[You have defeated: Yamato - Leviathan of the Abyss - Level 200+]
[+ERROR]
[EXP overflow detected]
[Calculating...]
[+999,999,999 EXP]
WHAT.
[LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP!]
The notifications are FLOODING in. Faster than I can read them.
[Level 52→60→70→80→90→100]
[MAXIMUM EVOLUTION THRESHOLD REACHED]
[Species evolution required to continue leveling]
[Initiating forced evolution...]
Wait, FORCED?! I don't get a choice?!
[Evolution: Turritopsis dohrnii → Ancient Turritopsis]
[Metamorphosis time: 12 hours]
[WARNING: You will lose consciousness during evolution]
No! Not now! I'm too heavy! I'll sink to the—
Everything goes BLACK.
Darkness.
But not empty darkness.
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
Yamato's voice. Clear. Close.
"Yamato? Where... where am I?"
"Metamorphosis, remember? You're evolving. We have about twelve hours to wait."
"But I can't see anything! I can't move!"
"That's normal. Your body is restructuring. Just... try to relax?"
Relax. Right. While I'm a blob of reforming cells.
[Time Elapsed: 6 hours]
"Okay, my turn. If you could have any skill from the skill shop, what would it be?"
"Teleportation. Hands down. Just... instant travel anywhere. No more being TRAPPED in dungeons."
"That's fair. Though I think flying would be nice too."
"You CAN fly. You're a giant magic serpent."
"How did you know?"
"Lucky guess."
[Time Elapsed: 10 hours]
"Do you think my husband is still alive?"
"..."
"I don't know. But... if he was as strong as you say, and if he got an immortality skill like us then... maybe?"
"That's what I tell myself. That maybe, somewhere, he's still out there. Still looking for me."
"Or maybe he's forgotten. Moved on. Found someone else."
"Yamato..."
"It's okay. It's been thousands of years. I wouldn't blame him."
"But I still want to know. I need to know."
"We'll find out. Together. I promise."
[Time Elapsed: 11 hours, 59 minutes]
"Almost done. You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Good luck, Yuki."
[Metamorphosis complete]
[Evolution finished]
[New species: ERROR]
ERROR?!
[Scanning biological structure...]
[Detecting foreign essence...]
[Recalculating evolution path...]
[Override detected]
[Due to presence of Leviathan essence, evolution has exceeded Ancient Turritopsis threshold]
[New species: Princess Jellyfish (Unique)]
[WARNING: This species has never existed before]
[You are the first and only of your kind]
PRINCESS JELLYFISH?!
[Evolution complete]
[Level reset: 100→1]
[All stats recalculated for new species baseline]
I open my—wait, I have eyes now? REAL eyes?—and look at myself.
From what I can tell I'm... cute?
Transparent. Crystalline. About seven inches across. Glowing with soft inner light.
Like a living jewel.
[STATUS]
Name: —
Species: Princess Jellyfish (Unique)
Level: 1
HP: 2000/2000
MP: 28,000/28,000
STR: 1200
DEF: 1100
AGI: 1500
INT: 1300
TWELVE HUNDRED STRENGTH?! AT LEVEL ONE?!
My stats are INSANE!
[New Skill Acquired: Aberration Lv.1]
[Description: ???]
[No information available]
What kind of skill has NO DESCRIPTION?!
But that's not even the weirdest thing.
I can MOVE.
Normally.
Like I'm not carrying the soul of an apocalypse-class creature in my stomach.
"Yamato? Why am I not heavy anymore?"
"Oh! That's because our souls are sharing the same space now. Instead of you carrying my weight, we're... coexisting?"
"Coexisting?"
"Here, close your eyes. Focus inward. You'll see."
I do.
And suddenly I'm... somewhere else.
Not the ocean. Not the dungeon.
A space. Infinite. White. Glowing softly.
And standing in front of me—
A woman. She's tall... like really tall, I think she's about six and a half feet tall. Her hair is white hair with blue streaks.
Yamato. In her human form, except she looked much more mature, like she did in her flashbacks.
"Welcome to our Soulscape!"
She spreads her arms wide.
"This is where our souls exist together. You appear how you perceive yourself."
Wait?
I look down at myself.
HANDS.
I HAVE HANDS.
HUMAN HANDS.
And arms. And legs. And—
I'm HUMAN again. My original body. My original appearance.
Tanaka Yuki. Eighteen years old. Black hair. Normal height.
