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The Safe Zone will be opened.
The protectors and the Heart are asked to prepare!
For the heart, please hold out for 12 hours.
For the outsiders, please destroy the heart as much as possible.
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11:59:59
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The green light that had been protecting the building flickered several times, like the last breath of a dying creature, before finally disappearing completely.
No more protection.
The heavy rain immediately broke through, hitting our bodies mercilessly.
In seconds, our clothes were drenched, weighed down by the relentless downpour.
The fierce wind swirled around us, slipping through every crack, creating a biting cold that reached to our bones.
I looked up, staring at the sky that had once been pierced by the safe zone's protection.
The dark clouds moved wildly, rolling with threatening speed, like a marker of the destruction to come.
The atmosphere around us shifted drastically.
Some people screamed in panic, while others stood frozen, too shocked to move.
The sounds of rain and wind mixed with whispers of fear and uncontrollable screams.
I stood amidst the chaos, trying to understand what was happening.
But before my mind could process everything, I felt something unusual.
My body began to emit light.
"What is this?" I whispered, more to myself.
My hand trembled as I watched it shine brightly, like a star burning in the dark night.
My black hair slowly lifted, changing into a brilliant white.
The glow was so intense I could feel the warmth on my skin.
Panic spread through my body.
I took a few steps back.
When I turned, I saw all eyes on me.
No comfort, no safety.
Only shock, fear, and even a hint of hatred.
"This...," Dirga whispered, his voice barely audible over the rain.
I turned away, trying to avoid their gazes, but Bram's voice cut through the silence, full of anger.
"We can't even kill this kid! This kid is nothing but a disaster!" he shouted, his face flushed red.
His voice echoed, like expressing a frustration that had been building up.
His words hit hard.
I wanted to argue, but no words came out.
Diego stood nearby, his face filled with concern.
While Ayla and Diego, though slightly shocked, tried to approach me.
But their steps stopped when Dirga suddenly shouted.
"Something's coming from that direction! Get ready!"
Everyone turned to the direction he pointed.
But all we saw was darkness—an ocean of waves churning in the distance.
"Are you sure?" Bram asked, trying to break the eerie silence.
Dirga didn't respond, but his eyes remained focused.
I looked in the same direction, searching for something—anything—that might have been missed.
But before I could realize what was happening, Ayla moved.
She attacked Diego.
"Ayla! What are you doing?!" Diego screamed in panic, jumping back to avoid her strike.
Ayla's usually gentle face had changed.
Her eyes burned with an unnatural rage.
She attacked viciously, like a puppet that had lost control of herself.
Ayla didn't answer.
Her face, once soft, now twisted with fury, and she continued to strike Diego fiercely.
"This isn't right..." I muttered, taking a reflexive step back.
But things were getting worse.
One by one, people around us began attacking their own teammates.
The atmosphere turned into a chaotic battlefield.
Screams echoed from every direction.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Bram screamed as one of his party members attacked him.
Dirga was now cornered, fighting off two people who had gone wild in their attacks.
I stood frozen, my body still glowing, as I tried to understand what was happening.
Then, I saw it.
From the direction of the sea, a woman slowly emerged.
Her head appeared first, followed by long hair hanging like wet seaweed.
Her face was half-human, half-something else—her eyes pitch black, without pupils, and her smile...
Too wide.
Too terrifying.
She reached out her hand toward me, like calling me.
Then, she opened her mouth.
A soft, melodic, and deadly sound poured out.
"Ha...aaaaa~"
The wave of sound hit me like a storm, sweeping away all my defenses.
My body began moving on its own.
My legs stepped forward, uncontrolled.
"KAI! DON'T!" Diego yelled, trying to stop Ayla while looking at me.
He tried to get closer, but Ayla kept attacking him relentlessly, preventing him from doing anything to help me.
I wanted to stop.
I wanted to fight back.
But my body kept moving.
I was getting closer to the creature, and I knew this was the end for me.
It felt like I was walking toward my own destruction.
