Song of the Sea

There wasn't supposed to be an island in these waters.

Gorran squinted through the mist, one hand pressed to his churning stomach. "What do you see with that spyglass, Captain?"

"This fog's thicker than stew… I can't make out a thing. Let me take the helm—bring us closer so we can see." Blacktide replied.

Ardent's voice was grim. "Blacktide… is it the same one you spoke of? The monster you claimed to have seen?"

The captain lowered his head for a moment, his jaw tightening. "The one I saw towered twice the height of this ship. Limbs like masts, heads like a hydra. This… this looks smaller. But I'll not trust appearances."

He gripped the helm himself, steering the ship cautiously forward. Around him, steel rasped as the others loosened weapons from their sheaths, ready for the worst.

Blacktide raised the spyglass again. "…Movement. Shapes. On the island."

"Where's Alvis?" Ardent growled.

"Below deck sleeping," someone answered.

"Go bring him," Ardent told Kazuki without looking away from the shore.

Kazuki dashed off, but before he returned, the fog shifted, and the figures on the island grew clearer.

They weren't monsters.

They were women.

Five of them, standing on the shore. And not just women—beauties, radiant. The haze curled around them, yet their figures gleamed sharp and clear, as if the sea itself wanted them seen. Hair flowing like rivers of gold and obsidian, faces that seemed carved from a poet's dream, eyes glinting even across the distance. They lifted their hands, waving, smiling sweetly as if greeting long-lost lovers.

A low whistle broke from one of the younger sailors. Then another. Soon, a ripple of excitement coursed through the crew.

Zephyr's eyes narrowed. "Why would women be here?"

The captain's face darkened. "This does not bode well."

His hands twisted the helm sharply, spinning the ship to turn away from the island. The hull groaned as it shifted course.

And then—

The women opened their mouths.

The sound that spilled out was not laughter, not words, but song.

A haunting melody rose over the waves, weaving into the mist like invisible chains— half melody, half breath. Sweet, yearning, achingly beautiful, wrapping itself around every man's ears. Each note promised warmth, love, ecstasy. A low hum threaded beneath the voices, rising and falling like the tide, pulling them deeper into its embrace.

The men froze. Their jaws slackened. Some dropped their weapons entirely. Blacktide let go of the helm, halting the ship.

Just as Kazuki returned with Alvis, his own eyelids grew heavy. The deck swayed beneath his feet, the world softening into a dream half-remembered. So warm… so close… just a little further…

A splash cut through the trance. The lookout had leapt straight from the crow's nest, plunging into the sea below. The crew gasped—but before anyone could act, one of the women from the island was already swimming toward him, her hair gleaming like gold under the mist. She wrapped her arms around him tenderly, lips meeting his in a long kiss… and then dragged him under.

The water turned red.

Kazuki blinked drowsily, struggling to make sense of it. All around him, the other men swayed on their feet, faces slack, eyes glazed. Even Captain Blacktide had both hands white-knuckled on the helm, steering straight toward the island.

"Kazuki!" Zephyr's voice cut through, sharp as steel. "Snap out of it—!"

But her words didn't reach him. His legs had already begun to carry him toward the rail, drawn to the song.

"By the Gods…" Maeryn whispered, horrified, clutching at Gorran's massive shoulders. "They're bewitched. All of them!"

"Not us," Zephyr shouted, spinning toward her. "The song only affects the men. Don't let them off this ship!"

The twins shot into the air, ropes in their hands. They looped lines around crewmates, yanking them back as they stumbled toward the edges. One by one, the men struggled like drunks, their eyes fixed only on the island.

"Ardent!" one of the twins cried. The swordsman had launched himself from the rigging, rope swinging, aiming to leap toward the women. Both twins caught him midair, straining as they dragged him back, teeth gritted.

