A pale, frail looking young man who was too thin sat across the desk from a tall, lithe imposing woman, wearing what seemed to be a full set of... diving gear.
The man was disoriented as he was harshly debriefed by the woman about his job, and what his task would be.
"You have no other choice. It was either join the dive teams, or die. Am I correct?"
The young man threw her a hateful glance, before responding.
"What makes you think I'd follow your idiotic tasks, even if I joined the dive team? Why not just ki-"
The man was quickly shut up as the woman kicked him off of his chair, contempt flaring in her eyes.
The man reeled in pain, the harsh material of the diving suit only amplifying the impact.
"Do you seriously think you're more competent than those divers? A nobody like you, committing petty crimes until you finally bit off more than you could chew? Pathetic."
'Agh... Why can she kick so hard? And did she have to kick with the tip of her boots...'
The man could only watch. If he were to retaliate, he knew it wouldn't end well for him. He knew it was stupid to be so openly hateful, but he had no choice.
He had people to take care of. Bills to pay.
The woman cleared her throat as she grabbed him, pulling him back up and sitting him down forcefully in the chair.
'No need to be so rough, lady...' The young man thought as she continued.
"Be glad I even give you the courtesy of sitting here in my office, instead of in a jail cell."
There was a reason the man was being so hateful. He wanted to try getting a different sentence. After all, who'd want to deal with someone as troublesome as he was? However, this only landed him in more trouble, eventually getting him assigned to... whatever this place was.
'A dive team? Really? I should've just been executed mercifully.'
"Your only task is to scout out the leagues, and to survive against the creatures of the depths. I see here you have a sister to care for, no? Is that not how you ended up like this? This job pays well, and it's better than a death sentence. Slightly."
The man knew full well what joining a diving team entailed, at least somewhat. His buddies from the slums would join, flaunting their newly acquired money, and the taste of freedom, before he never saw them again. Everyone knew why they disappeared, which is why rarely anyone joined the diving teams.
Exploring the leagues was a fast track to death, even if you were prepared. The job paid well, sure. But you can't do anything with money if your dead. The creatures from the leagues were simply legends for the people living on the few pieces of land remaining.
For the man however, there was no choice. The government would take death row inmates who agreed, and would send them on expeditions, not caring for the results. As long as they got their data and video footage, it was not of their concern what happened to the inmates.
'Maybe I can try escaping mid expedition? Or perhaps I can conquer a league... Who am I kidding. I have to accept, and just try to survive. Do the bare minimum.'
"Fine. I accept. It's not like I have any other choice."
The woman smirked as she slid the paperwork into his hands, a look of glee igniting in her expression.
"Well then, we'll be glad to have you aboard. Welcome to Dive Team #3, inmate."
***
When the oceans suddenly began rising, nobody was prepared. Entire cities were evacuated, governments and corporations quickly rushed to make statements, as families rushed to find the tallest pieces of land.
Brutal wars were fought for territory, and countless bodies painted the serene ocean a hue of red, as the tides slowly encroached upon human civilization.
Eventually, the wars amongst humans died down. However, this was only out of necessity. Various sea creatures - now called creatures of the Leagues - emerged from the depths, which quickly tipped the scales of survival against humanity.
This quickly simplified the path for humanity. It was either unite against the creatures, or perish.
Among these forces fighting against the creatures, certain people developed mystical powers after vanquishing certain zones, now known as Leagues. These champions drove the creatures back, creating a path for humanity to thrive.
Now, 20 years later, humanity had slowly adapted. They drove back the creatures daily, and focused all of their talent on conquering the sea.
But for normal people, who's families didn't conquer leagues, or who simply didn't want to engage in the horrific wars against the creatures, life slowly worsened. Resources were centered around those who could participate in the fight against the creatures.
And as such, people like the young man were forced to work menial jobs until their death, or attempt to brave the Leagues. For the young man, his only choice was the former, until he pissed off the wrong people.
***
The man covered his eyes with his hands as he was lead by security into a vast see-through dome, the sunlight shining harshly into the water as coral covered the surrounding landscape.
"...And here we are! Welcome to the Divers base of operations! Pretty nice, right?"
The figure who was speaking appeared in front of the young man, with a vibrant energy that should've been snuffed out by the Leagues. It made the young man wary, if not suspicious of the figure.
"Welcome to base Nightfall! We have all the amenities you'll ever need. They may not be high quality... but it's better than nothing, right?"
The man's eyes slowly adjusted to the harsh sunlight, as he looked more closely at his guide. His guide was an older man, with a distinguished look. But hiding in his eyes was a gloom that wasn't quite hidden.
"You've been assigned to Dive Team #3, correct?"
The young man nodded, a resigned look in his eyes.
"Great! Don't worry about leader Stelle, she's a real softie if you get to know her. She's one of those types..."
The young man had a dubious look in his eyes.
'Softie? Really?' The man could hardly believe that after what she did to him in that office, just to get him to sign the contract. However, his fate was sealed, so he chose to just accept the guide's words.
"I'll show you to your quarters, get you acquainted with your fellow divers, before we send you out on your practice dive. Shouldn't be too bad."
The young man simply continued walking. As he walked, he continued to observe his surroundings.
Base Nightfall had an industrial feel, with gridded metal floors leading onto various different paths. As he walked, he could see people of various professions rushing around the base, always busy. From researchers, to distinguished divers, everyone had a task to perform. Various machines beeped and whirred, as they made their way through the dome.
He also observed the surroundings outside of the glass that formed the dome. Around him, the sea was picture perfect, nearly resembling the beaches that humanity used to use for their enjoyment. For a moment, he could convince himself that he was merely taking a stroll as he looked at the coral, colorful and thriving.
'Beautiful...'
As the young man finished his thought, he was suddenly stopped at a set of tall, imposing steel doors by his guide.
"Here we are! Just head on inside, and get to know your crew. We'll get you your diving gear in the mean time, alright?"
The man nodded as he entered the steel doors, fully resigning himself to his fate. As the doors closed behind him, he observed his surroundings.
He was surrounded by various facilities. There was 4 beds to the front of him, seemingly tucked into the walls, forming a compartment-like shape.
As he observed his new quarters, he heard the burly voice of a man call out to him.
"Hey, new guy."
He turned to observe the figure, laying in their bed as if nothing was wrong.
"You an inmate too, I presume. You don't look so happy to be here."
The figure's outline was huge, his frame barely fitting into the bed, with an imposing air that surrounded him.
"Uh... yeah. I got forced to be here, too."
The figure's imposing air seemingly lightened, as he got out of his bed to shake the young man's hand.
"The name's Llyr. What's yours?"
The young man paused for a moment, watching Llyr's outstretched hand, before he took it.
"I'm Halloran. It's nice to meet you, Llyr..."
Llyr smiled as he shook Halloran's hand.
"Well, Halloran, welcome to Dive Team #3. Let's see if we can survive our dives long enough to get outta here, aye?"