But suddenly, an arrow shot out quickly, piercing the creature's shoulder.
A piercing scream followed, so painful I had to cover my ears.
The creature turned, its gaze filled with anger, before diving back into the sea, disappearing into the waves.
I staggered, finally able to regain control of my body.
I looked up, trying to see where the arrow had come from.
On the roof, someone stood with a bow in hand.
Kael.
He gracefully jumped down, landing in front of me.
His face was as cold as ice, his eyes sharp as he looked at me.
I could only stand there, trying to comprehend what had just happened, while the world around me grew even more chaotic.
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"Sirens," Kael said briefly, his voice low but carrying the weight of an undeniable command amid the storm.
I looked up at him, my body still glowing with white light, making the raindrops on me look like shards of crystal reflecting light.
Kael's gaze remained straight, cutting through the thick darkness of the sea that looked increasingly ominous.
His face was emotionless, only cold focus, making me feel small in front of him.
His voice was cold, almost without emotion, but it was enough to make me shiver in the storm that raged around us.
"Sirens?" I repeated softly, almost inaudible amid the rumbling thunder.
I tried to process the word—mythical creatures, half-human, half-fish, spoken of in ancient tales.
But what I had just seen was far worse than any legend.
Kael didn't respond.
No explanation.
No time to ask more.
He smoothly reached for an arrow from his back, the motion exuding complete control and calm.
His pull on the bow was so soft, almost soundless, but I could feel the intensity.
The arrow shot forward like a streak of light, cutting through the heavy rain, targeting the swirling waves.
Then, a scream rang out.
The sound sliced through the air, so shrill it felt like it was tearing through my bones.
My ears rang, the sound not human.
It felt like something from the depths of the sea itself.
I froze, my teeth chattering as I fought the urge to close my ears.
Around me, the chaos began to subside.
Ayla, who had been attacking Diego brutally, suddenly staggered back, her eyes wide as if waking from a nightmare.
She clutched her head, her breath ragged.
"Huh? What... what happened?" she mumbled, almost inaudible.
Diego, with cuts on his face, stood frozen.
"Ayla? Are you conscious again?" he said, his voice filled with relief and disbelief.
Diego stared at her with hopeful eyes despite his exhausted face.
Ayla shook her head slightly, her eyes starting to redden.
"I... I attacked you? Diego, I attacked you?" she said, her voice cracking.
She took a step back, her hands trembling violently.
Before anyone could answer, Kael's voice broke the brief silence again.
"Don't let them get close to you," he said to me, his gaze sharp and full of alertness.
"You're their target."
I wanted to ask, to know more, but my throat tightened.
My gaze was fixed on the arrow that was now nocked again in his bow, ready to fly at any moment.
He tilted his chin slightly, then added,
"Focus on surviving. No one can protect you if you don't try to protect yourself."
His words were harsh, but I knew they were the truth.
My chest tightened, a mix of fear and guilt pressing down on me.
Before I could say anything, Kael stepped away, his steps firm in the rising water that had reached our ankles.
"Dirga!" he suddenly shouted, his voice cutting through the noise like a whip.
Dirga turned with a disheveled face, breathing heavily after successfully fending off two people who had attacked him for no reason.
"What?!" he replied, almost shouting.
"Tell me their positions," Kael ordered without looking, his tone more command than request.
Dirga, though exhausted, quickly scanned the area.
His eyes moved rapidly, watching every shadow that moved among the waves and pouring rain.
"At twelve o'clock! One more at ten o'clock, twenty meters away!"
Kael nodded, then without wasting time, drew two arrows simultaneously.
I held my breath as I watched him aim with deadly precision.
The arrows flew, cutting through the air with a speed that almost made it impossible to follow with my eyes.
Another scream was heard, this time shorter but still shrill.
Two shadows that had been moving swiftly through the water suddenly sank without a trace.
Kael lowered his bow slowly, his breath steady.
"They're using the water to move," he said, almost as a mumble, but loud enough for all of us to hear.
"Don't get near the water. It'll make you their prey."
