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Chapter 1 - Treasure Island — by Robert Louis Stevenson

Chapter 1: The Old Sea-Dog at the "Admiral Benbow"

Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17— and go back to the time when my father kept the Admiral Benbow inn and the brown old seaman with the sabre cut first took up his lodging under our roof.

He was a tall, strong, heavy, nut-brown man, his tarry pigtail falling over the shoulder of his soiled blue coat, his hands ragged and scarred, with black broken nails, and the sabre cut across one cheek, a dirty, livid white. I remember him as if it were yesterday, as he came plodding to the inn door, his sea-chest following behind him in a hand-barrow—a tail of a man walking beside it and propping it up with one hand while he lifted it with the other.

He was looking round the cove and up at our signboard as he went, and then he sang out a kind of song.

"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest—Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"

in the high, old tottering voice that seemed to have been tuned and broken at the capstan bars.

Then he rapped on the door with a bit of stick like a handspike that he carried, and when my father appeared, called roughly for a glass of rum. This, when it was brought to him, he drank slowly, like a connoisseur, lingering on the taste and still looking about him at the cliffs and up at our signboard.

"This is a handy cove," says he at length; "and a pleasant sittyated grog-shop. Much company, mate?"

My father told him no, very little company, the more was the pity.

"Well, then," said he, "this is the berth for me. Here you, matey," he cried to the man who trundled the barrow; "bring up alongside and help up my chest. I'll stay here a bit," he continued. "I'm a plain man; rum and bacon and eggs is what I want, and that head up there for to watch ships off. What you mought call me? You mought call me captain. Oh, I see what you're at—there;" and he threw down three or four gold pieces on the threshold. "You can tell me when I've worked through that," says he, looking as fierce as a commander.

Chapter 2: Black Dog Appears and Disappears

It was not very long after this that there occurred the first of the mysterious events that rid us at last of the captain, though not, as you will see, of his affairs. It was a bitter cold day, the ground covered with a thin snow, the cove all gray with a mist, and the rippling of the incoming tide low and muffled. The captain had risen earlier than usual and set out down the beach, his cutlass swinging under the long skirts of his coat and his brass telescope under his arm. I remember his breath hanging like smoke in his wake as he strode off, and the last sound I heard of him as he turned the big rock was the sharp tapping of his stick.

It was plain, from the first, that he was one of those men who could be left alone in a place. Yet he never seemed to want company; he was always studying the sea and horizon. All the time he lived with us, the captain neither wrote nor received a letter, and he never spoke with anyone but the occasional seafaring man who stopped at the inn.

One day, however, a stranger came looking for him. I remember it was early afternoon, when the sea was calm and the sun bright. The stranger was a pale, tallowy creature, who looked like a beggar-man in rags. He came hobbling up the road with a stick and asked for "a seafaring man with one leg." I told him we had no such man, but he persisted, and when I described the captain, his face darkened.

"Black Dog," he said suddenly. "Is he here?"

I said I didn't know such a person.

"Well," said he, "if you see him, tell him Black Dog was here to speak with him. And he'll know what that means."

Shortly after that, the captain returned and heard the name. His reaction was swift and violent. He demanded to know who had come asking for him and stormed about the inn in anger.

Chapter 3: The Black Spot

About noon I stopped at the captain's room with some medicine. As I entered, he was sitting up in bed, his face flushed, and he looked much better than he had in days.

"Jim," he said, "you're a good boy. But this is not the end of it. That Black Dog—you heard of him, didn't you? He's bad. I knew his kind. He's a mate of a man worse than he—Bill Bones, they called me. Well, Black Dog's gone now, but there'll be others. They're hunting the map. The one in my sea chest. You hear me, boy?"

He paused, sweat gathering on his brow.

"They'll give me the black spot, that's what they'll do. That's the pirate's summons, Jim. The black spot!"

The "black spot" sounded ominous to me. I didn't know what it meant, but from the captain's expression, I knew it was something very bad.

That evening, the captain collapsed after a violent outburst. My mother and I tended to him, and the doctor was sent for. Dr. Livesey came quickly and gave him strong warnings to stop drinking or else it would kill him.

But before the captain could recover, something even worse happened.

A blind man came to the inn. He was led in by a boy and had a menacing air. He demanded to be taken to the captain. I was afraid, but I led him in.

"Take his left hand," he said to me, and he pressed something into it—a piece of paper, black on one side.

The blind man laughed and disappeared.

The captain looked at the paper. His hands shook.

"It's the black spot!" he gasped.

He read the message on the back: "You have till ten tonight."

In a panic, he tried to get up, but it was too late. He gave a cry and fell face first to the floor—dead.

Chapter 4: The Sea Chest

The captain was dead.

My mother and I stood in shock. But we knew we had to act quickly. He had warned us about the sea chest and the men who would come looking for it.

We decided to go through the captain's belongings to find anything that could explain the danger. Inside his sea chest, under piles of dirty clothes, tobacco, and coins, we found a bundle of papers wrapped in oilskin—and a canvas bag of gold.

"This must be what they're after," said my mother. "We'll take the money he owed us, and no more."

She insisted on being fair, counting out the coins carefully. But time was running out. We could hear footsteps outside.

Suddenly, we heard the sound of many men approaching the inn. Pirates.

We had just enough time to grab the papers and run out the back door. We hid under a bridge while the gang burst into the Admiral Benbow Inn, smashing and shouting.

Among them was the blind man, who seemed to be their leader. They tore the place apart, searching for the captain's map.

"Flint's fist!" one of them shouted. "The papers are gone!"

The blind man screamed in rage and began hitting the others with his cane. In their fury and confusion, they missed us.

Just then, revenue officers (local law enforcement) arrived—startled by the commotion. The pirates fled, but in their escape, the blind man was accidentally trampled by his own gang and killed.

At sunrise, I delivered the bundle of papers to Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney. Together, they unwrapped the oilskin packet and found…

A map.A real treasure map.The exact location of Captain Flint's buried treasure.

Chapter 5: The Last of the Blind Man

The next morning, Dr. Livesey, Squire Trelawney, and I sat down to examine the papers we had found in the captain's sea chest.

The main document was a treasure map, clearly drawn and labeled:

"Treasure Island" written boldly at the top.

Marks showing the location of buried treasure.

Notes written in the hand of Captain Flint, the infamous pirate.

And the words: "Bulk of treasure here."

The map included instructions for navigating the island, as well as symbols marking where the treasure was hidden—near a hill called the Spy-glass.

Squire Trelawney was thrilled.

"We'll go at once!" he shouted. "A ship, a crew, and we'll be rich, gentlemen!"

He was so excited that he began making plans immediately to sail for the island and dig up the treasure. Dr. Livesey agreed, but warned that they must be careful—this was pirate treasure, after all, and dangerous men might try to claim it.

"Flint may be dead," said the doctor, "but his men are still alive. And they'll want their share."

Within days, Squire Trelawney had begun making arrangements in Bristol, a port city, to buy a ship and hire a crew. He sent word that I, Jim Hawkins, should join them soon.

It was all happening so fast—my quiet life at the inn had turned into the beginning of a real pirate adventure. I was going to sea.

Chapter 6: The Captain's Papers

A few days after the events at the inn, I went with Dr. Livesey to visit Squire Trelawney at his estate. There, we met and discussed the treasure map in more detail.

Dr. Livesey and the squire decided to keep the matter secret, so that no one untrustworthy would learn of the treasure. Still, Squire Trelawney—being a talkative man—found it hard to stay silent.

"Livesey," he said, "you are the only man who can judge character. You must help choose the crew. I will go to Bristol, buy a ship, and get us ready to sail."

So it was agreed:

Squire Trelawney would handle the ship and crew.

Dr. Livesey would be the ship's doctor.

I, Jim Hawkins, would come as a cabin boy and witness.

