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โโโโโโโ18Please respect copyright.๏ผฐ๏ผฅ๏ผฎ๏ผก๏ผฎ๏ผก7Csy10MzJA
The Song of the Drowned
The sea was a graveyard of secrets.
For centuries, sailors spoke of the Blackwater Sirensโcreatures of eerie beauty who lurked beneath the waves, their voices as sweet as honey and sharp as knives. Their songs whispered promises of love and longing, luring men into the abyss.
Some believed they were spirits of the lost, cursed to haunt the tides for eternity. Others claimed they were ancient beings, older than the ocean itself.
But all agreed on one thingโonce you heard their song, you were never seen again.
18Please respect copyright.๏ผฐ๏ผฅ๏ผฎ๏ผก๏ผฎ๏ผกsFHZbYaMox
The Cursed Ship
The Nightwind had seen better days.
Her sails, once proud and white, hung in tatters, and the wood of her hull groaned under the weight of time. She had been adrift for days, her crew weary, her supplies dwindling.
Captain Elias Graves stood at the helm, his jaw set, his dark eyes scanning the horizon. The wind had died, and the sea stretched out before them like a great, endless mirror.
Something was wrong.
โStormโs coming,โ muttered Jonas, the first mate.
Elias shook his head. โNo clouds. No wind.โ He exhaled. โThis is worse than a storm.โ
A murmur of unease ran through the crew. They had all heard the tales. The stillness before the sirens began their hunt.
And thenโ
A sound drifted across the water.
Soft. Sweet. Calling.
A voice like liquid gold wove through the silence, curling around the sailors like an invisible thread. It was neither male nor female but something in betweenโsomething not of this world.
Elias stiffened as his men stopped moving, their breath hitching, their eyes glazing over. One by one, they turned toward the sea.
Jonas took a trembling step forward. โTheyโre here.โ
Elias grabbed his arm. โDonโt listen.โ
But the song wrapped around them like silk, a melody that slipped into their bones and whispered of love, of peace, of home.
A sailor named Reed moved first. He climbed onto the shipโs railing, staring into the water as if he had found paradise.
Elias lunged forward. โReedโโ
Too late.
The sailor leapt overboard, plunging into the dark.
The others followed. One by one, his men walked into the sea, their faces serene, their eyes blind to the doom awaiting them.
Elias gritted his teeth. He had heard stories, but thisโthis was worse.
The voices were beautiful.
Irresistible.
He could hear his motherโs lullaby woven into the melody, the ghost of his fatherโs voice calling him home.
The song was no longer just a song.
It was inside him.
Clawing. Pulling. Drowning.
He stumbled backward, gripping the shipโs mast. He could feel it nowโthe ache, the longing. Come to us, Elias. Come home.
His heart pounded.
No.
He reached for his dagger and drove the blade into his forearm, pain slicing through the fog in his mind. Blood dripped onto the deck, and the spell shattered just enough for him to hear something elseโ
Laughter.
Low. Amused. Hungry.
Elias turned.
There, rising from the waves, were the sirens.
The Daughters of the Deep
They were neither human nor fish.
Their forms shimmered under the moonlightโpale, ethereal, their eyes like pools of ink. Their lips were curved in cruel smiles, their sharp teeth glinting as they watched the men sink below the surface.
One of themโtaller than the rest, with hair like drifting seaweedโtilted her head. โYou resist,โ she mused, her voice like a melody of crashing waves. โHow rare.โ
Elias forced himself to breathe. โLet them go.โ
The siren laughed, a sound that sent shivers down his spine. โThey are already gone.โ
Beneath the water, shadows moved.
His men werenโt swimming.
They were being dragged down.
Handsโpale, webbed, inhumanโclutched their ankles, pulling them into the abyss.
Eliasโs stomach twisted. โYou said they were home.โ
The sirenโs black eyes gleamed. โAnd they are. The sea is their home now.โ
Jonas broke the surface, gasping, his eyes wide with terror. โC-Captainโโ
A clawed hand wrapped around his throat and yanked him under.
Elias lunged forward, but it was too late.
Jonas was gone.
The siren turned back to him. โYou fight so hard,โ she murmured, gliding closer. โWhy?โ
Elias clenched his fists. โBecause Iโm not ready to die.โ
The sirenโs smile widened, baring rows of needle-like teeth. โThen you have never truly lived.โ
With a flick of her tail, she launched herself onto the deck, faster than human eyes could follow.
Elias barely had time to react before her cold hands were around his throat, pinning him against the mast. Her skin was wet, slick like the belly of a serpent, her nails sharp enough to draw blood.
She leaned in, close enough for him to see the endless dark in her eyes.
Her voice was a whisper against his lips.
โDrown.โ
The world tilted.
For a moment, he saw itโthe endless black beneath the sea, the hands reaching, the promise of peace.
He could sink.
He could sleep.
But something inside him refused.
With the last of his strength, Elias ripped his dagger from its sheath and drove it into the sirenโs side.
She screamed, a sound so shrill it cracked the air. Her grip loosened, and Elias shoved her back, gasping for breath.
She staggered, her silver blood dripping onto the deck.
Her gaze darkened. โYou will regret that.โ
Then, she was goneโvanishing into the depths, the sea swallowing her whole.
The other sirens followed, their haunting song fading into the night.
And thenโsilence.
Elias collapsed to his knees. The deck was empty.
His men were gone.
The Nightwind drifted aimlessly, the ocean stretching endlessly around him.
He had survived.
But at what cost?
As the first hints of dawn broke over the horizon, Elias stared at the sea, knowing one terrible truthโ
The sirens would return.
And next time, he might not be so lucky.
now, the sea wanted vengeance.
THE END
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