The Salty Nut had barely cleared the shadow of the mechanical Leviathan when the sea decided to remind Xin that the ocean was never truly empty. The white fire of the Catalyst sat on a lead-lined pedestal on the deck, covered by a heavy glass dome, but its energy was leaking. It acted like a beacon, sending a hum through the water that called out to everything that had been starved of resonance for the last five years.
"Mei, the engine is pulling too much water!" Pip shouted from the helm. She was fighting the wheel as the ship began to vibrate violently. "Something is dragging us down. It’s like the ocean is turning into glue!"
Xin ran to the side of the ship and looked down. A massive school of "Void-Eels"—creatures that looked like ribbons of black glass—had latched onto the hull. T
