While his airheaded coward of a foe lamented his piteous dying world, Shin was more occupied with coming to terms with what he was seeing. Nothing was quite right, and while he was under water he couldn't take a deep breath and center himself as he would normally. Stacked with the no longer bleeding but agonizingly painful wounds on his feet, if he were a lesser man he would have prayed for death. [color=bc8dbf][i]All of these colors and wavelengths that were once invisible to me, what nightmares are hidden within them? Was this the Dreamers? Why did they force Metzalaatla and myself into this place? They wanted us to see this. This is what was causing him such distress![/i][/color]

At the bottom of the water, Shin settled himself to the ground and pushed the flesh on his heels back into place. Before they sealed up completely, he wanted them to hold in place. At least for the duration of the coming melee. Again, he would have screamed if he had any air in his lungs. At the bottom of the water, however, he wouldn't be able to breathe without inhaling a mouthful of water. Nor could he paddle to the top, not in his condition. Shin was basically walking at the bottom of the water now. It would take him a good few minutes to reach the water's edge, and another few seconds just to scale the cliff. 

Might as well make use of the time. Beneath the violet surf, Shin was noticing every single notable change in his vision.  Things felt strangely lighter beneath the water, where before it had been weighing him down, he was now feeling alleviated. Though still walking, using a handy trick for killing pain through repeated infliction. It hurt more in the short term, but in the long run the pain wouldn't be as severe. Shin didn't know how long his fight had left, but he wasn't ready to just let this coward escape without dying at least once. 

While marching and slowly reaching the shore, Shin wrapped the chain around his left arm and tied it tightly. Making sure he wouldn't disarm himself again, it wasn't a mistake. But it was a gambit that didn't work out too well last time and he didn't want even the temptation to repeat. As well, it would strengthen his weaker arm. That shoulder injury was really dragging on him. Much more now than before, because the water was cooling his burn nicely. 

Now all that remained was his  frustrated internal monologue. [color=bc8dbf][i]Whatever I do, once I leave the water, I must do it fast. Before he can lash another spell at me, I must strike him down. And there's only one way to do that.[/i] [/color]No plan of action could fight against a spell that he couldn't see coming, the pillar before had nearly killed him. If he had've been a second too late, it would have impaled his groin and torn him in half. No defense aside from luck or constant movement, no offense could work if his foe managed to form another barrier. 

With all of this running through his head and more, one thing tingled at the back of his head. [color=bc8dbf][i]This location. Why this location with this strange water? Why did the Dreamers want ME to see this!?[/i][/color]