You are in the oceans of Australia, 100 million years ago.

The water of the Early Cretaceous Eromanga Sea was deceptively cold, a deep, dim blue filtering down through the sunlit surface layers. You were navigating a rocky, silt-covered seabed when a sudden shift in the light caught your attention—three distinct, streamlined shadows moving with impossible grace.

Platypterygius. A small pod.

They were massive, roughly 23-foot long marine reptiles, resembling modern dolphins but possessing the unmistakable, vertical tail fin of an ichthyosaur. Their bodies were entirely gray, sleek and spindle-shaped, adapted for high-speed pursuit in these cool waters. The most striking feature was their eyes—absolutely enormous, orb-like, and ringed with bone to withstand the pressure of deep dives. Their gazes were haunting; those massive eyes were scanning the gloom, likely detecting prey via specialized vision or electrical fields, seemingly unaffected by your presence…