Strut.. Strut.. Strut… A man walked through a dark and cold tunnel. Towards the end of the tunnel, an illuminating, brilliant light casts on the man as he reaches the end of the tunnel and is jolted awake.
What… the hell…
The man experienced an excruciating and surreal pain in his temple. He looks around the dark and chilly room, only to find it greatly resembles that of a ship's cabin.
Where the hell am I… Just moments before, I was standing atop that bridge right before I… Oh god, I should be dead!
Suddenly, a spot at a wall a few feet ahead of him catches his attention. A strange symbol written in blood pulsates brightly as the man's head aches even more. Without knowing what it stands for, in the man's mind, a few words ran through his head.
"You're not safe. Not now, not ever."
He softly ruminated over the words when, suddenly, a loud series of knocks slammed against the door.
"Caspian! Wake up. There have been attacks on the deck. Grab your revolver and help fend them off!"
Caspian… Who is… Caspian?
He turned his attention to an area atop the desk he was lying on and softly read a name tag.
"Caspian Lysander – Crewmate"
A second loud knock sounds through the door.
"Hurry!"
Caspian jolted out of his seat, grabbed the revolver at his desk, and ran to a mirror inside the room. A face with soft features stared back at him. He had dark reddish-brown hair that almost reached his neck and jet-black eyes. His figure was average in height, the kind that made it easy to blend into a crowd without standing out. He wore a black dress shirt with dark trousers, coupled with a long coat designed to resist the cold while still allowing ample freedom to move as he pleased.
Caspian walked to the door and opened it, only to be met by a fairly short, stocky man also carrying a revolver. His face looked as if it carried the years of experience and encounters he had at sea.
"What took you so long? Were you asleep or something?"
Caspian opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the man had already begun speaking again.
"No matter. Come, there's been word of attacks at the deck from creatures in the water."
Caspian ran through the bizarre situation he had found himself in; he was lost as to who he had become and the strange symbol that wouldn't leave his head… This entire situation was strange and foreign to him. Before this, he had been in the process of ending his life, which he succeeded in doing. By every reasonable explanation, he should be dead, and yet he had found himself in a strange world. Could there be some reason as to why his plan failed? As to why he was brought here?
Caspian nodded his head at the man before him,
"Lead the way."
The man firmly gripped his revolver and turned around. As they walked through the ship, Caspian paid attention to his surroundings and the vast, empty sea before him.
Damn.. Where the hell is this place?!
At this time, another man had stepped out of his quarters to meet the two. He had a tall, lengthy figure and a gruff face. His hair looked to be at some stage of balding, even though he hadn't looked too old.
"Merril, Caspian, you fellows on your way to the deck?" the man questioned
Merril let out a nod,
"We are. Come with us; the others should already be there as we speak."
Following that, Merril continued his walk while the two followed closely behind.
As they walked, other crew members would exit their decks to look at the situation unfolding, gathering everything they needed for what was to come.
Soon after, they spotted several crew members around the deck and made their way over.
Merril walked over to the group,
"Do we know what it is this time?"
Another man with a revolver in his holster stepped up,
"They're saying it's a siren."
"A Siren?! You mean those creatures that lure you in with music?"
"Yeah. Some of the guys who were on duty tonight said they had heard faint lullabies in the distance."
Merril revealed a grim expression and shook his head,
"Sigh…"
Caspian, too, felt the gravity of the situation. A siren? He's only heard of those in myths and stories from when he was a kid. How could something like that exist? Wherever he had found himself, it was clearly different from Earth.
All sorts of thoughts went through his head when, suddenly, distinct singing could be heard around the ship. They were pleasant to the ears yet carried a hint of malice and degeneration. It left Caspian feeling awry and disgusted. Caspian examined the crew and noticed a number of them were clutching their heads in a protective state while bending over. They let out horrified cries as their morale crumbled.
"Sh!t, They've begun their assault…" Merill grimaced.
"Stuart, Caspian, we should head to the deck. Seems as though the three of us aren't as affected by the voices as the others."
"Yes Captain!" Stuart, the man beside Caspian, replied.
Caspian followed after the two and wondered why there were some more affected by the singing and vice versa.
This might be a situation where those less mentally strong are affected the most. As for me, who's already died once, heh, this much is nothing.
Caspian and crew arrived at the deck, and he peered over the edge. He saw pitch-black waters and unending waves. In the corner of his eye, he saw a beautiful woman with webbed fins as feet. She had long, braided, blue hair and ethereal eyes. He was momentarily speechless at the sight of her.
"Over there!" Caspian pointed to the spot where he saw the woman.
The two immediately rushed over to Caspian and turned their attention to the woman.
"By the Gods!" Stuart couldnt believe his eyes.
Merril shook his head,
"I suppose it was only a matter of time before we encountered something in these waters.
