The crew was quiet.
Even the usually loud-mouthed Dax was fidgeting, eyes fixed on the map. The events at Siren Reef had shaken them all, even if the victory was theirs.
Ankit sat cross-legged on the main deck, his blades beside him. His fingers traced shallow cuts along the hilts, cleaning dried sea-salt from the edge.
[System Notice: Proficiency Growth – 8.9%]
Style Path: Twin-Edge Ascension – Progressing steadily.
Mental Resistance: +1 (Siren Combat Bonus)
He didn't smile. Growth was good. But the system didn't show the costs—not the blood, not the weight.
Shanks walked over and dropped a folded piece of parchment on Ankit's lap.
"New map from Captain Zia. She says Whale-Tongue's base is here."
Ankit opened it.
There, in the center of a swirl of current lines and red crosses, was a single word written in sea-soaked ink:
"Driftgrave."
An island shaped like a spiral shell—one that only appeared during full moons, due to tidal shifts.
Rumors said no ship had ever returned from it.
⚓ That Night…
The Red Blade dropped anchor offshore. Mist rolled over the waves again, thicker than before.
Driftgrave didn't rise from the ocean—it emerged, lifted by a slow and eerie tide. Coral towers jutted from its coastline like ancient, broken spires. Wrecked ships—some decades old—were impaled across the rocks, their sails still fluttering like ghosts.
Dax muttered, "This place eats ships."
"No," Ankit said. "It keeps them."
The landing party was small: Ankit, Shanks, Dax, and two others. The rest stayed to guard the ship and watch the tides.
The group stepped onto the island with caution. The ground beneath their boots was slick with salt and seaweed. Bones crunched underfoot.
Everywhere they turned, they saw wreckage—ship wheels, shattered masts, half-buried chests… and the bones of men.
"Keep sharp," Ankit said, scanning the cliffs. "This place feels alive."
They moved inland, toward the spiral center.
That's when the fog closed behind them—and the air changed.
🌫️ Within the Drift…
Whispers began.
Faint, echoing voices—unfamiliar yet personal.
Dax froze. "I… I hear my mother's voice. She died years ago."
Ankit's eyes sharpened. "Don't listen."
Too late. One of the crew stumbled toward a shattered hull, chasing some invisible sound—and vanished through a wooden door that wasn't there before.
"Trap," Ankit growled.
Suddenly, a clang rang out.
The ground beneath them trembled.
And from the broken masts and hanging sails, figures began to rise.
Humanoids—draped in tattered captain coats and barnacle-encrusted armor. They walked with water-logged limbs and empty sockets glowing with eerie blue flame.
"Undead pirates?" Shanks muttered, raising his saber.
"No," Ankit said. "Not undead… cursed echoes."
[System Alert: New Threat Detected]
Spectral-Class – Soulbound Combatants. Cannot be killed by normal means.
Weakness: Anchored Memories / Willpower Surge.
The echoes raised ghostly weapons. And then they charged.
🗡️ The Battle in the Spiral – Begins!
Ankit moved first, slashing cleanly through one of the echo-pirates.
It stumbled—but didn't fall. Instead, it twisted back into shape like flowing ink.
[Damage registered: Ineffective. Spectral targets immune to physical-only attacks.]
"Tch—They're illusions that fight back."
Shanks leapt beside him, dodging two cutlasses.
"Then we hit them harder," he smirked.
But brute force didn't work either.
Dax screamed—grappling with an echo that looked like his dead brother. His blade shook in his hand. He couldn't strike.
Ankit charged through, slicing the echo's legs.
"Dax! They feed on your mind. Your weakness!"
"But I… I miss him."
"Then remember who you are now," Ankit shouted, "not who you lost!"
Dax steadied. His next slash landed. The echo shrieked and shattered like glass.
[System Trigger: Willpower Recognition – Mental Anchor Created]
Ankit smiled faintly. "So that's how it is."
He gripped his swords tighter.
"If they feed on memories… then let them choke on mine."
⚔️ Ankit's Awakening: Twin Flash Counter
One echo appeared behind him—a mirror of himself, twisted, grinning.
It raised dual blades—his own style.
Ankit's eyes narrowed.
He spun, slashed once with both swords.
[Technique Unlocked: Twin Flash Counter – Parry & Riposte against mirrored forms.]
The echo shattered into blue dust.
Shanks stared. "You've been holding back."
Ankit gave a half-smile. "Just surviving."
The echoes faded as dawn approached.
Driftgrave's curse lifted as tides rose once more. The island would soon vanish beneath the sea.
The team ran, leapt into their skiff, and returned to the Red Blade.
They were alive.
But changed.
And somewhere deep in the shifting currents… the name Whale-Tongue waited like a whisper.
End of Chapter 5 – "The Island That Swallows Ships"
Next: Chapter 6 – "Tides of Vengeance"