– Invaders

  Days Passed: 3

  Three days have passed.

  Three days of hunting, feeding, and mastering my new home. My wounds have healed. My movements are sharper. The trench is mine. The hunting ground is mine.

  And if anything dares to take them, I will kill it.

  The abyss is vast. Endless. But I have carved out a place in it. A place where I am safe. A place where I am in control.

  But ownership means nothing in the deep.

  Because nothing stays untouched forever.

  ---

  The water shifts.

  At first, it’s subtle. A ripple. A faint tremor in the current. The kind of movement that could be caused by anything.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  But I know my hunting grounds. I have learned how the water moves here. What is normal. What is not.

  This is not.

  I remain still, pressed against the rocky wall of my trench. My body is motionless, but my senses are sharp.

  Something is moving at the edge of my hunting grounds. Carefully.

  It is not drifting. It is not lost.

  It is searching.

  A trespasser.

  I move.

  ---

  The intruder does not see me coming.

  I surge forward, silent as the abyss itself. I am faster now, stronger. My body cuts through the water like a blade.

  Then, I see it.

  A long, slender shape, weaving between the rocks. It moves with purpose, flickering with dim green light along its sides. Its body pulses—slow, deliberate.

  A signal? A warning?

  It does not matter.

  It is in my home.

  I attack.

  My jaws snap forward, aiming for its midsection. But at the last second, it twists, narrowly dodging. It is fast. Not fast enough.

  I adjust, turning sharply, my muscles reacting without thought. I lunge again.

  This time, I connect.

  My teeth sink into its body. The light flickering along its skin flares wildly, then weakens. It thrashes, but it is smaller than me, weaker. It does not fight back.

  I bite down harder.

  The glow fades completely.

  Then, the struggles stop.

  [ Prey Consumed: Abyssal Glider ]

  [ +0.4 Adaptation Progress ]

  I let the body drift. I do not eat all of it. I do not need to.

  This is not about hunger.

  This is about territory.

  This is a message.

  This trench is not free.

  It belongs to me.

  And I will kill anyone who thinks otherwise.

  ---

  The water stills.

  I drift back toward my alcove, my body relaxed, but my senses sharp. The trench is silent again.

  But something lingers in the back of my mind.

  The pulsing glow on the intruder’s body.

  What did it mean?

  Was it a signal? A way to communicate? A warning to others?

  For the first time since claiming my home, I feel uncertain.

  The glider was not a predator. It did not challenge me. But it came here anyway.

  Which means others could follow.

  My tail flicks slightly as I settle back in

  to my hiding spot.

  If they come, I will be ready.

  But something tells me…

  They will not be as easy to kill.