Chapter 27: Chapter 24: “Curse of Oceanus”

CHAPTER 24: “CURSE OF OCEANUS.”

 

Ai probably stared at the letter for at least half an hour now. The cursive writing, the gold etchings on the sides of the envelopes, the blue color. Everything. His mind still couldn’t understand. Why on earth was someone as important as Oceana wanted to meet him and did it have anything to do with Nebule?

After watching Oceana and her performance, the hooded figure had suggested they find a place with no one around. Ai decided that it would be best if they used the inn for now. Though it was small, there was still enough space for the both of them to sit and Ai could listen to what this NPC had to say.

Throughout the walk back to the hotel, the hooded figure didn’t speak nor did she take off her hood. Ai was surprised that no one tried to call the authorities because of how suspicious she looked with the hood on. Ai had tried to find out her name from the [Thought System], but there was nothing. So far, the [Thought System] had always alerted him when he encountered important NPCs, like with Avra, Athiel and to an extent Bren, but there was no notification or alerts that told him of this NPC’s name.

Maybe they needed to introduce themselves first? But Avra didn’t exactly introduce themselves, Ai just knew their name because of the [Thought System].

Setting the letter down on the table, Ai looked at the NPC.

“Can I ask your name?”

The NPC stared at him for a good second, but in the end she didn’t say anything.

Could it be that she was a nameless NPC?

[World Symphony] had no shortage in NPCs. There could possibly be millions, countless of NPCs that were either manmade by the developers and there were ones automatically created by the system with the simple purpose of populating the world, and that was the so called nameless NPCs. Players couldn’t receive any sort of quests from them or talk to them freely because of their limited dialogue. It still felt natural enough, like talking to a normal person as usual, but their dialogue options were always limited and lacked enough depth to talk about things outside of their character setting.

So how was this nameless NPC able to follow him to the inn or move around so much? It even preemptively pulled and dragged him around. Usually, a nameless NPC was set on a certain route and spot since their only purpose is to add realism and populate the area and they also never interact with players unless the players themselves were the one who initiated the interaction.

As he was thinking, the hooded figure’s eyes had drifted to the letter that Ai kept in his hand. 

Hesitantly, Ai laid the letter down on the table and gently nudged it towards the NPC. Honestly, he didn’t know if he could trust this NPC just yet. Aside from being a suspicious nameless NPC, Ai didn’t know anything about them. Not their name and not even their face since their hood was covering their face all the time. 

The NPC took the letter from the table with shaky hands. Carefully, she opened the letter and read the contents for a brief moment before disappointment dawned and she discarded the letter dismissively back to the table.

“It's a formal invitation from the Queen herself.” she scoffed, looking at the letter with a burning gaze. “How did you come across it?”

Ai debated on whether or not he should show this NPC the other letter, the one sent by Nebule. Unlike the queen’s letter, the other one was much more personal to just show to anyone.

The NPC noticed the hesitance in Ai’s face. Her eyes then drifted towards the pin that he had stuck on his lapel, the blue shell. Her face morphed into one of shock, then pushed against her seat. The chair behind hair falling over from the force.

“Nebule.” The NPC exclaimed shakily. “You have something from Nebule.”

Ai probably revealed too much on his own face. The NPC rushed to his side and gripped Ai’s arm, forgetting that she had sharp nails of a siren. It didn’t break the cloth, but he could feel the edges as if they were directly touching his skin.

“Please.” The NPC pleaded. “Tell me.”

It was the desperation in her voice that made Ai reach into his inventory and pull out the letter he got from the siren named Nebule. Compared to the fancy looking one from Oceana, it paled even more in comparison. Yet, the NPC’s eyes widened, her hands rushed to open the letter with excitement.

She wildly scanned the contents of the letter, mumbling the words to herself. 

After a good moment, the NPC slowly closed her eyes and fell to her knees, the letter drifting to the floor. She looked almost dejected as she kneeled in silence.

