Some say the sea is the edge of the world, and beyond it, an empty dark expanse. A nothingness, an emptiness, a sea of scourge. Inside that Scourgesea are terrible aberrations, mangled creatures born from salt. Saltspawn. But the people of this world know that there are places beyond the darkness of the Scourgesea. There are illuminated places protected by the Lightkeepers and their Sanctuary Lighthouses. But when an urgent message pierces the Veil, it draws two worlds together: one, a haunted boy from the industrial slums of Altavista, his hands scarred by a dark secret, his past a weapon he can't control; the other, a girl from a quiet seaside town who dreams of becoming a hero, but lives in fear of the monstrous ocean. Pulled into a desperate war alongside a handful of other outcasts, they are chosen to pilot humanity's last defense—the Cthonauts, colossal titans of metal forged to combat the terrors in the deep. But they will soon discover that the secrets buried beneath the waves are far deadlier than the monsters that swim within them.

Requirements & Requests

Beta-reading and feedback

Comparable Stories:

Neon Genesis Evangelion, Attack on Titan, Pacific Rim, Mistborn

Trigger Warnings:

Gore, Religion,