text: The light from the surface was fading as Dr. David Lovering drifted towards the entrance of the grotto. The entrance resembled that of a gaping maw, swallowing the inky blackness of the ocean depths. Rocks on the ocean floor scaled upwards before Dr. Lovering, reaching jagged points at their zeniths. The rocks lined the cave opening along the bottom, and the ceiling of the cave entrance mirrored the floor; sharp conical spires of rutted gray stone unevenly dotted the ceiling above the entrance. The task before Dr. Lovering was simple: Explore the cave and discover the source of the strange radiation that seemed to originate from somewhere within. David had been on many deep sea dives before, but he had done very few alone, and he couldn’t help but feel slightly on edge. He was no stranger to the deep blue and its inhabitants, but he couldn’t help but feel a sense of overwhelming awe before the great aperture that seemed to yawn before him, like the welcoming jaws of a great white. Before crossing the threshold into the cavern, David took one last look to the surface and basked in what last little bit of dying moonlight he could. The rays just barely managed to pierce the briny deep, casting lines of pouring light that stood stark against the black backdrop of the expansive open ocean, where for fleeting seconds, bits of debris and plankton glided past and became visible before disappearing into the dark just as quickly as they had appeared. Further up above, David could see the surface swelling, the moonlight reflecting off, and how it created what resembled diamonds glinting and shimmering, swelling and receding with the push and pull of the sea. David stared skyward for a few short moments that felt much longer than he knew them to be. Was he stalling, or sincerely enraptured with what occupied his focus? Not even David knew, but he decided whichever it was, enough was enough. He turned and kicked his legs, and felt the rush of water past his ears as he headed into the deep unknown of the grotto. Making his way past the stalagmites that lined the entrance, Dr. Lovering procured a large yellow diving light from the belt of his wetsuit and felt the firm ka-chunk of the on switch being pressed. A wide beam of bright white light lit his path as he ventured into the expanse of the cave that lay before him, like the cold interior of a cathedral, ancient and pristine. The walls of the cave seemed to expand outwards, becoming ever more lifeless as he made his way further into the darkness; bits of coral and algae became sparser as the walls stretched on, and David felt the water become cool and stale, like the air in a basement. Swimming cautiously onwards, David shined his light around his surroundings, looking for anything unusual, which he quickly found. The normal seafloor rock began to slowly change color from a stone gray to a sort of pale, off-white. Swimming ahead, David observed that the walls of the cave had now become completely chalk white, and totally absent of flora or fauna of any description. Finding this rather odd, Dr. Lovering extended a wetsuit-clad hand and felt the ground, noting the unusual smoothness. Most sea floor caves (in David’s experience anyway), were made of craggy, almost porous rock, nothing like the smooth white surface that he found so curiously unnatural. Preoccupied with the strange composition of the cavern, it took David a minute to notice the brightening cyan light that appeared ahead of him. It was quite faint; in fact it was barely noticeable, but as Dr. Lovering drifted onwards, approaching the luminosity of the mysterious blue light, it only became stronger and brighter, eventually filling the cave with an almost palpable atmosphere of understated yet awe-inspiring power. **This must be it.** The pale white cavern walls reflected the blue light and now all sides of the grotto around David now appeared radiant, to the point where he no longer needed his diving light, which he switched off and placed back on his utility belt. Approaching an opening in the end of the long tunnel that he had been traversing, Dr. Lovering drew a long breath on his respirator before nervously peeking his head out into the chamber from which the mysterious blue radiance seemed to radiate, hands gripping the rim of the tunnel opening. Squinting in the direct exposure to the blinding blue glow, David was convinced he was hearing things. *What is it you seek? Knowledge? Understanding? Or are you simply acting on instinct, like a moth before a flame? Who are you to enter my domain? Should I reveal my exact nature, would you truly comprehend?* The might of the aqua glare seemed to ignite the water in the chamber, and David felt a force pull at the suction on his goggles. The white spherical chamber’s walls danced with oscillating blue shapes that reflected the aura of the glowing object, which David struggled to see in the brightness. Having adjusted to the light, David’s eyes made out what looked like a cross-legged figure, which was either the source of the blazing sapphire light, or a resident thereof. Either way, Dr. Lovering was not at all sure what he was looking at, and was understandably completely terrified. The figure had four long arms and was very skinny. Its eyes were the same milky color of the cavern, yet their blankness did not convey anything other than overpowering knowledge and wisdom. It remained suspended in a state of neutral buoyancy in the middle of the chamber, floating in a meditating pose, legs crossed and arms extended and slightly bent. Lost in the wonder of the spectacle he was beholding, David failed to notice himself drifting towards the azure being, and found himself feeling completely numb; he began to see double and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. *You exist in a corporeal state, purely sensory. Superficial, primitive. The nature of your existence is nothing compared to mine. I am endless.* Endless? *Endless, child. I was there when the hands of men built the first cities. I will be their when the hubris of their descendants burn the cities down.* Am I dead? *You are free.