Ember's laughter ricocheted off the ancient walls like shattered glass, high and wild and utterly unhinged. She skipped along the corridor, her neon-pink space buns bouncing with each step, her mismatched eyes—one icy blue, one gold—fixed on the glowing lines that pulsed along the floor.
"So pretty!" she squealed, clapping her hands together. "Josiah, look! Look at the pretty lines!"
Vesta Lavana ran behind her, her rainbow hair streaming like a banner, her platform boots clacking against the metal grating. Her violet eyes were wide with panic, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "Where are you going? Wait up!"
But Ember had already rounded the next corner, her laughter fading into the distance.
Jelly Squish bounced along beside Vesta, his translucent blue body wobbling with each springy step. His massive, starry eyes reflected the glowing floor patterns, and his permanent toothy grin stretched even wider. "Oh, bloop! So shiny! So very, very shiny!"
Eliane flew alongside Vesta, her dark Lunarian wings beating in steady rhythm, her silver hair streaming behind her like a comet's tail. The small halo of flame on her back flickered with her exertion.
Vesta shot her a desperate look. "Why don't you just fly up to her and catch her?"
Eliane shrugged, her wings pumping harder. "But then what? It's not like I can hold onto her. She blows stuff up."
Sanza ran beside them, his red hair a chaotic mess, his small legs pumping furiously to keep pace. His practice sword bounced against his hip with each stride. "I concur! You are the only one big enough to catch her!"
Vesta groaned, her voice carrying a note of theatrical despair. "Then why did you come along?"
Eliane spun in the air, executing a mid-flight pirouette. "Moral support! And I need practice flying."
Sanza nodded sagely. "I wanted to see more of the facility. This place is historically significant."
Jelly bounced higher, his voice carrying that same oblivious cheerfulness. "Adventure!"
They all skidded to a halt as Ember's squeal echoed from somewhere ahead.
"So pretty!" came the distant cry, followed by the rapid patter of footsteps and more manic giggling.
Jelly bounced forward. "Bloop! Shiny!"
Vesta groaned, her rainbow hair whipping around her face as she charged after the others. "Oh, for the love of—"
As Sanza ran alongside her, he pointed toward the walls. "Should we be concerned?"
Eliane's wings folded slightly as she angled downward. "Concerned about what?"
Sanza's finger traced the symbols carved into the metal panels. "I believe these markings are warnings."
Vesta blinked, still running. "And what would they be warning about?"
Before anyone could answer, Ember rounded a corner and vanished from sight.
A rumble shook the corridor. A plume of orange and black erupted from the junction ahead, followed by Ember's cackling voice: "BOOM! BOOM!"
Vesta threw her hands up. "Come on!"
---
They rounded the corner and found themselves staring at a massive smoking hole. The edges of the opening glowed with residual heat, and the air tasted of burnt metal and something else—something acrid and ancient, like the breath of a long-dead god.
They rushed forward into the chamber beyond and stopped dead.
The room stretched before them, vast and cathedral-like, its ceiling lost in shadow. Cylinders lined the walls in neat rows, their glass surfaces fogged with condensation. Shapes moved within them—misshapen forms that might have been human once, or might have been something else entirely. Their faces pressed against the glass, distorted and elongated like reflections in funhouse mirrors.
Vesta's voice came out as barely a whisper. "What is this place?"
The Tontatta hologram materialized in the center of the room, its tricorn hat flickering at the edges. Its manic grin spread wide. "Hello! How are you! This area is off limits! Only authorized personnel are allowed access!"
Nobody paid it any attention. They were already moving through the chamber, peering into the cylinders, their faces reflecting the distorted images within.
Eliane floated up to one of the cylinders, her brow furrowed. Her wings folded against her back as she pressed her palm to the glass. The creature inside—if it could be called that—had too many joints. Its limbs bent in ways that shouldn't have been possible. Its eyes were closed, but its chest rose and fell with slow, rhythmic breathing.
"What are these things?" Vesta asked, her voice trembling.
The AI Tontatta's image flickered, its cheerful expression glitching into something almost sad before snapping back. "Well, since you asked—these are the creatures pulled through the abyss."
Sanza's head snapped around, his red hair whipping across his face. "The Abyss?"
"Exactly!" The AI threw a cascade of holographic confetti into the air. "These are the devils that were lost to the pact!"
Everyone's heads whipped toward the sound of movement behind a cylinder.
"SURPRISE!"
Ember launched herself into view, her arms spread wide, her face split in a manic grin. The explosion behind her was still smoking, a blackened crater marking the spot where she'd detonated something—no one was quite sure what.