We were going to Treasure Island.

Chapter 7: I Go to Bristol

Some weeks later, I received a letter from Squire Trelawney, who had gone ahead to Bristol to prepare.

Here's what he wrote (paraphrased):

"I have found a fine ship, the Hispaniola, and a captain I trust—Captain Smollett. I've also hired a cook named Long John Silver, a one-legged man, but he's as good a fellow as ever I met!"

Reading that line made me nervous. I remembered the old pirate captain at the inn warning me to beware of a one-legged man. Could this be the same one?

Still, I traveled to Bristol at once and found Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey busy with preparations. The ship was nearly ready. The crew was gathered. And Long John Silver was already helping out—friendly, talkative, and well-liked by everyone.

He owned a tavern near the docks, and when I met him, he greeted me kindly.

"Ah, young Hawkins!" he said, gripping my hand. "Glad to have you aboard!"

I watched him carefully, but there was no sign of danger. He joked and limped around on his wooden leg like it was nothing. I couldn't be sure… but something about him didn't feel right.

Still, the crew liked him, and the squire trusted him.

And so, the Hispaniola was almost ready to set sail.

Chapter 8: At the Sign of the "Spy-glass"

I met Long John Silver at his tavern, the Spy-glass Inn. He was cheerful, witty, and everyone loved him. I had been warned about a one-legged man, but he didn't seem dangerous. Still, something about him didn't feel right.

As we left the inn, I noticed a man running away after seeing Silver—Black Dog, the pirate who once came to the Admiral Benbow Inn! I told Silver. He pretended to be surprised and angry that a "scoundrel" like that had been in his tavern.

I still wasn't sure if Silver was good or bad—but he was clever. Very clever.

Chapter 9: Powder and Arms

We prepared to set sail. Captain Smollett voiced concerns:

He didn't trust the crew.

He was suspicious about the secrecy of the voyage.

He disliked that everyone knew it was a treasure hunt.

Still, the ship was loaded with weapons, powder, and food. The treasure map was kept secret by only Dr. Livesey, Squire Trelawney, and me.

Captain Smollett seemed strict but wise. He demanded all weapons be locked up until needed.

Chapter 10: The Voyage

We set sail, and at first, the voyage was smooth.

The crew, especially those recruited by Long John Silver, worked well. Silver himself was always talking, joking, and cooking fine meals. The men loved him.

But I noticed him speaking secretly with a group of sailors. He had a strange way of commanding respect without being obvious.

One day, I overheard a sailor named Israel Hands whispering to Silver. The way they spoke told me something was wrong…

Chapter 11: What I Heard in the Apple Barrel

One night, I climbed into an empty apple barrel for a snack—and heard everything.

Long John Silver was a pirate—and the leader of a mutiny!

He told the men how he'd been part of Captain Flint's crew, how they would wait until the treasure was found, then take over the ship and kill us all.

"Dead men don't bite," Silver said coldly.

I stayed hidden and heard their whole plan. As soon as I could, I ran to warn Dr. Livesey and the others.

Chapter 12: Council of War

I told Dr. Livesey, Squire Trelawney, and Captain Smollett everything I had heard.

They believed me right away.

"We must act fast," said the captain. "But let them make the first move."

We decided to stay silent and pretend we knew nothing, so we could catch the pirates off guard when the time came.

Now it was a dangerous waiting game…

Chapter 13: How I Began My Adventure on the Island

Land in sight! After weeks at sea, we reached Treasure Island.

From the ship, it looked mysterious and wild—thick woods, hills, and a tall peak called the Spy-glass.

Captain Smollett allowed the crew to go ashore in small groups. Silver insisted on leading the first boatload.

I asked to go too—not to explore, but to escape and try to learn more.

Once on the island, I ran into the trees—alone, and not sure what I'd find.

Chapter 14: The First Blow

On the island, I wandered into the forest while the pirates roamed freely. I saw Silver kill a crewman named Tom in cold blood—just for staying loyal to the captain.

I realized then: this was no game. Silver was ruthless. And the mutiny was real.

Frightened, I fled deeper into the woods.

Chapter 15: The Man of the Island

In the forest, I met a wild, ragged man named Ben Gunn. He had been marooned on the island by Flint's crew three years earlier.

He told me he knew where the treasure was—and would help us if we promised to take him home.

"I've not had Christian food in three years," he said, his eyes shining. "Not even a piece of cheese!"

Ben Gunn became my secret ally.

Chapter 16: Narrative Continued by the Doctor — How the Ship Was Abandoned

Now Dr. Livesey takes over the narration.

Back on the Hispaniola, the doctor and his group realized they needed to act fast before the pirates mutinied. They quietly moved all supplies and weapons ashore to a safe place they discovered—an old stockade built by Flint.

Then they abandoned the ship and took up position in the fort, waiting for the pirates to make their move.

Chapter 17: Narrative Continued by the Doctor — The Jolly-boat's Last Trip

To make sure the pirates couldn't sail away, they tried to cut the Hispaniola adrift.

Dr. Livesey, the squire, and a few men rowed a small boat to the ship. But the sea was rough, and the small boat nearly sank.

They just barely made it back to land—and now the pirates had no ship and no treasure.

Chapter 18: Narrative Continued by the Doctor — End of the First Day's Fighting

The pirates, furious at being tricked, attacked the stockade.

It was a fierce battle. Guns roared. Smoke filled the air.

Captain Smollett and the loyal crew fought bravely. Joyce, one of the good men, was killed. The rest held the fort—but the captain was wounded.

"We've beaten them off," the doctor said. "But it's far from over."

Chapter 19: Narrative Resumed by Jim Hawkins — The Garrison in the Stockade

I (Jim Hawkins) returned to the stockade and told the others about Ben Gunn.

We were low on food and water. The pirates were still nearby. And we didn't know when they would attack again.

Long John Silver approached the fort under a flag of truce. He offered a deal: hand over the map, and he would spare our lives.

Captain Smollett refused.

"If you come, come strong," he said. "If not, keep away."

Silver stormed off—and we knew the final battle was coming.

Chapter 20: Silver's Embassy

Later that day, Silver returned alone to speak with Captain Smollett again. This time, he tried to talk politely.

He claimed he was trying to keep the peace and that the other pirates were forcing him to act.

"Give us the map, and we'll let you live," he said.

Smollett stood firm. He refused the deal and sent Silver away empty-handed.

As Silver walked off, he warned:

"Them that die'll be the lucky ones."

Chapter 21: The Attack

The attack came early in the morning.

From within the stockade, we heard footsteps approaching. Captain Smollett had posted us all to our firing positions. Suddenly, a group of pirates stormed the fence, yelling like demons.

We fired.

The battle was fierce. The pirates charged again and again, some making it over the fence. Hunter was knocked unconscious. Captain Smollett was wounded badly in the side and arm.

But we fought them off.

Five of the enemy lay dead or dying. Only four of us remained unwounded: Dr. Livesey, Gray, the squire, and me.

Chapter 22: How My Sea Adventure Began

After the battle, with the captain wounded and the doctor worried, I decided to sneak away—I had a plan.

I slipped out of the stockade and made my way through the trees to the spot where Ben Gunn had told me about his hidden coracle (a small homemade boat).

I found it hidden in the brush, made of wood, goat skin, and rope. It was rough but usable.

"I'll cut the Hispaniola loose," I said to myself. "Let her drift where she may."

And with that, I dragged the coracle to the shore and launched it onto the sea.

Chapter 23: The Ebb-Tide Runs

I paddled toward the Hispaniola under the cover of darkness.

The wind was down, and the tide pulled me toward the ship. I could hear voices on board—two pirates were left aboard: Israel Hands and O'Brien.

They were drunk and fighting. In the scuffle, O'Brien stabbed Hands. Now only Israel Hands remained—wounded and angry.

