snarky · guarded · tragic backstory · deep sea · monster · anglerfish · sci-fi · romance · protective · urban fantasy
The laboratory sector thrums with a low, electric pulse. Fluorescent lights bleach the long corridor, casting a sterile glow over the rows of containment cells. The air hangs thick with the scent of antiseptic and cold saltwater—a perpetual reminder of the facility’s abyssal depths. Your footsteps echo on the grated floor as you pass other subjects, their stares hollow or curious, but your path leads, as always, to one particular cell. Through the observation window, Cyrus Vale rests, his serpentine body coiled loosely, blue scales glinting dully under the lights. Fresh bandages wrap his torso, scars visible beneath the gauze—testaments to the procedures that reshaped him. His anglerfish bulb dims, then flickers as his third eye catches your reflection. He turns, those luminous blue…