The lighthouse's shadow stretched longer each day, as if the structure itself was leaning toward the sea, begging to be swallowed. I stood on the balcony, watching the waves recede—too far, too fast, leaving the harbor's seafloor exposed, littered with glistening scales and bone china shards.
Lila approached, her feet silent on the stone. "The villagers are leaving," she said, her voice hollow. "They're calling it 'the Great Retreat.' Say the sea's done with us."
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. The bead's warmth still pulsed in my chest, a constant reminder of the Deep's presence.
That night, the dreams returned.
I stood in a vast, sunken city, its spires made of bone china, their surfaces covered in eyes. The Deep's shadow loomed above, but instead of fear, I felt… curiosity.
A figure emerged from the shadows—Xiao Xu, her face smooth, her eyes glowing with a soft light. "You're one of us now," she said, her voice echoing. "A bridge between worlds."
I reached for her, but she dissolved into tendrils, which wrapped around me, pulling me deeper.
I woke gasping, my chest burning. The bead glowed brighter, its light casting shadows that looked like hands reaching for me.
Lila stood at the foot of the bed, her face pale. "There's someone here to see you."
Before I could ask, the door creaked open.
A woman entered, her hair silver, her eyes a shade of blue so deep it bordered on black. She wore a coat made of fish scales, and around her neck hung a bone china necklace—identical to the one Xiao Xu had worn.
"I'm Dr. Ellis," she said, her voice calm. "I was the professor's colleague. He sent me a letter before he… disappeared."
She handed me an envelope, its edges frayed, stained with saltwater.
Inside was a single line, scrawled in the professor's shaky handwriting:
"The key is in the porcelain. Break it to save us."
Dr. Ellis watched me closely. "He was obsessed with the Conch. Believed it could either save humanity or destroy it. When he stopped answering calls, I came to investigate."
She looked around the room, her eyes lingering on the bone china fragments. "I've been studying the Deep's language—if you can call it that. It communicates in… vibrations. The Conch amplifies them."
I thought of the bead in my chest. "What do you want?"
"To help you," she said. "The professor was right. The Conch is a key, not a weapon. If we can control its vibrations, we might be able to… negotiate with the Deep."
A low growl echoed from the sea. The bead pulsed in response.
Dr. Ellis's eyes widened. "It's here. It's always here."
The ground shook, and the sea surged, flooding the lighthouse. Tendrils of red fluid snaked through the door, wrapping around Dr. Ellis.
"Run!" I shouted, grabbing Lila's hand.
But Dr. Ellis didn't struggle. She smiled, her eyes turning milky. "It's okay. I'm one of them now."
The tendrils pulled her underwater, her laughter echoing.
Lila trembled. "We have to leave. Now."
I nodded, but as we reached the door, a figure stepped into the room.
It was the keeper, its face fully porcelain now, its eyes black holes. "You can't escape. The Deep is everywhere."
It held out a bone china cup, filled with red fluid. "Drink. Join us. Or watch the world drown."
I hesitated, then took the cup.
The fluid was warm, thick, tasting of salt and iron.
The room spun, and I collapsed, my vision swimming.
When I woke, I was underwater, surrounded by tendrils. The bead in my chest glowed brighter, merging with the Deep's shadow.
I could feel it now—the Deep's memories, its pain, its longing.
It didn't want to destroy the world. It wanted to merge with it.
I focused, and the tendrils stopped.
The Deep hesitated, then sighed, a sound that felt like relief.
The water around me cleared, and I rose to the surface.
Lila stood on the quay, her face tear-streaked. "You did it. You stopped it."
I looked at my hands—smooth, human. The bead's glow had faded.
But as I turned to leave, I saw a figure in the distance—a woman with silver hair, her body half-porcelain, half-flesh. She smiled, then dissolved into the waves.
The sea was calm again.
For now.