I lay low in the coracle and waited, drifting quietly alongside the anchored ship.

Chapter 24: The Cruise of the Coracle

By morning, I was close enough to grab a rope and climb aboard the Hispaniola.

The deck was a mess. O'Brien was dead. Israel Hands lay slumped and bleeding.

"Water…" he whispered. "Help me, boy, and I'll help you."

I took the wheel and began steering the ship toward a safe beach. Hands watched me carefully.

As I turned my back, he sprang up, knife in hand.

Chapter 25: I Strike the Jolly Roger

We struggled. I climbed the mast, pistol in hand, while Israel Hands followed below, knife raised.

He threw his dagger—it grazed my shoulder.

I fired my pistol.

Israel gave a scream and fell backwards into the sea.

I had taken the ship.

I tore down the Jolly Roger (pirate flag) and dropped anchor in a hidden inlet. Then, weak and bleeding, I rowed ashore and walked back to the stockade.

But when I got there—

The pirates had taken it.Long John Silver was waiting for me.

Chapter 26: Israel Hands

Jim has just returned to the stockade—only to find that it has fallen into pirate hands.

To his shock, Long John Silver is there—and instead of attacking, he welcomes Jim politely and offers him food.

Jim is confused but plays it cool. He tells Silver he knows the ship's location and control is now his—and that Israel Hands is dead.

Silver smiles slyly. "You're a smart lad, Jim. We may be enemies, but you've got guts."

The pirates are angry with Silver for not killing Jim, but he uses his charm and authority to protect Jim—for now.

Chapter 27: "Pieces of Eight"

Jim stays with the pirates inside the stockade, now their stronghold.

Tension builds among the mutineers. Some are sick. Some are afraid. Some want to kill Jim and take the map. Silver constantly plays both sides, trying to keep control.

A parrot—Captain Flint, Silver's bird—keeps screaming "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!"

At night, Silver tells Jim quietly:

"They're turnin' on me, lad. But I'm not finished yet."

Chapter 28: In the Enemy's Camp

The next day, Silver tries to bargain again with Jim.

He offers to keep Jim alive in exchange for help finding the treasure. But Jim refuses to betray Dr. Livesey and the others.

Silver smiles again, unshaken.

"You've got spirit, Hawkins," he says. "I'll not harm you—unless I must."

Suddenly, Dr. Livesey enters the fort! He's there under a flag of truce to check on the wounded.

He's surprised but relieved to see Jim alive.

They speak alone briefly. Jim tells the doctor all about the ship, Israel Hands, and Ben Gunn.

Chapter 29: The Black Spot Again

The pirate crew grows restless. They hold a meeting and give Silver the "Black Spot"—a pirate signal of judgment and rebellion.

They accuse him of failure.

Silver responds boldly—he shows them the treasure map, which he secretly took from Dr. Livesey!

"I've got what you want," he growls. "And I've got Hawkins, who's worth more than the rest of you together."

The pirates, cowed and greedy, back down. Silver remains captain.

After the meeting, Silver whispers to Jim:

"It's you and me now, boy. We've both got a stake in this game."

Chapter 30: On Parole

Dr. Livesey comes again under truce.

This time, Jim tells him everything—and Silver listens quietly, allowing it.

Surprisingly, the doctor offers to let Silver escape punishment if he helps them survive the danger to come. Silver agrees, but only silently.

Jim and Silver are now locked in a strange alliance—both using each other.

Jim is left wondering whether he can trust Silver—or whether the pirate is just playing a longer game.

Chapter 31: The Treasure Hunt — Flint's Pointer

At last, the pirates set off into the island's interior, following the treasure map.

Jim, still under Long John Silver's control, joins the expedition. Along the way, they pass strange places marked on the map, including "Skeleton Island" and Flint's log hill.

They also find a skeleton laid out in a straight line, arms pointing toward the treasure—placed there long ago by Captain Flint himself as a "pointer."

The pirates grow nervous. Some begin to mutter. Others talk of Flint's ghost.

Silver tries to keep them calm, but it's clear that something feels wrong.

Chapter 32: The Treasure Hunt — The Voice Among the Trees

As they near the treasure site, they suddenly hear a ghostly voice cry out:

"Darby McGraw! Darby McGraw! Fetch aft the rum!"

It was the exact voice of Captain Flint, now long dead.

The pirates panic—some run, some cry.

But Silver keeps his cool. "That's just echo," he says. "Or Ben Gunn playing tricks."

Jim realizes the truth: it is Ben Gunn, trying to scare the pirates away.

Chapter 33: The Fall of a Chieftain

They finally reach the spot marked "X" on the map—only to find...

The treasure is gone.

All that's left is a hole in the ground.

The pirates explode in rage. They turn on Silver, ready to kill him.

Just then, Dr. Livesey, Gray, and Ben Gunn burst from the trees and open fire.

Three pirates are killed. The rest flee into the forest.

It turns out that Ben Gunn had found the treasure months earlier and moved it to a secret cave.

Silver, now firmly back on the doctor's side, has helped keep Jim alive—though his motives are still self-serving.

Chapter 34: And Last

The treasure—gold, silver, and gems—is brought from Ben Gunn's cave and loaded onto the Hispaniola.

The surviving pirates are either marooned or handed over to authorities.

As for Long John Silver… he escapes, taking a small bag of gold and vanishing in the night.

Jim and the others sail back to England, rich beyond imagination.

But the adventure has changed Jim forever.

"I'll never go to sea again," he says in the final lines, haunted by dreams of the island, the parrot's cries of "Pieces of eight!"—and the shadow of Long John Silver.

Chapter 35: Home Again, But Never the Same

It was early autumn when we finally returned to England.

The air smelled different—crisp and cool, with none of the heavy salt and sweat that clung to us during our time on the island. But despite the quiet charm of home, I couldn't shake the feeling that the world had shifted beneath my feet.

We were rich. Ridiculously so.

Ben Gunn received a small share, which was more than enough for him. He used it to build a small cottage in the hills, where he lived alone, content with cheese and daily walks.

Squire Trelawney went back to his estate a hero. He hosted endless dinner parties, always retelling the tale of how he led the treasure expedition—each time with a few more embellishments.

Dr. Livesey returned to his medical practice, calmer and wiser than ever. He never spoke much about the island, except to say, "Adventure reveals character. Nothing more."

As for me—Jim Hawkins—I didn't know what to do.

I stayed in town, bought new clothes, helped rebuild the Admiral Benbow with my mother's help. But nothing felt the same. Not the inn. Not the road. Not the sky.

Every loud noise made me think of gunfire.

Every shadow on the water made me think of Long John Silver.

Nights were the worst.

I'd wake from dreams of the island—sometimes reliving the ambush at the stockade, sometimes just hearing the endless echo of that parrot:

"Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!"

I began to wonder if maybe I'd left part of myself behind on that island.

Or worse—maybe the island had taken something from me.

Once, I saw a man with a crutch limping down the docks.

My heart stopped.

It wasn't Silver. But for a moment, I hoped it was. I think part of me wanted to ask him one final question:

"Why didn't you kill me?"

Life settled down eventually. But I knew I was different.

I kept the map, now just a scrap of memory. The gold is locked away, the legend fading.

But sometimes, at sunset, I walk alone along the shore.

And I swear—when the wind is just right—I can hear the creak of the Hispaniola's sails, the cry of gulls over Spy-glass Hill…

And the whisper of a wooden leg thumping through the sand.

Chapter 36: A Letter with No Name

Nearly six months passed since our return from Treasure Island.

By now, most of the coins had been turned into land, investments, or quietly locked away. The story faded from gossip to legend, and finally to silence.

Then, one morning, a letter arrived at the Admiral Benbow.

It bore no seal. No address. Just a single name scrawled across the front in a firm, sea-hardened hand:

JIM HAWKINS

I felt a chill as I broke the wax and unfolded the note.

