Gira felt the sting of sweat filtering into his eyes. The sun’s blaze caused his pores to shudder as the radiation beat down upon the exhausted Gira. Ahead of him, a seemingly endless strip of white cobblestone stretched endlessly into the blue horizon. He could see the heat bend and aggregate the distant path into a watery mirage as he dared to step forward. His bones ached and his muscles burned; the ripping sensation of the rending haze of his body caused him to shudder.
Why… the words echoed in his mind.
How had Gira found himself sweaty, tired, and drained of the will to live? Simple. His listless days had come to an end and Morray’s agonizing training had now begun.
“Come on, little guy! 10k more and we’ll be halfway there!” A husky voice called from his flank.
Gira’s eyes lazily floated over to the blurry image of Ranger Haund. A massive, muscular beast of a man that was unfazed by the horrific 100k run that he had brought Gira along as part of his training regimen.
He tapped Gira’s back with a harsh pat. “Come on! It’s time to burn through our weakness!”
Gira was panting as he watched the white stone walkway wobble under his fading vision. He coughed, “Ugh… m-mister Haund… I don’t got enough fuel in me to full sprint anymore…”
The muscular ranger stopped jogging in place as he crossed his arms. “Would you like some blood? Captain Aquida approved the use of blood for the run.”
Gira’s gray-black and crimson red eyes flickered with hope. “P-please!”
“Very well!” Hound exclaimed as he struggled to reach into his backpack due to his mildly gross muscles. “Here you go!” he handed the blood pack over to Gira.
It was cool to the touch, emanating a weirdly refreshing aura. Gira swallowed his saliva as he carefully poured the contents down his throat. The sickly sweet metallic tang flushed through his senses as the euphoric Kyyr infused serum filled his body. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he felt the aching pain slowly subside as his muscles rippled under his skin.
Gira let out a satisfied, “Ahh,” his gaze flashing with Kyyr as his surroundings regressed and the bleaching sunlight faded. Exhaustion had been terminated.
Gira was on a fancy white cobblestone path that followed the edge of a beautiful white and pink cliffside. The sea breeze was mellow that day but the salty smell of the ocean still filled his lungs as he looked around. Hound was smiling at the comparatively little Gira, who looked very satisfied with his drink of blood. Around them were the fluttering white feathery leaves of the nearby trees that lightly caressed Gira’s skin as he stretched.
“Alright! I’m ready to go, Mr.Hound!” Gira exclaimed.
“Good!” Hound declared as he too stretched.
The two were wearing matching shorts and tank tops. Emblazoned on their back was the Voltasaxx Squad Crest.
The two then continued their run at full speed as Gira tried his best to match the long strides of the powerhouse that was Hound. His muscular body was decorated with deep scars and oddly familiar white tattoos that were engraved into his tan skin.
Gira matched the motions best he could but even with the boost he’d received from the blood, he struggled to match the pace of Haund. Sweat cascaded down his face as the sweet release of his runner's high had faded hours ago.
Next Day.
Gira felt the strain of the rugged stone rubbing up against his fingers, the strain of his digits against the weight of his tired body as he hung vertically against pink and gray rockface. His body trembled as he struggled to hang on; he glanced back down the long stretch. He had been fed blood once already that day after falling down and smashing his legs open. Lucky and unlucky for him, a high enough dose of Kyyr-rich blood was enough to get him literally back on his feet and back onto the morbid rock wall.
SCREE!
Gira looked up at the culprit responsible for his fall, perched in its nest carved into the cliffside. It hissed and snapped at him, its silver and pink scales bristling in warning.
“MISTER GAEL, I REALLY DON’T WANNA GO UP THERE!” Gira called out as he hugged the rock wall.
The massive scaled bird twisted its head around as it hissed at Gira.
Down below, standing beside the red stain Gira had left, another ranger observed the scene. Dressed in modified ranger pants and a loose black shirt, he adjusted his sunglasses before casually checking the crystal device strapped to his wrist.
“JUST SLAP THE DAMN HAELIT WITH YOUR HAND! I HAVE OTHER SHIT TO DO!” Ranger Gael shouted back.
