ABYSSAL
Chapter 1: The Selection
The earth was already dead.
Not in the poetic sense people once imagined—but in the quiet, suffocating reality of collapsed skies, poisoned air, and a surface ruled by things that no longer belonged to humanity.
Aliens had taken what they wanted.
Cities became ruins. Oceans became graves. The sun itself felt distant, filtered through layers of ash and time.
So humanity went down.
Deep.
Far beneath what remained of the crust, where steel tunnels replaced streets and artificial lights replaced stars, the last remnants of civilization survived in silence.
And in the deepest sector of all—Sector 0—something was being built.
Or rather… awakened.
They called it: Abyssal.
Sasaki woke up to darkness.
Not the comforting kind. Not sleep.
This was the kind of darkness that pressed against your eyes like it wanted to stay there forever.
His wrists ached.
Cold metal.
Chains.
"…Where…?"
His voice came out rough, unused.
A low hum echoed around him—machines, distant voices, the faint vibration of something massive powering up.
He tried to move. His body resisted.
Not because he was weak.
Because something had been done to him.
Five heartbeats.
That's what he heard.
Not his own alone.
Five people.
All breathing in the same enclosed space.
Sasaki's eyes slowly adjusted.
Dim lights flickered overhead. The room was circular—metal walls, reinforced glass panels, and observation decks above them like a stage being watched from a higher world.
He wasn't alone.
Four others were chained in similar positions.
A man with sharp eyes scanning everything.
A woman trembling but trying to stay composed.
A younger boy who looked too confused to understand fear yet.
And another—silent. Still. Watching.
Sasaki met their eyes one by one.
No one spoke.
Because none of them knew why they were here.
A voice suddenly echoed through the chamber.
"Subject Group A has been secured."
It came from above.
Calm. Controlled. Clinical.
"Begin final pre-integration checks."
Panels shifted open along the walls.
Mechanical arms slid out slowly, carrying restraints, connectors, and something far more unsettling—
Suit components.
Black.
Heavy.
Not armor in the traditional sense.
More like a living machine.
The Abyssal unit.
Sasaki's gaze locked onto it instinctively.
Even from a distance, it felt… wrong.
Not visually.
But emotionally.
Like standing too close to something that should not exist.
"Listen carefully."
A new voice now—closer.
A scientist stood behind reinforced glass above them, arms folded, eyes hidden behind a reflective visor.
"You five were selected for compatibility testing."
No one reacted.
Because no one had been asked.
"You are among the last surviving
candidates retrieved from the outer underground zones."
Retrieved.
Not rescued.
Sasaki's fingers tightened slightly.
"So this is it…" he muttered under his breath.
The scientist continued.
"The Abyssal unit is humanity's final
countermeasure. If successful, it will allow us to reclaim the surface."
A pause.
"But…"
That word lingered.
"…the system is not compatible with most human neural structures."
The room grew quieter.
"Anyone who is unworthy will not survive the synchronization process."
A brief silence followed.
Then the final sentence:
"They will be rejected."
No explanation.
No comfort.
Just that.
Rejected.
The lights shifted.
Mechanical arms began moving toward the first subject.
Metal clamps unlocked with sharp clicks.
The man across from Sasaki struggled slightly, his breathing becoming uneven.
"Hey—wait—what are you doing—?"
No response.
The armor components began enclosing around him.
Piece by piece.
Chest. Arms. Spine.
The Abyssal unit wasn't worn.
It merged.
Sasaki's eyes narrowed.
He noticed something others hadn't yet—
The armor wasn't just assembling.
It was reacting.
As if scanning.
Judging.
The scientist's voice returned, almost detached.
"Synchronization commencing."
A low pulse began to echo through the chamber.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Not from outside.
From within the machine.
The man screamed.
Not immediately.
But when the inner core activated.
His body jerked violently as the Abyssal interface latched into his nervous system.
Sasaki clenched his jaw.
This wasn't just testing.
This was selection.
Survival.
The scream escalated.
Then—
A sudden silence.
A flicker of light surged through the armor.
The Abyssal unit glowed faintly.
For a moment…
It stabilized.
The scientist leaned forward slightly.
"…Interesting."
Hope—fragile, unspoken—briefly appeared in the room.
Then it changed.
A crack formed across the armor's chest plate.
A thin, sharp sound.
Like something breaking from the inside out.
The glow turned unstable.
Red.
Then erratic.
"—Disconnect—!" one of the assistants shouted.
But it was too late.
The man's body convulsed once.
Twice.
Then—
BOOM.
A sudden burst of energy exploded outward from within the armor.
Not fire.
Not debris.
Something far more violent.
The containment field flared, absorbing most of the blast—but not all.
The body… was gone.
The Abyssal unit remained.
Standing.
Empty.
Silence returned.
Heavy.
Final.
The scientist exhaled slowly.
"Rejected."
Sasaki's heart sank—not from fear alone,
but from understanding.
This wasn't a machine you piloted.
This was a machine that decided if you were allowed to exist inside it.
The clamps on Sasaki's restraints loosened slightly.
Metal slid.
Lock disengaged.
He looked up.
And for the first time—
He realized something that made his stomach tighten.
The Abyssal unit… had already turned slightly.
Facing him.
Not randomly.
Not by chance.
But directly.
As if it had been waiting.
And in that moment—
Sasaki understood.
He wasn't just one of five captives.
He was next...