Ba dum! Ba dum! Ba dum!

Desmond stirred, groaning. He opened his eyes and gazed blearily around, his ears full of a kind of faint thumping. His senses returned to him and he realized that he was lying on the cold, smooth, shimmering floor of the Neptune's Treasure. He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around again, realizing suddenly that the drumming he could hear was the frantic pumping of his own overexcited heart. Kayla, Ethan, Arrluk, Jino, and Duat were sprawled on the ground around him as well, slowly straightening up as they peered around. But the Tethyians, unlike his friends, looked shocked, terrified.

"What happened?" he said, rubbing the back of his head, and wondering whether there was an aquatic equivalent to aspirin that he could take.

"We were hit," Jino said. "Landed in the wrong tunnel, came out at the wrong port."

"What does that mean?" Desmond asked quickly. "We missed our stop? Did Amphitrite's Star pass already?"

"No," Arrluk said quietly. "We — we still have time."

"But then —" Desmond cut himself off. He had been about to ask why the atmosphere in the room was so grim, if they still had the chance to rectify their mistake and get to their destination in time. But then he noticed something. . . .

"Why is it so quiet?" he said. Not a single sound reached his ears besides the thumping of his own still-pounding heart and the ragged breathing of his friends. The hum of the Neptune's Treasure was lost to his ears, as was the usual sound of the crashing waves rolling off the ship. Now that he looked, he saw that the waves too were absent: the water around them was completely — almost unnaturally — still and silent. No ripples appeared in the water as they moved, they didn't even see any fish, or rocks, or plants. The area was entirely empty, a vast expanse of bright blue water, completely settled. It was as if time itself had frozen.

"What is this place?" he asked, starting to feel unnerved by the quiet.

"The Silent Sea," Arrluk whispered.

The temperature in the ship seemed to drop ten degrees.

"And what exactly is the Silent Sea?" Ethan asked, after a slight pause.

"The Silent Sea is one of the great Taboos," Duat explained in a hushed voice. "One of the few places across the entirety of the Seven Seas that no one must ever venture. Places too dark, too dangerous, to ever set tail in. Nothing exists here, there are no waves, no storms, even fish and plants do not reside here. It is one boundless expanse of perfectly still water, with no way to escape."

"But that's insane!" Desmond said, alarmed now. "Surely — surely — that's all just legend, right? There has to be some way out, even if it's a bit difficult to find. The whole sea is connected, isn't it?"

Jino shook his head. Even he looked scared. "Perhaps it is different on land, but here, no. There are parts of the sea that have never been explored, because the sea's vastness, its secrets, and its ruthlessness, are such that even we are not allowed to go near them. The Silent Sea has been rumoured to be the very bottom of the sea itself, untouched by the water gods, so it remains devoid of any form of life. As far as we know . . . nothing has ever existed here, and as for those things that wander in . . ."

He did not finish, but the message was clear. He turned away before Desmond could continue. Arrluk and Duat looked lost, hopeless, as though the idea of impending doom was looming over them. Desmond's eyes sought Kayla and Ethan. They too looked frightened, but it seemed more so from the reactions of their companions than the actual situation.

With a swift jerk of the head, he indicated that he required a private word with them on the other side of the room. They followed: the Tethyians did not object. They did not even look up. Desmond wondered if they had even noticed them move.

"This is bad," he told Ethan and Kayla. "How're we supposed to get out of here when our resident sea experts have completely given up hope?"

"I don't know," Kayla said. She looked extremely tense. "But — what if they're telling the truth?" she added, as though she could not contain herself any longer, as though the words had burst from her against her will. "What if there really is no way out? What if . . . what it we're stuck here forever?" She finished on a whisper, her bright green eyes brimming with tears.

"No, no." Ethan shook his head. "No way. I refuse to believe that we escaped from Poseidon's toilet bowl up there just so we could come and die down here! I didn't even want to be here. You, you —" He jabbed a finger in Desmond's chest. "You are the reason we're down here in the first place, and I love you, man, I really do, but I'm not dying for you. Not like this. My whole life is ahead of me, yours too, and hers. So, fix it."

Desmond gulped, but he knew that Ethan was right. If anything happened to them, it would be entirely his own fault. He had interrupted their vacations, had taken them from their homes; it was his responsibility to return them safely. It was his responsibility to see this quest through, to succeed, and to return to his own family at the end of it. He set his face in a determined expression and nodded. Ethan nodded as well, looking very slightly mollified. Desmond turned his sights on the dejected-looking Arrluk, took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and marched over to him.

"Sorry about this, Arrluk," he said. "But I need the actual you, not this sappy shmuck." And he cracked his palm across the Prince's face. The slap echoed around the room, and it was like a surge of electricity, jolting the three Tethyians back to reality.

Arrluk cried, "Ouch!", and Jino and Duat seized their weapons, glaring at him as though preparing to attack.

