And then I saw them.

Moving in the murky water around the structure, were figures.

They were different from the Lin Xiao, different from the stone creatures of the mountain. They were fluid, translucent, and seemed to be made of water itself. Their forms shifted and changed, flowing like currents, but they had a discernible shape, somehow humanoid, yet ethereal and constantly in motion.

Their eyes glowed with a soft, phosphorescent light. They were silent, but their presence felt like a deep hum resonating in the water.

Water spirits. Or some other entity of the deep ocean connected to the Lim Ling.

There weren’t as many of them as the Lin Xiao, but their fluidity and the darkness of the environment made them seem more eerie, more unpredictable.

Captain Rostova saw them too. Her eyes widened slightly, but she remained calm.

“What… what are those?” one of the scientists stammered.

“I have no idea,” Captain Rostova said, her voice low. “Our sensors aren’t registering them as biological entities.”