Round 889

The current seized Merrin with renewed force, its icy grip tightening around her wiry frame as she fought for every breath. Her limbs screamed in protest, flailing uselessly against the torrent's insistent pull. The water roared past her ears, drowning out every other sound in the cavern while panic clawed at her chest. She could feel the pressure building inside, her body screaming for oxygen that refused to come.

Just when she thought her strength would fail entirely, a sudden updraft caught the torch flame, sending a flickering beam of light through the churning water. There—Elric clung to a rocky outcropping nearby, his face pale with terror as he searched the water's surface. The sight gave Merrin renewed purpose even as the current threatened to sweep her away.

"VARIKA!" Her voice emerged as a choked cry barely audible over the rushing water. She fought against the flow, trying to move towards Elric and the sliver of hope he represented. But every stroke seemed to push her further downstream instead of closer to solid ground.

The river's course changed abruptly, its waters suddenly flowing directly towards them with renewed force. Merrin's heart lurched—if they didn't find a way off this rapidly shifting current, they'd all be swept away or worse. She needed to surface, needed to help Varikka somehow...

But the water's pull was too strong. Despite her best efforts, Merrin felt herself being dragged deeper beneath the surface once more. The world darkened around her as she struggled against the inevitable, her last desperate thoughts for the friends she'd leave behind if this current claimed her entirely.

The river roared on, indifferent to the lives it threatened, carrying its watery prize deeper into the earth's dark embrace.