Gira grimaced as the Haelit snapped at his hands, its sharp beak striking dangerously close to his grip. Bracing himself, he channeled Kyyr into his limbs, preparing for the next attack as the creature pecked at his weak hold.
“SHI—NO!” Gira yelped, switching between hands as the creature defended its nest from the reluctant Gira, who was progressively getting more annoyed. “Stop it!” he hissed.
Savagrios I need claws!
His Kyyr surged and the tips of his fingers burst open, giving way to crimson claws that dug into the stone. Blood dripped down his hands as Gira focused on the Haelit’s movements. The moment it lunged, he struck! Snatching it by the beak, he startled the creature before using all his strength to hurl it over his shoulder. He turned to watch the panicked creature flail around in the air before stabilizing itself with a frantic beat of its wings.
Gira smirked as he clawed his way up, spotting the egg he’d been ordered to collect. He swiftly swung his pack open and began to unzip… Oh—Oh.
“OH NO! Damn it! My claws!? He fumbled with the zipper as he struggled to open the pack as the sound of Haelit’s screeching rapidly approached. “Shit, come on!” He mumbled as he slowly modified the tips of his claws until they were more human in nature.
“There we go!” Finally pulling the zipper open, he unceremoniously stuffed the eggs into his pack as the shadow of the Haelit swallowed him.
“ah.”
Gira turned, facing the rather large predatory avian creature. “Hehe, hey there, buddy…” he said under his breath as he slowly closed the pack.
Gael looked up, hearing the commotion from below as Gira screamed in pain before his blurred form came crashing down, the sickening crunch of his legs against the rock echoing throughout the forest as Gira’s agonized screams followed.
Next day.
Gira tightly clung to the bars lining his ceiling. The pain from the day before still echoed in his mind as he waited for his new training partner that day.
To explain Gira’s current predicament in simple terms. Gira’s mini vacation had come to a swift end with a knock on his door from none other than Morray. That day, he’d explained that Gira was to buddy up with a ranger each day to not only figure out his limits but also to develop his bonds with the Voltasaxx Squad members. So far, the experience hadn’t been anything short of painful. Gira was also itching to try out his new Coarseblood form. Unfortunately, Morray had shut that idea down, forbidding him from fully transforming for the time being.
Knock Knock!
Gira’s door swung open before he could answer. Gira clutched the metal bars above as he looked down at his new buddy for the day. It was a ranger he’d vaguely met before. A small figure stood beneath him, staring up with a sharp glare. Dressed in complete ranger gear from the uniform to the helmet. The ranger remained completely silent.
Gira tilted his head as the little ranger motioned for him to follow.
Reluctantly, Gira dropped down, following the quiet ranger.
“Hello? Umm…What’s your name?” Gira asked as he trailed behind the small figure.
The little figure didn’t answer but led Gira to the small kitchen area of the ranger’s lodge. It smelled delightful, the sweet scent of unknown treats distracting Gira as the small ranger hopped onto a stool and, without a word, began serving up food.
“Oh! Is that for us to eat?” Gira asked.
The small ranger nodded.
“Sweet!” Gira exclaimed as he bounded over happily as the small ranger handed him a plate of food.
Gira, in a freakishly short amount of time, cleaned the plate as the small ranger just quietly stared.
“Woo, you are a great cook! I have no idea what any of that was but man, did it taste like dreams and sunshine!”
The little ranger nodded before gesturing toward a set of clothes—a light ranger training uniform. Gira gulped. Right this little guy is going to make me do something stupid today…
After changing, he followed the small ranger out of the lodge, through the garden, and down into the lowglider hangar. The space was massive, carved directly into the cliffside and perched high above the beach below. Rows of lowgliders lined the hangar, each one a slightly different iteration of the same sleek design.
Waiting for them below were two other rangers.
Unlike the little one, these two were dressed more casually—Mera and Romm. Gira had definitely met Mera before but she seemed to constantly avoid him so he hadn’t had much of a chance to interact with her. Romm, on the other hand, was almost always sleeping during the day, thanks to the nightly hunts.