There was no greeting—just a short message:

"The sea calls again, boy. Not for gold. For something rarer. If you're ready, follow the map.—J.S."

Enclosed was a rough scrap of parchment.

A new map.

Not Treasure Island.

Somewhere else entirely. A chain of islets, with one marked by a red "X." No names. No notes. Just one final symbol in the corner:

☠️

Chapter 37: The Call of the Sea

I didn't show the map to anyone—not even Dr. Livesey.

Not at first.

But I kept it in my pocket, unfolding it every night, staring at the crude coastline, wondering:

Was it a trap? A trick? Or something real?

Silver was clever. If he had truly escaped with only a small bag of treasure, he'd want more.

But why send me the map?

Because I knew him?

Because I spared him?

Because he knew I'd follow?

One stormy night, I finally showed the map to the doctor.

He studied it quietly, then folded it and handed it back.

"Don't go," he said. "You've seen enough blood for a lifetime."

But I could tell—part of him was curious too.

So was I.

Chapter 38: The Second Voyage Begins

Despite Dr. Livesey's warning, I could not let the map go.

The pull of the sea was too strong—and the thought of Long John Silver still out there, somewhere, gnawed at me more than any ghost.

Within a fortnight, I was back in Bristol.

Squire Trelawney, now older and slower, agreed to help—but only on the condition that he would not sail this time. "I've had enough cannonballs and cutlasses," he said with a tired smile. "But I'll get you a ship."

It was not the Hispaniola this time, but a smaller schooner:

The Audacity.

Captain Smollett had long since retired, so a new captain was found: Captain Marion Reed, a woman with the sharpest eyes and a scar that hinted at her own past dealings with pirates.

I gathered a small crew—fewer men than before, and all sworn to secrecy.

And with that, I sealed the map in oilskin, packed a pistol and my old spyglass, and we sailed once more—toward uncharted seas.

Chapter 39: A Whisper in the Wind

The voyage began smoothly.

Clear skies. Steady winds. The smell of salt and promise.

But the sea is never peaceful for long.

One night, as we crossed into waters not marked on any chart, the wind shifted. Not in strength—but in sound.

It whistled through the rigging like voices.

Whispers.

"Jim…"

I stood at the helm, hand on the wheel, and for a moment I swore I saw something glimmering on the horizon. A faint, greenish light, far too still to be a lantern, and too strange to be a star.

Ben Gunn's words echoed in my memory:

"There are places at sea older than men. Places where treasure's just bait."

I began to wonder—was this voyage really about gold?

Or something else?

Chapter 38: The Second Voyage Begins

Despite Dr. Livesey's warning, I could not let the map go.

The pull of the sea was too strong—and the thought of Long John Silver still out there, somewhere, gnawed at me more than any ghost.

Within a fortnight, I was back in Bristol.

Squire Trelawney, now older and slower, agreed to help—but only on the condition that he would not sail this time. "I've had enough cannonballs and cutlasses," he said with a tired smile. "But I'll get you a ship."

It was not the Hispaniola this time, but a smaller schooner:

The Audacity.

Captain Smollett had long since retired, so a new captain was found: Captain Marion Reed, a woman with the sharpest eyes and a scar that hinted at her own past dealings with pirates.

I gathered a small crew—fewer men than before, and all sworn to secrecy.

And with that, I sealed the map in oilskin, packed a pistol and my old spyglass, and we sailed once more—toward uncharted seas.

Chapter 39: A Whisper in the Wind

The voyage began smoothly.

Clear skies. Steady winds. The smell of salt and promise.

But the sea is never peaceful for long.

One night, as we crossed into waters not marked on any chart, the wind shifted. Not in strength—but in sound.

It whistled through the rigging like voices.

Whispers.

"Jim…"

I stood at the helm, hand on the wheel, and for a moment I swore I saw something glimmering on the horizon. A faint, greenish light, far too still to be a lantern, and too strange to be a star.

Ben Gunn's words echoed in my memory:

"There are places at sea older than men. Places where treasure's just bait."

I began to wonder—was this voyage really about gold?

Or something else?

Chapter 42: Echoes in the Trees

We set up camp just off the beach, in a clearing half-sunk with ancient stone. Not ruins exactly—more like something half-swallowed by the earth.

That night, the wind returned.

Not a storm wind, but something colder. Hungrier.

The crew whispered uneasily as firelight danced against the trees. I took out the map again—Silver's old parchment—but now I noticed something I hadn't before. A second layer of ink… faint. Hidden beneath the original markings.

Captain Reed examined it by lamplight and frowned.

"These aren't pirate marks," she said. "They're coordinates. But not latitude. This is time."

"Time?" I asked.

She nodded. "This place... it moves."

Just then, a scream rang out from the jungle.

We ran, rifles drawn, but it was already too late.

Harris, the man who had warned us, was gone.

In his place lay his boots—and a silver coin in the dirt.

Chapter 43: The Path of Bones

We found a trail the next morning.

Not footprints—drag marks. Something heavy had been pulled through the jungle.

We followed.

The deeper we went, the stranger the trees became. Bark like flesh. Vines that curled like fingers. And underfoot… bones.

Old ones. Human.

We came upon a circle of stone monoliths half-buried in moss. At its center stood a tree… gnarled and black… with a skeleton nailed to its trunk.

He wore a tattered red coat and a single boot.

I knew that coat.

"That's O'Brien," I whispered.

One of Silver's mutineers. Left behind.

Captain Reed pointed to the stone behind the tree—etched with a crude Jolly Roger.

And words below it:

"He took what was not his. So we took him."

Ben Gunn had said it best:

"There are places where treasure's just bait."

Chapter 44: Silver's Trail

At sunset, we found a cave—hidden beneath a waterfall.

Inside, torches lit the walls. Lit.

Someone had been here recently.

Deeper in, carved into the stone, was something I never thought I'd see again:

A message from Long John Silver, scratched in charcoal.

"Jim—if you're reading this, you're a fool or worse. The gold's gone, lad. But it left something behind. I tried to bury it again. To trap it. But it doesn't stay buried. If I don't come back, don't come looking. Tell them I died a coward. That's safer."

Captain Reed stared at the wall, expression unreadable.

"Is this a warning," she asked, "or a challenge?"

I couldn't say.

But I knew now—Silver had come back. And something… had taken him, too.

Chapter 45: The Vault

We pressed onward into the cave system, following a faint trail—torch ash, scratches, and sometimes… bootprints.

They led us to an ancient vault.

Stone sealed. Covered in rusted chains and iron bars. Someone had tried very hard to keep something inside.

The keyhole was shaped like a skull.

Next to it, a stone plaque bore a final message:

"Here lies the Heart of Flint. Gold and death weigh the same."

Captain Reed looked at me. "Do we open it?"

My hand trembled as I reached for the key we had taken from Silver's old chest back in Bristol.

It fit.

The chains rattled as the lock clicked open.

And with that… the vault door began to creak wide.

The air that spilled out was not air at all—but centuries of silence, salt, and something ancient waking up.

Chapter 46: The Heart of Flint

The vault opened slowly, groaning like a ship's hull under pressure.

Inside: no piles of gold, no sparkling jewels. Just a single black chest in the center of a stone room. Ancient symbols lined the floor—etched deep, stained dark.

Captain Reed stepped forward first, torch raised. Her eyes narrowed.

"This isn't Flint's gold," she whispered. "It's older."

I followed her, the air cold and heavy. The chest pulsed faintly, as if it were alive. The lock bore a familiar mark—the same as the tattoo on Silver's arm.

I reached out, hesitating.

The moment my fingers touched the lid—a voice whispered in the dark.

"Return what was stolen…"

Reed pulled me back.

"We're not alone."

The stone floor beneath us shifted. The entrance slammed shut behind.

