Mikhail’s feet moved almost automatically, trailing behind the envoys as they guided him through the sprawling underwater city. He had never traveled before—not really. His entire life had been confined to the carefully controlled and curated environment of his family’s home. The world beyond those walls had always been an abstract concept, something distant and untouchable. Now, as he walked through the strange and alien halls of the Deep Ones’ city, he felt like an intruder in a dream.
The architecture was alien in every sense of the word. The smooth, organic curves of the walls and structures bore no resemblance to the angular, functional design of his home. Bioluminescent glyphs pulsed faintly, their patterns shifting as if alive. Strange machines—if they could even be called that—hummed softly, their purpose indecipherable to Mikhail. He caught glimpses of flowing, jelly-like forms encased within transparent spheres, their movements deliberate but incomprehensible. Everything about the city seemed to defy logic, as though it operated on principles beyond his understanding. The air—or rather, the water—seemed heavy with an unspoken tension, the weight of countless secrets pressing down on him.
He tried to focus on the figures ahead of him, their fluid movements both graceful and unsettling. There was something about them, an air of quiet reverence that bordered on fanaticism. They walked in synchronized steps, their glowing dust shifting like liquid in the dim light. Mikhail couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched, not just by the envoys, but by the city itself. The glowing glyphs seemed to flicker as he passed, their patterns shifting subtly as though they were reacting to his presence.
The deeper they traveled, the more unsettling the environment became. The soft, ambient light that had illuminated the outer city began to fade, replaced by an eerie dimness. The structures around them grew darker and more organic, their surfaces resembling the texture of living coral or flesh. Tendrils of bioluminescent moss draped over archways and spiraled down walls, their faint glow casting strange shadows that seemed to writhe and shift in the water.
Mikhail’s attention was drawn to the small creatures that began to appear as they ventured deeper into the city. Tiny black squids, no larger than his hand, drifted lazily through the water, their movements hypnotic. Their sleek bodies shimmered faintly, their dark forms contrasting sharply against the dim light of the city. Despite their ominous appearance, Mikhail found them oddly charming. One of the squids floated closer to him, its movements almost playful as it darted around his head. Before he could react, it settled gently on his shoulder, its tiny tentacles curling lightly around his robe.
“Hey there,” Mikhail murmured, his voice soft and uncertain. The squid blinked at him with its round, glossy eyes, its tiny body pulsating faintly. He couldn’t help but smile. There was something endearing about the little creature.
The reaction from the envoys, however, was immediate and startling. They halted in unison, their glowing dust coulds rippling as they turned to stare at Mikhail and his new companion. For a moment, the water seemed to still, the silence heavy and charged. Then, without a word, the envoys resumed their march, but they gave Mikhail a wide berth, their movements stiff and deliberate. The atmosphere grew even more tense, the weight of their unease pressing heavily on him.
The journey continued in silence, the path ahead growing darker and more foreboding with each step. Shadows lengthened unnaturally, seeming to cling to the walls and floors like living things. The faint, ambient light that had guided them thus far diminished until it was little more than a dim haze, leaving the space bathed in a deep, oppressive gloom. The structures around them seemed less like buildings and more like the skeletons of ancient, colossal creatures, their organic forms twisted and warped by time. Tendrils of bioluminescent moss hung from the walls, their faint glow flickering erratically, as if struggling against an unseen force.
Stolen novel; please report.
Eventually, they arrived at a vast, open chamber dominated by a deep, black pool at its center. The pool exuded an eerie, magnetic presence, its surface unnervingly still and so dark it seemed to drink in the surrounding light. The water emitted a faint, almost imperceptible hum, a low vibration that resonated in Mikhail’s chest and set his teeth on edge. The air—or the water—grew heavier here, as though the very atmosphere was saturated with the weight of something ancient and unknowable. Every instinct in Mikhail’s body screamed at him to turn back, but the envoys remained silent, their glowing robes casting faint, ethereal ripples across the black expanse.
One of the envoys stepped forward, their voice echoing faintly through the chamber. “You are expected.”
Mikhail stared at the pool, his heart pounding in his chest. “Uh… you want me to go in there?” he asked, his voice tinged with a mix of disbelief and fear.
The envoy didn’t respond. Instead, they raised a hand and gestured toward the pool. The message was clear.
“This is terrifying,” Mikhail muttered under his breath. He took a hesitant step forward, his gaze fixed on the inky blackness of the water. He could feel his courage faltering, his resolve slipping away. Just as he was about to voice another protest, one of the envoys moved swiftly behind him and gave him a firm push.
With a startled yelp, Mikhail tumbled into the pool. The cold water enveloped him instantly, its icy grip sending a shock through his body. He flailed instinctively, his arms and legs moving against the thick, viscous water as he sank deeper and deeper. The darkness was absolute, a suffocating void that seemed to press in on him from all sides. He couldn’t tell which way was up or down, his sense of direction completely lost.
He didn’t know how long he fell. Seconds? Minutes? Time seemed to stretch and warp in the oppressive blackness. Just as he felt the first stirrings of panic clawing at the edges of his mind, faint glimmers of light began to appear around him. They were small at first, tiny pinpricks of red and yellow that pulsed faintly in the distance. Gradually, the lights grew brighter, revealing the outlines of enormous, unblinking eyes. The eyes were everywhere, their gazes fixed on him with an intensity that made his skin crawl.
The faint glow from the eyes illuminated the water around him, revealing massive, coiling tentacles that writhed and shifted in the shadows. The sheer scale of the creatures around him was overwhelming, their forms blending into the darkness in ways that made it impossible to tell where one ended and another began. The water was thick and still, its oppressive weight pressing down on him like a living thing.
Mikhail’s breath came in shallow gasps, his chest tightening with fear. His mind raced, the primal urge to flee warring with the knowledge that there was nowhere to go. Then, without warning, a voice cut through the darkness. It wasn’t a sound in the traditional sense; it was as if the very water around him vibrated with intent, carrying the voice directly into his mind. The pressure of the vibrations pulsed through the stagnant blackness, pushing the words into his thoughts like a physical force. The voice was deep and resonant, its tone calm but commanding, each word rippling through the water and resonating in his very bones.
“Calm yourself, pupa. Where is the resolve that stole the fourth fruit of the maze?”
The words sent a shock through Mikhail, their weight anchoring him in the moment. He forced himself to breathe, his thoughts coalescing around a single, defiant idea.
I am Michael Caine. I am the legend. I will survive this.
He clenched his fists, his fear giving way to determination. The monsters around him were vast and unknowable, but they weren’t invincible. He wasn’t just some pupa trembling in the dark. He was a fighter, a survivor, and he would face whatever came next with his head held high.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, meeting the gaze of the massive, unblinking eyes around him. The water pulsed faintly with the glow of the creatures, and in that moment, Mikhail felt the weight of their presence—not just as beings, but as something far greater. He didn’t know what lay ahead, but he was ready to face it.