"Good," Desmond said, pleased with the reaction he had wrought. "There's no way we're getting out of here unless we all work together, at one hundred percent. So here's what we're going to do —"

"There's no point, Desmond," Duat said roughly. "Nobody has ever escaped from the Silent Sea."

"If you want to stay here and rot, you're more than welcome to," Desmond said, his voice harsh, pointing at the outside of the ship. "In which case, you can hop off now, because the rest of us will be working. We don't need the distractions."

He glared at Duat, who stared back at him, looking shocked. But he bowed his head and said no more. Desmond glared at Jino in turn, who shrugged but said nothing.

"Good," Desmond repeated. "So, first thing's first. How about a portal, like you did to get us to the surface before we left Tethyia?"

"It won't work," said Arrluk, whose face still bore a slightly reddish tinge to indicate where Desmond's hand had connected. "Portals are a means of short distance travel, it's not enough to get us out of here."

"Well, there has to be something —"

"No, there's not," Jino said flatly. "Look around, boy." He gestured around at the immense expanse of glittering blue. "There's nothing out there, nothing at all. You can make as many speeches as you want, but there's still no getting out. That is the simple truth."

"That's what my cousin said when I ended up swallowing a toy firetruck when I was younger," Desmond said bracingly, "and look at me now — it's out. Come on, Prince Pouty, we're going out."

"Out?" Arrluk repeated as though the word were foreign to him.

"Yes, out. There's something off about this place, and we're going to find out what." Desmond saw that Arrluk, looking exasperated, was going to protest, and spoke up hastily. "Oh, come on, if it really is hopeless, then what's the harm? We might as well try it out."

There was a pause. Then Arrluk sighed heavily. "Very well."

"Hey, you," Desmond called to one of the Grindylows lumbering around stupidly on the deck. "Get Kato, will you?"

It cast him a look of longing, almost hunger, then nodded and strode away, laughing evilly. Moments later it returned with Desmond's pet great white in tow.

"We'll need a tether," Desmond said, as he nuzzled her snout. "Need to find a way back to the ship when we find something. Just work with me, will you?" he added angrily as Arrluk started to object yet again. "Are you telling me you want to die in this place?"

The Prince hesitated, then fell silent.

"Now, the tether."

Jino and Duat exchanged looks, then both began to wave their arms in unison. They made weaving motions with their fingers, and thick bands of seaweed sprouted from the deck of the ship, wrapping around both Arrluk and Desmond's waists.

"You have an hour," Jino said. "And then we stop weaving and come to find you."

"An hour . . ." Desmond muttered, as Duat fetched the brass waterclock that Hatak had supplied them and positioned it on the hull. "Got it. Come on, you," he said irritably to Arrluk. He climbed atop Kato, and a hole opened in the ship deck.

"Be careful," Kayla said.

"When am I not?" Desmond grinned at her. She and Ethan both shot him really? kinds of looks, but he ignored this and, still grinning, Arrluk by his side, dove into the hole and out into the water.

By Desmond's count, roughly twenty-five minutes of their hour had already elapsed so far, and still they had found nothing. The two waded through the unnervingly still, brilliantly sapphire water, Arrluk propelling himself forward with his glistening silver tail, Desmond gliding atop Kato, the seaweed tether still trailing behind them.

"Are you ready to return now?" Arrluk asked, sounding somber.

"No! I'm positive we'll find something!" Desmond said.

It was a lie. After nearly half an hour's venturing and still not a single change in the entire body of water around him, the horrible reality that maybe nothing really was out there was threatening to settle over him. He could feel no fish or plants in the water, no whisper of lower life reached his ears. It really did seem to be completely empty. But he couldn't allow himself to believe so, at least not until their hour was up. He had made his friends a promise, and he had to fulfill it. After everything, this would be the end? Adrift in the maddeningly silent sea for eternity?

He shook his head, trying to clear the horrible thoughts collecting in his mind. In an effort to distract himself, he asked the Prince, "So . . . why is this place like this?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know, why is the Silent Sea so — silent? I know Jino said that it's likely because the sea gods forsook this place, but do you really believe that?"

"What does it matter what I believe? It does nothing to change our situation."

"Okay, fine," Desmond said, annoyed by his lack of helpfulness. "Keep sulking."

Arrluk did not answer. Irritated now, Desmond glanced around at the water again. A slight gasp escaped his lips. He had been so preoccupied trying to spot changes in the water ahead of him that he had not realized that the area below him was different; there was still the endless expanse of blue trailing beneath them, like sheets of the sparkling jewels that adorned most of Arrluk's attire — lapis lazuli, he believed it was called — but now, huge, lumpy silhouettes could be seen below, as though huge rocks were resting on the sea bottom, so deep that he could not properly make them out. . . . Or were they rocks? He turned his head this way and that as they swam, trying to catch a better angle to survey the dark shapes. He did not have to worry about losing sight of them: though they kept sailing forward, the dark splotches were so large that they stayed within sight all the while they moved, as though the unidentified objects were occupying the entire seabed.

"Arrluk."

"Hmm?"