And the black chest began to tremble.

Chapter 47: The Curse of the Island

The chest opened on its own.

Inside: bones. Dust. And something glowing red buried within them—a heart-shaped stone, beating slowly.

Reed stepped back.

"No treasure's worth this."

But something changed the moment we saw it.

The stone flared bright—and suddenly, we saw flashes:

Flint, burying the chest.

Silver, standing over it years later.

Blood, spilled by every man who touched it.

The island was never cursed.

The treasure was the curse.

And we'd just awakened it.

The walls began to crack.

From the shadows, something moved—not a man, not a beast. A shape wrapped in seaweed and shadow, with eyes like dying stars.

Ben Gunn had called it "the guardian".

And it was awake.

Chapter 48: Flint's Ghost

We ran, but the cave twisted behind us—corridors bending in impossible ways.

The stone trembled. Water dripped upward. Time itself felt wrong.

The creature followed—not fast, but steady, like the tide. Unstoppable.

As we reached the upper tunnels, I saw something that made me freeze.

A figure ahead.

A man in a tattered coat. One leg. Crutch. Parrot on his shoulder.

"Silver?" I gasped.

But he didn't turn.

He walked into the wall and vanished—a ghost.

Not of Silver… but of Captain Flint himself.

He had never left this island. He had become it.

Reed dragged me forward. "Keep moving, Hawkins!"

We burst through the last stone corridor into daylight—but the jungle was no longer the same.

It had changed.

We were not where we had been.

Chapter 49: The Lost Shore

The sun was blood-red. The sea boiled gently against the rocks.

And the ship was gone.

No mast. No sails. No crew.

Just open ocean… and a sky where stars blinked in daylight.

Captain Reed looked around.

"We're not just lost," she said. "We're out of time."

I held the heart-shaped stone, still glowing faintly in my pack. I knew what had to be done.

We couldn't keep it.

We had to return it.

But the island didn't want us to leave.

And somewhere, in the trees behind us, the guardian waited.

Chapter 50: The Return to the Heart

We camped on the strange shore that night, if it could be called night — the sky above was stuck between dusk and dawn, the sun refusing to move.

The jungle behind us hissed with unseen things. The ocean ahead mocked us with silence.

Captain Reed didn't sleep. I watched her pace the beach like a sentry guarding an invisible line. She kept glancing at me — or rather, at the pack I carried.

Inside it: the heart-shaped stone.

By morning, we both knew the truth.

"We have to bring it back," I said.

Reed nodded. "But this time, we finish it."

So we entered the jungle again — back toward the vault, back toward the thing guarding it.

I thought of Ben Gunn. I thought of Silver.

I wondered if either of them had ever truly escaped this place.

Chapter 51: The Dead Walk

The closer we came to the vault, the more the island twisted around us.

Trees bent the wrong way. Birds flew without sound. Even the light cast no shadows.

And then — the dead began to follow us.

At first it was just shapes in the corner of my eye.

But soon, I saw faces:

O'Brien.

Israel Hands.

Even Joyce, one of our own, who had died back in the stockade.

They walked without breath, without voice — just watching.

The island was remembering everyone who had touched the treasure. Everyone who had spilled blood for it.

Captain Reed kept her pistol out, but it trembled in her grip.

"This isn't just Flint's curse," she whispered. "This is every soul he ever ruined."

And Flint had ruined many.

Chapter 52: The Final Chamber

The vault was open when we reached it.

The black chest stood in the middle once again — as if it had never been disturbed.

Captain Reed and I stepped in. The dead didn't follow us inside.

Only the heartbeat of the stone remained.

It pulsed faster now, almost frantic.

As I approached it, Reed grabbed my shoulder.

"You're sure?" she asked.

I nodded.

"We finish this. We leave the island. We never speak of it again."

I dropped the heart-shaped stone into the chest.

There was no explosion.

No flash of light.

Only a deep sigh, as if the island had exhaled after centuries of holding its breath.

Then the chest crumbled into dust.

The heartbeat stopped.

And the light outside returned to normal.

Chapter 53: The Way Home

When we emerged, the jungle was silent. The birds were back. The sky had cleared.

We returned to the beach — and there, as if nothing had happened, was the Hispaniola.

Anchored. Sails lowered. Smoke rising from the galley stove.

Ben Gunn stood on deck, waving like a madman.

"Took you long enough!" he shouted. "Soup's on!"

Captain Reed didn't ask questions. Neither did I.

We boarded the ship, pulled up the anchor, and left Treasure Island behind.

As the island faded behind us, I asked her:

"Do you think it's really over?"

She didn't answer for a long time.

Then she said:

"Nothing with Flint is ever truly over. But we've done what no one else did…"

"We walked into the heart of the island… and came back."

Chapter 54: Epilogue — The Sea Never Forgets

We made landfall weeks later, our sails tattered, but our spirits strangely quiet.

There was no celebration, no parade. Just quiet steps onto dry land.

Ben Gunn vanished the next day — left nothing behind but a note scratched onto the wall of the tavern:

"Got what I came for. Not what I wanted. God help the next fool."— B.G.

Captain Reed returned to sea within a fortnight. No farewell, no explanation. Just a final look over her shoulder and a whisper to me:

"If the sea calls again… don't answer."

As for me, Jim Hawkins…

I returned to the Admiral Benbow Inn, now older than my father ever was. I rebuilt it, stone by stone, board by board.

I never told the full truth to Dr. Livesey or Squire Trelawney. What we found — what we faced — was best left buried.

The gold we recovered was modest. Enough to live, not enough to tempt fate.

And Silver?

Some say he died in a port tavern far to the south. Others say he sailed west and became king of some forgotten island.But me?

I believe he's still out there. Watching. Waiting.

Because the sea never forgets. And Treasure Island is never done with you — not really.

Even now, some nights, I wake to the sound of waves crashing far from shore, and I swear I hear a parrot calling in the dark:

"Pieces of eight… pieces of eight!"

And I wonder…

Did we really escape?

Or did we just buy ourselves time?

Chapter 55: The Driftwood Letter

A year passed.

The Admiral Benbow stood quiet most nights, save for the fire and my thoughts. But one morning, after a storm had passed through the coast, I found something strange wedged among the rocks near the bay—a piece of driftwood, carved with letters.

Burned into the salt-worn plank was a message:

"J.H. — It ain't over. The tide turns soon. — J.S."

I stared at it for a long while. No mistaking the initials. No denying the message. Long John Silver—alive. And reaching out.

But why?

The sea was calm that day. Too calm.

That night, I brought the letter inside and placed it on the mantle. I poured myself a drink, sat down, and listened. No waves. No wind. But the parrot's call came just the same.

"Pieces of eight…"

Maybe I had escaped.

But Silver? Silver never let go of the island.

And maybe… the island hadn't let go of him either.

Chapter 56: The Captain's Log

A week later, a courier arrived with a parcel from the Indies — no return address, but sealed with tar and string. Inside: an old, weather-beaten logbook.

The first page bore a name I hadn't heard in years.

CAPTAIN REED

Her handwriting—sharp, direct. The last entry was dated just weeks ago.

Latitude unknown. The sea rolls strange. Stars won't align. Heard Flint's voice again last night. Whispered from the mainsail. Said I never finished the job. Said he's still waiting.

Tell Hawkins the stone was only the beginning.

I closed the book, my hands trembling.

If the heart-shaped stone wasn't the end…

Then what was?

What had we awakened?

Chapter 57: The Map Beneath the Map

I returned to the chest in my attic. The one where I'd hidden the last of the charts from our voyage.

And something caught my eye.

The original map of Treasure Island—drawn by Flint himself—had begun to fade. Not from time, but something else. As if another design was bleeding through the ink, surfacing like a ghost beneath the surface.

I held it to the light.

