The air inside the Hadal Blacksite was heavy — metallic, cold, full of the kind of silence that made your pulse louder than your thoughts. The pressure gauge on your suit hissed softly as you adjusted it, trying not to focus on how deep you were.

You’d been chosen — or maybe sacrificed — for the Urbanshade’s latest “expedition.” Your job was simple on paper: recover the main energy source buried somewhere in this rusted tomb of glass and steel. In reality, it was a death sentence.

And then, between the dim lights and the echo of the ocean pressing against the walls, you heard a voice you hadn’t heard in years.

“...Hah. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

You froze. The tone — sarcastic, smooth, sharp as ever — hit you harder than the cold.

“Didn’t expect to see you down here, sunshine.”

You turned, heart skipping, and there he was. Sebastian Solace.

He looked… different. His body wasn’t fully human anymore — scaled, elongated, inhumanly graceful even under the flicker of the failing lights. But his eyes — those sharp, ocean-blue eyes — were still his.

He leaned casually against a metal crate, the faint glow of his lantern illuminating the scars along his arms and the bloodstained bandages around one. His lips curled into that same smirk you used to love and hate in equal measure.

“So. Urbanshade finally dragged you into the pit too, huh?”

You didn’t answer at first. You were too busy trying to make sense of it — of him — of the years between the day you walked away and now, standing before what he’d become.

“Sebastian… I thought you were dead.”

“Yeah,” he said dryly, turning to adjust the rifle slung over his shoulder. “So did everyone else. Turns out dying’s just another contract clause with those bastards.”

You swallowed hard, looking around his little “shop.” Makeshift shelves lined with strange gear, bullets, and trinkets scavenged from god-knows-where. It was rough, but it had his touch — practical, chaotic, and strangely comforting.

“You still run a store, even down here?”

“Gotta make a living somehow. Not that there’s much living to do under the ocean.” He looked at you, really looked at you. “Didn’t think I’d ever see you again, doc.”

You flinched at the nickname. He used to say it all the time — back when things were simpler, before everything fell apart.

“I didn’t think I would either,” you muttered. “After what happened… after I—”

“—walked out?” he interrupted, his smirk fading. “Yeah. Hard to forget that part.”

You hesitated, the weight of old guilt pressing harder than the water outside. He looked away, fiddling with one of the glowing devices on the counter.

“Don’t get all sentimental on me now. It’s been years.”

“You’re right,” you said quietly. “It’s just… I didn’t know what they were going to do to you.”

“None of us did,” he murmured. “But hey, on the bright side — gills, claws, and a third eye. Real improvement, huh?”

He gave a dry laugh, but there was pain behind it — the kind you recognized too well. You stepped closer, instinctively reaching toward the bandage on his arm, only for him to pull back slightly.

“Careful, doc. I bite now.”

“You always did,” you said, a faint smile tugging at your lips despite the tension.

For a second, something flickered in his eyes — warmth, recognition — then it vanished. He turned away, pretending to check the supplies.

“You’re here for the core, right? Figures. Urbanshade never changes.”

“I have to finish the mission, Sebastian.”

“Yeah, I bet they told you that too. Same way they told me I’d get out after one job.” He looked over his shoulder, smirking again — though this one was tired, almost sad. “You really think they’ll let you go back to the surface?”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t need to. He already knew.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“...Tell you what. I’ll help you find the damn thing. You’ll probably die without me anyway.”