--
The Abyss is a tomb, and I am its last prisoner. The *Silver Star* submarine trembles under the pressure, descending to 2500 meters, where the Eye of the Depths awaits. The whispers in my head are a scream now, a chorus of voiceless voices promising truths I don't want to hear. Taro, Soren, Lira, Vora, Erynn, Ryn… their faces dance in my mind, their tragic deaths etched into my soul. I'm Kaël, a novice who never should have survived, yet here I am, surrounded by Lena, Jace, and Sylas, the man whose smile hides a monster. Every dive has taken a piece of me, but what I discover today might break me for good.
In the cabin, Lena adjusts her suit, her red hair tied in a tight ponytail. Her hard but honest gaze reminds me of Taro, and her "kid" echoes the fraternal love he offered me. I want to trust her, but the Abyss has taught me to be wary. Jace, nervous, fiddles with his sensor glasses, muttering numbers as if data could save him. He reminds me of Soren, fragile, intelligent, and already marked by the whispers. Sylas, across from me, checks his plasma lance with cold precision. His charisma, his confidence, draw Lena and Jace like moths to a flame. But I see beyond his mask. Since he abandoned Ryn to the jellyfish, I know he's a predator, and I'm starting to understand he's far more than a traitor.
The airlock opens, and the black water of the Abyss engulfs us. At 2500 meters, the pressure is an invisible hand crushing our suits, sensors screaming a constant red. The Shadow Trench opens into a deeper gorge, a crevice where the water glints with silvery flecks, like frozen tears. The walls, covered in pulsing crystals, seem to breathe, and I feel the whispers vibrate in sync. Lena murmurs through the comms: "It's beautiful… and terrifying." Jace, his voice trembling, adds: "The data… it's moving, like the Abyss knows we're here." Sylas, leading, swims with an inhuman grace, as if he belongs in this place.
We reach a cavern where the Eye of the Depths rests on a black coral altar, a silver sphere pulsing like a living gaze. But before we can approach, Sylas stops, his smile widening. "Kaël, want to know why you're here?" he asks, his voice soft but sharp. I frown, my plasma lance ready. "For the cities, for the artifacts," I say, but he laughs, a sound that chills the water around us. "No, Kaël. You're here because I wanted it."
His words hit like a wave. Lena and Jace turn to him, confused. Sylas continues, his tone almost jubilant: "Vora didn't betray on his own. I convinced him, whispered in his ear, like the Abyss whispers in yours. He was broken by Kaelin, easy to manipulate." My heart stops. Vora, the traitor, was just a pawn? "You orchestrated his betrayal?" I ask, my voice trembling. Sylas nods, his eyes glinting with cruel delight. "And the others. Joran, Dax, Mira… their deaths were necessary. The Abyss demands sacrifices, and I chose them."
The revelation takes my breath away. Sylas isn't just a traitor; he's the puppeteer of our misery. He manipulated the love I had for Taro, the admiration for Lira, the pity for Soren, to push us deeper into the Abyss. "Why?" I shout, my rage exploding. He raises the Heart of the Abyss, which he's kept on him. "Because the Abyss chose me. Its whispers guided me, and these artifacts—the sphere, the crown, the Heart—are the key to its power. The cities are just a pretext." Lena, shocked, aims her lance at him. "You killed Erynn, Ryn, for this?" Jace, trembling, steps back, his glasses flashing frantically.
Before I can respond, a rumble shakes the cavern. A creature emerges, a colossal sea serpent, its silver scales glinting, its yellow eyes fixed on us. Sylas smiles, as if he expected it. "The Abyss protects its secrets," he says, firing at a nearby crystal, triggering an explosion that seals the cavern's entrance. He swims toward the Eye, leaving us to face the monster. "Sylas!" Lena screams, but he ignores her, his betrayal complete. The serpent charges, its fangs aiming for Jace. I dive, pushing him out of danger, but a fang grazes my suit, the alarm screaming. Lena fires, her plasma bolts hitting a scale, but the serpent retaliates, its body coiling around her. She screams, a heart-wrenching sound, and I slash a segment with my lance. But it's too late. The pressure crushes her suit, and Lena, my new sister, vanishes in a cloud of blood. Her death, so swift, so tragic, tears me apart. On pourrait pleurer sa force et son honnêteté, fauchées par l'Abysse.
Jace, panicked, fires blindly. "He trapped us!" he shouts. Sylas, already at the altar, seizes the Eye of the Depths. The whispers in my head explode, revealing a truth: Sylas orchestrated every dive, every death, to serve the Abyss. I swim toward him, my rage stronger than my fear, but the serpent blocks me. The Abyss has taken everything, but I won't let it win.
---