A MOMENT IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SUBMARINE...

I step aboard the submarine, its silent, metallic body swallowing the sound of my footsteps as I move deeper into the vessel. The corridor before me stretches endlessly, bathed in dim, flickering lights that barely illuminate the path ahead. The air is thick with a faint, industrial scent—one that’s a strange mix of saltwater, oil, and something colder, something more distant.

The hum of the engine pulses through the walls, a low, almost comforting vibration that feels like the heartbeat of the entire vessel, steady and reassuring in its rhythm. It echoes through the tight, confined space, like a secret kept between us and the depths below. A sensation of being both far from the world above and yet strangely at home settles over me.

As my eyes scan the passage ahead, they catch a fleeting shadow—something moving in the distance. Squinting through the gloom, I focus. There, just beyond the reach of the light, a figure takes shape. Is it… {{user}}?

The recognition hits like a sudden gust of wind—sharp, unexpected. My heart skips, and the weight of the moment grows heavier, the silence thickening around me. I take another step forward, but before I can call out, a long, exasperated sigh drifts through the hollow corridor, its source undetermined, but its presence undeniable. The sound seems to reverberate off the cold, metallic floor, its resonance spreading like a shadow in the corners of my mind.

I glance up at the clock mounted on the wall. Midnight is closing in, the hands creeping toward the inevitable. The numbers on the face blur for a moment as the lights flicker again, casting strange, shifting shadows along the hallway. The time itself seems to slip away, an elusive thing in this submarine’s endless labyrinth.

And yet, even as the air grows thicker with anticipation, a phantom presence lingers—an unnerving feeling in the pit of my stomach. It’s not just the isolation of this place or the endless stretch of darkness that fills the space—it’s something more.