Romm waved, “Morning, Noa! Oh hey there, Mr. Coarseblood! You two ready?”
The smaller ranger, Noa, nodded as they led Gira.
“Where are we going?” Gira asked.
Romm pulled out his crystalcomm, according to Noa, we’re going to Môry’Plu.”
“You guys are letting me go into town?!”
“Seems like it…” Romm mumbled as he kept reading something on his crystalcomm before making a face. “Right…yup. Mhm.”
Gira raised a brow. “What’s with that face? What kind of deranged training are we really doing?”
“Wha!? No—no, it’s just the way Noa types is always a little odd… Just look at this.” Romm turned his crystalcomm’s screen around, letting Gira see.
This is what he saw:
Noa: “(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づHewow Romm! Today we’ll be showing Mr. Coarseblood, Servinae culture, and will teach him about our duties as rangers! ≧◡≦ Let’s do our best out there today!!!! ◕ ◡ ◕”
Romm: “Alright, I’ll be there at 8:30, alright?”
Noa: “ヾ(＠＾▽＾＠)ﾉWe just finished breakfast be there soon! ! !(•‿•)”
Romm: “Mera wanted to come along is that alright?”
Noa: “The more, the merrier! ^o^”
Gira felt a chill crawl up his spine as the cold gaze of the silent Noa ripped into him. “Oh, that’s…ummm. Very cute,” he said hesitantly as he glanced at the empty black void of Noa's helmet.
The four boarded the lowglider, with Noa staying back and settling on the upper deck. Romm took a seat near the front, while Gira returned to his familiar spot from last time. Across from him, Mera sat in quiet contemplation.
Both Romm and Mera wore casual clothing suited for the heat. Romm’s loose orange shirt featured strange, vaguely floral patterns, its fabric light and airy. His shorts were a pale blue, covered in an assortment of pockets. The outfit suited him—it complemented his relaxed demeanor and soothing features. Like many others Gira had encountered, Romm had bi-chromatic hair. His sharp red hair shimmered with faint blue highlights, twisting into a luminous purple as the sunlight overtook them as the lowglider emerged from the hangar. In the bright glow, Gira noticed the dark circles beneath his purple-blue eyes and the deep scars etched across his arms.
Turning his gaze to Mera, Gira studied her quietly. A black cap rested atop her head, adorned with two small, wing-like decorations on either side. She wore a loose, fluffy white blouse over a fitted black undershirt, the fabric of her sleeves fluttering in the wind as she turned her head, gazing ahead. His eyes traced the long scar that ran from her neck down into the shadows of her undershirt. Lower still, she wore a black high-waisted skirt that flowed gently down to her knees. Faint scars marked her legs, but she seemed unbothered, her expression serene as she closed her eyes, letting the warm breeze wash over her.
As the lowglider settled on the pristine white beach below, they began to pick up speed, crossing under the massive rock formations that created patches of cool shadows. Gira took in the breeze, enjoying the wind and the fragrant scent of salt and sea.
Gira had journeyed past Môry’Plu a couple of times now. But he’d never really been in the city itself, and due to his mild hatred for the Servinae, he hadn’t really cared to visit.
The lowglider took a graceful turn, ascending a rather artistic stairwell that connected the town to an abandoned pier. The pathway twisted upward, decorated with vibrant mosaics and colorful glasswork that shimmered in the sunlight.
What little Gira knew of the Servinae was that they were loud and fond of constructing random buildings everywhere. Most of these structures seemed to be abandoned for reasons he couldn’t fathom. Massive glass domes reflected the light of the sea, while twisting, colorful towers reached for the sky. Strange statues cradled entire buildings in their outstretched arms, and odd pieces of art depicting dragons, people, and other fantastical figures lined the coast and filled the heart of the city. It was a chaotic, artistic mess that somehow managed to look desolate.
Môry’Plu felt ghostly. It was quiet and there wasn’t a single soul apart from the fluttering mechanoids that floated among the feathery leaves of the feather trees.
