The manta rays faded into the blue, their silhouettes like celestial spirits in slow motion. Jack lingered at the glass, hands behind his back, the silence between him and Sarah stretching—not out of distance, but of knowing.
"Whatever that thing was..." she started.
"It wasn’t from our books," Jack finished, his voice low. "But maybe that’s the point. We keep discovering. Keep expanding."
The next morning, Jack summoned Emily and Sarah to the strategy deck—a wide space with dynamic holograms circling the ceiling. Currents, tectonics, migration patterns, even storm maps.
"We need to move," Jack said, cutting into the tension. "Not just build here, but build everywhere."
Sarah narrowed her eyes. "You're talking about dispersing the cities."
"Exactly. Dragon Abyss can't be a monument.
