“Wait,” Echo’s voice returned — tight, uncertain. ??“There’s something... off.”

  Everyone turned toward the console. Rivet leaned over the screen next to Echo, frowning. ??“The sonar is picking up inconsistencies,” she muttered.??“Density’s not matching expected readings. Look at this yer.”

  Ren stepped closer. The image wasn’t static anymore. Below the smooth seabed, a shadow had emerged — faint, elliptical, deeper than the soft sediment should allow.

  “What is that?” Sky asked. ??“Hard rock… then a drop in density. Like a hollow chamber beneath the crust,” Rivet said. ??“Buried?” Ren asked. ??“Looks like it,” Echo confirmed.??“If there’s something here, it’s been entombed under tons of silt. Deliberately.”

  For a long moment, no one spoke. A seabed that smooth didn’t happen by chance. It was… erased.

  Sky’s expression changed — not surprise, but vindication. ??“It’s still here,” she whispered.??“Just… deeper.”

  Ren’s eyes narrowed as the sonar recalibrated. What had seemed empty… was hiding something. ??“Ats, hold position,” he ordered. ??“We need a scan sweep with full resolution.” ??“Understood.”

  The submersible’s scanners switched modes. The ocean’s murk bloomed into shifting gradients. They were seeing not with light, but vibration. Slowly, something revealed itself — A massive curvature, like a rib cage buried in the earth.

  “There,” Sky said.??“You see it?” ??“Yes,” Ren murmured.??“That’s not natural.” ??“Not a structure either,” Rivet added.??“It’s too uniform to be geological, but not built like stone walls.” ??“Like a shell,” Echo offered. ??“A hatch,” Pixel suggested from the background, now standing behind them.??“A sealed entrance. Maybe pressure-triggered.”

  The idea hit Ren like cold water. ??“It was never meant to be found easily,” he said. ??“Which means,” Sky added,??“it was meant to be hidden.”

  Thunder rumbled in the far sky — distant, faint, but present. Ren looked out across the sea. The surface was calm, but the darkness beneath churned with mystery.

  He turned back toward the team. ??“We’ll need to drill,” he said.??“Slow. Controlled. If we push too fast, we risk destabilizing the yer above it.” ??“I can set up a precision frame,” Rivet said, already calcuting.??“Minimal disruption.” ??“We’ll anchor here,” Ren continued.??“This is it.”

  No one protested. No one hesitated. They’d come too far.

  Sky looked at him — not as a financier, not as a leader. But as something deeper. An equal. A partner in discovery. ??“Do you feel it?” she asked. Ren nodded. ??“It’s not just pressure. It’s… presence.”

  And it was. A quiet weight in the air. A tension like before a storm — invisible, electric.

  The cube pulsed again at Ren’s side. He unclipped it, held it in his hand. It trembled.

  Below them, the sea was no longer silent. The silence had shape. And it was listening.