Echoes of the Deep

Face to Face

Chapter 1

Episode 7

Face to Face

The afternoon lecture dragged on. Professor Wilson continued writing equations across the whiteboard while students quietly copied notes into their notebooks. Nikolai Morozov stared blankly at the page in front of him. His notebook was nearly empty. His mind wasn't in the classroom. It hadn't been for weeks. Ever since the bodies began washing ashore, every lecture blurred together.

His thoughts always wandered back to the ocean. Back to Vincent. Back to Vivenne.

The bell finally rang.

Students immediately began packing their bags. Nikolai remained seated. Then something caught his attention. Naeven Ven.

Usually, Naeven lingered after class. He always packed slowly, looking exhausted before making the lonely walk home. Not anymore. Now... He almost looked eager to leave. He zipped up his backpack in seconds and hurried toward the exit.

Nikolai narrowed his eyes. "He's been different lately... What's gotten into him?"

Without thinking twice, Nikolai stood and quietly followed him.

Miles away...

On the outskirts of Crescent Bay... Ayden Ven stared at a glowing sonar monitor. A single moving signal appeared beneath the ocean floor. Unlike the others... This one wasn't an old recording. It was happening live. Ayden's tired eyes widened. "...Finally." He grabbed his keys. His notebook. His jacket. Within moments he rushed out of the laboratory. "This time... I'm not losing you." Far beneath the surface... Vaesryn glided silently through the water.

His enormous black serpent tail moved effortlessly through the currents. The sea was calm. Schools of fish scattered around him as he made his usual patrol.

Then—

He stopped. Ahead... A fishing boat drifted above. Attached to its side... Something clung to the hull. Gray skin. Long claws. A twisting eel-like tail. One of the creatures. Its black eyes remained fixed on the unaware fishermen above. Vaesryn's crimson eyes narrowed. He tightened his grip around the bone trident.

Without hesitation—

He lunged. THRUST! The trident pierced straight through the creature. A horrible screech echoed through the water. The impact slammed the creature against the side of the boat.

Above the surface—

The fishing vessel lurched violently. Dmitri Morozov nearly lost his footing. "What the—?!" The crew grabbed nearby rails. "What hit us?!" Dmitri hurried to the edge of the boat. The water had already gone still again. Nothing remained. Below... Vaesryn pulled his trident free and disappeared into the depths before anyone could see him. Ayden's boat raced across the ocean.

The sonar signal remained locked. Almost... Almost there... Then... The signal vanished. Ayden slammed his fist against the console.

"No..."

"No!"

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

He frantically rescanned the area. Nothing. Whatever had been there...Was gone.

Meanwhile...

Naeven arrived at the secluded cove. He climbed onto his usual rock and opened his sketchbook. A faint smile crossed his face. He flipped through pages filled with drawings. Nearly every page now contained Vaesryn. Different poses. Different expressions. Different angles. He picked up his pencil. "...Maybe you'll come today." Hidden farther back among the cliffs... Nikolai watched everything. "...So this is what you've been doing." He frowned. "Drawing... After everything that's happened..." His expression darkened.

"He still doesn't deserve peace." Nikolai stepped out from behind the rocks. "Naeven." Naeven looked up. His face immediately changed. "W-What? You shouldn't be here." Nikolai ignored him. "So after getting two people killed... You come here to relax and draw?"

Naeven immediately stood. His eyes instinctively flicked toward the water. "Nikolai...This isn't the time."

"I don't care." Nikolai walked closer. "I've never understood you. You followed them around. You stalked Vivenne. You were there when they died. And somehow... You just keep living your life."

"What?!" Naeven's voice cracked. "I didn't kill them! I tried to save them! I still think about that day every single day! But you don't understand!"

"You're right." Nikolai's jaw tightened. "I don't. So explain it."

"I can't! It happened too fast! I held onto Vincent! I tried! The rain... The cliff...! Everything happened at once!"

Nikolai shook his head. "Excuses. You were obsessed with my friends. You couldn't leave them alone. You were the reason they were on that cliff."

Naeven clenched his fists. "Stop assuming things! I never wanted them dead! It was tragic! It broke me too!"

"But maybe you like that it's over." Nikolai stepped closer. "They're gone. They'll never bother you again."

Naeven stared at him. "You haven't moved on either." His voice became quieter "You've made your entire life about them." The words struck a nerve. Nikolai slowly walked forward. "Funny you should say that." His fists tightened at his sides. The air between them became heavy. Then—

THUNK!

A bone trident buried itself into the sand several feet away. Both young men jumped. They stared toward the ocean.

Naeven immediately recognized it. "H-He's here..." He looked at Nikolai. "You need to leave. Pretend you didn't see anything."

Nikolai blinked. "What?"

"No."

"What are you talking about?"

A figure slowly emerged from the water. Long black hair. Pale skin. A crimson veil. The stranger calmly crawled onto the shore.

Nikolai frowned. "...Who's that? A new swimming buddy?" He crossed his arms. "You know you're not supposed to be in the water. Haven't you watched the news? People keep dying out here."

"Nikolai..." Naeven quietly pleaded. "Please. Just leave."

"I'll be fine."

"What?"

"So you can die too?"

Nikolai scoffed. "There's another body almost every day now. You seriously think you're invincible?" Naeven shook his head. "I won't be harmed. Please... Just go." Instead, Nikolai grabbed the front of Naeven's shirt. "You know what? I'm sick of you. You live like nothing happened. You act like my best friends never existed." Before Naeven could answer— The stranger suddenly moved.

His massive black serpent tail swept across the sand. WHAM! Nikolai was knocked completely off his feet. He crashed onto the beach with a painful grunt. "Agh!" He rolled onto his side. "What the..."

Naeven's eyes widened. "Oh no... No..." He hurried toward Nikolai. "You've seen him now! Why didn't you just leave?! What are we supposed to do now?!" Nikolai forced himself onto one elbow. "W-What... What the hell..." His breathing became uneven. The stranger crawled closer.

Only now did Nikolai truly see him. Not legs. Not feet. A massive black serpent tail. Crimson eyes. Sharp ears. The elegant bone trident lying nearby. His entire body went cold. "W-What... What... What am I looking at...?"

Naeven stood between them. "He saved me. I know he's not dangerous. I know it."Nikolai barely heard him. His eyes never left the impossible creature. Vaesryn ignored Naeven completely. His crimson eyes burned with anger. He slowly crawled forward until he was only inches away from Nikolai. Nikolai froze. Every instinct screamed at him to run. But his body refused to move.

One human.

One merman.

Face to face.

And neither looked away.