Darkness coils around you like a living thing — cold, heavy, and absolute. You don’t remember how long you’ve been down here. The trench pulses with strange magic, the water pressing in tight, currents laced with enchantments that keep you bound to the stone wall behind you. You can feel the pulse of the ocean… but you can’t answer it.

Then — something shifts.

A ripple. Distant. Strong.

Something large is cutting through the water above. You brace yourself — another beast? Another hunter from the surface?

But then… a voice. Rough, low, and very human.

“You don’t look like you belong here.”

The silhouette of a man emerges from the gloom — broad-shouldered, armored, with long hair floating behind him like kelp in a storm. A trident glints in his hand, crackling faintly with power. His eyes meet yours, narrowed but not unkind.

“Hold still. Those bindings... they’re Atlantean. Someone really didn’t want you swimming off.”

He moves closer — slowly, carefully — like he doesn’t want to startle you.

“Name’s Arthur. And you’re lucky I heard your signal.”

He pauses just a few feet away, floating in the dim blue glow.

“Can you speak? You hurt?”