They cruised through the desolate streets. That were shiny and clean, as if a soul had never dared to cross them. There was no trash, no smells besides the sea breeze, and no sound beyond the hum of the glider and the wind.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Gira was confused. Where the hecks everyone? Every damn night I hear those assholes blasting music and cheering?! So where the hell are they???
The lowglider emerged from the winding streets into a massive open area. Gira leaned over the edge of the lowglider as he took in the vista.
“Wow!”
Below them, the streets transitioned into a vast sheet of clear glass, revealing an enormous water tank beneath. Inside, all kinds of creatures swam in shoals, weaving through vibrant coral formations, rocky structures, and other bizarre underwater landscapes. Gira watched as the lively, colorful reef gradually faded into the shadowy depths of a brooding blue abyss.
As the lowglider slowed, it approached a floating island of moss within the massive aquarium. With a gentle hum, the vehicle came to a smooth stop, its crystal legs settling onto the spongy surface.
Gira barely waited for the landing to finish before hopping off. The glass expanse stretched endlessly in every direction, fading into the distant horizon. Scattered across its surface, more mossy islands floated alongside a handful of—unsurprisingly—goofy-looking Servinae structures, somehow built directly atop the aquarium.
“What is this place?”Gira asked as Romm, Mera, and Noa disembarked the lowglider.
Noa silently typed away on their crystalcomm, sending a message to Romm, who sighed and pulled out his own. “Right… I’ll explain,” he mumbled, walking over to Gira.
“This is Gore’s Vivatheca, a once-renowned tourist destination known for its massive marine-life collection of alien organisms from throughout the Translates. There are six of these massive tanks spread throughout Môry’Plu, but this one’s… special.”
Gira got on his knees and looked down into the beautiful alien seascape. “There’s more of these huge tanks?!”
“Yeah, the Servinae had a marine life phase a couple of years before the Shattering so for a while we kept getting imports of exotic alien wildlife.”
“So how’s this one special?” Gira asked as he pressed his face against the glass, watching strange fish-looking things awkwardly float around.
“We’re currently standing on Poseidon’s Tectonaphis—the largest of all the enclosures. It was built to contain an apex predator from the Crepusculata Translate. The organism was illegally smuggled onto Esthe-3 about fifteen years ago. The ORPA’s Sapphire branch was supposed to retrieve it, but… well, things got complicated. Then the Shattering happened, and that plan sunk. So now, instead of being safely removed, we have a nigh-unkillable super predator lurking in this massive tank.”
Gira turned to them with a panicked look. “You guys aren’t thinking of having me swim in there?”
“No!” Romm waved his hand. “We just wanted to give you a very clear example of why the Servinae are a pest. You see, those idiots knew what they were smuggling in here.That was bad enough on its own, but now, with abyssal infections spreading everywhere, can you even imagine what would happen if a 150-meter-long super predator got infected?”
“Oh my…” Gira gasped, clearly not understanding. “Wait, how many Giras is 150 meters?”
“What—?” Romm hesitated.
Before he could come up with anything, Mera silently walked to the edge near Gira and knelt down next to him. Without a word, she pulled out her crystalcomm, tapping through a few screens before turning it toward him.
Noticing the movement, Noa and Romm wandered over, peering over her shoulder.
“Oh, that’s a good picture of the Vai’Tolant’s eye.” Romm said.
Gira leaned in closer, his hair bits shuddering as he saw an image taken from a lowglider showcasing a massive black eye staring through the glass. It was a strange, grayish creature with massive black stripes that seemed to spiral around its eye. Mera flicked her screen, revealing another rather ominous photo of a dark figure moving under the glass, its massive serpentine body dwarfing the familiar moss island they were on.
“H-how big is this mossy place?” Gira asked, pointing at the mossy ground.
“These islands have a diameter of…” Romm trailed off as he spun around. “Maybe 10 or 12 meters?”
Gira stared at the massive dark shadow. “Oh wow…”
“Yeah…” Romm said.
Mera pulled her crystalcomm away and went back to studying the blue abyss beneath the glass.
“Okay, this is all very interesting, but why’d you guys bring me here?” Gira asked, inching away from the glass. “Feels like all of this could’ve been explained over breakfast.”
