The abyss is vast, endless.
It does not care if I live or die.
The currents shift. The deep moves. Creatures hunt. Creatures hide.
I listen. I feel. I move.
This is how I survive.
But something lingers in the back of my mind. Something I don’t understand yet.
I have sensed it before. A presence. A whisper.
Not an enemy.
Not a guide.
Something else.
Something watching.
---
I drift just above the seafloor, keeping my movements slow, effortless. I no longer waste energy. Wasted energy is wasted survival.
The hunger has returned. It always does.
I hunt when I must.
A faint pulse reaches me. Small. Erratic.
Prey.
I glide toward it, silent. A fish. Thin, pale, twitching as it feeds.
It does not sense me.
I tense.
Then—
A pulse in my mind.
[ Status Identified. ]
I freeze.
A flicker of something unfamiliar enters my vision. Words, symbols—things I shouldn’t be able to see.
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? Pale Sandfish
? Species: Deep-Sea Forager
? Health: 92%
? Condition: Unaware
I don’t understand.
What… is this?
My body does not move, but my mind races. The words are not real. They do not exist in the water, in the dark.
But I see them.
They tell me something I should not know.
They tell me this fish is weak.
A prey animal. Something easy to kill.
I exhale slowly.
I do not know why this is happening.
But I do not question it.
I use it.
I strike.
My jaws clamp down, and this time, I do not let go.
The fish thrashes, but my grip is firm. I bite harder, tearing into soft flesh. The struggles slow.
Then, they stop.
I swallow.
Warmth spreads through me.
A familiar sensation.
But now, something new appears in my vision.
[ Prey Consumed: Pale Sandfish ]
[ +0.2 Adaptation Progress ]
A flicker of recognition settles in my mind.
I understand now.
This… is my status.
Not something I earned. Not something given to me.
Something I’ve always had.
I just never noticed it before.
And now, I can see.
---
The currents shift.
A faint change. A disturbance in the water.
I feel it before I see it.
A slow, heavy pulse. Not prey.
[ Status Identified. ]
? Unidentified Creature
? Species: Unknown
? Health: ???
? Condition: Stalking
I freeze.
It is hunting.
But it is not attacking.
It is watching.
I press myself against the seafloor, still as the rock around me.
I do not move.
The predator drifts closer.
It does not rush.
It waits.
Another flicker.
[ Status Updated. ]
? Condition: Searching…
I remain motionless.
The seconds stretch.
Then, it moves away.
The words flicker out of existence. The water is still again.
I do not chase it.
Because I know the truth.
It wasn’t hunting me this time.
But one day, it will be.
And I need to be ready.
---
A jagged cliff rises ahead, breaking the smooth, endless terrain of the abyss. A good place to hide.
I drift toward it.
Then, I sense movement.
Something small.
Weak.
A squid.
Not fully grown. Still developing.
It twitches slightly, its bioluminescent spots pulsing faintly.
[ Status Identified. ]
? Juvenile Abyssal Squid
? Species: Deep-Sea Cephalopod
? Health: 64%
? Condition: Unaware
I move closer.
This time, I study it first.
I see weakness.
It is wounded—perhaps from another predator, perhaps from a failed hunt of its own.
I won’t fail.
I strike.
The squid reacts instantly.
A burst of ink floods the water.
I thrash, blinded for a moment.
A mistake?
No.
I do not let go.
I bite harder.
The squid spasms, its tentacles tightening around me. Its health flickers.
[ Health: 41%… 26%… 10%… ]
Then, it stops.
[ Prey Consumed: Juvenile Abyssal Squid ]
[ +0.3 Adaptation Progress ]
I exhale.
The ink clears.
I move again.
This was a test.
And I passed.
---
Then, I feel it.
A shift in the water.
A disturbance.
Something is behind me.
Fast.
Too fast.
A sudden force slams into my side.
I spin, disoriented. A sharp pain shoots through my tail.
I thrash, pushing away, but it’s already coming again.
I see it now.
[ Status Identified. ]
? Shadowjaw Eel
? Species: Deep-Sea Predator
? Health: 97%
? Condition: Hunting
I recognize this predator.
It has been following me.
Waiting.
It does not hesitate.
It lunges.
I twist, barely dodging as its teeth snap shut inches from me.
I can’t outswim it.
I need to think.
I see something ahead—a narrow crack in the rock.
I dive toward it.
The Shadowjaw lunges again, but I twist, slipping inside.
It slams into the rock.
The impact shakes the water. The Shadowjaw recoils, stunned.
[ Condition: Dazed ]
It tries to follow, but it’s too big.
The crack is too narrow.
It thr
ashes, jaws snapping at the entrance.
I stay deep inside, heart pounding.
Seconds pass.
Then, with a final flick of its tail, the Shadowjaw disappears into the abyss.
I exhale slowly.
I survived.
But I know one thing.
This is not over.
It will come back.
And next time, I won’t be able to run.
