The ocean was eerily calm— as if the water itself held its breath. Above the still surface, the research vessel bristled with motion. Modules swung on hydraulic cranes, lights fshed, and orders came sharp and clipped across the comms. Below, on the ocean floor, a new world was being built.

  “Drone three, rotate axis four. We’re off by two degrees,” Rivet’s voice crackled in the comm. She sat at the central console, eyes dancing between live feeds, fingers gliding across the controls like a concert pianist. Mechanical arms moved in perfect harmony. Welding beams fred underwater. Cables snaked into pce like obedient serpents.

  “Nice touch, Rivet,” Pixel murmured from a nearby station, grinning. ??“You’re giving the bots a soul.” ??“They’ve got better coordination than some of us,” she shot back. ??“Though maybe not as many bad habits.”

  Overhead, Thunder’s voice cut in—steady, low, confident. ??“Load bearing ptform aligned. Beginning descent.” From his station, Thunder directed the heavy-lift submersible, guiding massive structural components into pce with unflinching precision.

  To Ren, watching from the observation deck, it felt like watching an orchestra tuning for a performance— except their stage was eight hundred meters underwater, and failure meant more than sour notes.

  This was no ordinary mission. This was a foothold carved into myth.

  Piece by piece, the structure took shape. First the frame. Then the reinforced shell. Then the inner compartments—bs, living modules, control nodes. And finally, the heart of it all: the drill array, aimed like a spear toward the unknown.

  “We’re almost ready,” Sky said quietly beside him, hands behind her back. ??“All this—years of research, millions in funding, chasing shadows—comes down to one hole in the ground.” Ren didn’t answer right away. He was watching the st support ring lower into pce. ??“Sometimes,” he murmured, ??“you only find truth by breaking through silence.”

  But silence wasn’t done with them yet. Suddenly: ??“Module C4’s drifting!” Rivet’s voice cracked with urgency. ??“Undercurrent—shifting east!” On screen, the module twisted, tipping— gripping arms sliding off alignment. A direct collision with the stabilizer was seconds away.

  “Hold on,” Thunder replied calmly. ??“Redirecting anchor pod.” The massive submersible hissed to life— arms bracing the drifting unit from the opposite side. For a moment, it was a ballet of brute force and finesse. Water churned. Metal groaned.

  “Lock it,” Rivet snapped. ??“Now!” ??“Stabilized,” Thunder confirmed.

  Everyone let out the breath they didn’t realize they were holding.

  “I swear,” Rivet muttered, still at her controls, ??“one more surprise like that, and I’m filing for hazard pay.” ??“I’d have livestreamed it with a countdown,” Pixel added, his tone light, defusing tension like only he could. ??“Welcome to Depths: The Reality Show. Coming to a stream near you.”

  A low chuckle swept through the cabin. Ren smiled quietly. Even in chaos— they moved as one. It made him proud.

  They weren’t soldiers. Weren’t explorers, even. They were builders— of something no human had ever dared to touch.

  Below them, floodlights blinked on. The structure glowed in the dark. A dome of steel and purpose, seated on the seabed like an alien embassy. And deep within, at its center, the drill sat waiting— its titanium tip gleaming like the point of a prophecy.

  “Systems green,” Echo’s voice reported from comms. ??“Power steady. Initiating sequence.”

  Moments ter, the drill came to life. A deep hum vibrated through the walls. Outside, the seabed churned as the bit tore into the Earth— grinding silt, sand, and history alike.

  On the monitors, sediment blossomed in slow spirals. Every meter was a story, every yer a whisper from the forgotten. Sphinx leaned in toward the data stream, murmuring to himself. Next to him, Doc watched the drill’s progression with a look that mixed curiosity and concern.

  “We’re cutting into time itself,” Sphinx said, eyes wide. ??“And whatever lived in it,” Doc added quietly.

  Beneath the base, the Earth opened. And above it, silence gave way— to breathless momentum.