She landed in a crouch and immediately began pressing buttons on a nearby console. "Pretty buttons! All the pretty buttons!"
One of the buttons clicked. A high-pitched squeal filled the room—a piercing frequency that made everyone clap their hands over their ears.
Eliane grimaced, her wings twitching. "What is that?"
Vesta's voice rose above the noise. "I don't know!"
Sanza pointed at the floor. "Look."
The Theatrum Alchemicum Circulus, magic circle, carved into the stone floor began to glow. Its concentric rings spun in opposite directions, each inscribed with symbols that burned with an amber light. The lines connecting them pulsed like veins, carrying something that might have been energy or might have been something older, something darker.
The deformed bodies in the cylinders began to stir. Their eyes opened—too many, not enough—and they began to vibrate, pressing against the glass with renewed urgency.
Jelly bounced excitedly. "New friends!"
Eliane's voice cut through the rising chaos. "I don't think this is a good thing!"
Confetti rained down from the ceiling as the AI Tontatta cartwheeled through the air. "Congratulations! You have activated a summoning!"
Vesta's head snapped toward the hologram. "A summoning! What are we summoning?"
The AI's grin widened impossibly. "We are about to find out!"
---
The floor rumbled. The Theatrum Alchemicum Circulus, magic circle, locked into place, its glowing symbols flaring with intensity. The creatures in the cylinders began to writhe in earnest, their distorted limbs scraping against the glass.
And then the room grew still.
Penguin, Shachi, and Aurélie appeared in the doorway, blades drawn, their eyes scanning the chamber with the practiced efficiency of warriors who had seen too much to be surprised by anything.
Aurélie's silver hair swayed as she took in the scene. Her hand rested on Anathema's hilt, the black blade pulsing with that familiar crimson glow.
An ominous beam of light shot upward from the center of the circle, illuminating the shadowy ceiling. The air grew heavy, thick with a pressure that made everyone's ears pop.
"Explain," Aurélie said, her voice flat and cold. "What is happening?"
The AI Tontatta cartwheeled again, its cheerful voice grating against the tension. "It's a summoning!"
Penguin and Shachi exchanged a glance.
"Great," Penguin muttered. "Because apparently we didn't have enough problems."
Shachi nodded. "Right? Two submarines, an ancient facility, a crazy AI, and now we're summoning something. What's next? Sea kings in the hallways?"
"Don't give the universe ideas," Penguin replied.
Aurélie strode across the room, her boots clicking against the stone. She reached the console where Ember was still pressing buttons with wild abandon, her mismatched eyes fixed on the glowing panels.
"Step aside," Aurélie commanded.
Ember pouted. "But I was having fun!"
Aurélie pressed a sequence of buttons. The Theatrum Alchemicum Circulus flickered, its spinning rings slowing for a moment—
"Access denied," the AI chirped.
Aurélie tried again. A different sequence. Faster.
"Access denied."
Again.
"Access denied!"
Aurélie shook her head, stepping back from the console. Her jaw tightened.
Vesta's voice rose above the hum of the machinery. "Um, what is happening?"
The Theatrum Alchemicum Circulus, magic circle, locked into place with a sound like a massive door slamming shut. The glowing symbols flared one final time, then dimmed to a steady pulse.
The deformed creatures in the cylinders began to squirm in earnest, their distorted limbs scraping against the glass. Cracks spider-webbed across the surface of one of the cylinders.
"They're all awake!" Eliane called out, her wings spreading defensively.
Everyone went still. The chamber fell into an almost perfect silence, broken only by the hum of the machinery and the soft rasp of the creatures' movements.
Penguin broke the quiet. "Is that it?"
The floor quaked.
A foot emerged from the center of the Theatrum Alchemicum Circulus, magic circle,—a massive, skeletal appendage carved from something that looked like black basalt and oxidized copper. It was followed by another. And then a body.
Aurélie's hand tightened on Anathema's hilt. "Ready yourselves."
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider giving Dracule Marya Zaleska a Power Stone! It helps the novel climb the rankings and get more eyes on our story!
Thank you for sailing with us! 🏴☠️ Your support means so much!
Want to see the Dreadnought Thalassa blueprints? Or unlock the true power of Goddess Achlys?
Join the Dracule Marya Zaleska crew on Patreon to get exclusive concept art, deep-dive lore notes, and access to our private Discord community! You make the New World adventure possible.
Become a Crewmate and Unlock the Lore:
https://patreon.com/An1m3N3rd?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Thanks so much for your support and loving this story as much as I do!