Chapter 7 - The Abyssal Gallery
Walking on the ocean floor at 10,000 meters deep felt like walking on Jupiter.
Elias and Elena moved slowly, encased in the massive, titanium-alloy Vanguard Exosuits. The suits were bulky, hydraulically powered, and equipped with thick thermal layers to stave off the freezing cold of the deep water.
They approached the Titan from behind the cover of a towering ice stalagmite. The sheer scale of the glowing ice cavern was breathtaking. Inside the translucent ice walls, Elias could see the shadows of ancient, monstrous marine life—megalodons, colossal squids, and unidentifiable leviathans—all perfectly preserved, frozen in time millions of years ago.
The Sculptor was an extinction-level event.
"Elias, look," Elena's voice crackled over the secure comms channel.
Three mercenaries from Project Leviathan were outside the Titan, wearing similar exosuits. They were loading glowing, pulsing shards of the blue ice into heavily shielded containment pods.
"I'm going in," Elias said. "Cover me."
Elias engaged the hydraulic thrusters on his boots, launching himself across the ocean floor. The water resistance slowed his movements, turning the assault into a terrifying, slow-motion ballet of violence.
The mercenaries saw him coming. They dropped the ice shards and raised heavy, underwater harpoon rifles.
THWUMP.
A tungsten-tipped spear shot through the water, grazing the shoulder plate of Elias’s suit and sending a shockwave through his body. Elias didn't stop. He closed the distance, raising his suit’s right mechanical arm, which was equipped with an industrial-grade plasma cutter designed to slice through submarine hulls.
He ignited the blade. A brilliant, blinding white laser cut through the dark water.
Elias swung the plasma cutter, slicing cleanly through the harpoon rifle of the first mercenary, then delivered a devastating, hydraulically-powered backhand that sent the man spinning helplessly into the dark water, his suit’s stabilizers failing.
The second mercenary fired, the harpoon burying itself into the thick armor of Elias’s chest plate. The impact knocked the wind out of him, the warning alarms in his helmet screaming red.
Before the mercenary could reload, Elena descended from the ridge above, landing squarely on the attacker's back, driving her suit's heavy boots into his oxygen scrubbers, crushing them instantly.
"Clear!" Elena yelled over the comms.
Elias ripped the harpoon from his chest plate, the self-sealing gel stopping the water pressure from crushing him. But the fight wasn't over. The massive airlock of the Titan hissed open, and the leader of Project Leviathan stepped out.
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He was in an oversized, heavy-combat mech suit, armed with a devastating, rapid-fire rotary cannon.
"You're too late, Thorne!" the leader’s voice boomed over the open frequency. "The core is secured. Say hello to the new ice age!"
