The Florian Triangle, perpetually shrouded in thick fog, was a realm of eternal darkness. Although it was already daytime, the crew aboard the Starlight felt as though they were still trapped in the dead of night, unable to discern east from west. The only tools guiding their way were the Log Pose and the Eternal Pose held tightly by the navigator.
Perhaps it was merely psychological, but ever since the signal flare had been fired, the sailors felt as though the temperature had dropped sharply, leaving a chill that seeped into their bones.
Clutching the cross pendant around her neck, Portia walked toward her cabin, her mind heavy with unease. Behind her, Karslana, the young Marine in uniform, followed closely, speaking in a low voice to comfort her.
Ever since entering the Florian Triangle, strange occurrences had become increasingly frequent. Beyond the sudden drop in temperature, there were reports of a crew member going mad, screaming in the dead of night about seeing ghosts. To prevent his "nonsensical ravings" from further eroding morale, Captain Joey Fello had confined the man. At first, the crew member seemed merely anxious and frightened, but it wasn't long before his behavior turned horrifying. He began to loathe his own existence, violently banging his head against the walls while sobbing that he should never have been born. Even as his head bled profusely, he continued his self-destructive actions, as if trying to erase himself from the world.
This ghostly, almost possessed behavior sent shivers down the spines of everyone present, including Portia, Joey Fello, and the other crew members. None of them could understand why a previously healthy and mentally stable man would suddenly act this way. Could the ghost stories about the Florian Triangle be true?
Karslana, however, dismissed such superstitions outright. She knew how much hope and wealth Portia had invested in this ship, and she attributed the young woman's unease to overthinking and paranoia. She continued to reassure Portia, insisting that the crew member's behavior was merely the result of stress and mistaking shadows in the fog for ghosts.
As Portia walked, listening to Karslana's comforting words, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Following Portia's gaze, Karslana looked ahead. In the corridor before them, shrouded in thick fog, a dark figure was crouched, faintly illuminated by a flickering red glow.
Both women jumped in fright, but Karslana, being the braver of the two, was the first to recover. Striding forward, she approached the figure, only to discover that it was none other than William, Gin, and Selkirk, huddled behind a railing to shield themselves from the sea breeze, lazily smoking. The red glow came from the ember of William's pipe.
Most of the crew were busy working on deck, and Karslana's expression darkened at the sight of these three slackers. "Are you shirking your duties again?" she asked coldly.
"Everyone's too scared to rest below deck, afraid they'll run into a 'ghost.' They're all keeping busy on the main deck, so there's no need for us to lend a hand. We just came here to catch our breath and have a smoke. That's not a crime, is it?" William replied lazily, raising his pipe.
"I'm amazed you have so much tobacco. Did you only think to save that when your ship went down?" Karslana retorted sarcastically.
William was an enigma. Despite being a supposed shipwreck survivor, seemingly without any possessions when rescued, he always managed to pull out tobacco from his pockets, gathering with Gin and Selkirk in hidden corners to smoke.
Karslana, a Marine sergeant, was in an awkward position. On one hand, she wasn't high-ranking enough to casually disregard military regulations and discipline, so she remained rigid and by-the-book. On the other hand, her relatively young age and rank gave her a certain arrogance. She found William and his companions' slovenly and lazy behavior particularly grating, especially during such tense times.
"You don't understand," William said dismissively. "This stuff is hard currency on a ship. Sometimes, it's even more valuable than Beli."
"Then I hope you're careful when you inhale your 'currency,'" Karslana shot back. "Don't end up mistaking your crewmates for ghosts in the middle of your smoke and scaring yourself into a frenzy."
Gin's face darkened, but William burst into laughter, boldly declaring, "I'm not afraid of ghosts. If anything, ghosts should be afraid of me!"
Karslana let out a derisive snort. Based on William's behavior aboard the ship so far—amiable to the point of being obsequious—she assumed he was just putting on airs. Portia, standing behind her, tugged at her sleeve. The young heiress, the only true civilian among them, looked visibly uneasy as the conversation veered back toward the ship's eerie incidents.
Gin glanced at Portia's pale face and chuckled dryly. "It's funny. You're not afraid to go to the Sabaody Archipelago, but you're scared of ghosts?"
Neither Karslana nor Portia understood what Gin meant by this. Karslana opened her mouth to retort, but before she could speak, William's expression suddenly grew serious. He raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence. Gin and Selkirk's faces also turned grave.
It was then that both women heard it—a haunting, ethereal song drifting through the air.
The spellbinding melody was abruptly interrupted by the hoarse shout of the lookout in the crow's nest. "Ship spotted!"
William rose from behind the railing and looked toward the sea ahead of the merchant ship. Through the dense fog, the silhouette of a large vessel gradually came into view. No one knew when it had approached so close to the Starlight, but it was only now that it was noticed. The song seemed to emanate from the direction of the mysterious ship.
From the bow, they could hear Joey Fello's frantic shouts, ordering the crew to steer the merchant ship away from the unknown vessel.
The Starlight managed to turn just in time, narrowly avoiding a collision. The crew, already on high alert and prepared to fire if necessary, collectively exhaled in relief when they got a closer look at the other ship.
It was an old pirate ship, its exterior severely damaged and its sails mostly tattered. It looked as though it had been abandoned for decades.
But their relief was short-lived. The haunting song hadn't stopped. In fact, as the distance between the two ships closed, it became even clearer that the melody was coming from the derelict vessel.
As the Starlight continued to drift closer due to inertia, the two ships were now nearly side by side. From this proximity, the details of the pirate ship's deck became visible.
And then, the song abruptly ceased.
Portia let out a stifled scream, covering her mouth with one hand while clutching Karslana's wrist with the other. Karslana could feel her trembling.
On the derelict ship, standing behind the railing and facing the Starlight, was a human skeleton. Its jaw hung open, and its hollow eye sockets seemed to stare directly at the living souls aboard the merchant ship, as if the fog itself gave them an eerie semblance of life.
"It's nothing. Just a pile of dead bones," Karslana said softly, trying to reassure Portia.
But then, the skeleton suddenly spoke, its voice loud and clear in the eerie silence. "Excuse me..."
From the bow, Joey Fello's voice, shrill with fear, rang out. "Fire!"
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