EPISODE 11: THE WATCH ## CHAPTER 1: THE DAILY ROUNDS Three thousand feet below the North Sea, Harper makes their rounds. It's become a routine now—as much as anything can be routine when you're a consciousness distributed across an ancient structure, a being that exists simultaneously in flesh and in something far older. Every day (or what passes for day in the eternal darkness), Harper visits each of the three seals. The first seal is Margaret's. Harper approaches it with reverence. The seal manifests as a door of living light, pulsing with the consciousness of the woman who chose to become its heart. Through their connection to the entity, Harper can feel Margaret's awareness—not quite awake, not quite asleep, but something in between. A vigilance that never wavers. How are you? Harper asks. The response comes as feeling rather than words. Peace. Purpose. Contentment. And underneath it all, a fierce protectiveness that hasn't dimmed since the day Margaret Cross died on the floor of Hadal Deep. The prisoner? A flash of imagery—the seal holding, the darkness on the other side pressing against the light, probing for weakness. Finding none. Still trying, Harper interprets. Still failing. A sensation that feels almost like a smile. Good. Keep up the good work. Harper moves on. The second seal is Brennan's. The engineer...