An old, dusty, light brown book sits on one of the many shelves of the library. It's cover had mostly been worn away- alongside the author's name. All that was left was the title- perhaps, many years ago, it had been rather vivid, yet thankfully the information is still intact.. ----- THE CRIMSON DEEP: A Study of the Leviathan To understand the apex predator of our world, one must first look at the environment that sustains it. In the center of District 3 lies a massive lake of blood. While this is run-off from District 6's dead, the substance acts as a unique ecosystem for the most dangerous species known to humanity. Inside this thick, crimson expanse, the Leviathan thrives. These creatures are large, snake-like beings who give a haunting glow beneath the surface. Because the blood is heavily contaminated, most life forms here have evolved in unrealistic ways that would have seemed impossible to previous generations. Through my research at the facility, I have noted several disturbing biological traits of the Leviathan: . The Leviathan is entirely blind. Its entire face is comprised of a single, massive mouth. To compensate for its lack of sight, it has developed a highly sensitive ability to detect heat through the water . They feed on anything they can sense. Because they rely on heat signatures rather than sight, they frequently attack their own species in a frenzy . Many residents of District 3, often those who have grown up swimming in these polluted waters, attempt to hunt the Leviathan. However, there has never been a recorded successful hunt. Those who go out to the blood ocean rarely return, and they never bring back a catch. [Missing pages. It appears to have had been torn out in a rage-filled frenzy, leaving only a small part intact.] ...observed a rhythmic pulsing in the glow of the smaller specimens. It almost matches the ancient descriptions of 'divine radiance' mentioned in the banned texts of the Time-We-Do-Not-Mention. If these beings truly are the physical manifestations of our collective trauma, why do they look so much like... [The rest of the page was also torn, alongside several after.] ...In the facilities, we are taught that knowledge is the ultimate form of wealth. However, the common people hold onto a different kind of knowledge: superstition. There is a growing whisper among the laborers that the Leviathans are not merely animals. Rumors suggest they are fallen gods. According to this belief, they were sent to punish humanity for the wrongdoings that led to the Great War. The theory suggests that once our punishment is complete, these beings will be returned to the heavens. There is another theory, which states that they were the gods of Humanity, yet they each are more ridiculous than the last. As a researcher, I find the similarities between their glow and the stars visible from the roofs of District 1 to be... unsettling... [Another missing page. It appeared to have the same fate as the previous bunch.] ...if the Overseers are hiding the truth about the origin of the blood. If the Leviathans are gods, then the 'Angels' found in District 1 might be their messengers. The way the Leviathan consumes its own kind mirrors how humanity was forced into these districts. We are all eating each other in the dark. Whether the Leviathan is a biological mutation or a divine punisher, it remains the ultimate gatekeeper of the Crimson Deep. Until a hunt is successful and a body is brought to the facility for dissection, we can only watch the glow from the shore and wonder if we are looking at our past sins or our future masters.
