Midday – Open Sea – Two Days Later
The ocean had grown quieter since the harrowing encounter with the Tide Grave, but it was not a peaceful silence. It was the hush of a storm yet to be born, a pause pregnant with the weight of something ancient, undecided whether to stir or slumber. The waves lapped gently against The Seraph's Wake, their rhythm deceptively calm, as if the sea were holding its secrets close.
Kai Reven sat at the bow, his fingers trailing through the water. It was warm—too warm for the Eastern Sea's currents, a subtle warning that prickled his skin. The Tide Sigil on his chest pulsed faintly, its blue-silver glow a quiet reminder of the Starfin Seraph's presence within him. The logbook, tucked in his satchel, weighed heavier with each passing day, its scorched pages whispering of his mother, Naila Reven, and the Abyssal Ring that had claimed her.
Tess approached, wiping grease from her hands with a rag, her burnt-orange hair tied back in a messy knot. "We need to dock soon," she said, her voice edged with frustration. "The lower core chamber's overheating. If we don't give the ship a rest, we'll be swimming to the Ring."
Kai didn't turn, his eyes fixed on the endless expanse of sea. "How far to the nearest island?"
Ruin's voice answered from above, where he perched like a shadowed bird near the half-constructed crow's nest. His black cloak fluttered in the wind, his bandaged eyes turned toward the horizon. "There's something westward. It's not on any map… but it's there."
Kai glanced up, his storm-gray eyes narrowing. "How do you know?"
Ruin tilted his head, as if listening to the wind's secrets. "The sea keeps turning away from it. Like it's trying to pretend it isn't there."
The words settled over the crew like a chill, amplifying the unease that clung to the warm air. Kai's grip tightened on the bow's edge, the Tide Sigil humming softly. The ocean was vast, but it was not empty. Something waited beyond the horizon, and he felt its pull as surely as he felt his mother's absence.
The Island
The island emerged like a wound in the sky, a jagged shadow stitched to the edge of the horizon. No birds circled its cliffs, no sails dotted its shores. The black sand beaches gleamed under the midday sun, their surface unnaturally smooth, as if polished by time itself. The trees that lined the cliffs were colorless, their leaves faded to a ghostly gray, swaying in a breeze that carried no sound.
The Seraph's Wake anchored near a broken pier, its timbers warped and splintered, half-claimed by the sea. Tess grimaced as she secured the ropes, her boots sinking into the black sand. "This place feels like a memory that's been… erased," she said, her voice quieter than usual, as if the island demanded reverence.
Ruin stepped onto the pier, his cane of folded tide-wood tapping lightly against the wood. He pressed his palm to the surface, and a faint hiss rose, like steam escaping a sealed wound. "This island had a name once," he said, his voice low, "but even the wind won't speak it now."
Kai stepped onto the shore, his bare feet sinking deeper than they should have, as if the ground hungered for more than just his weight. Each footprint left a faint ripple, like the sand was swallowing time itself. The Tide Sigil pulsed, a warning or a call, urging him forward. "Stay close," he said, his voice steady but laced with caution. "Whatever this place is, it's not abandoned."
The Village
Beyond the tree line lay the ruins of a village, its remnants scattered like bones across the landscape. Collapsed huts leaned into the earth, their roofs caved in, their walls choked with gray vines. Rotted ropes dangled from broken posts, swaying in the silent wind. A well at the village's center was filled not with water but with ash, its surface shimmering with an unnatural sheen.
Yet the air felt alive, as if it were listening, waiting. Kai's eyes caught a single symbol carved into a broken archway at the village's entrance—a tide rune, its lines distorted, as if warped by time or intent. He ran his fingers across it, feeling a faint vibration under his touch, like the echo of a scream trapped in stone.
"It's a warning," Ruin said, his bandaged eyes turned toward the rune.
"From who?" Tess asked, her hand resting on the hammer at her toolbelt.
