The giant machine kraken, the Arena Warden, rose from the darkness like a mountain waking up. Its single, house-sized red eye locked onto the four tiny figures floating before it.
For a long moment, there was only a deep, humming silence. Then, it let out a roar. It wasn't a sound they heard with their ears, but a deep vibration that shook their bones and made the water itself tremble.
"Okay, new plan," Chris said, his voice a nervous squeak. "We leave the shiny rock and go home. Anyone with me?"
No one answered. They were too busy dodging.
Two of the Warden's massive tentacles shot forward with incredible speed. They weren't just tentacles; they were enormous, coiling metal arms, each one tipped with a spinning energy drill that whined as it tore through the water.
The drills slammed into the cavern floor right where the team had been floating, sending up a huge cloud of rock and silt.