Getting more and more nervous, as the silence continued, Ai got up from his own seat and approached the NPC, gently touching her arm.

“Do you know Nebule…?”

The NPC looked at him with glassy eyes. “She’s trapped. In the siren castle.”

Siren castle...Ai vaguely remembered a building resembling a castle located at the far end of the village. He didn’t remember specifically what it looked like since the shape was just as outrageous and twisty as the other buildings, but he did remember that it looked slightly more decorated than the other buildings.

“Why did she contact you, but not me…?” The NPC muttered to herself, biting her lips in anger with tears in her eyes.

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Ai sighed then looked at Athens for some semblance of moral support. He wasn’t really good with words and how to comfort people, he was never the type to be so smooth in real life and in a game. He was unsure on how he could comfort this NPC who looked like her life was over, he wasn’t even sure if anything he could say would bring her some semblance of comfort.

There was one thing he was sure of. 

The quest that he was about to undertake was surely an interesting one, especially with this supposed nameless NPC acting unlike the other nameless NPCs. He needed to know what would happen next. How he could help. 

Gripping the NPC’s shoulder more firmly now, Ai spoke with conviction in his voice.

“Let me help you.” He said, his eyes boring into the siren’s. “Tell me what you know.”

 

***

 

Long ago, the sirens were exactly how fairy tales described them as.

They were beautiful and enchanting creatures with alluring voices who loved to lure sailors into their deaths. Whenever a group of seafarers came to their vicinity, the sirens would sing their songs and capture any sailor who were tricked by their melody. The poor sailors would be dragged under the sea where they would be eaten by the sirens who captured them.

Not all sea creatures were like the sirens. The mermaids, gentler cousins of the sirens, didn’t take too well to the sirens luring land walkers and ruining potential diplomacy the Sea Kingdom of Atlan could potentially have with them. 

As time continues, the sirens continue to play their songs and lure their victims. Their bloodthirsty, dangerous and murderous reputation continued to grow and grow until no land kingdom dared to even come in contact with the Sea Kingdom of Atlan.

One fateful day, an unfortunate siren sang a song and lured an important delegate for the Harpy Kingdom. The delegate was enchanted and met the same fate as all sailors did when they heard a siren’s song. He came, then fell, then drowned.

Outraged by this, The Harpy Kingdom soon declared that their two kingdoms and its people will never be cordial with each other. For as long as the blood of the people’s descendants existed, they will never come together.

This was an unfortunate event to happen to Atlan, because the Harpy Kingdom owned the trade route that the Fairy Kingdom used to get to Atlan’s trading dock. With the Harpy Kingdom closing the only trade route to Atlan, the kingdom soon lost its main source of income that they earned by selling the labors of the sea to the Fairies. 

The Fairies were the only kingdom to not be afraid of the murderous reputation the sirens had created due to the individualistic and apathetic nature of their people. 

Unable to take the troubles the sirens had caused, the King of Atlan prayed to the Deity of the Sea, Amaeira, to send divine punishment to the sirens and teach them the error of their ways. The Deity listened to the plight of the king and granted his wish.

The Deity soon cursed the sirens, forcing them to be unable to live in the ocean. They were forced out of their homes and were stuck on land, with no way to be able to return home. The Deity had blocked their sense of home so that they may never be able to go back even if they tried. 

Yet, that was not all.

The Deity took the melodic voices of the sirens away, making them incapable of holding even the simplest of tune. Whenever a siren tried, only horrible shrieking sounds could be heard. 

To the sirens, this was the worst punishment of all. 

They loved their voices more than anything else, and yet it was taken from them. Their beloved home was also taken from them. They had nothing.

Right there on the shore where they stood after being exiled, was the place where they built their new home, Oceanus. Decades past, generations came and gone, but the sirens never forgot their real home. Their longing of it was much too powerful. That was why Oceanus stood just on the precipice of the ocean. The sirens simply did not wish to stray farther away than they already did.

 

 

trying a new style of sketching

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