Ruin didn't answer. Instead, a sound rose—a soft, haunting melody, barely audible, drifting from the far end of the ruins. It was a humming voice, young and fragile, yet carrying a weight that made the air shiver.
Kai moved first, his steps silent but purposeful, crossing the ruined street toward the sound. Tess followed, her tools clinking softly, her eyes scanning for threats. Ruin trailed behind, his fingers tracing spirit signs in the air, probing for traps or hidden currents.
They found her in the shell of a broken temple, its walls lined with shattered tide mirrors that reflected nothing but darkness. A girl, no older than seventeen, sat cross-legged on the stone floor, her eyes closed as she sang in a language the wind seemed to recognize. Her silver-white hair hung like threads of rain, cascading over her shoulders. Her feet hovered an inch above the ground, and where her shadow should have been, there was only a pool of rippling water.
Kai stepped forward, the Tide Sigil warming against his chest. "Who are you?"
The girl stopped singing. Her eyes opened, revealing irises like storm clouds, and the air around her trembled, as if reality itself flinched. "I am not a person anymore," she said softly, her voice carrying the weight of a thousand unsaid truths. "I'm the echo of what this island tried to forget."
Broken Truth
Her name was Lyra Skye, she told them, her voice barely above a whisper. Once a tide-dancer from the floating city of Selverin, she had bonded with a wind-spirit called the Storm Falcon. But when Selverin was sunk by the Abyssal Court—a shadowy force whispered of in sailor's tales—something went wrong. Her spirit survived, but her body had… changed. She was tethered to this island, a half-ghost bound to its ruins, unable to leave.
"I crawled out of the wreckage," she said, her eyes distant, "but I'm not whole. The island holds me, like it holds its own secrets."
Kai studied her, his gaze steady but soft. "Do you want to leave?"
Lyra's storm-cloud eyes met his, searching for something—hope, perhaps, or sincerity. "Do you want to carry someone who's half-ghost?"
A faint smile tugged at Kai's lips, the first since they'd left Isle-47X. "We're already ghosts," he said. "Just the kind that sail."
Tess snorted, leaning against a broken pillar. "You've got a way with words, spirit-boy." But her eyes softened as she looked at Lyra, a flicker of understanding passing between them.
Ruin remained silent, his fingers still tracing invisible patterns, as if listening to the island's pulse. "The sea does not forget," he said at last. "And neither does she."
The Pact
As dusk fell, the island began to tremble, a low rumble rising from the earth. The air grew heavy, the sky flashing with a single streak of violet lightning that tore through the clouds like a warning. Lyra's eyes widened, her silver hair lifting as the wind stirred around her, wild and restless. The Storm Falcon within her awoke, its presence a whirlwind barely contained.Tess shouted, pointing
Tess shouted, pointing toward the bay. "Something's rising from the water!"
A creature clawed its way to the shore, its form twisted by abyssal energy. Its body was a mass of writhing shadows, its bones adorned with bells that hung silent, their chimes swallowed by the sea. Its hollow eyes glowed with a sickly light, and the air around it reeked of decay.
Kai's Tide Sigil flared, its blue light spiraling up his arms. He turned to Lyra, his voice cutting through the rising wind. "Now or never. Are you part of this crew?"
Lyra closed her eyes, the wind howling around her like a war-cry from a forgotten god. Silver feathers materialized, swirling in a tempest of her own making. "Then let the sky scream," she said, her voice steady and fierce.
She launched herself at the beast, arrows of thunder bursting from her outstretched hands, piercing its shadowed form. The wind roared, amplifying her attack, tearing at the creature's bones and scattering its bells into the sea. The Seraph's Wake rocked in the bay, its hull groaning under the force of the storm Lyra unleashed.
Kai raised his hands, the Starfin Seraph's power surging through him. Waves rose, crashing against the creature, their force blending with Lyra's thunder. Tess braced the ship, shouting orders to secure the sails, while Ruin whispered spirit signs, guiding the tides to protect their vessel. Together, they were a storm of their own, unyielding and fierce.
Chapter 4 ends.