—Evelyn
[Oh nothing much, I just told him that If you leak or try to take a peek I'll kill you and end everything. Then I said, I swear in my name ██████ as The Pillar of Conclusion. I'm not joking.]
[What?] Well done Gaby, you took it out of my mouth, that was also my genuine reaction when I heard the words that came out of Kiana's mouth, She looked completely flabbergasted, which truth to be told I did to,
"So… What are we going to do? Hhhh—Kshhhhh" I asked Kiana, the fact that she, The Pillar of Conclusion asked and then proceeded to threaten The Pillar of Deviation must've meant something.
[You Evelyn, you seem to enjoy doing something do you not~] The Pillar of Conclusion asked and for some reason she seemed to be smirking, her tone was completely different from what she was showing from before
[Oi—what are you thinking? Hhhh—Kshhhhh] Gaby did not look amused, she was looking at Kiana like she was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, and I guess in a way it was accurate
[How do you guys feel going to the deepest place in the ocean~]
"[Wh—]" yet before I and Gaby could say another word…
SNAP
—
"Ugh…" my thoughts came to a blur as I opened my eyes, everything was dark, like no light could ever reach this place, without a second thought I turned on the night vision module that allowed me to see in the depths yet even it was struggling.
[Warning!!! Current Depth : 10600 metres / 34776.903 feet, approximate pressure : 1000± of the surface, Suit & Helmet integrity 99.9% (Currently dropping at 0.0012% per second)] the screen displayed an unimaginable amount of depth
[OI OI Hhhh—Kshhhhh OTHER ME WHAT THE FUCK? Hhhh—Kshhhhh] Gaby's voice filled with cursing and annoyance, her breathing far less stable then it was
[THE MATERIALS ARE SUPPOSED Hhhh—Kshhhhh TO BE ADVANCED AND IT'S STILL Hhhh—Kshhhhh DROPPING?!?!?] Oh she was definitely not happy
As I looked at the HUD display, another shocking number appeared, [Air Percentage : 98% Current estimated air supply : 5 hours] The pressure of this place was so high that the once seemingly infinite air supply had turned into 5 hours.
"What's up with the air Hhhh—Kshhhhh supply?" I asked, as Gaby seemed to freeze for a moment before checking and she got even angrier screaming [OIIIIIII ARE WE AT THE MARIANA TRENCH???] at Kiana, where Kiana just giggled.
The regulator hissed as I drew another breath 'Hhhh—Kshhhhh' it went, it felt normal, like how it was when we were diving at Raja Ampat, the familiar rush of air in my lungs had become second nature for me over the years
But the moment I paid attention, the difference was unmistakable the Hhhh sounded harder, not struggling just strained, each inhale required a fraction more effort, the valve resisting just slightly before releasing the air
The sound has also changed, what was once a soft mechanical whisper turned to something sharper, the Kshhhhh of the exhale carried roughness in it, like it was working overtime telling me, I can do this but I'm dying.
I mean then again we are quite literally at a 34 thousand something something feet, a thousand atmospheres of pressure sat on every inch of these equipments. The regulator wasn't failing, it was fighting.
I could hear it in the rhythm of my own breath, the air itself tasted no different, clean, dry, perfectly mixed. Whoever designed these things must've been meticulous, the quality never degraded, but the effort behind each breath did.
It reminded me of those old gears I used with Cael back in our Cleaner days, the same feel, the same mechanical noise, just more refined and more desperate. I've spent enough time and money to know when the equipment was telling me something
Thud Thud Thud Thud
[WHY DID YOU DO THAT???] On the other hand, Gaby was sulking as she kept on punching Kiana's stomach, Kiana however was just giggling and chuckling like it was extremely funny.
[Hey. I did what you asked, did I not?] Kiana said as she held Gaby's helmet in arms rest, Gaby couldn't hit her with her arms anymore as Kiana looked at me with a wink, while Gaby was just flailing her arms and sulking.
At that moment, my thoughts came to a halt, I realized something, SHE KNOWS SHE KNOWS, Oh this must've meant at least in one point of her life, maybe when she was still a he, he used to find it interesting…
At this moment Gaby was thinking, wait the minute, why's Evelyn far too calm for this, but I obviously noticed it, so Kiana's question was to prevent Gaby from noticing anything
"Yeah~ I've always been interested Hhhh—Kshhhhh in scuba diving but this is a first, Hhhh—Kshhhhh Have you been here before Kiana?" Feigning ignorance, the best way to avoid questioning
[Well, not exactly there was never any reason for me to, everything feels the same, this body, this form of mine fundamentally doesn't change no matter where I am, no matter what I do]
[Wait what? But you said when you Hhhh—Kshhhhh were doing that island survival with the boys Hhhh—Kshhhhh, you could feel everything and it reminded you of Hhhh—Kshhhhh the old days?]
[Experience wise yes, but body wise obviously no.]
??? Gaby had a look of confusion in her face, not understanding what Kiana meant.
[Every 'breath', Every 'exertion' was artificial, to be exact, memory, my body is that of a Herrscher, I have no need to breath, no lactic acid build up, no actual taste buds, using Binding I 'artificially' made it to be similar of an average human]
[I had to manually make taste buds to taste the Caiman, I had to artificially ensure my own body and senses matches that of a human, ensure the physical condition of it—Hey—Don't cry now…]
I couldn't understand it, after all I am but an ordinary human, but I do have common sense as I turned my back acting like I wasn't there while looking at the surroundings, it was completely dark with barely anything in it.
It took several minutes before Gaby's cries stopped as Kiana kept on hugging her before finally releasing her and giving me a wink. Gaby also looked at me for a moment before a soft 'Thank you' could be heard.
