For as long as she could remember, Dr. Elara Voss had been drawn to the sea. As an orphan, she had no memories of a family, no childhood bedtime stories, and no photographs of smiling parents. But she had the ocean-the one constant in her life.
By the time she turned 40, Elara had become one of the leading marine researchers on Earth, dedicating her life to exploring the unknown depths of the ocean. While others reached for the stars, she dove into the abyss, seeking answers hidden in the dark. She spent years aboard research vessels, piloting deep-sea submersibles, deciphering the language of currents and marine life. For her, the ocean was more than just a career-it was home.
Her latest mission was unlike any before. Humanity had pushed the boundaries of exploration beyond Earth, reaching the depths of alien seas on newly discovered exoplanets. Elara had been chosen for an expedition to Neridia-7, a water world thousands of light-years away, its vast oceans teeming with undiscovered life. She had dreamed of this moment her entire career-a chance to be the first to uncover the secrets of an alien ocean.
But fate had other plans.
As the research vessel descended into Neridia-7's twilight zone, something went wrong. An anomaly-something no scientist had predicted-pulled her deep into the abyss. Instruments failed, alarms blared, and before she could react, the darkness swallowed her whole.
Then... silence.
When she awoke, she was no longer human.