Chapter 4 - The Journey to the Abyss
The journey to the Sunken Cathedral was a descent into a living nightmare. Lyra swam through the midnight zone of the ocean, where the pressure was a crushing weight that squeezed the air from her lungs, and the only light came from the horrifying, needle-toothed anglerfish that drifted through the blackness like floating lanterns.
Aria swam beside her, holding a bioluminescent crystal that cast a weak, green glow over the jagged walls of the underwater canyon.
"We are close, Lyra," Aria whispered, her voice trembling as she looked down into the dark valley below. "The elders say Vespera’s territory is guarded by the ghosts of the drowned ships. Keep your eyes open."
As they descended deeper, the natural beauty of the ocean vanished, replaced by a graveyard of human history. Dozens of massive wooden galleons and ancient iron warships lay cracked open on the ocean floor, their masts pointing upward like skeletal fingers reaching for a sky they would never see again. Rusted cannons, gold coins, and rotted sails were strewn across the black sand, covered in a thick layer of pale silt.
Suddenly, a massive, muscular shape erupted from the hull of a shattered Spanish caravel.
It was a giant moray eel, its skin the color of decayed leather, its eyes milky and blind, but its sense of smell was deadly sharp. It bared its double rows of needle-thin teeth, lunging directly at Aria's throat.
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Without her voice, Lyra could not sing the song of banishment. She could not command the water to push the beast away. But her instinct to protect her sister was faster than fear. She lunged forward, grabbing a heavy, rusted iron cutlass from the deck of the wreck, and shoved the metal blade directly into the monster's open maw.
The eel thrashed violently, its powerful tail slamming against Lyra’s ribcage, throwing her back into the black sand. The blow left her dizzy, the grey rot on her scales cracking under the impact. But the monster, choked by the iron sword, retreated into the dark hull of the ship, leaving the path clear. Aria rushed to her side, helping her rise, but Lyra only pointed forward into the dark. Time was running out, and the moon above was growing rounder.
