The shadow blots out the bioluminescent glow of the node.
It doesn’t swim; it displaces the water. A massive, undulating wall of darkness shifts through the crushing, lightless void of the trench, moving with a slow, tectonic grace that defies the immense pressure of the deep. The Nereus IV groans, the titanium hull shrieking as the displacement wave hits us. The internal pressure gauge spikes, the red digital numbers flashing frantically across the console.
"Hull integrity at eighty percent," Kade says, his physical voice a tight, controlled rasp. He is out of his chair, his right hand braced against the bulkhead, his left pinned sleeve pressed against the console. His green eyes are locked on the external monitors, wide with a mixture of tactical assessment and primal awe. "Isla, get b