"When you said there was nothing at all here —"

"— I meant it."

"So what's that, then?"

The Prince, evidently caught off guard, halted in his tracks and looked down at where Desmond was pointing. He frowned at it, then his lipless mouth slowly parted, a look of wonder replacing his frown.

"I . . . I have no idea."

Desmond looked from him to the strange dark masses, then back again, grinning. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If I am, it is a sure sign that it's a terrible idea and we'd be better off returning to the ship."

"Oh come on! You said there was nothing here, and now look, there is! What if this is the key to getting out?"

"And what if this is the reason that nobody ever does get out?"

"How will we know if we don't look? We're completely cut off from the rest of the world, we might end up dying anyway if we can't find anything to eat — so again I ask, what's the worst that could happen? Besides, aren't you a master sorcerer or something?" he added, because Arrluk still didn't look convinced. "I'm sure we can handle whatever it is."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Desmond," Arrluk said, though the corners of his mouth twitched. "I'm far from a master. . . . But . . . Oh, very well. Just a peek — and then right back to the ship."

"Works for me."

They plunged deeper.

In hindsight, Desmond thought he should have known it was a horrible idea. The two swam deeper and deeper, moving as fast as they could towards the strange shadows below. Their allotted time would have been drawing to an end quite soon, if it had not already passed, but they continued to surge downwards, their eyes on the dark spots. Their outlines were shimmering, still blurry. They didn't seem to be getting closer at all. Desmond was just about to voice this observation when, to his utter shock, they took another deep stroke below and, as though they had plunged into another section of reality, emerged into an area that was suddenly and dramatically different from the rigidly blue environment that had surrounded them only seconds before, so that they were left gazing down at the worst scene Desmond had ever had the misfortune of laying eyes on.

The water colour had changed entirely, to a messy mixture of sunset purple and midnight black, as though two enormous ink bottles had overturned and spilled their contents into the sea. The water itself was roiling, lapping gently. Desmond was almost glad to see that the water was flowing normally again — until his eyes raked the sea floor. The massive silhouettes that had been visible from above were cast by several enormous sea monsters, all of which were so horrific-looking that he found himself screaming in fright before he could process what he was doing.

There was a gigantic centipede, with a domed head from which protruded two huge horns, its vast body furled into endless coils like small hills dotting the seabed. There was a dinosaur-like beast with large, craggy plates extending from its back, each of which were around the size of a mature oak. A sea dragon — an actual dragon, not like the Nogards that Arrluk had pointed out before they had been launched into the tunnels, but an actual, wingless, serpentine dragon, electric-blue, with red lines streaking all over its figure — that looked almost normal in comparison to those around it, except that it had six other eyes arranged in threes on either side of the main two. And the last was a gigantic crab, with a shell like a canyon floor, bubbling with channels of lava. They were all mountainous in size, and all appeared to be in a deep slumber.

Desmond regained control of himself and stopped screaming, looking down at the beasts, his chest laboring. "By the gods," Arrluk whispered beside him. He looked horrified, transfixed. "The Kaijus."

"The what?" Desmond whispered back. He didn't even know why he was doing it; the "Kaijus," as Arrluk had called them, had not even stirred at his earsplitting screech.

"Desmond, I think I just understood something," Arrluk continued, still in that same low, frightened tone.

"What? What are those things?"

"I think — and I pray that I am entirely wrong — that they are the disaster we've set out to prevent."

"What does that mean?"

"The Kaijus," Arrluk said, looking directly into his eyes, black onto brown, "are the most ancient and powerful of all sea monsters. They were the first beings created by Pontus, the first god of the sea, before he merged with the sea itself. The Kaijus were meant to be guardians of the water and those who dwelled in it, but they were too vicious, too powerful. He lost control of them. They nearly destroyed all sea life, until he managed to stop them. The legends were never clear on how, but the point is that . . . it is no coincidence that we landed here, of all places, to see this. The Kaijus were sealed away in ancient times, all five of them, and have never been seen since!"

"Five?" Desmond glanced down again. "I only count four!"

Arrluk looked down too, pointing them out. "Scolopendra," he said, indicating the centipede. "Apollonir" — the eight-eyed dragon — "Jiraigomo" — the dinosaur — "and Kyaega. That means we're missing . . ." He shivered. "Leviathan."

"So where would that be?"

"I have no idea! I thought it was all a myth before today! Of course many of the myths they tell us are true — the existence of humans, for example — but this one was so sensational —"

He cut himself off, his face livid with terror. Desmond had heard it too. A high-pitched ringing had sounded out of the gloom, reverberating through the oddly coloured water. They looked around wildly for the source, and it was Desmond who found it. He nudged Arrluk's shoulder and he too stared at it, a large, glowing, three-pointed spear, embedded in a chunk of rock hovering directly above the dozing Kaijus.

"By the gods," Arrluk breathed again, eyes wide with awe. "Neptune's Trident."

As he spoke, the trident pinged again, and below it, the centipede stirred.