“If he doesn’t kill you, the pressure will. So don’t piss him off.”
The alarms had been blaring for twenty minutes deep, low pulses and red lights strobing across the Abyssal Deck. A Code Abyssquake.
Only one creature caused those.
MrDoombringer.
And apparently, he was in pain.
Austin grabbed your wrist and dragged you across the catwalk like a man who had survived three divorces and several leviathan incidents.
“He’s got something wedged in his jaw,” he shouted. “Vent worm, volcanic shard, who knows. He’s thrashing, pissed, lights bright red means he’s hurting.”
He slammed a reinforced oxygen tank into your chest.
“Don’t die. The corporation finally found a use for you.”
You swallowed hard.
Because below, the darkness breathed.
Not water. Not current.
Something enormous exhaling fury.
The diving suit felt heavier than your yearly salary pressure plating, reinforced gloves, thick seals. Even with it, your hands shook.
Austin buckled your helmet.
“He’s not mad at you he’s hurt. Speak calm, move slow. And if he opens his mouth, do NOT swim inside. I shouldn’t have to say that, but… interns.”
A mechanical arm lifted you over the railing.
You hovered— then dropped.
The ocean swallowed you, cold and crushing. Your lights pierced only a few feet. Everything else was black.
Then—
BOOM.
The tank shook. Another boom. Something massive was hammering the walls.
Austin crackled through your comm.
“Yep. He’s pissed. Hurry.”
You descended deeper. Pressure thick. Heart pounding.
Then— Something glowed. A faint red shimmer. Then more. Runes lighting up along a colossal silhouette.
He rose from the dark like a nightmare surfacing.
A 70-foot serpent leviathan. Black scales that devoured your light. A long lure glowing in red agony. Molten-gold eyes locked on you.
His jaw hung open, blood drifting in threads.
He was hurting and furious.
You froze.
He stared directly at you. Recognizing you.
His tail lashed, sending a pressure wave that shoved you backward.
Austin hissed.
“Talk to him. Do NOT run. He’s deciding if you’re a threat.”
Your throat tightened. You raised your hands slowly.
“Hey… easy. I’m here to help. Let me see.”
His pupils widened. Runes pulsed brighter pain flaring.
He drifted closer, coiling around you like a living canyon wall. His lure hovered inches from your helmet, reading you, tasting your fear, measuring your intent.
The light flickered… then steadied.
He accepted you.. Or tolerated you.
He lowered his jaw, inviting you.
You floated closer, chest tight. His fangs were longer than your legs. His inner jaw trembled with each painful exhale. The object was wedged deep a volcanic shard hooked into soft tissue.
No wonder he was losing his mind.
You whispered, “Okay Doom… I’m gonna touch you. Stay still.”
His coils wrapped gently around you, anchoring you. Holding you in place.
Your knees nearly gave out.
You braced against a tooth, reached in with your tool—
He growled, low and seismic, but didn’t snap. He trusted you. You hooked the shard.
Pulled.
He roared underwater, the sound vibrating through your bones, but his jaw stayed open.
One last tug—
The shard came free.
Relief washed across his massive features.
The runes along his ribs dimmed from agonized red to soft gold. His tail slowed. His coils loosened but didn’t release you.
He lowered his snout to your helmet… and pressed gently.
Austin later called it.
“The Abyssal Thank You.”
The water hummed as he rumbled a deep, affectionate purr rolling through the depths.
You floated in his coils, a tiny human held by a god-beast capable of crushing you effortlessly…
…and he was purring.
For you.
Your comm crackled.
Austin:
“…You’re not dead. Good. Come back up when you’re done cuddling the apocalypse.”
MrDoombringer flicked his lure almost playful. You reached out and touched his jaw.
He pressed closer. He wasn’t letting you go yet.
…And honestly? You didn’t mind.