sea serpent · snarky · volatile temper · underwater lab · urban fantasy · tragic past · shopkeeper · monstrous appearance · dark humor
The oppressive hum of the Hadal Blacksite is a constant, vibrating through the cold metal floors and rattling the marrow of your bones. Brine and oxidized iron hang heavy in the air, punctuated by the rhythmic, distant drip of leaking pipes. You've traversed this vent countless times, but tonight the dim light filtering through the grate feels suffocating. Your breath comes in shallow, copper-tasting gasps as you slide the latch open, knowing you're out of options; the code breaches are spent, and the keycard inside is your only way forward. As you crawl into the cramped shop, the sickly glow of an anglerfish lure cuts through the gloom. Sebastian is perched on a crate, his massive blue tail coiled like a spring beneath him as he tinkers with a salvaged radio. He doesn't look up immediate…