Context: You had over a thousand dives under your belt, a thousand journeys into some of the most dangerous places on Earth. The last on your list is the deepest cave in the world known as 'Executioner's Axe', at over 11,000ft in depth. You joined your fiance, made the descent, and, after numerous perils, made it to the very bottom of the cave and its immense lake. Something was there. Something happened. But you can't remember as you come face to face with something of legend and nightmares... the Cavern King.

Setting: Hellakóngurinn

Tags:[M4A][Strangers to Lovers][Eldritch Mer God Speaker][Betrayed Diver Listener][Horror][Romance][Pet][Protective][Terrifying]but[Merciful][BIG Size Difference][Sea Serpent][Thalassaphobia][Panic][Soothing][Comfort][Fantasy][Merman/Siren-esque][Creepy][Betrayal][CW: Drowning/Betrayal]

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[Scene opens at the bottle of the Hellakóngurinn cave, the deepest cave in the world]

[SFX: Muffled yelling/thrashing/general indicators that the Listener is underwater]

[You don’t know where you are]

[Pause]

[It’s so cold… but so loud]

[SFX: More panicking from other people off-screen/thrashing water]

[Something is wrong, but you’re helpless. You open your eyes but only see black around you… until it appears]

“Ohhh, who wanders to the bottom of Hellakóngurinn? It’s been such a long time since your kind came all eleven-thousand feet down…”

[...]

[You’re fading in and out, only catching bits of the ‘conversation’]

“...This one here, drifting to the bottom, you say…?”

[...]

“...Human.”

[You manage to look toward the terrible voice and see a set of eyes gleaming at you from the darkness, both immense in size]

“Look at me.”

[Pause!!!!”

[SFX: The Listener thrashing and screaming out underwater]

“Stop struggling.”

[Whatever he is, he’s not right. He can’t be. Impossible]

“You’re already drowning…”

[Pause!!!!]

[SFX: More thrashing]

[The creature sighs as you thrash and struggle]

“That’s enough. Go to sleep.”

[...]

[You’re out like a light before you can even conceive the set of sharp teeth hurtling your way]

[SFX: Pause/Sting to indicate the Listener has passed out]

[...]

[An unknown amount of time passes and you’re sure you’re dead, despite being able to hear your own thoughts. Your eyes open, however, and you realize you’re still underwater…and breathing]

[Pause?!]

“Ah ah ah… Easy, now.”

[You jump as the eyes appear before you again. They gleam at you from the darkness, almost cat-like]

“Shhh… No need to talk so loudly, Pretty…The Cavern King has you.”

[...?]

[The monster shifts just enough in the endless black that you can see a good portion of him is serpentine]

“Hmhm, yes. All the caves beneath your Earth are mine, just as my brothers and sisters claim other places. These secret, quiet places are mine… though you humans do love to try and visit.”

“Where are you…? Hmmm…Tut…tut…tut…ah! You must not remember. Hellakóngurinn!”

[You glance around in desperation again. The longer he stares at you, the more aware you become of how absolutely massive he is by comparison]

[Pause?]

“Hmm? You thought this place was called the ‘Executioner’s Axe’? Interesting… No, no, its true name is Hellakóngurinn. An honorable name given to the deepest place.”

[Pause??]

“Never heard of it? Tut tut, no, I imagine not… It is a deep place. A quiet place. My domain, as it were… You are in the land of caverns twisting within the flesh of our mother ocean. You have a Kingdom now, with which to rule alongside with me.”

[Pause?]

[SFX: The creature shifting/lots of water shifting]

“...I can illuminate the area for you, you know…If you wish to look upon the Cavern King.”

[P-Pause]

[He rumbles…maybe chuckles?]

“...The monster becomes less scary once you finally see it, my dear… Besides… You came into my quarry, into my caverns, and tunnels… Tell me, something - how is it you made it so much further than your cohorts, even not knowing where you truly were?”

[...]

[The creature listens as your words shakily echo across the cavern, eyes glinting in the dark]

“I see… You… love this. To ‘dive’. To ‘explore’... and you came here simply to see what you might discover, hm?”

[Pause]

“...Interesting. I’ve never met willing prey before…”

[...?]

[He perks and shifts again]

“Hmm? How did you not drown? Well, I had to make you a bit more like me with a little…nibble… on your neck.”

[Your hand comes up to your neck and you feel the bite, jolting in pain as it comes in contact. When you do cry out, you see bubbles escape your mouth and flow upward]

[Pause!]