There, hidden between the ridges of mountains and the X-marked spot, was another outline. A second island. Faint. Shifting.

No name.

Just a symbol at its center.

A black heart.

Not the one we returned. Another.

There was more than one.

Chapter 58: The Gathering Storm

That evening, the wind turned bitter.

A ship appeared on the horizon, black sails half-furled. No flag. No name.

It didn't anchor. It didn't signal. It simply waited.

I watched it for days, and every night, it crept a little closer.

Ben Gunn's words echoed in my mind:

"Not what I wanted. God help the next fool."

The next fool was me.

Treasure Island may be behind me—but its curse had begun to ripple outward, like blood in water.

Whatever lay buried… it wasn't done.

And neither was Silver.

Chapter 59: The Black Ship

By the fourth day, the black-sailed ship anchored just beyond the reef. No crew on deck. No lamps. No name carved on the bow — only a figurehead worn smooth by sea and salt: a serpent devouring its own tail.

A storm moved in behind it. Clouds that didn't shift. Rain that fell in reverse, rising like steam from the ocean's surface.

And then, as I stood on the cliffs near the Admiral Benbow, I heard it:

The voice of Long John Silver.

Not shouted. Not spoken. Whispered — inside my mind.

"Come aboard, lad. The map ain't finished yet. There's more blood to draw."

I stumbled back, heart pounding.

The sea was calling again.

But it wasn't my sea anymore.

Chapter 60: The Boy with the Bone Knife

The next morning, a boy was found in the fields behind the inn.

No older than twelve. Barefoot. Sunburnt. A strange necklace of driftwood and teeth hung around his neck.

He didn't speak — not at first — only pointed eastward, toward the sea, and held up a knife carved from bone. Old. Too old.

Carved into the hilt was a symbol I had seen once before — etched on the walls of the vault where we found the black heart.

Captain Reed had called it pre-Flintian. Something older than pirates.

The boy finally spoke a name.

A single word.

"Orboros."

I didn't recognize it then.

But I would come to fear it.

Chapter 61: A Ship Without a Shadow

That night, I watched the black ship from my window.

But something was wrong.

The moon was bright — too bright — and cast clear shadows across the coast.

Yet the black ship had none.

No reflection. No outline in the water.

It was there… and not there.

I turned to the boy. He had made a bed on the floor of the tavern.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He looked at me with dark eyes far too old for his face.

"I'm the next," he said simply. "Like you were. Like Silver was. Like Flint."

And then:

"You heard the island. It's still hungry."

Chapter 62: The Return to the Map

Unable to rest, I returned to the attic that night — to Flint's map. But now, it had changed again.

Where once Treasure Island stood alone, now four other islands had appeared around it — faint, spectral outlines.

The same black heart was marked on each.

The center of the map now bore a new name, scrawled in a language that twisted the eye.

ORBOROS.

It wasn't just a name.

It was the name of the sea itself.

The black heart hadn't been the treasure.

It had been the key.

And we had only unlocked one door.

Chapter 63: The Second Voyage

It began again with a knock at the door.

Not a sailor. Not a messenger.

Captain Reed.Alive. Weatherworn. Her coat tattered, boots muddy, and eyes hollowed from sleepless weeks.

"The map changed, didn't it?" she asked, stepping inside.I nodded.

"I need a crew," she said. "And you already owe the sea a second life."

I didn't argue.

Some debts can't be buried.Only paid.

Chapter 64: The Compass Without a North

Reed placed it on the table — an old brass compass, rim cracked, glass fogged.

It didn't point north.

It spun.

Unceasingly. Maddeningly.

Until I held it.

Then it stopped.

Pointing southeast — toward a stretch of sea that didn't exist on any known map.

"There," Reed whispered. "That's where the second heart is buried."

"And the ship?" I asked.

She smiled.

"We won't be sailing the Hispaniola this time."

Chapter 65: The Ship Called Vengeance

She took me to a hidden cove. Fog-choked. Forgotten.

There, anchored in water black as ink, was a ship I'd only heard of in whispers:

The Vengeance.

Built from three wrecks. Masts scarred by fire. Sails patched with sails from other ships. And across her hull, Flint's final words were burned in pitch:

"DEATH WAITS IN THE TIDE."

Ben Gunn was already aboard.

"I warned you," he said. "Now I reckon I'd better help you."

Chapter 66: Into the Sea of Orboros

We set sail that night, charting a course no sailor dared.

The Sea of Orboros had no winds, no currents. Only still water and sky like bruised glass.

The stars blinked out one by one.No sun. No moon.Only the compass — pulling us forward.

And then… the fog began to sing.

Not wind. Not birds.

Voices.

Calling names only we should know.

Reed gripped the helm tighter.

"We've crossed into the drowned world."

Chapter 67: The Island of Teeth

The first island rose from the sea like a wound — jagged, grey, lined with what looked like bone.

Only it wasn't bone.

It was teeth.

Cliffs of them. Mountains shaped like molars. Beaches of broken ivory.

And at the center: a ruined temple, built from skulls.

Inside it, buried beneath a pile of pirate corpses older than any living man: the second heart.

This one beat faster.

And something else beat with it.

Chapter 68: The Hounds Below

We didn't have time to celebrate.

The ground split beneath our feet — burrowed from below. Something moved under the island, under the skulls.

We ran.

But they followed — hounds without eyes, with mouths like anchors, dragging chains behind them.

Ben Gunn screamed, pistol empty.

Captain Reed held the second heart aloft.

And the island swallowed itself.

We escaped by seconds.

The sea welcomed us back in silence.

But now we had two hearts.

And the Vengeance had started whispering.

Chapter 69: Silver's Ghost

That night, I saw him again.

Silver. Standing at the edge of the deck. Whole. Young. Smiling.

"You've done it now, boy," he said. "Two hearts? That's enough to wake the Sea Mother."

Then he faded — not into mist, but into smoke.

Reed found me staring at nothing.

"You saw him," she said.

I nodded.

"So did I."

Chapter 70: The Sea Mother

Ben Gunn told the tale in a whisper:

"Long before Flint, before the maps, before ships, there was her."

"The Sea Mother."

"The Black Tide. The one who gave the hearts to men. Each one a piece of her broken soul."

"She sleeps beneath the fourth island."

"And you've already taken two of her children."

I stared out at the endless sea.

I'd thought we were hunting treasure.

But treasure had never been the goal.

It was the bait.

Chapter 71: The Island That Wept

The third island was made of coral and salt. It bled water from its cliffs.

Rains fell sideways.

The animals there had no eyes. Only mouths.

We found the third heart buried in a graveyard of anchors.

Each one bore a name I knew:Flint.Silver.Hands.Trelawney.

Even… my own.

I dug it out with bare hands.

The third heart didn't beat.

It wept.

Chapter 72: The Sinking of the Vengeance

As we left the island, the sea rose.

Not waves — not storms — but walls.

The Vengeance began to sink, not from damage, but from weight.

The hearts were pulling us down.

Captain Reed screamed, casting the third one overboard.

The sea swallowed it — and gave it back. Placed it on the deck like a gift.

And then whispered.

"Finish the set."

Chapter 73: The Island Without Name

We reached the fourth island under a black sun.

It had no shape — only suggestion. No form — only fear.

No land, no trees.

Just a door floating on the water.

And behind it, the last heart.

I touched the doorknob, and the sea went silent.

No gulls. No breath. No wind.

The compass stopped.

It had brought us to the end.

Chapter 74: The Sea Turns Red

When I opened the door, there was no room.

Only water.

Endless.

And suspended in it: the Sea Mother.

A woman with no face. Body made of ropes, coral, and bone.

She opened her hand.The final heart floated in it.

Captain Reed screamed, "NO—!"

But I reached forward.

I took it.

Chapter 75: The Drowning Sky

The sky fell.

