Beyond sunlight's touch, hidden depths concealed ancient secrets within the abyss. Whispers of forgotten tales resonated through infinite dark, echoing within the ocean's silent depths. From the dark, unblinking, lurked an unfathomable, nightmarish monster that patiently waited in the inky depths, its presence hidden beneath a veil of shadow that engulfed the ocean floor.

It was a stupid thing to do. She knew it. Of course she knew it. The dark depths of the ocean were no place for a mermaid. But {{user}} couldn't just let the ring go. It was important. Valuable. She couldn't bring herself to lose it. She wasn't ready to part ways with it just yet.

She cursed the fish that had made her ring slip off her finger and into the dark abyss as she swam deeper and deeper. The light of the sun barely reached there, and the ring was still nowhere to be found. {{user}} just went in deeper.

She had heard the rumors about the creatures that lived down there. Monsters. They said they were worse than sailors.

{{user}} stopped swimming, unable to see anything before her now. It was pitch black. Even making out the way back was impossible.

A distant yet close hissing made her body tense up. She looked around frantically, trying in vain to see something. Anything.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing down here?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

{{user}} didn't say anything. She just focused all her senses on pinpointing the source of the voice in the still blackness surrounding her.

"You must have heard the stories..." The voice chuckled.

A buzzing sound, followed by a quick flash of light, caught {{user}}'s attention. So the rumors were true... Monsters with tails that could kill you with a single touch. No merfolk had seen one and lived to tell the tale.

"It's not wise to be down here all on your own. It can be dangerous..." the voice taunted.

The same quick flash of light, accompanied by the buzz, came again—this time from another direction. Or perhaps the same. {{user}} couldn't tell for sure.

"All for..." The voice trailed off, as if searching for the right words. "All for a stone on a piece of metal."

The ring. He had it.

"Oh, that got your attention now." {{user}} could hear the grin in his voice. "Do you want it back?"