Nearby, Bram began to raise his rifle.
He fired a few shots into the water, but the creatures' shadows were too fast.
His shots only created small ripples on the surface, not enough to harm them.
On the other side, Dirga took control, shouting orders to the others.
"Fall back to the building! Stay away from the water's edge!" he shouted, his voice almost drowned by the storm.
I looked at them all, the people now trying to reposition themselves in the midst of this tense situation.
Suddenly, a heavy voice came from behind me.
I turned and saw Kael standing there, watching me with an unreadable expression.
"This is just the beginning," he said softly, but his tone held something that made my blood run cold.
"If you're not ready, you'll be the reason we all die."
I couldn't answer.
His words pierced like arrows, straight into my mind.
I knew he wasn't wrong, but it felt like the weight of the world had just been placed on my shoulders.
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When the sirens finally disappeared into the dark depths of the sea, we all gathered in the middle of the area, now filled with water.
The heavy rain continued to pour, but no one moved to seek shelter.
The sound of the falling water was the only accompaniment to the silence.
Their eyes were filled with confusion, fear, and exhaustion.
Dirga, still panting, stood in the middle of the circle, his face hardening.
Without wasting any time, he spoke, his voice firm, cutting through the cold air like a whip.
"How did you know about the sirens?" he asked, staring sharply at Kael.
No pleasantries, no formalities.
The question came out like a shot, full of suspicion.
Kael, standing slightly apart on the edge of the circle, slowly removed the hood that had been covering his face.
His silvery hair cascaded down, reflecting the faint light from the lanterns still burning in the distance.
But it wasn't that which caught everyone's attention.
When his elf-like long ears emerged from beneath his hair, some in our group were visibly shocked.
Small gasps were heard, especially from Bram, who immediately gripped his gun tighter.
The others followed his lead, lifting their weapons, albeit hesitantly.
Only I, Diego, and Ayla remained silent.
We already knew who—or more precisely, what—Kael really was.
"Does this answer your doubts?" Kael asked, his voice cold and calm.
His gaze swept across their group, daring anyone to challenge his presence.
In the dark, his blue eyes glowed like frozen ice, making his presence feel even more alien.
"Are you on our side?" Dirga asked, his tone still cautious.
Before Kael could answer, I stepped forward.
"He's still part of our party," I said firmly.
"He's bound by the same forced mission. That means he can't hurt or kill me. Is that enough to guarantee his loyalty?"
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly, and I could almost swear I saw a brief flash of surprise on his face.
But, as usual, he quickly hid it behind his cold mask.
Dirga frowned, his mind working fast.
After a moment, he nodded slowly, though his face remained full of wariness.
"Alright. But I want answers." He crossed his arms over his chest.
"What do you know about these sirens? And will they come back?"
Kael stared at him coldly, then gave a small nod.
"They will come back," he said, his voice firm like a rock crashing into waves.
"And this time, they won't come alone. They'll bring more forces."
"What do you mean?" Bram interrupted, his voice growing angry.
"We just drove them off! Isn't that enough to make them leave?"
Kael sighed briefly, as if tired of explaining something he thought was obvious.
"The sirens never let go of their prey," he said, his eyes scanning our faces one by one.
"If they don't die, they will keep coming back. They are predators, and you—all of you—are already on their list of prey."
His words hung in the air like a heavy weight pressing down on our chests.
I could feel the tension around me rising.
Dirga tried to break the silence with a more practical question.
"How hard are they to fight? Besides controlling minds, what else can they do?"
Kael stared at him in silence for a few seconds, then answered in a lower, more piercing tone.
"Fighting them isn't just about physical strength. They are creatures that feed on fear. They start by manipulating your mind, creating doubt, fear, even making you attack your own friends. If you're not strong enough mentally, you'll lose before you even swing your weapon."
He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in before continuing.
"They will wage a psychological war."
Silence settled again.
No one spoke.
No one knew what to say.
I could see the faces around me—confusion, fear, even a hint of despair.