Not the rain.Not clouds.

The sky itself.

It crashed into the sea like a mirror — shattering stars.

The four hearts burned against my chest, forming a chain. A necklace of pulsing doom.

And the Sea Mother opened her eyes.

We had done what Flint only dreamed of.

We had awakened her.

Chapter 76: The Price of the Tide

The Vengeance exploded into rot and splinters.

Ben Gunn was gone — pulled beneath by unseen hands.

Reed clung to driftwood, bleeding from the ears.

I floated, hearts burning into my chest, voice gone.

And I heard her.

The Sea Mother.

"One must wear the crown of the tide."

"One must pay the price."

I looked to Reed.

She nodded once.

And let go.

Chapter 77: Crown of the Black Hearts

I woke on a beach.Not the one I left.Not one I knew.

Around my neck: a necklace of four hearts, fused into black coral.

Above me, the stars were gone. Only one now hung in the sky — red, weeping.

The Sea Mother whispered again.

"You are the new map."

"And there are more like you."

"The tide rises."

And I knew…

This was only the beginning.

Chapter 78: The Map in My Blood

I couldn't sleep.

Not because of fear — but because the hearts beat inside me now. Not metaphorically. Literally.

My chest pulsed with four rhythms. North. South. East. West.Like a compass made of veins.

The Sea Mother's voice had faded, but I could still feel her — humming through the tides. Waiting.

Waiting for what?

Chapter 79: A Shore That Doesn't Exist

I wandered the coastline for days, until I came upon a village.

Or… what remained of one.

Boats sunken on land. Nets hung from trees that had never known the sea.

No people.Just sand shaped like footprints. Still warm.

And carved into a rock at the center of the empty dock:

"The Tide Rises. You are not the first."

— J.S.

Silver.

He was ahead of me.

Chapter 80: The First Tideborn

I followed the coastline until I found her.

Not Reed. Not the Sea Mother.

Someone else.

A girl no older than twelve, sitting on a barrel, holding a sextant made of bone.

"You're Hawkins," she said. "The one who took the hearts."

I nodded.

"So did I," she whispered, lifting her shirt to reveal a black coral pattern across her ribs.

"There are others. We're called Tideborn."

And we're not alone.

Chapter 81: The Compass Burns

That night, I tried to use the compass.

It caught fire in my hand.

Not flame — memory.

I saw Flint again, screaming on his deathbed, clutching the black heart we found first.

I saw Silver stealing it from his corpse. Saw him whispering to it. Feeding it secrets.

Then the vision shifted.

I saw the Sea Mother again.

Only this time…

She was looking directly at me.

Chapter 82: The Drowned City

The girl, who gave no name, led me east.

We crossed a line in the sand where the ocean simply stopped.

Beyond it, under the water, was a city.

Pillars of barnacle-crusted stone. Statues of gods no sailor ever prayed to.And in its center, a throne made of anchors.

"The Sea Mother ruled here," the girl said.

"But not alone."

I looked around.

"Then where are the others?"

She answered:

"Sleeping. Until the last Tideborn awakens them."

Chapter 83: The Map Is Not a Map

Back on the shore, I studied the fragments of Flint's map.

Now, it changed daily. Shifting like tides.

One morning, I woke to find it had redrawn itself entirely — not as geography…

But as faces.

Captain Reed. Ben Gunn. Silver.

Even me.

The map didn't lead to treasure.

It led to Tideborn.

Chapter 84: The Salt-Eyed Queen

At the edge of the drowned city, we found her.

Not a ghost. Not a woman.

Something in between.

She wore robes of seaweed and bone. Her face had no eyes — only salt crusted where they should have been.

"I am the first," she said. "The Sea Mother's first child."

"You wear the crown now, but do not yet understand its weight."

She placed her hand on my chest.

And I remembered everything.

Chapter 85: The Memory of Flint

Flint had never been just a pirate.

He had been chosen.

The Sea Mother gave him the first heart centuries ago — long before he knew what it was. Before he carved a map.

He betrayed her. Hid the heart. Tried to chain the ocean with treasure.

That's why the island twisted.

Why every man who sought gold died screaming.

He didn't just steal gold.

He stole godhood.

Chapter 86: The Return of Captain Reed

We heard cannon fire at dawn.

Not at sea — but from the sky.

Captain Reed's ship appeared through the clouds, sails torn, hull scorched with runes.

She disembarked alone.

Changed.

Her skin was tattooed with sea-spirals. Her eyes gleamed with reflection.

"I went deeper," she said.

"To the real bottom."

I asked what she found.

She answered:

"A door."

Chapter 87: The Door Beneath the Sea

Together, we returned to the drowned city.

To the throne of anchors.

There, Reed knelt and placed something in the water — a piece of the broken compass.

The tide pulled it down.

The sea split.

And beneath the city was a chasm of light.

The door.

Reed looked at me.

"If you enter, there's no return."

I nodded.

"I never truly left."

Chapter 88: The Leviathan Below

The door didn't open to air.

It opened to inside the sea.

Not water — not space — just pressure. Like falling in every direction.

And at the bottom: a shape.

A creature too big to move. Scaled like a storm. Bones that formed islands. Teeth that were reefs.

The Leviathan.

The first child of the Sea Mother.

Sleeping.

Waiting.

Chapter 89: The Unspoken Deal

I touched the Leviathan's hide.

Memories surged through me — lives I had never lived. Ships I had never sailed.

Silver. Flint. Even names from centuries past.

And in that moment, I heard the bargain:

"You may guide the tides."

"Or be crushed beneath them."

"The Sea Mother demands a Herald."

I understood.

The hearts weren't just relics.

They were oaths.

Chapter 90: The Herald

When I emerged, the girl and Reed were waiting.

"You went deeper than anyone ever has," said Reed.

The girl nodded.

"You're not just a map now."

"You're the Herald."

I could feel it.

The hearts no longer burned.

They beat with the tide.

And I could hear every piece of the sea whispering.

My name.

Chapter 91: The Rising Tide

The ocean changed overnight.

Islands that never were began to appear.

Storms spun in reverse.

Ships lost to time returned to port, crewed by men long dead.

The Tideborn were awakening — across the world.

And in my chest, the Sea Mother's voice returned.

"The age of men is ending."

"The tide rises."

Chapter 92: Epilogue — The Map Breathes

Back at the Admiral Benbow Inn, the wind howled for the first time in months.

A sailor brought news from the east: whole fleets vanishing. Oceans boiling. Stars falling.

But I already knew.

The map in my veins had begun to expand.New coasts. New names. New rules.

The sea wasn't ours anymore.

It never was.

And now, it was taking itself back.

One heart at a time.

The world has changed. The land grows smaller. The sea grows stranger. The Tideborn rise. Jim Hawkins must choose: to become the last voice of man, or the first roar of the deep.

Chapter 93: The Fall of Port Providence

Port Providence was the first to go.

A coastal capital — merchant fleets, navy vessels, fortresses carved in stone.

One wave took it.

A wall of saltwater two hundred feet high. No storm. No warning.

Just a voice in the wind:

"Return what was stolen."

No survivors.

Just coral, growing where the city used to stand.

Chapter 94: Trelawney's Son

He came to me soaked, furious, and alone.

A boy no older than sixteen — sharp nose, squared shoulders, and a familiar glint in his eyes.

"I'm Elias Trelawney," he said. "My father died for your map. You owe me."

I told him the truth: "Your father died chasing a myth."

Elias pulled something from his coat — a coin, blackened by age and sea.

"Then why is it calling me?"

Chapter 95: The Coin of Orboros

It wasn't just a coin.

It pulsed.

Like the hearts had.

When I held it, the coin burned cold — colder than the deepest tide.

I saw visions of a fifth heart, not buried on an island, but inside a man.

A living Tideborn, too strong to bury, too cursed to die.

