Gilbert's submarine broke through the crystalline layer and into open water on the other side.
The first thing I noticed was the dome.
It curved overhead like the sky itself had been pressed into glass, stretching so far in every direction that its edges blurred into the water beyond. Faint patterns rippled across its surface, slow and rhythmic, like the dome was breathing. Inside it, the water gave way to air, and the air was warm. Not warm like sunlight. Warm like a room someone had been living in for a very long time.
The second thing I noticed were the islands.
