They fell into… nothing.
Then suddenly— splash!
Rafi hit something wet but solid, like standing water frozen into a floor. He coughed, panicked, then realized he could breathe. Lila grabbed his arm, soaked but alive. Marco rolled to the side, shocked. Anna held Leo tightly as he cried against her shoulder.
They looked around.
They were underground.
But not like a cave.
Like a city made of water.
Walls shimmered like liquid glass. Blue light pulsed everywhere. Strange floating shapes drifted like fish silhouettes trapped inside the walls.
"I-Is this… under the sea?" Anna whispered.
"No," Lila breathed. "This is under our city."
A loud crack echoed above. They could hear the world being broken apart while they stood in a place that shouldn't exist.
Suddenly movement.
Figures appeared.
But they weren't sea monsters.
They were people.
Humans… or at least they looked human skin faintly glowing blue, hair floating as if they were underwater though there was no water here. Their eyes were like deep ocean pools.
Marco lifted a piece of metal like a weapon. "Stay back!"
One of the blue people raised their hands calmly.
"We're not here to hurt you," she said softly. "We're here because you were chosen."
"Chosen for what?" Rafi snapped.
"To survive."
Before anyone could react
The ground shook violently again.
A massive shadow crashed into the glass-like ceiling above. Cracks spread like spiderwebs. That giant sea king was right above them, searching.
It knew.
It felt them.
The blue people panicked. "Move! Now!"
They dragged everyone through a glowing corridor. Lights flashed. Water pounded above like thunder. The place trembled again and again.
Leo screamed as something huge scraped across the ceiling a giant tail.
"They're going to break in!" Marco shouted.
"They can't," the blue woman replied breathlessly. "Not unless"
BOOM!
The ceiling shattered.
Water burst in like a beast unleashed.
A giant tentacle ripped through the chamber, slamming down where they had just stood. Walls exploded. People were thrown.
Rafi hit the ground hard.
Lila screamed his name.
Sharks rushed through the broken hole, snapping at anything moving. The blue people fought using strange glowing spears. Every hit released beams of light that burned the creatures back. It was chaos blood, water, screams.
Marco pulled Rafi to his feet. "Move! Run!"
They sprinted through another tunnel while the world collapsed behind them. Tentacles chased them, smashing through walls. A shark nearly bit Anna Marco shoved it back just in time.
They burst into a giant chamber.
There was something in the center.
A huge blue crystal heart… beating.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The blue woman stumbled in behind them, bleeding.
"This is why he wants us," she gasped. "This place keeps the land safe… it kept the oceans and land balanced for centuries."
Rafi stared. "So why is it attacking now!?"
She swallowed.
"Because humans broke the balance first."
Before anyone could question
The crystal cracked.
The beating slowed.
The lights dimmed.
And far above them…
The sea king roared.
Not in victory.
But in fury.
The woman looked terrified for the first time.
"If the Heart dies…"
"What happens?" Lila whispered.
She swallowed.
"The world becomes ocean."
Water surged toward them like a living wall.
Everything went white.