The descent into the Midnight Zone was not merely a physical journey downward. It was a complete psychological sensory deprivation.
The brilliant, warm light of the natural sun was a distant memory, completely blocked by the miles of solid blue ice floating at the surface. As they sank deeper into the Abyssal Trench, the faint, ambient twilight of the upper ocean rapidly faded into an absolute, suffocating pitch blackness. There were no visual markers to indicate their speed or trajectory. The sheer volume of the ocean above them swallowed all sound, leaving only the deep, rhythmic, and incredibly slow vibration of the subterranean tectonic plates echoing through the water.
Valeria stood perfectly still within the pressurized, skin tight bubble of sapphire magic.
