Swimming isn't actually that difficult. Once you overcome your fear of the water and learn to hold your breath, the rest is just a matter of practice.
For more advanced techniques, you can exhale small amounts of air while swimming to reduce your buoyancy and achieve a simple form of diving—the easiest way to dive without any equipment.
Of course, this will shorten your breath-holding time underwater, but that wasn't a major concern for Firefly. She continued swimming steadily forward and downward.
Initially, the crystal-clear seawater and sunlight created stunning underwater visibility, with shimmering rays dancing through the depths. But as Firefly descended deeper, she reached areas where sunlight couldn't penetrate, and visibility rapidly diminished.
Most people stayed close to the shore, their attention focused on their own friends and family. Few would notice a stranger, especially one diving quickly.
And so, until the very end, no one realized that a girl had vanished into the sea.
Earlier on the beach, Firefly had attracted the attention of several young people. After all, a girl as beautiful as her, and seemingly alone, was bound to draw attention.
Some were even considering approaching her, but within moments, she had vanished without a trace. Left scratching their heads in confusion, they eventually gave up, concluding that reporting the disappearance of a stranger would be pointless.
Meanwhile, Firefly had descended about fifty meters beneath the surface. Though this might not sound like much, it was nearly the maximum depth an ordinary person could reach, even with professional diving training and full scuba gear.
At that depth, the water pressure alone could severely affect the human body, potentially causing lung injuries and broken ribs. Yet Firefly felt nothing of the sort.
Firefly glanced around, confirming that no one was watching, then opened her palm. A cyan Transformation Device materialized in her hand. Unable to recite her transformation sequence underwater, she activated it directly.
What followed defied the laws of nature: a ball of fire ignited spontaneously beneath the waves, instantly vaporizing the surrounding seawater and creating a dense cloud of bubbles.
The young girl vanished, replaced by a silver-white mecha. Without hesitation, Firefly piloted SAM downward, flames erupting from its calves and back, propelling it through the water at incredible speed.
Although the beach was free, it had closing hours. If she didn't return before sunset, after the other tourists had left, her disappearance would be noticed. She had about four hours, until nightfall, to complete her mission and return.
"Time's running out! Full speed ahead!"
As she muttered this, Firefly pushed SAM to its maximum velocity.
-
The scene shifts to the Arctic Ocean, where a dilapidated fishing boat slowly navigates the icy waters.
"Ugh, I don't know how many times I've said it, but this godforsaken place is freezing," one of the two bundled-up figures muttered in the cramped cabin.
"Enough complaining. I just want to know when the next shift change is. I'd kill to be back home, crank up the heater, and bury myself under a warm blanket," the second figure replied.
"Stop chattering and come take a look!" the third man called out. "This damn computer's frozen again. I can't even type—how am I supposed to write my article? Hurry and help me!"
These three were the journalists Firefly had been following in the news reports about the Dimensional Rift in the Arctic Ocean. To be precise, only the third man was the actual journalist; the other two were professional sailors he'd hired to operate the boat.
The journalist was an ordinary man, and attempting to navigate the Arctic Ocean alone would be incredibly dangerous. Hiring experienced sailors was essential.
"Boss, what's so interesting about this stupid Dimensional Rift anyway?" one of the sailors grumbled. "If you can't find anything, why don't we just find something else and get out of this hellhole?"
"Absolutely not!" the journalist retorted, shaking his head vehemently. "Do you have any idea how many people are waiting for my news updates? What about my loyal viewers if I abandoned them now?"
In reality, while a few people were indeed interested in the Dimensional Rift in the Arctic Ocean, their numbers were hardly the main reason the journalist had chosen to stay.
The real reason was that he was the only reporter covering the Dimensional Rift in the Arctic Ocean, making his reports exclusive—a complete monopoly!
Though interest in the Arctic Ocean was limited, with so many people in the world, occasional glances at his reports still generated a steady stream of traffic. Plus, writing about the Dimensional Rift required no flowery language; it was as simple as keeping a daily log. Who wouldn't want such stable income for such minimal effort?
The only downside was the biting cold.
"Stop whining and come help! Breathe on this damn keyboard to melt the ice. Once I finish this report, we can finally head back for supplies!" the journalist snapped, struggling with the frozen keys.
Seeing that the two sailors made no move to assist, he grew even more irritated. "What are you two just standing there for? I'm paying you to work, not to enjoy the scenery!"
"Boss... look at this..."
"Oh my God..."
"Huh?" The reporter looked up impatiently. His eyes immediately fell on the two sailors, who stood frozen in place, their faces blank with shock. The next moment, he too was stunned into silence.
He clearly saw a blazing red "fireball" hurtling through the water at incredible speed. A towering iceberg was sliced cleanly in half by the impact, its halves collapsing outward.
Suddenly, the "fireball" surged upward from the depths, soaring into the sky. Only then did the reporter realize its true form: it was unmistakably a silver figure.
"Fire ignited beneath the glacier? A silver figure ascending to the heavens?!" he muttered in disbelief. Driven by professional instinct, he grabbed his camera, bolted from the cabin, and began snapping photos frantically.
He was certain he had stumbled upon a major scoop.
But before he could fully process what he had seen, an even more surreal spectacle unfolded. As the silver figure continued its ascent, a sound like shattering glass echoed through the air. The entire vista before him—sky, icebergs, and sea—cracked into a dense network of fissures, a fractured reality hanging in the balance.
"What is this...?"