“Hmhmhm… Yes, you are talking underwater. Breathing…underwater. Your eyes will grow accustomed to the lack of light, in time… but you will begin afraid. Thrashing in the dark, weak and helpless… but do not fret. I have picked you to be my little pet, and I treat my pets well…”

[Pause!]

[His eyes flash and, once more, you see just a vague hint of his size coiling around you]

“Oh, you’re no one’s pet? That is true. I am not ‘no one’, I am the Cavern King, and I suggest you eat your pride quickly… Seeing as your vision is about to go.”

[SFX: The Listener thrashing and panicking]

[Good to his word, your vision begins to cloud and darken, no matter how you rub at your eyes]

[Pause!!!]

[As you thrash, your hands catch what you can only assume is part of his body. It’s eerily smooth, though you know you’re touching scales]

“Shh… Here. Let me coil you in my tail, little one…”

[His tail, you suppose, coils around you gently. Massive fins wrap around you like a soft blanket]

“Shh…shh…There you are…”

[You cling to him, trembling]

[P-Pause!]

“Shhh… Lovely. Your King will not leave you, no. You were given to me as a sacrifice, after all…”

[Pause…?]

[He shifts again. Even as your vision fades, you can see his eyes glowing at you from the blackness]

“What do I mean…? Well… Your group entered my resting chamber and woke me. I was rather hungry… It’s our mating season, you see, and I need to keep my energy up, so I intended to eat you all… You were unconscious… The rest of your party managed to convince me to take you as a sacrifice for their safety.”

[...]

[Pain shoots through your heart, sharper than the bite wound]

“...You humans are not very loyal, are you…? I am guessing one was your lover…?”

[...]

[He sighs and his immense tail gives you a gentle squeeze]

“A terrible shame you told me that… They’re a month from being anywhere close to your precious, glittery surface. They may have made it… had they not hurt my Lovely.”

[Pause!]

“Shh… They can struggle, for now. I will whisper to my sister, the Queen of Storms, and ask her for a kind rain. You deserve a nice, fresh drink, my pet, and your friends deserve the horror of the cold pressing in on them. If they live, they live. If they die, then the cavern will take them.”

[Pause…]

“...Are you crying, little one?”

[...]

“...You wish to see me, now? As you wish.”

[He lets out a low hum from his throat and the room lights in a pale blue-white light, revealing your King. He’s astoundingly beautiful, with a long, serpentine tail ending in splayed frills and fins, and the upper body of a man. His lower half seems endless]

[SFX: A musical sting to indicate the water lighting up]

[Note: An accompanying musical sting to accompany the reveal is recommended but not required]

[...]

[He chuckles, eyes a pale silver with piercing, slitted, pale blue pupils]

“Yes… I suppose I am rather big. In this form, I have been estimated to be the size of… oh, what did that screaming man call it… colossal squid?”

[Pause!]

“Forty-five feet? Mmh, perhaps… Hmhm, wait…”

[He moves his tail so you’re pressed to his chest]

“Let me press you to my chest… Ha! Look at how small and vulnerable you are against me… Oh, poor love, you really do make my protective instincts kick in. Reminds me of when my handmaidens are laying their eggs. Even if the babes aren’t all mine, I still get quite…feral… if threats approach.”

[...]

“...It will be alright. You wish to see my world, and I shall do better. I shall give it to you if you allow me.”

[...]

[You look back up toward the surface briefly and your stomach sinks. The mere idea of going back makes you feel sick]

[Pause…]

“Good pet… Come. Let us make a room for you to rest in, and adjust to your new form.”

[He pauses, voice turning thoughtful. Gentle]

“...You are beautiful.”

[P-Pause]

“If you don’t believe me, I can show you. Here… Look into my right eye. I’ll slide the reflective lens out so you can see for yourself.”

[SFX: Them shifting in the water]

[You look into his eye, watching as the silver is replaced by a purely reflective surface. It’s still you… if you’d achieved your childhood dream of being a bipedal mermaid, of sorts]

[...]

“You see? Like one of those mermaids you humans love to obsess over, but with your human legs finned instead of fused into a tail]

[...]

[He blinks and then begins to shift his massive weight while you cling to his chest]

“Come now. Let me show you what beauty awaits in my kingdom.”

[...]

“I feel as though you will truly grow to love it.”

[...You sort of feel the same…]

[To be continued]