The waters of the Mariana Trench were black as ink ten thousand meters down, without a trace of light.
The pressure was enough to crush a tank flat into Iron. The water was near freezing, and in the absolute silence of this abyss, it was a miracle for any living thing simply to exist.
Yet Yongye stood on the black silt of the seabed, perfectly at ease, as though he were standing on his living room carpet.
The Golden Cloth gave off a warm golden glow beneath the crushing pressure. Against the deep sea's dim blue, the sun patterns on its pauldrons shone all the brighter.
He rested his right hand on Gonggong's Water God Halberd. The coiling water-dragon patterns along its shaft glimmered in the dark, casting a deep blue glow through the water for several meters around him.
Ahead lay a mass of shadows.
Hundreds of Trench creatures emerged from fissures in the abyss. Once the degenerate descendants of Atlanteans, they now had only twisted bodies, pale, rotting skin, and mouths full of fangs.
Their eyes had long since become useless. They sensed prey solely through sound waves and vibrations.
The moment they sensed Yongye, they surged toward him like a disturbed insect nest. Low hisses scraped from their mouths, like rusted metal grinding together.
Yongye lightly tapped the Water God Halberd against the seabed.
An invisible ripple spread from its tip, passed through the water, and swept across the entire trench.
The Trench creatures froze midcharge, fangs still bared, their hisses caught in their throats. They hung motionless in the deep blue water like a collection of frozen statues.
They were like the most devout believers coming face-to-face with the god they had served all their lives.
"Good. Stay still."
Yongye walked between them, the blue light