The Abyss, humanity’s most advanced deep-sea submersible, descends ten thousand meters into the Mariana Trench, where it encounters something that defies all understanding: a living dragon. This colossal beast, described in ancient records as one that “swallows clouds and thunder, and shelters from fire,” is a miracle of deep-sea evolution. It rides updrafts like the wind, uses hydrogen produced inside its body to soar and hunt, and can even burst through the surface to gulp down storms and lightning for energy. Yet its immense vitality comes with a deadly taboo: fire.
The Abyss’s artificial flames accidentally ignite that taboo, and a violent explosion grievously wounds the dragon. The expedition team follows the burning scales it sheds into perilous territory, eventually reaching the beast’s burial ground, marked with a chilling warning: “Dragon’s Grave: Fire devours the soul; the abyss buries the bones.” A sample of “dragon’s blood” brought back from the depths reveals the secrets of extraordinary biological materials and energy mechanisms, instantly igniting greed around the world and drawing the covetous attention of the business giant NAT in particular.
Doubt, political undercurrents, and armed plunder follow in quick succession. NAT’s sonic weapons drive the dying dragon into a corner, triggering a brutal battle for survival ten thousand meters below the surface. Using hydrogen leaking from its own body as a weapon, the dragon launches a spectacular counterattack that destroys it along with its enemy. Gravely wounded and near death, it struggles back into the depths of the Dragon’s Grave.
Seeking redemption, the scientists risk a descent into the heart of the Dragon’s Grave, where they discover the astonishing symbiosis between the dragon and an extreme hydrothermal ecosystem. Using its symbiotic organism, the “Blue-Light Doctor,” they launch a life-saving operation codenamed “Firefly.” A faint dragon’s cry echoes through the abyss, a sign of hope that life can begin anew and a declaration that a long conversation and alliance, built on reverence, between humanity and this guardian of the deep has only just begun.
