The faint pulse of blue light shimmered from his tiny body, a trembling flicker from a nascent bioluminescent organ he hadn't yet understood. It pulsed once… twice… a heartbeat in the vast darkness.
The moment it emerged, the water shifted. Vibrations cascaded through the abyssal currents, subtle yet sharp, as though the ocean itself had whispered his presence to every nearby predator.
Shadows elongated in the black. Thin, needle-like shapes darted with impossible speed, teeth glinting in the faint luminescence. Needlefish, elongated and merciless, had sensed him instantly. They were drawn to the shimmer like moths to a flame.
Instinct surged. Eight limbs coiled, flexed, and propelled him through the inky water. The first jet was clumsy, panic-fueled, but effective. He twisted mid-current, ejecting a thin cloud of ink. It hung in the water like smoke, a smokescreen to buy him a moment.
The predators hesitated confused, distracted but not deterred. One struck, a lightning-quick swipe of its serrated jaw. His limb twitched, narrowly evading destruction. The cold, alien logic of the abyss burned into him.
Light… attention… death.
He forced the blue organ to retract, quelling the faint pulse that had betrayed him. Darkness returned like a comforting shroud, pressing against him, embracing him. The water was heavy, but at least it was neutral, silent, unjudging.
Floating in that quiet, Atsuya Kuro now, though the name felt alien felt small. Fragile. Almost nonexistent. Invisible.
Safer.
He flexed his limbs experimentally, feeling the currents and eddies, noting every tiny vibration, every whisper of movement. The abyss had rules, and his first lesson was seared into his consciousness:
Light is a beacon. A predator's feast.
The pulse of fear throbbed in him, sharp and exhilarating. For the first time, he sensed the duality of existence here: survival demanded caution, calculation, and understanding. Not brute strength. Not speed.
Not yet.
The abyss watched. Always.
And so did he.
A single thought crystallized in the dark:
I will survive. I will learn. And one day… I will control the darkness that hunts me.
The faint pressure of the water around him became familiar. Not pain. Not oppression. Comfort. A silent, unyielding presence that had seen eons pass and would endure for countless more.
Kuro drifted, invisible and silent, letting the shadows fold around him like a protective cloak.
The predators had gone. For now. But he knew better than to celebrate. In this place, survival was not given. It was taken.
And he was only beginning to understand how to take it.