Maeryn's heart wrenched as Gorran shoved against her with raw strength, his bulk almost impossible to restrain. "No! Stay with me—please!" But his face was slack, eyes glassy, feet dragging toward the edge. In desperation, she whispered, "I'm sorry, my love…" Then flames burst from her hands, hurling him backward with a searing blast. His skin singed, the spell's pain snapping him down, though he still fought against her grip.

Alvis took in the chaos at once—the men stumbling like drunkards, Maeryn burning her own love to hold him back, the twins straining with Ardent’s weight. With a sweep of his hands, light flashed, and chains of magic erupted across the deck, binding Kazuki and Gorran hard against the mast. The ship shook with their struggling.

"Attack them now!" Alvis commanded pointing at the island.

Maeryn whirled and unleashed her fire toward the island, the blasts breaking apart the song's sweet notes. The twins followed suit, their magic striking the fog.

Meanwhile, Zephyr sprinted to the quarterdeck. The captain's hands twisted the wheel toward the island, bewitched. She seized his head with both hands, eyes blazing. "You will not obey them. Turn this ship away!"

For a moment, his body shuddered, fighting her will. Then his eyes flared white. With a roar, he spun the helm, and the ship veered away from the island.

The voices faltered. The lullaby broke into sharp, ugly notes. One by one, the men gasped awake, as if breaking free from a drowning dream.

Blacktide staggered, blinking. "W-what in hells happened?"

"Keep steering!" Zephyr replied. "Get us as far from that cursed rock as you can!"

Below, Alvis finished unbinding the last of the crew. The women gathered, demanding answers. "How were you not affected?" Zephyr pressed him.

Alvis smirked grimly and pulled something from his pocket. Two small, live snails.

"I lost my hearing a hundred years ago. These snails help me hear during the day. At night I take them out. When Kazuki woke me in a rush earlier… I forgot to put them back in."

The twins gagged. "Ew, that's disgusting!"

Maeryn shook her head and exhaled. "Disgusting or not, it saved us. Thank you."

Kazuki, still rattled, climbed to the quarterdeck and looked back. Through the thinning fog, the island's silhouette loomed, strange and wrong. His chest was heavy with shame.

Zephyr rushed to his side. "Are you alright?"

His head hung low. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help you when you needed me most. I was useless."

She lifted his chin gently. "You were controlled. It wasn't your fault."

Her lips curved into a teasing whisper. "Though… I give you all that, and you still let yourself get seduced by a few voices? Truly needy, aren't you?"

Kazuki let out a faint laugh, holding her tighter.

But far away, in a chamber swallowed by shadow, the cloaked figure swirled the surface of the bowl of water. The image of the ship shimmered within, fog and waves churning in miniature.

Above the real waters, clouds covered the sky. Winds howled without warning, lashing the sails.

Waves slammed against the hull, tossing the ship violently as rain sheeted down from nowhere.

“Where did this storm come from?!” Blacktide said while gripping the helm tighter.

Zephyr held Kazuki, but his eyes flew wide. He felt it—an instant before it happened.

He shoved her back.

A sharp thwonk. His body jerked. His breath left him in a gasp, eyes wide as blood spread across his chest. A harpoon had pierced him clean through.

"Ka—Kazuki!" Zephyr screamed, catching him as his knees buckled.

Water churned violently at the ship's stern. Rising from the black waves came a shape. A woman's upper body, pale and scaled, melded into the coils of a monstrous serpent. Her eyes burned crimson as she sneered.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

Behind her, the "island" moved.

The crew's screams filled the storm as the false island rose higher—an enormous body heaving upward, like a slumbering giant waking from the sea. A mountain of flesh and barnacle-crusted countless limbs unfurled, six snarling heads tearing through the sky, its roar a banshee's scream that split the heavens.

The serpent-woman pulled another harpoon from her scale-like skin, her voice booming above the storm.

"I am Serika Rauthaer, ruler of the Abyss—scourge of these waters."

She gestured to the towering beast, her smile cruel.

"Behold… Scylla, Devourer of the Sea of Mourning."