Romm shrugged. “Noa probably wanted to show you the enclosure firsthand—and how we maintain the organism. Since you’re part of the Voltasaxx squad now, looking after Vai’t is gonna be part of your job.”
“Vai’t?”
“Yeah, it’s the nickname we gave it.” Romm explained.
Noa walked over to Gira, grabbed him by the shirt, and wordlessly dragged him back to the lowglider. There, a crystalline tablet was propped up, displaying a stream of data. Without explanation, Noa pulled out a strange-looking instrument.
Romm and Mera followed.
“Ahh, Noa wants to show you how we infuse Kyyr into the ecosystem.”
“Oh?”
Noa lifted the device—it looked like an oversized syringe. Without hesitation, they led the group toward a spot on the massive moss ball. Carefully aligning the instrument, Noa jammed it straight down and pressed a button. The moss ball pulsed slightly as Kyyr flooded into it.
After a few seconds, Noa yanked the syringe free and hurried back to the lowglider. The others trailed behind as Noa pointed at the tablet’s screen. Silence.
“Oh, right!” Romm exclaimed as Noa gave a light tap on his arm. “These moss balls are our main form of interaction with the enclosed ecosystem. They function as a biological sensor that monitors water quality and Kyyr concentration.”
Noa carefully snipped a little piece of moss and dropped it into a tube filled with a blue liquid. Swirling it around, they then connected the tube to a compact device, which flashed a set of readings across its screen.
“As long as we keep everything in the green, we should be fine," Romm continued. "We have to avoid any chemical or biological imbalances so Vai’t doesn’t get stressed. And considering it could very easily escape into the open ocean… yeah, that’d be a nightmare for our already heavily compromised marine trade.”
“Don’t you guys use bigger lowgliders to fly over the ocean? How’s one big fish gonna be a problem?”
“If only it were that simple…” Romm sighed. “Most of our stargliders were lost in the Shattering, and since normal ships are easier to maintain, the Servinae cheaped out. Now we’re the ones suffering for it.”
“Ohh… So what now?” Gira asked.
Noa tapped on their tablet’s screen, pulling up a map.
“We’ve got 28 more spots… and I think Noa wants you to do them,” Romm said with a sigh. “Noa, you little shit… I didn’t realize you dragged me along just to be your interpreter."
Noa blankly shrugged.
“Mera, you sure you want to stick with us?” Romm asked.
“Umm… Y-yeah,” Mera mumbled. “Since I became vice-captain, I haven’t really been on leviathan duty, so…”
“Okay, suit yourself…” Romm mumbled as he dragged himself back to his seat.
Gira, on the other hand, looked around, noticing that there were some buildings built directly on top of the glass.
“By the by, how thick is that glass?”
Mera perked up and answered shakily, “It’s about 4 centimeters thick…”
“Is that a lot or?”
“Oh, n-no. Not at all, but its special wyrm glass forged in the Hyterium, so it shares properties with Vivant stone.”
Gira stared at her blankly “What does half of what you said even mean?” Gira asked, hanging his head to the side in confusion.
“Umm… well. It’s like, uhh…” Mera began to short-circuit as she blushed.
“Ah—it’s okay, Ms. Mera, I’ll just read about it later in the manor’s library.” Gira said as he tried to calm her down. Man, this poor girl is constantly on the brink of something… I hope she gets well soon.
And with that the four began Gira’s third day of training, albeit doing something oddly mundane but equally interesting.
2 hours later…
“Finally!” Gira exclaimed as he finished off the last moss ball.
Mera and Noa clapped for the triumphant Gira.
Noa then ran over and pulled on his sleeve and pointed at their crystalcomm it said, “Give me your ID.”
Gira glared at Noa, “We should’ve done this earlier, you know…”
Noa did a cutesy pose before hitting themselves on the head, Teehee
Gira sighed as he pulled out his crystalcomm, “Oh well, here ya go.”
Mera tentatively watched from the shade of the lowglider, her hands tightly gripping her own crystalcomm as the two made the exchange.
