The Abyss grants me no respite. The whispers in my head have become a storm, a wordless chorus calling me to descend deeper, to uncover what it hides. I'm lying on my bunk in the *Silver Star* submarine, the hum of the engines lulling me like a sinister lullaby. The faces of Joran, Dax, Kaelin, and Mira haunt my thoughts, their deaths carved into my mind like open wounds. We're down to five: Lira, our unyielding leader; Taro, wounded but still standing; Vora, broken by Kaelin's loss; Soren, whose fear threatens to consume him. And me, Kaël, a novice with no business being here, but no way to turn back.
The runic sphere, retrieved at the cost of blood, rests in its chest, its silvery glow pulsing through the glass. It's supposed to control ocean currents, but I can't help seeing it as a trap, a promise from the Abyss to lure us deeper. Today, we dive to 1200 meters, seeking the void crystal, a source of pure energy that could power the floating cities for decades. But Lira warned us: at this depth, the Abyss changes. The water feels alive, the monsters grow intelligent, and the pressure pushes our suits to their breaking point. A single tear, and it's over. I touch my suit, checking every seam for the hundredth time. The scratch from the last dive is repaired, but I still feel the eel's bite in my bones.
Taro sits beside me, wincing as his bandaged leg shifts. Despite the pain, he gives me that gentle smile, so at odds with his hulking frame. "Don't worry, kid," he says, his voice deep but warm. "We'll make it." I want to believe him. Taro is the only one who still feels human in this team, the only one who treats me like a brother rather than a burden. His words spark a warmth in my chest, an affection I never knew on the surface. Up there, I had no one. Here, in the Abyss, Taro has become an anchor, a hope I can't bear to lose. But his tired eyes and wounded leg remind me he's vulnerable, and the Abyss doesn't forgive weakness.
Soren, across the cabin, is a ghost. He stares at the floor, his fingers frantically tapping his wrist screen. Since the last dive, he's grown more distant, more fragile. I remember his words in the cave, about the Abyss's whispers. I hear them too, but Soren seems to hear them louder, as if they're devouring him from within. I approach, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Soren, you holding up?" He flinches, his eyes wide. "They're stronger, Kaël. The whispers. They want us to go deeper. They *know* we're coming." His voice trembles, and I feel a pang of pity. Soren is intelligent, sensitive, the kind of person readers might love for his vulnerability, his humanity in this aquatic hell. But I fear he won't survive this dive.
Lira enters the cabin, her face as hard as ever. "Get ready. Depth: 1200 meters. Target: void crystal." She pauses, scanning each of us. "At this depth, the monsters aren't just beasts. They think. They hunt. And they know we're here." Vora nods, his glowing tattoo pulsing on his neck. Taro grips his vibrating blade, a spark of defiance in his eyes. Soren lowers his head, muttering numbers like a prayer. My heart races, the whispers in my head swelling into a roar.
The airlock opens, and the water engulfs us. At 1200 meters, the Abyss is another world. The water is denser, almost solid, and our headlamps struggle to pierce the darkness. Bioluminescent corals are scarce, replaced by strange, organic growths that seem to watch us. The pressure makes our suits creak, and the sensors flash red, warning us we're at the limit. Lira leads us to an underwater fissure, a narrow crevice where the void crystal is supposed to lie. The water hums with a strange energy, as if the Abyss is breathing around us.
Suddenly, movement in the darkness. Not a single creature, but a swarm. Thousands of fish with razor-sharp teeth, their silvery bodies glinting like blades. They move as one mind, a deadly cloud encircling us. "Tight formation!" Lira shouts. We cluster together, plasma lances ready. Taro brandishes his blade, his massive frame shielding Soren. Vora and Lira fire, their blue bolts tearing through the water, but the swarm is too fast, dodging with unnatural precision. I fire too, my heart pounding. The fish scatter, then reform, their glowing eyes fixed on us.
Soren panics, his shots missing their mark. "They know! They *know*!" he screams through the comms. I want to calm him, but the swarm attacks. They descend on Taro, their teeth piercing his suit. He roars, his vibrating blade cutting down dozens, but there are too many. I dive toward him, firing blindly, but an alarm blares: his suit is torn. "Taro!" I yell, my voice breaking. He looks at me, that gentle smile still there, even through the pain. "Protect Soren, kid," he whispers before the pressure crushes him. His body collapses, a cloud of blood filling the water. I scream, a raw cry echoing in my helmet. Taro, the man who gave me a semblance of family in this hell, is gone. His loss tears me apart, a pain so sharp I can barely breathe.
Lira takes control. "Kaël, pull it together! Vora, left flank! Soren, shoot!" But Soren is frozen, his gaze lost. The swarm returns, and I see Vora hesitate. Instead of covering Soren, he swims backward, as if trying to escape. "Vora, what are you doing?" I yell, but he ignores me. Lira notices too, her eyes darkening. "Vora, get back here!" she orders, but he keeps going, abandoning Soren to the swarm. The betrayal hits me like a knife to the gut. Vora, the stoic veteran, is abandoning us to save himself.
The swarm descends on Soren. He screams, a gut-wrenching sound, as the fish tear into his suit. I dive toward him, firing desperately, but it's too late. The pressure crushes him, his body vanishing in a sickening crunch. Soren, so fragile, so human, is gone, and his loss shatters me further. Anyone could have loved him for his vulnerability, his tortured intelligence, but the Abyss gives no gifts. I turn to Vora, rage boiling inside me. "You abandoned him!" I scream, but he doesn't respond, his eyes averted.
Lira and I fight alone now, the swarm swirling around us. Its movements are too precise, too coordinated. Lira fires, her blue bolts scattering part of the swarm, but they reform, relentless. "Kaël, the fissure!" she shouts. I swim to the crevice, my headlamps revealing the void crystal, a black sphere pulsing with cold energy. I reach it, but the whispers in my head explode, a cacophony that nearly knocks me out. They speak of power, secrets, the Abyss itself. I grab the crystal, its icy surface burning my hand through the glove.
The swarm disperses, as if fearing the crystal. Lira and I ascend, Vora trailing silently behind. Back in the submarine, I lunge at him, my rage erupting. "You let Soren die!" I yell, shoving him against the wall. Lira stops me, her gaze hard. "Enough, Kaël. We have the crystal. That's all that matters." But her words ring false. Vora lowers his eyes, ashamed, but offers no apology. The betrayal weighs heavy, and the deaths of Taro and Soren, so tragic, so senseless, haunt me. The Abyss's whispers grow louder, promising answers, but at what cost?