The wind had changed.
It carried salt, yes—but something else, too. A hum. A warning.
Ankit stood at the prow, his eyes narrowed against the rising mist that crept along the sea. The sun was low, half-swallowed by dark clouds forming on the horizon.
Behind him, Shanks was lazily drawing a mustache on a sleeping crewmate's face using squid ink.
"Oi, Ankit," Shanks called. "You're acting like we're heading to our doom instead of a treasure spot!"
Ankit didn't respond right away. His fingers hovered just above the hilt of his right blade, and his eyes didn't leave the growing fogbank in front of them.
"We're being followed," he said at last.
Shanks blinked, straightening. "How sure?"
"Seventy percent."
"So you're unsure."
"I said seventy, not fifty. That's confidence with a cautious margin."
Shanks chuckled, drawing his own saber and resting it against his shoulder. "Alright, Mister Cautious Margin, what's our plan?"
"Stick to the edge of Siren Reef. If it's an ambush, they'll expect us to cut through the middle."
"Smart." Shanks nodded, then added, "Or maybe they expect us to expect that."
Ankit sighed. "Let's just not sink."
🌫️ Siren Reef.
A place not marked on most maps, but whispered about in harbors by men missing fingers and friends. A cluster of jagged stone teeth rising out of the sea like the ribs of a dead god.
They say ships vanish here—not because of monsters, but because of songs.
As the mist thickened, Ankit could hear them now—soft notes, like a woman humming just beneath the waterline.
[System Status Alert: Sensory Manipulation Detected]
Siren-Class Hazard. Audio Lure Type.
Recommendation: Engage resistance training mode.
"Seal your ears!" Ankit called.
But the youngest crewman, Dax, had already dropped to his knees. He stared over the side, eyes glassy, lips twitching as if to sing back.
"DAX!" Shanks leapt, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him back. The boy's mouth opened, and a strange melody spilled out—not his own.
Shanks smacked him across the face.
The boy blinked, startled back into himself.
Ankit reached into his coat and pulled out cotton, jamming it into his ears. He tossed a handful to Shanks.
[System Update: Passive Resistance Unlocked – "Iron Mind I"]
Even as the melodies tried to tangle in his skull like vines, Ankit moved forward. The sea around the reef bubbled.
And then they rose.
Figures from the water—not human. Gray, fishlike, long-finned with milky eyes and mouths too wide for their faces. Webbed hands. Coral spears.
Ankit had only read of them in legends.
"Siren Warriors," he muttered. "So they're real."
Shanks drew his blade, grinning. "You always say that right before someone tries to bite me."
The first siren launched its spear.
Ankit moved without hesitation.
His right sword deflected the spear. The left came up under the siren's exposed arm, slicing upward with precision. The sea sprayed red.
More sirens emerged—five, then ten.
Too many.
"Protect the crew!" Ankit shouted. "Don't get dragged underwater!"
The fight began.
Steel rang. Water splashed. Siren calls echoed in the mist.
Shanks spun through two attackers, laughing wildly.
Ankit fought differently—silent, focused. He moved with dual arcs of steel, flowing like wind between strikes.
[Combat Proficiency Rising: +0.3%]
"Twin Flash Step" Cooldown Reset
He stepped—then vanished—appearing behind another siren and cutting it down.
But they kept coming.
One leapt at his back.
Ankit turned too late—
—and then it exploded midair, pierced by three harpoons.
A new ship had arrived from behind the reef.
A tall woman stood at its bow, cloaked in violet sea silk and wielding a trident of polished bone.
She saluted with the shaft. "Permission to assist?"
Shanks blinked. "Who the hell are you?"
"Captain Zia of the Ghost Pearl," she said, her voice like wind-chimes. "And Sirens killed my sister."
She leapt from her ship and joined the fray.
By nightfall, the reef was littered with wounded sirens, drifting seafoam, and the heavy silence of victory.
The crew gathered on deck, exhausted but alive.
Zia stood near the helm, cleaning her trident.
Ankit approached her quietly.
"You know how to fight them."
"I've made it my purpose," she said, not looking up. "The reef isn't a myth. It's a hunting ground. Someone has been luring ships here—feeding the sirens."
Ankit frowned. "You mean someone human?"
Zia nodded grimly.
"A broker. Goes by the name 'Whale-Tongue'. Sells people to deep-sea tribes. He might be operating out of Sirenfall Island."
Ankit looked at Shanks, who was pretending not to eavesdrop.
"Well," the red-haired captain said, "sounds like we've got a new destination."
Ankit stared at the reef's edge.
This world was deeper than it appeared.
And the system? It hadn't even scratched the surface.
End of Chapter 4 – "Shadows Over Siren Reef"
Next: Chapter 5 – "The Island That Swallows Ships"