Outside the window of the deep-sea research vessel Seraphim, an infinite darkness stretched in every direction. At a depth where sunlight could never reach, diver Lisa held her breath. If she listened closely, even the mechanical hum seemed swallowed by the silence—and then, without warning, it appeared.
—Music.
Impossible, Lisa thought. They were 8,000 meters below the surface. In this closed-off realm where even communication was barely functional, a melody floated to her ears. A song—sung with a human voice.
“…A hallucination?” she muttered through her helmet.
But it wasn’t. The sound, faint but unmistakable, had been picked up by the submersible’s recording equipment. An unmanned drone was dispatched, tracing the source. Eventually, it arrived at the place where the melody felt strongest.
There lay the ruins of the legendary underwater city: Lua-Mel.
An ancient civilization said to have sunk suddenly a thousand years ago. Coral-covered, tangled with seaweed, the stone buildings emanated a haunting beauty. Temple columns, a crumbling theater, a half-collapsed tower—all decaying in the deep sea’s silence.
At the center of it all, inside a massive domed structure, Lisa met her.
She had flowing silver hair, a shimmering tail of blue scales that caught the faintest light. Humanoid, yet unmistakably otherworldly—a mermaid. And from her lips came not words, but a melody that resonated deep within the soul.
Lisa gasped. The song held meaning. It told of the city’s fall—of love and sorrow, conflict and reconciliation, and at its heart, a prayer. The mermaid’s voice conveyed it all—memories of the deep, beyond language, beyond time.
“You… are the last resident of this city…?”
The mermaid met her gaze and smiled. In that smile was solitude. Through countless years, she had remained alone, singing the memory of the sunken city. She was Lua-Mel’s last songbearer.
As Lisa stepped closer, the sea itself seemed to tremble in response. The music swelled. Reliefs etched into the temple walls began to glow, and a flood of memory rushed into Lisa’s mind.
Prosperity. Love. Betrayal. Collapse—and silence.
Tears welled in Lisa’s eyes—not from sorrow, but reverence. This city had not merely perished. It had sung, prayed, and bid the world farewell in beauty before vanishing.
Eventually, the song came to an end. Silence returned. The mermaid slowly closed her eyes. Her form faded, dissolving into the water.
“…Thank you.”
Lisa whispered. No one remained. Only the stillness of the deep.
But within Lisa’s heart, it remained. The symphony of Lua-Mel—eternal.
