"I think I might be about to die... Perhaps everyone is destined to die; the only difference is whether it comes early or late. I'm merely one of the luckier ones. But I think I may be able to leave behind a last testament before I die."
Licking his dry, peeling lips, the man picked up his pen and continued writing in the slick notebook.
"Lately, the indistinct whispers by my ears have returned—that sound which doesn't sound like a sound at all, dark and damp. Even though I punctured my own eardrums long ago to avoid being affected by it, that sound still refuses to leave me alone. I know it's calling me, calling me into its embrace, just like everyone else on the ship..."
A sudden, violent shake interrupted the man's writing. Faintly, it seemed as if a monster's roar came from beside his ears—clear and distinct, yet impossible to make out.
Setting down the pen in his hand, the man glanced outside the cabin. Through the gaps in the porthole that he had layered with newspaper and tape, he could vaguely see claws waving about.
...He knew those things were outside.
"I know this may sound insane, but in a world that has gone insane, none of it is really that unbelievable. We were swept into a strange domain. The ocean here is pitch-black, there is never any sunlight in the sky, man-eating monsters lurk beneath the sea, and damp whispers linger incessantly by our ears..."
"BANG!!!"
A thunderous crash, as though a wall had been struck by a hammer, came from outside the door. Affected by the impact, the paper and pen in the man's hands trembled and slipped... He had little strength left.
But even so, the man remained utterly focused. Clutching the paper and