First Dive

The break was over.

Zonaar pulled his gloves back on and adjusted the loader band across his chest. His stomach was still twisted, not from the food but from what he'd felt earlier. The relic under his skin had gone quiet again. No pulsing, no flickering.

He was about to join the others when a runner waved him over. "Orders changed. You're being sent to assist the dive crew."

Zonaar asked "The underwater trench?"

"Yeah. One of the east forks. They need extra hands. Gear up."

There was no point arguing. He slung his gear strap over one shoulder, and followed the others across the dim-lit scaffolding.

The entrance to the new chamber wasn't very far, just a low tunnel past the spiral gate, damp stone underfoot and same lanterns nailed into the ribs of the rock. But the slope changed downward which became steep.

By the time they reached the staging dock, the pressure had changed. It wasn't just the depth.

It was the sea.

Ahead, the underwater gate stood open. A translucent ripple lit up across its threshold, held by layered barriers. You couldn't hear the ocean on the other side. But you could feel it like a giant creature waiting to inhale.

The diver crew was already prepping their gear. A supervisor handed Zonaar a wrist-band and pointed to his chest.

"Breather synced?"

He nodded. "Still stable."

"Good. You pass through that array, it'll activate full sync. It'll feel... weird. First time?"

He hesitated. "Yeah."

The guy grinned. "You won't forget it. Just don't scream. Wastes the air."

It wasn't exactly comforting to hear those words.

They moved in teams, three at a time. When it was Zonaar's turn, he stepped forward slowly, his boots thudding on the metal grate. The relic in his chest throbbed once, almost as if it recognised what was coming.

He braced himself up and then stepped through.

It hit like a plunge into ice. The world around him shifted. Sound thinned and gravity dulled. Everything felt heavier and lighter at once.

He didn't drown but his lungs stung for a heartbeat and then stabilised.

Zonaar opened his eyes, trying not to panic or move wrong. The relic in his chest felt too close to tearing.

Water surrounded him, deep green and shining with steady runes. The tunnel continued ahead, shielded by shaped barriers that kept the current out but allowed visibility in every direction to make the work easier for the minders. Sea plants he never saw before on lands were all flowing in the current outside, all glowing. Far off, something massive swam beyond the reef wall.

He tried to speak but nothing came out of his lips.

One of the divers ahead turned, gave him a thumbs-up, then kicked towards forward.

Zonaar followed, brushing his hand on the wall to maintain his balance in water.

Inside the main chamber, the carving teams were already working. Hauling tools, extracting shards of agolits and moving them to the other section in crates. The walls here weren't natural. They were half-formed, like something ancient had shaped them long ago and time had just filled in the gaps.

Zonaar was handed a carver's tool and assigned to a shelf wall.

"Careful," the foreman said. "This section's thin. If the markings glow, you stop. That's relic veins. You carve wrong, you bring the whole thing down."

"Got it."

He started slowly, letting the vibrations of the tool settle through his grip. The stone was tougher than the surface rock he was used to, but not impossible to carve. A good rhythm of hits made it easier.

Until something cracked. Just a light snap beneath the surface.

As soon as he pulled back, a sliver of light flickered under the carved edge like something buried underneath.

He scraped carefully, brushing away the dust and silt. A slanted object, metallic, emerged which was shaped like a scale, but etched with concentric circles and a central crest he didn't recognise. It gave off a light shimmer and felt untouched by time.

"Foreman," he called. "I found something."

Nobody replied.

He looked back but the crew had fallen still.

Then came the impact.

A roar tore through the chamber with a force. The outer shield warped. Cracks raced across the reef-side wall.

something slammed against the barrier. Long and Fanged.

A sea beast.

Panic hit the crew like fire. Divers scrambled. One got pulled toward the open passage. Alarms flared through the com-bands.

Zonaar stumbled backward, the relic in his chest started flaring hot.

Too hot.

Pain lanced through his lungs. His breathing faltered. The breather relic had unsynced.

"Not now, not now—"

He hit the ground as his vision blurred. The scale-shaped relic he'd found slipped from his hand.

A figure landed between him and the breach.

Not any worker but someone with black robes holding a long blade. Symbols floated around the shoulders of the person.

One clean strike and the beast reeled.

Another flash. Water twisted with searing light.

The person turned, eyes glowing under a mask covering only half the face.

"You're unstable," he said, glancing at Zonaar's chest. "You found it?"

Zonaar couldn't speak.

The masked man reached down, pressed a hand to his relic.

Zonaar gasped as the Heat faded and his pain eased.

"You shouldn't be working in here if you cannot handle the breather well," the voice was calm, but stern. 

The man turned to leave, then paused. "i found this thing near you, thought you might look for it later."he threw the scale towards him for him to catch.

And just like that, he vanished into the water.

Zonaar lay on the cold stone floor, heart still thundering, unsure if he'd just imagined it all.

The scale gave off a golden glint as he rubbed his thumb on it while holding it.

he sat up slowly, his chest was still sore.

The relic under his skin had cooled down, but the pain hadn't left. He looked around, the team was shaken, but the foreman was already yelling orders again like nothing just tried to rip the chamber apart.

"Get those barriers back up! If it hits again, we're not surviving a second breach!"

Zonaar pushed himself up with a grunt. His legs weren't steady, but he didn't want to draw attention. A few workers glanced his way, but no one came over to check on him. 

He slipped the glowing scale into his left pocket of his pants.

That guy, maybe the cultivator, or whatever he was, hadn't left a name. Just vanished. No one else mentioned him either, like it didn't happen. Maybe they didn't even see him.

Or maybe they knew better than to talk.

"Loader Four!" the foreman barked. "You alive?"

"Still breathing," Zonaar muttered.

"Good. Take five, then get back to the shelf. We still have quotas."

He just nodded and headed to the corner of the chamber where a few crates were stacked up, sat down and sighed.

His mind was still spinning from the thought —

If he had died right there… what would've happened to his sister?

Nobody would've told her. Nobody cared enough.

She'd just keep waiting, thinking he was still working shifts like always. Maybe she'd run out of food again. Maybe she'd get kicked out of the bunkhouse.

Zonaar looked at his hands. Still shaking a little.

He clenched them into fists.

Then slowly, let them rest on his knees.

The scale relic inside his pouch gave off a faint warmth, almost like it was responding or listening.

✧𓂃⋆༶⋆𓂃✧✧𓂃⋆༶⋆𓂃✧✧𓂃⋆༶⋆𓂃✧