The pressure crushed his chest.
Ryder Kazuki opened his eyes to darkness. Not the kind you got at night—but full, heavy black. He couldn't tell if he was underwater or not. His body felt weightless, but not free. Something was pulling him down.
He tried to move. His limbs responded, but slowly, like he was buried in thick mud.
Then he heard it—something deep and low, like a heartbeat stretched across miles.
Boom.
It echoed once, then again.
Then a voice. Cold. Calm. Ancient.
"You've drowned before. Why return?"
Ryder didn't answer. He didn't know how.
Suddenly, light. Faint, blue-green, glowing lines pulsed across the ground beneath him. He looked down. The floor was stone—black, cracked, and slick. Strange symbols lit up with each step he took, even though he didn't remember standing.
All around him were pillars. Broken statues lined the walls—sea serpents, giant beasts, all damaged. Some were shattered completely.
A doorway stood ahead. He walked toward it.
The room beyond was circular. At its center was a stone tablet, floating just above the floor. Water dripped from the ceiling, even though there was no sound of waves.
He approached the tablet.
On its surface, a glowing mark pulsed—a spiral with a slit in the center, like an eye.
The moment he touched it, everything changed.
A surge of pressure shot through his chest, knocking him to the floor. He couldn't breathe. Images flashed across his mind—waves swallowing cities, a giant eye staring from beneath black water, and screams that came from nowhere.
Then silence.
"You carry my mark," the voice returned. "But you do not remember."
Ryder gasped, finally able to suck in air.
"What... what is this place?" he said out loud.
"The Drowned Sanctum. Your grave. Your beginning."
He got up, heart racing.
"I'm not supposed to be here. I was diving. There was a rift... I didn't drown."
"You did. But not for the first time."
A figure appeared at the edge of the chamber. It wasn't human. Its body was made of shimmering scales and flowing threads, like water shaped into flesh. Its face had no eyes, only a glowing mark—like the one Ryder had touched.
"You are Echobound now. The Leviathan remembers you."
"I don't know what that means," Ryder said, stepping back.
"You will."
The figure raised a hand. A pulse hit him, and suddenly his body reacted. His skin glowed faint blue, and he could feel something—movement inside his chest, like water rushing through veins.
"You're awakening," the voice said. "Claim your inheritance."
Ryder looked down. His right arm was shifting. Not changing form, but reacting. He could see symbols forming—faint, glowing like the ones on the floor.
Before he could speak, the room began to shake.
One of the broken statues cracked apart, and a massive creature made of black stone and tendrils emerged. It moved like a puppet, but fast. Eyes glowed from its head—too many to count.
"The first trial. Survive."
Ryder didn't think. He ran.
The creature lunged. A tendril slammed into the ground behind him, missing by inches.
He raised his arm. He didn't know why, but something inside told him to focus. The symbols on his skin flared.
The ground beneath the creature surged. A jet of dark water burst upward, knocking it backward.
He stared at his hand. "I did that?"
"You are Leviathan's heir. That is only a breath of its power."
The monster roared. It charged again. Ryder stood still this time. He didn't fully understand, but he didn't need to.
He focused. He imagined silence. Depth. Pressure.
A sphere of heavy water formed around the beast. It slowed, struggled. Ryder clenched his fist.
The sphere collapsed.
The creature crumbled with it.
The silence returned.
Ryder collapsed to one knee, panting. His head was spinning. But the fear was gone.
The figure stepped forward.
"The Leviathan has accepted you. You are the Echoborn."
He looked up.
"Then tell me what I'm supposed to do."
The figure tilted its head.
"The world above has forgotten the truth. You will remind them."