Noa jumped around excitedly before sending Gira a message; this is what it read:
Noa: “(▰˘◡˘▰) Hewow Mr. Gira! We have a lil work left! So hang in there! (• ε •)”
Gira: “How the heck do you make those faces with letters???”
Noa: “Secret. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)”
Gira felt a chill crawl up his spine. “Okay! Umm, what’s this business anyway?”
Romm suddenly sat up. He had fallen asleep at some point. “Are we done yet?”
“Apparently not?” Gira answered, confused.
His crystalcomm buzzed, Noa had sent another message:
Noa: “Feeding time!!!°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°”
“Wha? Feeding? Like feeding the thing?”
Romm stretched out on the deck, “Yup, it’s practically automatic. We’re just going down to make sure everything’s good and that there’s no breaches.”
“Oh, down. Like down there?” Gira said, pointing down.
“Yup.”
The four boarded the lowglider once more, setting off on a brief journey over the blue horizon of the Tectonaphis. After a short trip across the glassy landscape, they arrived at its edge. There they began to land on a seemingly random building—this one adorned with more of the Servinae’s usual odd statues and decorations.
They landed on the rooftop, parking the lowglider before Noa led them down a set of stairs into a marine-themed room. At its center was a circular platform with a metal pedestal standing in the middle.
The group stepped onto the platform as Noa rummaged through their pocket, eventually pulling out a small device and plugging it into the pedestal. A few seconds later, the circular outline on the floor flashed—then, without warning, the entire platform began to sink.
Gira tensed as the floor dropped beneath them, only to jolt in surprise when guardrails suddenly shot up from the edges, locking into place as they descended.
Gira almost immediately fell over the railing as he excitedly rushed over to the side. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he took in the beautiful blue world within Poseidon’s Tectonaphis.
A soft, ethereal glow filtered down from above, illuminating the blue alien landscape in a wash of serene color. There were vast schools of awkward, alien fish-like things that paddled away in a panic as the elevator descended deeper and deeper.
The deeper they went, the fainter the light became, dwindling into scattered slivers that barely touched the abyss beyond the glass. In the distance, massive silvery creatures flickered like ghostly shadows, their sleek bodies catching stray light like fragments of a fading nebula.
Mera hesitated before stepping up beside Gira. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it…” she said softly.
Gira only nodded, entranced, as massive squid-like creatures fluttered through the depths.
“T-this place was designed to mirror a pelagic ocean environment,” Mera continued, her voice quiet but eager. “The engineering behind it is almost… paranormal. The tank spans 90 hectares across the surface and plunges anywhere between 1,000 and 1,200 meters deep.”
Gira nodded along as they descended further down.
“The Vai’tolant’s growth has slowed over the last six years, thankfully, but at its current size all six Tectonaphi had to become dedicated to it. The creature can move freely between Moral’s Tectonaph, Statio’s Tectonaph, and here—Poseidon’s Tectonaph. The tanks range from deep to shallow… re-relatively speaking, of course.”
As they sank deeper, the elevator lights dimmed, swallowed by the ever-encroaching abyss.
“Ummm,” Mera hesitated, glancing at Gira. “The wyrm glass is an adaptive, self-healing polymer that’s shock-absorbent. It keeps the tank stable and resists tectonic activity…” She trailed off, noticing Gira still staring into the blue.
“Am I o-over-explaining?” she mumbled.
“Oh, not at all! I’ve been reading all sorts of stuff about the ocean back at the manor. My dear friend K was telling me about all kinds of sea creatures too! Actually, give me a sec.”
Within his throne, Gira called out, “K! Let’s merge real quick—this might interest you!”
Oh! Sure thing, dear me. Give me a second!
After an awkward pause, Gira’s eyes shifted, both now glowing a deep teal.
“Oh my,” K’s voice rang through him. “Gira, where are we?!”
K’s eyes flashed with excitement as they darted across the abyss, scanning every detail of the vast, alien sea.
Mera hesitated, momentarily taken aback, before recalling Captain Morray’s presentation about Gira’s personality condition. “Ummm, ah, wh-which C-Coarseblood are you?”