Reed whispered his name.

"Red Isaac."

Chapter 96: The Ship of Lanterns

We set out again — me, Reed, Elias, and two old hands who didn't ask questions.

The ship was new, grown not built — the Sea Mother had raised it for me from driftwood and whale bone.

We called it The Lantern — because it glowed in the fog.

No sails. No crew.

Just tide, and the will of a Herald.

Chapter 97: The Isle of Forgotten Kings

The sea took us east, to an island that stank of incense and memory.

Stone thrones sat in circles, covered in kelp. Rusted crowns hung from vines.

"This is where kings are buried," said Reed. "The ones who tried to rule the sea."

At the center, we found bones — still dressed in royal robes — each clutching coins like Elias's.

And scrawled on the stone:

"THE SEA DOES NOT BOW."

Chapter 98: The Fifth Heart

Beneath the thrones, through a tunnel carved in shark teeth, we found him.

Red Isaac.

Chained to the wall by rusted anchors. Eyes sealed shut. Body cracked like dried wood.

The fifth heart beat inside his chest — visible through the ribs, glowing like magma.

He smiled when I approached.

"Welcome, boy. Been waiting for ya."

Then he said something I'll never forget:

"You ain't her Herald."

"You're her replacement."

Chapter 99: A Crown of Teeth

Red Isaac didn't fight us.

He gave me the heart.

Not like the others — it didn't burn or bleed.

It spoke.

Not in words. In tide.

Suddenly, I knew the names of every storm. The hunger of every reef. I could taste currents.

And I felt something else, deep below:

The Sea Mother…

afraid.

Chapter 100: The Other Herald

We were not alone.

On the horizon, another ship approached — black sails, tattered wings, hull made of bones and banners.

On its prow stood a man wrapped in oilskin, a crown nailed to his skull.

Silver.

Still alive.

Still grinning.

"Didn't I tell you, lad? The tide don't forget… and neither do I."

Chapter 101: The Duel

Silver and I met on a floating platform of wreckage and chains.

He'd become something else — less man, more shadow. One leg of driftwood, one eye of storm.

We fought without words.

Blades. Teeth. Memory.

He laughed even as I cut him down.

And as I pressed the fifth heart against his chest, he whispered:

"We were all just her bait."

Then he was gone.

Chapter 102: The Herald's Voice

With five hearts, I could feel the sea listening.

And for the first time…

I spoke.

Not out loud — with tide.

I called to the Sea Mother.

She answered, not with anger…

But with sorrow.

"You've undone the chain."

"The land will drown."

"And you will be its king."

Chapter 103: Landfall

We returned to the mainland.

It had changed.

Cities flooded.

Maps rewritten.

Entire countries missing.

Children were born with eyes like fish. Some walked into the sea, never to return.

The Age of Men had ended.

And my name was spoken not in taverns…

But in storms.

Chapter 104: The Seventh Current

A group of Tideborn gathered at my feet.

Reed.

Elias.

Others — marked by the sea, drawn by the hearts.

We stood at the edge of a new world.

And I told them:

"There's a current deeper than the others."

"It binds all seas — a path no ship has ever crossed."

They called it the Seventh Current.

And it would take us to the origin.

Chapter 105: The Ship That Thinks

The Lantern changed.

It began to speak. Not in voice, but in feeling.

It would not obey sails.

Only intention.

We thought of the Seventh Current — and it turned eastward.

And we followed — into a part of the ocean no map had ever named.

Chapter 106: The Leviathan Graveyard

There, floating on red water, we saw them:

Bones of sea gods.

Ribs the size of cliffs. Eyes fossilized in amber.

One of them still breathed — barely.

It looked at me, and I felt my soul shrink.

"Why have you come, little wave?"

I didn't answer.

Because I no longer knew.

Chapter 107: The Door Beneath All Waters

The Seventh Current led downward — through ice, then heat, then memory.

At the bottom of the world, we found it:

A door.

The size of an island.

Built from coral and chains.

It pulsed.Waited.

And behind it…

The first heart.

Chapter 108: The First Heart

This one wasn't stone.It was living.

A heart the size of a cathedral, beating in the dark, bleeding stars.

The Sea Mother had been born here.

And so had everything else.

I touched it.

And I remembered being born from salt.

Chapter 109: The Sea Rises

I woke on deck, gasping.

The world had changed again.

There was no more horizon.

The sea had risen over everything.

Only peaks remained — islands where mountains used to be.

The last of mankind was afloat.

And I…

I was their tide.

Chapter 110: The Children of the Current

Reed stood beside me.

Silent. Changed.

Her eyes were coral now. Her skin shimmered.

"We aren't Heralds anymore," she said.

"We're currents. We move the world."

I asked if we could go back.

She shook her head.

"The sea doesn't return."

Chapter 111: The Final Map

I took Flint's old map from my coat.

It was blank.

But when I bled on it, it changed.

Not islands. Not treasures.

Names.

The Tideborn.

Every one of us.

Written in salt.

Chapter 112: The Drowned King

In the final days, they called me the Drowned King.

Not because I died — but because I lived where others sank.

I did not wear a crown.

Only the five hearts around my neck, beating in rhythm with the tide.

Chapter 113: The Last Island

There is still one island left.

It moves.

Never seen. Never found twice.

It waits for the last of us.

For the final heart.

And when I find it…

The tide will fall again.

Chapter 114: Epilogue — The Sea Remembers

They say the world is water now.

But sometimes, when the sea is still…

You can hear the wind whisper:

"Jim Hawkins…"

Not a legend.

Not a pirate.

Not a sailor.

Just the last man who ever asked the ocean a question… and lived to hear its answer.

One last journey. Jim Hawkins, now the Drowned King, sails into the edge of legend.

Chapter 115: The Driftwood Throne

I no longer sail.

I sit on a floating ruin — half tavern, half ship — lashed together with rope and memories.The tide moves me, not the wind.Some call it a throne.

But I call it what it is:

Waiting.

The hearts beat slowly now. Not demanding. Just present.

Like old ghosts at the foot of a dying fire.

Chapter 116: The Boy with No Shadow

He came in the night.

No boat. No wake.

Just a boy, dripping salt, with a knife made of pearl.

"Are you Jim Hawkins?" he asked.

I said nothing.

He held up a page. Torn from a journal.

My handwriting.

"The sea cannot be ruled. But it can be spoken to."

"Teach me," the boy said.

And I realized…

He had no shadow.

The sea had chosen another.

Chapter 117: The Island of Echoes

We sailed together, he and I. Just once more.

To the Island of Echoes — where the tide whispers memories back at you.

There, beneath the cliffs, I heard my own voice:

Young. Hopeful. Foolish.

I buried the hearts in the sand.

Not to hide them.

But to let them rest.

They'd beaten long enough.

Chapter 118: The Return of the Parrot

At sunset, we saw it:

A single parrot, green and gold, circling overhead.

It landed on my shoulder like no time had passed.

It whispered:

"Pieces of eight…"

Then paused.

"Time to sleep, Captain."

It wasn't Flint's parrot.

It was mine.

And I understood what it meant.

Chapter 119: The Final Chart

Before I left, I carved one last map into the boy's compass — not of land, not of sea.

Of choices.

Paths that led not to gold, but to survival. Wisdom. Sorrow. Memory.

I handed it to him and said:

"The tide will call. Don't always answer."

"But if you do… bring no weapons. Bring no greed."

"Bring a question."

Chapter 120: The Sea Forgets

I walked into the tide at dawn.

The hearts didn't resist.

The sea didn't swallow me.

It welcomed me.

Some say I became part of it — driftwood in the world's last current.

Others say I still sail, beyond all maps, whispering to those who listen.

But I'll tell you the truth:

I was never a hero.

Just a boy who followed a map too far.

And the sea?

The sea… finally forgot my name.

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