It wasn't even orbs—just one.
A solitary sphere of white light, faint but unwavering, glowing far off in the darkness. It drifted toward me, slow but deliberate.
My brow furrowed. That wasn't possible. No other merfolk could be using light, it was strictly forbidden down here. Which meant… whoever, or whatever, this was, it wasn't one of ours.
And yet… I felt something strange.
An unspoken pull.
The orb seemed to beckon me—no, drag me—closer. It wasn't just light; it was magnetic, intoxicating. My mind warned me to stay put, but my body betrayed me. Without realizing it, I was gliding forward, inch by inch, closing the distance.
The light grew larger… brighter… until it wasn't an orb anymore. It was a boulder. A massive, glowing boulder floating in the black void.
That was when my instincts finally screamed loud enough to cut through the haze. My eyes widened, and I snapped backward, as I put space between myself and that unnatural thing.
'What the hell is that?'