HUMAN.
I stare at my hands, flexing my fingers.
"I... I forgot what this felt like."
"Being human?"
"Having THUMBS."
Yamato giggles.
"You can come here anytime. Just close your eyes and focus. It's our shared space."
I'm about to respond when I notice something.
We're both... naked?
"Um. Why are we—"
"Well, unless you wore the same clothes everyday for a very long time to the point where when you imagine yourself you are always wearing that exact same clothing. I doubt bringing clothes into the subspace is possible. The system is weird like that."
"Don't worry, I don't mind. Do you?"
"I... no? Maybe? This is just REALLY WEIRD."
"Well get used to it."
She sits down—on nothing, just floating—and pats the space next to her.
"Come on. We should plan our next move."
I open my eyes—my REAL eyes, in the ocean—and I'm back in my jellyfish body.
[Current Location: Abyssal Zone - 3800 meters depth]
Right. I need to get to the surface.
I activate my Sixth Sense, scanning for currents.
There! An updraft! Weak, but present.
I pulse toward it.
[Pulse Burst Lv.2→Lv.10 (MAX)]
[Skill evolved through constant use during dungeon survival]
[New effect: Can achieve flight-like movement in water. Maximum burst height: 40 feet]
FORTY FEET?!
I test it out.
[Pulse Burst activated]
I SHOOT upward. Fast. SO fast.
The water rushes past. I'm FLYING through the ocean.
[Depth: 3800→3500→3000→2500]
Creatures scatter as I pass. Nothing approaches me.
"Yamato, why aren't they attacking? Usually everything wants to eat me."Is it my breath? I haven't brushed in like...
"Check your status. You're carrying a Leviathan's essence. Every creature in this ocean can SENSE that."
"They're terrified of you."
Oh.
OH.
I'm basically radiating "DON'T MESS WITH ME" energy now.
That's... actually really convenient.
[Depth: 2000→1500→1000→500]
The water is getting warmer. Brighter.
[Depth: 200→100→50]
LIGHT.
REAL LIGHT.
Not bioluminescence. Not mana glow.
SUNLIGHT.
[Depth: 0]
I break the surface.
And for the first time in SIX YEARS, I see the SKY.
Blue. Endless. Beautiful.
Clouds drifting lazily.
The sun—ACTUAL SUN—warming the water.
I'm... I'm free.
I'm actually FREE.
I float there, just... existing. Feeling the sunlight. The gentle waves.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Yamato's voice is wistful.
"I haven't seen the sky in thousands of years."
"We made it. We actually made it out."
I check my skills, curious about what else changed.
[New Skill Acquired: Polymorph Lv.1]
[Description: Transform between jellyfish form and human form at will. Human form reflects pre-reincarnation appearance with enhancements. Stats remain consistent across forms.]
HUMAN FORM?!
I CAN BE HUMAN AGAIN?!
Not just in the Soulscape—ACTUALLY HUMAN?!
"Yamato! YAMATO! I can transform into a human!"
"Really?! Try it! Try it now!"
I want to. I REALLY want to.
But... I can't swim....I mean I can as a jellyfish, but as a human?
I look around. Ocean. Endless ocean. No land in sight.
"Maybe I should wait until we find land? I don't want to drown immediately."
"Fair point."
"Speaking of land... there should be an island near here. I remember it from before I was sealed."
I scan the horizon with my enhanced vision.
Nothing. Just water. Everywhere.
"Are you sure? I don't see anything."
"It was here. I'm certain. A large island with human settlements."
"Unless..."
"Unless?"
"Unless maybe I've been down there way too long and the continents have moved over time. Or some disaster level entity has changed the geography of the area."
"Okay. New plan. We just... pick a direction. And go. Eventually we'll hit land."
"That works. Which direction?"
"That way."
I point with a tentacle.
"Then let's go. Adventure awaits!"
Right. Adventure.
With an apocalypse-class Leviathan living in my soul.
And a quest to find her thousand-year-old husband.
And a human form I haven't tested yet.
This is fine.
Everything is awesome.
[Pulse Burst activated]
I shoot forward across the ocean surface, my transparent form glittering in the sunlight.
For the first time in six years, I'm not in a dungeon.
I'm not trapped.
I'm not grinding just to survive.
I'm FREE.
And somewhere out there, there's land. Civilization. Answers.
And maybe—just maybe—a Japanese isekai hero who's been waiting thousands years for his wife.
Let's find out.