The abyss had always been vast, but as Deep Crown drifted through the black expanse, the crew felt an unsettling wrongness pressing in from all sides. The ocean seemed aware—watching, waiting, its cold breath seeping through the reinforced steel of the submersible's hull.?

  Ahead, the alien ship loomed, its luminous veins pulsing with an unsettling rhythm, casting eerie tendrils of green-blue light through the endless dark. It hovered just beyond reach, massive yet weightless, like a ghost trapped between dimensions. It was waiting.?

  Sinclair sat rigid, fingers dancing over the sonar controls, sweat beading on his brow despite the cold. His voice barely registered above a whisper.?

  "There's something else down here."

  Elizabeth turned toward him, eyes sharp. "More drones?"?

  Sinclair swallowed, shaking his head. "No... Something bigger."?

  Rafael cursed under his breath and redirected the sub's long-range scans. The holographic display flickered, adjusting to the new readings, and then—?

  The image appeared.

  A distortion.?

  Not an object. Not a ship. But something far worse. A rupture. A gaping wound in the fabric of space itself. It twisted in slow, sickening rotations, a tear in reality's flesh, its edges flickering like heat waves against the void.

  Henshaw leaned forward, throat dry. "Is that what I think it is?"?

  Elizabeth's voice dropped to a whisper. "...A portal."?

  The words fell over them like a tombstone.?

  No one moved. No one breathed. The realization clawed through the crew with the slow, creeping terror of something far older than human understanding.?

  The drones that had swarmed them were no longer mindless adversaries. They were sentinels—gatekeepers standing vigil over a threshold not meant for mortal passage. And the alien ship? It was no mere derelict.?

  It was a shepherd.?

  Ortega let out a slow, measured breath. "That explains why they were bringing us here. They weren't hunting us." He swallowed hard, the sound audible in the stillness. "They were guiding us."?

  A cold shiver rippled through Henshaw's spine.?

  The realization burned in his gut.?

  The drones had not been attacking. They had been herding them—driving them toward the abyss. Toward the gate.?

  The holographic distortion pulsed. It did not shimmer like water, nor twist like an illusion. It was simply there, a wound in the deep, bending the ocean around it as if reality itself resisted its presence. Beyond it, there was... nothing. No matter. No light. No time.?

  Sinclair's fingers trembled on the console. "What's on the other side?"?

  No one answered.?

  Because no one knew.?

  The sonar pinged.?

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Elizabeth stiffened. "They're closing in."?

  The display pulsed red. The drones were no longer lingering at the edges of the trench. They had begun to form a perimeter, encircling Deep Crown like vultures around a dying beast. But they still did not attack.?

  Instead, they waited.?

  Rafael's breath hitched. "They're going to force us through."?

  And then the ship moved.?

  The massive construct that had lingered in eerie stillness for so long... shifted.?

  Its entire form rippled, its bioluminescence pulsing in deep, slow rhythms, like the heartbeat of something not quite alive. Then, a vibration—low, rumbling, rolling through the water like a whisper from something sleeping beneath the surface of time itself.?

  The portal responded.?

  It expanded.?

  A tidal shift surged through the trench. The ocean seemed to groan in protest as unseen forces ripped at the very fabric of existence. The rift yawned wider, pulling, inhaling, hungry.?

  Henshaw's jaw tightened. "Full throttle. Get us out of here. Now."?

  Ortega's hands flew over the controls. The engines roared.?

  Deep Crown surged forward—?

  And then stopped.?

  The current shifted.?

  The thrusters screamed against the unseen force, but it was like trying to fight against the pull of a collapsing star. The water itself turned against them, gripping the hull in unseen tendrils, dragging them toward the widening abyss.?

  Rafael's voice was sharp. "We're caught in its pull!"?

  Elizabeth's hands flew across the console. "Counter-thrust failing—we're going in!"?

  ?Henshaw slammed his fists against the metal console, the impact reverberating through the confined space of the Deep Crown. The crew's faces mirrored his frustration and fear, their eyes darting between the encroaching drones on the monitors and the ominous portal widening before them.?

  Sinclair's hands trembled as he activated the Shockwave Cannons, his usual composure shattered. "Firing now!" he shouted, his voice cracking.?

  The ocean around them convulsed as pulses of sonic force erupted from the submersible, targeting the swarm. Some drones disintegrated, their forms collapsing into the abyss like marionettes with severed strings. Others scattered, momentarily thrown into disarray. But the relentless pull of the portal only intensified, an invisible hand drawing them toward the unknown.?

  Ortega's knuckles whitened as he gripped the helm, his breaths shallow and rapid. "We're losing control! The currents are too strong!"?

  Elizabeth's fingers flew over her console, her mind racing to find a solution. "All systems are unresponsive! We can't counteract the force!"?

  A deep, resonant hum filled the submersible, penetrating their very bones. The alien ship, colossal and enigmatic, turned its luminescent gaze upon them. The lights pulsed rhythmically, each throb syncing with the escalating dread in their chests.?

  Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of intent crashed into their minds—not words, but a pure, unfiltered command:?

  ENTER.?

  The crew gasped collectively, their thoughts invaded by the sheer force of the directive. Panic surged, hearts pounding against ribcages like caged beasts.?

  "What the hell was that?" Ortega's voice quivered, eyes wide with terror.?

  Elizabeth's face paled, her analytical mind grappling with the incomprehensible. "It's... it's communicating with us. Directly."?

  Henshaw's resolve hardened, though fear flickered in his eyes. "We have no choice. Brace yourselves!"?

  The abyss yawned wider, the portal's maw consuming the light around it. The Deep Crown shuddered, its metallic frame groaning under the immense pressure. One by one, the crew secured themselves, exchanging silent, fearful glances.?

  As the submersible crossed the event horizon, a blinding light engulfed them, and the familiar darkness of the deep sea gave way to an unfathomable void. The sensation was indescribable—a disorienting blend of falling and floating, of being everywhere and nowhere.?

  Then, as abruptly as it began, the tumult ceased. The monitors flickered back to life, revealing a landscape beyond imagination. Strange, luminescent flora swayed in unseen currents, and towering structures of unknown origin loomed in the distance.?

  The crew stared in awe and trepidation, the reality of their situation settling in. They had crossed the threshold into an alien realm, guided by forces beyond their comprehension.?

  Henshaw's voice broke the silence, steady yet tinged with wonder. "Status report. Let's find out where we are."?

  As the crew scrambled to assess their new environment, the weight of their journey pressed upon them. They had ventured into the unknown, and there was no turning back.