[Anyways—We're here now anyways, Hhhh—Kshhhhh what should we do?] Gaby said as she looked at me, Kiana was basically shrugging saying I'll leave the choices to you
"Let's just explore the Hhhh—Kshhhhh place for now?"
[Alright] [Kk] both of them said as we began our little exploring journey.
Fwsh Fwsh Fwsh Hhhh—Kshhhhh Fwsh Fwsh Fwsh Hhhh—Kshhhhh
The sound of me and Gaby swimming underwater along with the sound of each breath could be heard as we continued gliding gracefully, Kiana on the other hand was just gliding along without moving a single part of her body.
The suit itself was so comfortable, I didn't feel the pressure, my ears didn't ring, my movement felt free, but the place itself was the exact opposite, like an endless black desert beneath impossible pressure
Thud
[Owww…. Hhhh—Kshhhhh I hitted my head again…] Gaby said as she was holding her helmet, examining for cracks probably, before stopping and giving a sigh of relief
[It's the 7th time you hitted your head] Kiana saying like it was the most normal thing, I giggled as Gaby looked at me with a rather teary face, she complained
[It's so weird… Hhhh—Kshhhhh I can't see clearly, even with this night vision module and my eyes Hhhh—Kshhhhh I keep on bumping my helmet… what if it cracks…] She said with a sigh
[And Eve, how can you be so good at this??] She was a Noble Red, A vampire with what should've been perfect eyesight yet she kept on bumping herself every where, meanwhile I a normal human haven't bumped my head a single time
"Hehe, I am skilled afterall~ Hhhh—Kshhhhh" My experience in The Silentium and scuba diving made my body react rather sharply, Kiana on the other had also not bumped into anything a single time
[How can you not bump???] Gaby asked Kiana with a confused expression, where Kiana basically just said [My 'eyes' are perfectly clear, I can see everything and avoid them all duh.]
[Also, are we fine? Hhhh—Kshhhhh My suit's integrity dropped to 91.4% it's saying suit integrity dropping at 0.0035% per second and my air supply is at 70%] She said sounding slightly worried
"It's fineee, we're at a crazy depth after all, they'd drain faster than usual, besides worse case scenario, Kiana would teleport us back right?"
Nod
[Okay…] Kiana gave a quick nod as Gaby replied before we continued our diving experience, as Gaby bumped her head a few more times
"Hey Kiana?"
[Mhm?]
"I am curious but, why are there no Remnants Hhhh—Kshhhhh here, we've been swimming for an hour and everything's basically marine snow with the occasional Hhhh—Kshhhhh Amphipods and some marine life"
[Well, I am basically scaring every single Remnant away, Paradox and Echoes, this place hasn't been cleared for a while after all, there's no reason to kill them if they're not actively destroying the world]
[But if you want, I could just hide our signatures using 'Sentience' and you'll be able to see the many Remnants here.]
"Oh? Please do~ Hhhh—Kshhhhh It would be interesting after all,"
[Wait wait, what if we get bitten or hunted by??? Hhhh—Kshhhhh The second anything breaks, me and Evelyn would be dead meat] Gaby ask full of fright, Kiana reassured her saying they won't be able to see them.
Snap
[Done. it'll take half an hour maybe for the Remnants to return to their original territory?]
"Do you always have to snap to use your powers?"
[Nah, I just like it, whether it be because of me or the influence of the original 'Kiana' I don't know]
[What should we do while we wait? Hhhh—Kshhhhh] Gaby asked as I looked at her and she looks at me
"Well we can just keep on swimming while Hhhh—Kshhhhh talking?"
[Let's do that] Thus we continued swimming, and thankfully Gaby's no longer bumping her head everywhere, as we talked time continued to flow, without realizing it was approaching the 2 hour mark of our dive.
[Ohhhh… Look at those Remnants… Hhhh—Kshhhhh] Gaby said as she gave an :o looking expression, I couldn't blame her though it was truly a diverse ecosystem.
Many creatures I didn't recognize but Gaby and Kiana did, a few of which they pointed to me were what people call Leviathans, they said it came from the game Subnautica, A few creatures that we met include:
The Reaper Leviathans, Ghost Leviathans, Gargantuan Leviathans, some dinosaurs like the Mossasaurus, some creatures like Scylla and Charybdis, the creatures from the film Cloverfield and Underwater, some bloops and many more.
"It's beautiful…" No other words could describe what I was seeing right now, even in the Mariana Trench there exists life, obviously not actual marine creatures but Remnants but still. It was truly beautiful in its own manner.
Gaby, who was still mesmerized by the environment didn't move, only the sound of her regulator's Hhhh—Kshhhhh could be heard, as I looked at Kiana who was slightly behind her as she crossed her arms before glancing at me.
I looked at her, as she looked at me, she gave a knowing smirk, she then proceeded to hug Gaby out of nowhere who gave a tiny yelp before returning her focus to the scenery, and I did what I wanted to do for a while.
After all this was the reason I asked for a 'Private' place, as I slowly but surely moved closer to Gaby making sure I didn't startle her and…
Clunk—Click
Twisted her valve~ she didn't react for a second before looking behind her and giving me a confused look
[—Kshhhhh Did you do something?]
"Just your imagination~ Hhhh—Kshhhhh" I said as she then looked at the scenery again, without realizing anything, now it was just a little waiting 'game'
Hehe~
Note : At this point of the story, Vestiges no longer exist with the only remaining Vestige being Acheron, also the reason Gaby didn't notice what Eve did was because Kiana used her authority of Sentience but her intuition and instincts were so crazy that she thought something was wrong for a second.