They regrouped near the lakeshore, panting, muddy, and confused.
Shin looked around wildly.
"Did anyone see a 6'2 sleep-deprived idiot with hero syndrome?!"
Aiko shook her head.
"No, we haven't seen him for a while."
Cupp tilted his head.
"He was mumbling to himself earlier… staring at the water like it owed him money."
Elena's eyes widened.
"… Wait— NO. He didn't—"
"Diving suits are missing!" Elena screamed, floating upward in panic.
Shin dashed to the gear racks.
"OH COME ON— He took the tanks too?!"
he rubbed his temples so hard he nearly erased his eyebrows.
Cupp clicked his tongue.
"Issac really said: 'Screw survival, I choose plot!'"
Elena trembled.
She remembered Grim's warning.
Her voice cracked.
"The lake is dangerous now… if anyone dives down for too long… they get dragged."
Her gaze darted between Shin and the water.
"Too many people died here. The lake became cursed."
Shin swallowed hard.
Elena pointed at him and the necklace in his hand.
"You two almost died retrieving this! Grimmy said if you stayed one more minute you would've vanished into the Delta— the death tide!"
Elena started shaking so hard she was flickering between forms.
Shin stared at the lake, expression tightening.
"…And he went in alone anyway."
Cupp nodded grimly, hands clasped like a praying raccoon.
"Classic Issac move."
Elena whispered, voice small, "Issac…"
Meanwhile… 50 meters below
Issac's breath fogged the inside of his mask.
His heartbeat thudded louder than the shifting currents.
"I'm already 50 meters down…"
His voice echoed inside his helmet, calm but strained.
"If I go deeper, the currents will push me out into the open ocean."
He looked at his wrist gauge — his oxygen bar was dropping fast.
"If that happens… I won't make it back."
Darkness surrounded him.
The water felt thick, like something was watching him.
He checked the sonar strapped to his arm.
"I swear I saw the container here… somewhere…"
His breathing grew rough.
"I'm running out of oxygen…"
A faint metallic clink echoed from below.
His eyes widened.
"There—!"
But before he could reach it—
a violent underwater current slammed into him like a truck.
Issac spiraled, tumbling downward as the world blurred around him.
"F*CK!"
Bubbles burst from his mask as he flipped upside down.
The current dragged him deeper—
toward the pitch-black mouth of the Delta.
His vision began to tunnel.
Images flashed in his mind—
Shin yelling at him,
Cupp eating his food,
Elena smiling with tears in her eyes,
Aiko's exasperated sighs,
Grim waving like a gremlin.
"I'm sorry…"
His voice cracked.
"I came here without telling anyone…"
A sharp pain hit his chest as pressure increased.
"And I might not make it back…"
The current pulled harder.
"Sorry, Shin, I might not be a-able to pay you the money I owe …"
Everything started turning dark.
"Thanks for reading chapter 15"