The first bone china bead washed ashore on the spring equinox—a perfect sphere, no bigger than a marble, etched with a spiral that seemed to twist into infinity. I found it nestled in the roots of a mangrove tree, its surface warm to the touch, as if it had been lying in the sun for days. But the sun hadn't shone in weeks; the sky was a perpetual gray, the air thick with the smell of rot.
"Another one," Lila said, her voice trembling. She held out her palm, where three identical beads glowed faintly. "They're appearing all over the village. In the wells, under doorsteps… even in the children's beds."
I took the bead from her, its warmth spreading up my arm. The silver scales on my collarbone tingled, and for a moment, I thought I heard a whisper—a low, feminine voice, singing wordlessly.
"Take them to the kiln," I said, my voice sharper than I intended. "Burn them. All of them."
Lila nodded, her eyes lingering on the scales. "You're changing again. Faster this time."
I didn't answer. The scales had spread overnight, now covering my left shoulder, their edges sharp as glass. The bead in my chest, once dormant, pulsed faintly, like a second heart.
That night, the dreams returned—vivid, violent. I stood in a vast, submerged city, its buildings made of bone china, their surfaces alive with wriggling tendrils. The Deep's shadow loomed above, but instead of fear, I felt… longing.
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 man entered, his skin weathered, his eyes a piercing blue. He wore a coat made of sharkskin, and around his neck hung a bone china pendant—identical to the ones the keepers had worn.
"I'm Captain Voss," he said, his voice rough. "I've been tracking the Deep's movements for years. When I heard about the beads… I knew it was time."
He handed me a map, its edges frayed, stained with saltwater. "This is the location of the first kiln—the one that birthed the Conch. If we destroy it, we might be able to break the Deep's hold."
I studied the map, recognizing the coordinates. "This is miles offshore. At the bottom of the Mariana Trench."
Voss nodded. "It's guarded by the Deep's servants—creatures that haven't seen the surface in millennia. But I have a ship. And I have this."
He pulled out a vial of glowing liquid—red, thick, pulsing with energy. "The blood of the first keeper. It's the only thing that can weaken the kiln's defenses."
I hesitated, then took the vial. The liquid burned my palm, but I didn't let go.
"We leave at dawn," Voss said. "Bring the girl. She's part of this too."
Lila stepped forward, her jaw set. "I'm coming."
The journey was hell. The sea was calm, but the air was charged with electricity, the water below teeming with shadows. Voss's ship, the Dreadnought, was a rusted hulk, its hull covered in barnacles and strange carvings.
When we reached the trench, the water turned black, the pressure so intense it made my ears pop. Voss lowered a glass sphere into the depths, its interior glowing with bioluminescent algae.
Inside the sphere, I saw the kiln—a massive structure, its surface covered in bone china, its doors guarded by figures made of living stone.
"Now," Voss said, handing me the vial.
I poured the blood into the water. It spread like ink, and the guards dissolved, screaming.
The kiln's doors creaked open.
I stepped inside, Lila and Voss following.
The interior was a maze of bone china corridors, their walls throbbing with red light. At the center, a pedestal held a bone china urn, its lid sealed with wax.
"The heart of the Deep," Voss said. "Destroy it."
I raised the dagger, but before I could strike, the urn opened.
A figure emerged—Dr. Ellis, her body half-porcelain, half-dissolved into tendrils. Her eyes were black holes, and her mouth stretched into a grin that split her face.
"You can't destroy it," she hissed. "It's part of you. Part of all of us."
The ground shook, and tendrils erupted from the walls, wrapping around Voss. He screamed as his body dissolved into porcelain.
Lila grabbed my arm, pulling me toward an exit. "Hurry!"
We ran, the tendrils close behind.
The exit led to a beach—a familiar beach, the one where Xiao Xu was buried.
The urn sat on her cairn, its lid open.
I approached, my hand trembling.
Inside was a single bone bead, glowing faintly.
"Wake," it whispered.
The ground split open, and the Deep's shadow rose, its tendrils wrapping around me.
I closed my eyes, focusing on the bead in my chest.
The shadow hesitated, then sighed, a sound that felt like relief.
The tendrils released me, and I fell to my knees.
Lila helped me up, her eyes wide. "What happened?"
I looked at my hands—the scales were gone, replaced by smooth, unmarked skin. The bead in my chest had faded.
"I think… I think the Deep is gone," I said.
But as we turned to leave, a single bone china bead washed ashore, its surface etched with a single word:
"Hunger."