Round 150

Merrin's heart hammers in her chest as she fights to keep them both afloat in the churning water. The massive wave from the collapsing stone wall crashes over them, threatening to drag them under once more. She gasps for air, her muscles burning with exhaustion, but adrenaline keeps her moving. Her eyes lock onto Varikka's face, relief flooding through her that she's alive and relatively unharmed.

"We have to get out of here!" Merrin shouts over the roar of collapsing stone and rushing water. The tentacle is already coiling back for another strike, its grotesque form undulating through the murky depths between them and potential safety. She spots a narrow ledge above the rising waterline— their only visible escape route.

"Seraphine!" Merrin calls out desperately, pointing towards the precarious handhold. "There! We have to climb out of this death trap before we drown or get crushed by falling debris!" Her fingers ache from the iron bar she still clutches, but it might be their only weapon against whatever else lurks in these depths.

The water is ice-cold and rising fast, stealing what little warmth remains in her limbs. Every second counts as the tower groans ominously around them, more stone shifting with each passing moment. Merrin's mind races, calculating their chances of survival against the mounting odds stacked against them.