Stuart, get the rest of the crew who don't seem to be too affected by the voices."
Stuart didn't oppose.
"Aye!"
He rushed away from the deck to go see which crewmates hadn't lost their minds and could still be of use.
"So, how will we deal with her?" Caspian questioned.
"We'll wait for Stuart to bring some other crewmates as well as the priest; he'll be able to aid us greatly in our battle."
////////
Caspian heard footsteps from the direction Stuart ran towards, and saw Stuart as well as a handful of people behind him. One of them had grey hair and appeared to be an older gentleman. He wore a dark priestly robe.
"Father Ignatius, it leaves me with great comfort that you're here. Do you have any suggestions on how we can take care of this Siren?"
"The Lord does not give us problems we can not resolve. This is but another one of his many trials.
"Tell your men to ready their weapons, and I will provide support where I can."
Following that, Father Ignatius waved his hand, and a surge of dark energy rushed forth. It enveloped the crew members and left them feeling strangely resilient.
What the hell was that?! Some form of energy just wrapped around me. It's as if my mental fortitude is much stronger than it was just a couple of moments ago. Not to mention, some of the crewmembers who were frantic and on the verge of losing their minds now appear to be recovering. Such power… I wonder if I'll be able to wield it myself someday.
Caspian watched as the crewmembers let out surprised and bewildered murmurs. It seemed whatever the Priest had unleashed was not something that was common to the ordinary people.
"Men! Make your necessary preparations." Murril instructed; he was a man who'd been at sea as long as he could remember, having gone through many strange and bizarre situations. He knew the importance of having his men be ready and organized.
Caspian inspected his grey revolver and opened the cylinder; he found 5 bullets inside.
I'm missing one. Wonder where it went..?
As he contemplated the missing round, he heard the distinct singing become unbearably loud; he peered over the deck and found that, unlike before, two new Sirens had appeared.
"Don't falter! Take your aim and fire!" Murril instructed.
Many of the crew cocked their guns and shot out into the sea at the Sirens, a majority of them missing. The ones that didn't, noticed that although their bullets had hit their target, there was no damage done to the creatures, as they had appeared to have rough and scaly skin.
Father Ignatius stepped up, raised his hands, and muttered a chant.
"From the sea, many hearts beat as one. Through the shadows, we persevere. May the Lord grant us the ability to resist these foul creatures!"
Following his prayer, the familiar dark, abyss-like power seeped into the crew's guns. Father Ignatius had used his strange power to boost the bullets of the guns to penetrate the enemy's skin.
Seeing this change in his revolver, Caspian took aim at one of the Sirens, BANG. The bullet travelled a great distance before narrowly missing.
Tsk
The Siren he shot at gazed at Caspian. She opened her mouth, but before she could let out her terrifying power, Caspian had already shot again. BANG, this time, the bullet had gone right into her mouth and pierced the back of her throat. The shadow-like bullet had begun affecting the Siren. Her body had started to turn sluggish and slow; her eyes showcased her full depravity.
"There's no need to falter. These things aren't invincible. If we all work together, we'll be able to escape this predicament." Caspian assured the crew.
Seeing this sight, the crewmates were riled up. Many peered over the deck and took aim at the Sirens. A number of the bullets had landed on the Siren that Caspian had hit, and ethereal blood had gushed out of her mouth.
The wounded Siren let out a wretched scream. Having been wounded too much by the shadow bullets, she began to lose her mind. It was clear that whatever buff Father Ignatius had used on the bullets, they became a mind-breaking power. The Siren then, at last, retreated into the deep sea, leaving behind only her 2 companions.
Caspian watched as the crew let out cheers at the retreat of one of the Sirens. A voice erupted from the cheer.
"Just two more! Kill the Bastards!"
Just as the crewmate said this, the first Siren that had appeared let out an ear-piercing scream. The eardrums of many mentally weaker crewmates burst, and blood gushed from their ears. Suddenly, the crewmate who had let out his battle cry put the revolver to his temple and pulled the trigger.
Witnessing this sight, Caspian turned his attention to the sea; the two remaining Sirens were nowhere to be seen.
Plop!
Caspians eyes grew as he saw one of the Siren emerge from the water in a graceful manner and quickly board the ship. An ominous black aura enveloped its fins as it transformed into a pair of human legs. Long dark turquoise hair that flowed from her beautiful face, fluttered against the chilling wind. It stood with an eerie expression, taking in the ship and its crew.
"You annoying humans..! My sister may have fallen to your schemes, but do not count on it with me!! I am one of the three rulers of the Void Sea, Adredah, Harbinger of Calamity.
Harbinger of Calamity?? To come across a thing with such a scary title so soon, how unlucky…!
(Story will now use a different formatting from here on.)