid’s neck was dressed in a bright bloody mass, vines fixed around it, concealing slightly her jaw. Her front was free, only a few threads covering her chest. But behind her, an impossibly long trail of red and black followed, always brushing, but never hindering her fins and tail. It all flowed gracefully like a long cowl, which did not seem to have an end. Her body was the origin and core of the mass.

“Y-you-”

Iara laughed, unfazed by her surprise and realization.

“Me… You could say so.” The vines twitched, rising around her. “Thanks to you, I am more than before. I am more, together.”

There was bloodlust in her tone, a faked gratefulness for the words that led her to be like this. And that fate was only confirmed when she laughed once more, coldly. She made the younger mermaid cower with a gasp, because seaweed moved all around them, slowly reaching… like claws.

“I will be even greater once everything is one.” Iara’s figure was engulfed in red, her whisper still echoing. “Your blood will flow as mine.”

Diya finally moved. Iara did not react, or did not care, as she swam away from her. Her seaweed missed her by inches. But that red gaze never left her figure, and the vines did not stop moving up.

The angler swam up in panic, panting, feeling the unnatural current all around her. She could barely see any light above, because the vines seemed to circle and merge above her, trying to block her way. They were trapping her. Her small sharp teeth showed as she let out a loud snarl. Her hands finally collided with the small mass that tried to halt her above.

Diya growled, biting and clawing, managing to rip a few vines. She made her torso pass through. Her eyes opened with hope, seeing the faint light above. The surface was far, but there.

She pulled, in vain. She cried in alarm, letting out a small surprised yelp, because she felt the seaweed below and around her latch. A hiss escaped her, feeling stabs. But not lethal ones, they only broke slightly her skin, settling below it.

“N-no-!”

She could not even growl. She could only flinch and thrash while the mass tangled all around her, pulling her back down. It all covered her, slowly. She felt it drag her onto some rocks, slowly, without hurry. Only her eyes were uncovered as she was pinned, mostly unharmed, but trapped. The last thing she saw, was a slender figure swaying close, two eyes glinting in the dark, the sunlight gone. She got one last glimpse of sharp red eyes as a whisper echoed.

“You will be more meaningful… Make me bloom.”

The vines finally blocked all vision, all light, leaving everything in red and black. Only uncaring eyes could still see. There was no emotion, their thoughts shared.

They would reach for everything, willfully.