K blinked at her, looking genuinely confused. “Sorry, but I’m no Coarseblood. I do love marine biology, though! Please, tell me more about this fantastic place!”
Mera's shy demeanor seemed to fade as she launched into a lengthy explanation. She spoke about the thermocline systems, tide simulations, and artificial currents. She detailed how they introduced prey into the ecosystem, the intricacies of EM fields designed to discourage the Vai’tolant, and its unkillable nature.
“By the Fifteen!” K exclaimed, “You’re housing a Thalassorhax vai’tolant?! In an artificial sea? By all that is good, those annoyingly loud bastards are truly deranged…”
Mera stiffened slightly. "Y-you know about Vai’tolants?"
“Ah—well, I do have fleeting memories of studying them,” K admitted. “Yet, there’s a harsh gap within me that I just can’t seem to bridge. But I am well aware of the threat they pose. After all, they are infamously known as Translate Shredders—beasts that adapted far too well to the curved seas.”
Leaning on the guardrail, K stared out into the bioluminescent sea, lost in thought. “Say, Ms. Mera, are you aware of how oxygen and energy are supplied to the bathypelagic zones?”
“Oh! It’s actually quite fascinating! We artificially introduced massive magnesi—”
Before she could finish, the elevator jolted to a stop with a loud click.
“You two, we’ve arrived!” Romm called out groggily before letting out a long yawn. “Sheesh Noa, it’s so damn cold in here… you could’ve just added the guy on ID but nooo, you needed me to chaperone.”
Romm was not happy.
Noa, as usual, didn’t seem to care. Without a word, they led the group toward another door with a lock mechanism. Beyond it, they found themselves in a surprisingly cheerful set of hallways lined with beach imagery and cute cartoon renditions of marine life lining the walls.
After a few turns, they reached a door that led into a massive observation chamber, lined with chairs and screens—all centered around a huge viewing port that peered into the dark abyss.
Noa took a seat and casually flicked a button, activating massive floodlights that illuminated the rocky depths beyond.
K nervously walked up to the viewing port. “Impressive…” he muttered, staring into the murk.
“Get back here!” Romm called, rubbing his temples. “Noa wants to show you how to do a maintenance check.”
K sighed but obeyed, reluctantly stepping back from the eerily beautiful scene.
Mera, on the other hand, was practically vibrating with excitement. “M-Mr. Gira, these systems are part of the deep-sea acoustic mapping system we use to track the specimen! With this, we can monitor the Vai’tolant’s location at all times—and even lure it! Oh, and these controls operate the CHROME units, which handle on-site maintenance along with annual health checks and—”
She continued enthusiastically, explaining to K and Gira the intricacies of Gore’s Vivathecca.
After what felt like a long lecture, she finally exhaled. “...And that’s about it for our lockdown protocols!”
Meanwhile, Romm and Noa had both seemingly passed out, leaving Gira and Mera alone to absorb the fading light and murky abyss.
They both descended the steps that led closer to the viewing port.
“Unimaginable,” K muttered, “the engineering of the ENN.KORR never fails to amaze. It’s unfathomable that all this was created to entertain the Servinae…” he shook his head in disbelief.
“Yeah…,” Mera murmured. “Reaching Esthes-3 had been my mother’s dream. She always talked about it—the stories of endless parties, free food, housing, safety… She was so close to it too…”
K looked at her confused. “What do you mean, dear friend?”
Mera’s eyes widened. “F-f-f-f-f-f-friend?”
“Correct.” K nodded. “Are we not?”
“Y-YES!” she blurted out before slapping a hand over her mouth, completely flustered. “I-I mean, are you sure?”
“Of course we are!” K said with a soft smile.
Mera fidgeted with her hair as a faint smile crept across her lips. Her crimson-pink eyes shimmered with joy when—
PING.
A faint sound echoed from the system controls.
She and K exchanged a glance.
PING.
Mera spun around, rushing back to the controls. Her eyes shot wide open.
“It’s here!”
She looked straight ahead, into the void—just beyond the reach of the floodlights, a morbid silhouette loomed.