With the threat of death aura neutralized, everyone was free to enjoy the eerie yet beautiful melody of Dark Sonata without fear. Though the presence behind them was undeniably frightening, threatening either their health or their very souls, the haunting song that filled the air was surprisingly beautiful.
As the ship pressed forward through the dense gray fog, Larry began to notice unsettling details. It wasn't just their ship trapped in this eerie mist; scattered across the sea were the bodies of strange marine creatures.
These carcasses were peculiar, showing no visible wounds or signs of how they died. This matched exactly with the jellyfish corpse Larry had seen earlier at the auction house.
At first, he hadn't understood, but now it hit him: his soul had been taken by the Dark Sonata. It didn't harm the physical body but directly targeted the soul itself.
This Dark Sonata was a mysterious force, capable of affecting the souls of living beings. Perhaps, in the future, it could even give rise to soul-related Pokémon. Although, aside from ghost-types, Pokémon of this caliber are usually considered mythical beasts.
Somewhere in this deserted sea, no living creatures stirred, only an ominous gray fog enveloped the area. In the center of this fog stood a massive wooden ship, ragged and worn as if abandoned for a long time. The damp air had rotted much of the wood, filling the air with a musty, decaying smell.
As Morel stepped on a fragile plywood plank, it let out a sharp creak that echoed through the empty vessel.
"Did you find anything?" a woman nearby asked, though her tone showed little hope.
Morel shook his head; there was nothing where he'd searched. Just like Purple Smoke Rabbit's earlier inspection, there was nothing on the ship except that relentless, echoing music. "Nothing here," Morel confirmed.
"Same here," Knuckle and Shoot called out from opposite sides, both empty-handed after thoroughly combing the ship multiple times.
Nearby, a few smaller boats were docked, likely left by earlier explorers, but there was no sign of life, only some scattered supplies.
So where had everyone gone?
Did they really just sink into the sea after dying?
Morel and the others felt something was off because there was something strange about the ship, especially the most unusual spot on board. Larry stood at the bow, arms crossed, gazing ahead with curiosity.
To his left was Cluck, who seemed to be courting danger, and on the right was Menchi, quietly keeping him company.
Right in front of Larry stood a ship's figurehead. If anything on a ship could be called beautiful, it was the bow's figurehead. Sailors believed these statues protected the ship and its crew, scaring off sea monsters or enemies, or bringing good luck. They came in many shapes, from animals to gods.
This ship's figurehead was a woman, resembling a goddess from Earth. But oddly, this figurehead looked like it had taken a hard hit, broken clean in two. Only the lower half remained, still attached to the hull.
From the space above this broken figurehead came the eerie sound of a dark sonata and a presence of death aura.
These visible death aura seemed to materialize out of nowhere, trying to fly toward Larry and the others, but ultimately fell straight into Gengar's mouth. It was clear there was some invisible portal here, constantly leaking these death aura.
No matter how you looked at it, this spot was suspicious. The whole scene reminded Larry of his past experiences with the Kuruta tribe. 'Could this be another secret place?'
"There's definitely something strange here," Morel said deeply, standing behind Larry with his big pipe in hand.
Larry stood at the front, with Menchi on one side and everyone else following behind quietly. The gap in skill and status made Larry the natural leader of the group, whether to move forward or retreat, his word was final.
"Let's test it out and see if we can get in and out of there," Larry said, a playful smile spreading across his face.
If this really was a secret realm, maybe he could raise another super-evolved Pokémon this time!
Cluck nodded slightly, waved her hand, and a flock of white pigeons flew toward the area. Since Gengar was absorbing the death aura, the pigeons were unaffected and could explore freely.
With everyone's full attention focused, the white pigeons flew toward a certain spot. As if they had touched something invisible, ripples suddenly spread out in layers, and then the pigeons disappeared right there. It appeared to be the same kind of existence as the secret realm!
Despite the shock rising inside her, Cluck quickly took control and commanded the pigeons to return. But as soon as they entered, she felt herself losing control over them, the overwhelming presence of death aura inside was too much, and without Gengar to absorb those dark energies, it was hard to maintain command. After a while, the pigeons that had flown in came back, proving that people could enter and exit this place at will.
"It seems like you can come and go freely," Larry muttered softly.
Since there was no danger in leaving, they could confidently step inside. Considering the heavy influence of the death aura within, Gengar took the lead, with Larry and the others following closely behind.
Larry was even a bit worried that Gengar alone might not be enough, so he also take out Mega Sabbleye, two layers of protection. For Larry, releasing a Nen beasts at any moment had become second nature, and Morel and the others had gotten used to it, treating his Nen beasts almost like a limitless resource.
When Larry stepped through the entrance, the first thing that caught him off guard wasn't the strange environment around him, but the sudden appearance of two gestation bars in his mind!
It was the first time he had ever seen two breeding bars show up simultaneously, meaning two new Pokémon were about to be born. The speed of the two bars was surprisingly fast, one much faster than the other, so one would likely hatch soon.
After collecting his thoughts, Larry carefully examined the surroundings. As expected, the environment was completely different from the broken ship they had just left behind, they had entered another space entirely.
Gray fog floated in the air here, similar to the gray fog outside, but the light was dim and the area was bathed in a dark purple glow, giving the place an eerie, otherworldly feel.
"It looks like this is a secret realm," Larry said quietly, taking it all in.
Everywhere they looked, purple-black hues mixed with thick gray fog and unknown threats, creating an eerie, oppressive atmosphere that made the skin crawl.
Just as they stepped in, the sound of the violin rose sharply, filled with anger. Maybe it was upset about their intrusion, or perhaps its deathly intentions just didn't work on them.
Cluck's face grew serious as she whispered, "I feel danger all around us. It could erupt at any moment." She kept her voice low to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Almost as if confirming her fears, several figures emerged from the gray fog moments later.