Tom's foot crossed the last glowing bloom, and he felt his body sink into liquid darkness.
A shiver ran through him. For a terrifying second, he thought he would drown. His chest rose, his throat locked. But then, as if the Soul Mantis Flower itself gave him permission, air rushed into his lungs.
He touched his lips, stunned. I can breathe… inside the ocean.
The flower pressed against his palm pulsed faintly, its glow the only tether between him and death. He hardened his grip. He dared not let go.
Around him, the water stretched into an infinite abyss. It wasn't like a normal sea. It was heavier, thicker, carrying a strange weight, as if time itself was dissolved in the water. Every move he made felt slower, dragged down by invisible hands.
Shapes floated past him. Bones. A school of skeletal fish darted by, hollow skulls rattling in silence, their teeth sharp as daggers. Some swam straight through his body as though his flesh didn't exist, leaving behind a chill colder than ice.
Tom's breath hitched as he spotted it, a massive shadow, far ahead. A giant undead octopus drifted lazily, its eyes glazed white, tentacles cracked and rotting. The bones of ships were tangled around its limbs like broken toys.
It didn't move much yet. He pressed himself into the drifting weeds, forcing his breathing to stay quiet, terrified the beast would sense even the vibration of his heart.
As he hid, he noticed strange things in the murk. A staircase of coral, broken and bleeding faint red streams into the water. Pieces of armor floated like helmets, shields, all rusted but eerily glowing, as if infused with lost souls. A chain of bells drifted by, each one chiming faintly though there was no air here for sound.
Tom's awe pushed through his fear. His eyes widened at the sheer scale of this place. Such a world exists beneath.... Or above.... whatever.... a world? An ocean above the desert sky? How… how is this even possible?
He reached out, brushing his fingers against a piece of armor, but pulled back quickly, afraid it might awaken something.
The deeper he swam, the more distorted everything became. His own reflection split into fragments across the water, like broken mirrors.
He saw himself as a boy, as a man, as something not even human. Sll staring back at him for a moment before vanishing into ripples.
Tom floated deeper or outsider.... whatever.... guided only by the dim pulse of the Soul Mantis Flower. The water around him grew colder, pressing against his skin like a thousand heavy hands. He moved slowly, cautious, careful not to draw attention.
Everywhere, ruins lay scattered across the seabed.
Broken towers jutted from the sand like ancient gravestones. One was a cathedral-like arch, cracked in half, its surface carved with runes glowing faintly in the dark. He brushed his fingers across them and felt warmth, as though the words themselves still remembered life.
He swam further, eyes wide. A field of glass-like coral stretched before him, their tips glowing faint blues and purples. Strange orbs floated above the coral, pulsing faintly, as though they were hearts detached from bodies. Each time one pulsed, the water vibrated with a low hum.
Tom's expression amazed again—not from drowning, but from wonder. He whispered to himself, his voice carried by bubbles.
"This… is like another world inside the world."
But then, the wonder broke.
From the corner of his eye, he saw movement. Something long, dark, slithering just behind a broken statue. He turned his head slowly, praying it was just another drifting skeleton fish.
It wasn't.
A creature crawled out from the ruins and its body widened like a serpent's but covered with scales that flickered like shards of obsidian. Its head was neither fish nor beast, but something in between.
Too many teeth lined its jaw. Its eyes glowed pale yellow, unblinking, staring straight into Tom.
The creature opened its jaw, slow and deliberate, showing layers of fangs. Then it shuddered, letting out a low vibrating growl that shook the water.
And in the next moment,
It rushed forward, cutting through the water like a spear.
Tom's heart stopped. He kicked backward, panic striking like lightning. The coral shattered around him as the beast lunged, teeth snapping shut just a hair's length from his leg.
The water boiled with panic. Tom kicked and pulled, arms aching, lungs burning even though he could still breathe.
The Soul Mantis Flower's glow trembled in his grip, scattering shards of light in the water like blood drops before sharks and the creature chasing.
Its movements were monstrous, too fast for its size. It darted through ruins, slamming into fallen pillars, shattering them like fragile bones.
Each strike thundered through the water. Sand clouds swirled around, choking Tom's vision.
He weaved between shattered arches, heart hammering. The monster's jaws snapped again—CRACK!—just beside his ear. The rush of water pulled his hair and cloak toward its maw. He forced himself further, his daggers drawn but useless, the beast far too large to face directly.
He spotted an opening between two fallen statues. Tom twisted his body, scraping his arm against sharp coral to fit through. Pain flared, but he didn't stop. Behind him, the serpent slammed into the gap, forcing its head in. Its scales cut the stone as it shoved forward, determined.
Tom pushed deeper, every stroke weaker, but the beast was relentless. Its glowing eyes cut through the murky water like lanterns of death, always locked on him.
He turned a corner, and his expressions dropped.
A dead end.
The ruins here formed a tight wall of collapsed stone, leaving no way forward, no hole to escape. He spun around, searching desperately. The shadows shifted.
The creature was already there. It had followed him into the trap.
Its long body coiled in the space, cutting off every path. The water trembled with its growl, each rumble rolling into Tom's chest like thunder. Slowly, deliberately, it pressed closer.
Tom kicked backward until his shoulders hit the wall of stone. He was trapped, the flower's glow trembling in his hand. His daggers shook, but he knew—they were nothing against this thing.
The creature's jaw opened, wider than before, teeth stretching into the dark, saliva-like slime floating around its mouth. Its breath, even underwater, stank of rot.
Tom froze. Helpless. Cornered. His reflection flickered in the monster's glowing eyes.
The monster lunged then froze.
Tom flinched, bracing for the pain that never came. Instead, a cold light rippled across the water before his eyes.
[ Lore Earned : The Ocean that bestowed light ]
The words shimmered on his screen, vanishing as quickly as they appeared. Tom's heart hammered in his chest. He looked up confused, terrified at the beast that was about to devour him.
It wasn't moving. Its massive head hovered just inches away, glowing eyes no longer feral but strange, almost… reverent. Then, to Tom's disbelief, it lowered itself. Slowly, deliberately, as though bending its neck in some kind of bow.
Tom's grip on the Soul Mantis Flower tightened. His breath hitched. No… this can't be right.
But then he saw movement in the darkness behind it. Shadows. Dozens of them.
One by one, colossal shapes emerged from the abyss. Skeleton fish the size of houses, serpents with glowing fins, even what looked like fragments of an undead whale pieced together by bone and coral. Each one, monstrous and terrifying, had eyes fixed on him.
And each one bowed.
Tom's mouth went dry. The pressure of the ocean itself seemed to weigh heavier on him. His head spun. Why… why are they… bowing?
His screen flickered again.
[ Unlocked : Lore Archives ]
A new tab glowed faintly at the edge of his menu. His pulse raced. Lore? The Ocean… bestowing light? His mind grasped at questions, drowning in confusion.
But the creatures kept their stillness, their glowing eyes locked on him, surrounding him in the dark water like a court of silent gods.
"Even empires thought eternal… vanish like ash when the tide decides. Maybe this Ocean remembers the ones already extinct."
Tom's hands trembled. He realized with horror and awe alike he wasn't just inside the Endless Black Ocean.
The Ocean itself… was something alive, breathing....