Location: Outer Rim, Entering the Gravewater Shoals
The Red Blade cut through waters that looked like oil and tasted of rust.
Mace tightened the ropes at the bow, muttering to himself. "Deadmen's Vane… We really going there?"
The fog was unnatural. It crept slowly, like something breathing. The sky above was clear, yet the horizon was shrouded in a ghostly veil that shimmered faintly with green light.
Shanks stood at the helm, eyes narrow. "This is the place. No mistake."
Ankit walked up beside him, blades strapped to his back, cloak fluttering in the breeze. He felt it again—that sense of pressure, like something ancient stirring beneath them.
"Feels like the sea wants us gone," Ankit muttered.
"Good," Shanks replied. "That means we're close."
Location: Deadmen's Vane – Outer Graves
They reached the perimeter of a massive field of shipwrecks. Broken hulls, rotted sails, rusted cannons—all half-sunken or jutting from the water like grave markers.
Dozens of them.
No sound but the creak of their own ship.
Ankit scanned the debris. "How many ships died here?"
Mace answered quietly, "They say the Vane doesn't sink ships. It keeps them. Collects them."
A wave rocked the ship.
Suddenly—
THUMP!
Something struck the side of the hull.
Everyone froze.
Ankit and Shanks were first over the railing, swords drawn. What they saw made Mace swear under his breath.
A man.
Floating.
Strapped to a piece of driftwood with barbed rope. His lips were blue, but his eyes were open—barely.
Ankit jumped down, landing near him on the outer platform and yanking him up.
"He's alive," Ankit said, lifting the unconscious man.
Shanks looked over the man's gear—torn green coat, a shattered marine sword, and a ruined journal tucked into his belt.
"Bring him below. He's seen something."
Location: Infirmary – Below Deck
The man's breathing was shallow. His skin pale. Ankit cleaned the wounds while Mace handed him a flask of burning rum to sterilize the deeper gashes.
Suddenly, the man gasped.
Eyes shot open.
He grabbed Ankit by the wrist, nails digging in.
"Don't follow the Harpoon!" he rasped. "It bleeds through the hull! It marks you!"
Shanks stepped forward. "What did you see?"
The man's voice dropped to a whisper, trembling. "Eyes. In the water. And a gate of bone. It opens when you say the name…"
"What name?" Ankit asked sharply.
The man opened his mouth—
And screamed.
A long, horrifying scream, until his body seized—and went still.
Silence.
[System Alert: Mental Surge Field Detected – Source Unknown]
System defense barrier active…
Partial vision incoming…
Ankit's eyes glazed for a second.
[SYSTEM VISION – Fragment Detected]
A spinning harpoon, forged of coral and black iron.
A woman standing at its base—wearing a crown of fishbone, whispering ancient words.
A gate, shaped like a massive jaw, rising from the ocean floor.
And something else.
Behind it—watching.
Waiting.
Back to Reality
Ankit gasped and stumbled backward, clutching his chest.
Shanks caught him.
"What did you see?"
Ankit shook his head slowly. "There's something here… under this gravewater. A gate. And something bound behind it. Maybe even older than this world."
Mace asked, "And we're going toward it?!"
Shanks just grinned, the kind that was more defiance than joy. "Yeah. Because if that man was right… it's guarding something powerful."
Location: The Center of the Vane – 3 Hours Later
The Red Blade maneuvered carefully between the wrecks.
Suddenly—glint.
In the center of the water grave, a massive spear-like object pierced through a shipwreck. Made of twisted black metal, shaped almost like a trident, yet too long—easily forty feet. Coral grew from its sides. Symbols glowed faintly down the shaft.
Shanks stepped forward. "The Whispering Harpoon."
But as they got closer—
RUMBLE.
The water below twisted.
And from the shadow of the wrecks, figures emerged—dripping, bloated, half-human. Pirates long dead, animated by something unnatural.
One of them spoke—not with voice, but with a wet, hissing echo.
"THE FORGE IS NOT FOR MORTALS."
Swords were drawn.
[Fight Location: Deck of The Red Blade – Undead Assault Begins]
Ankit dashed first, blades gleaming silver in the moonlight. His movements were fast but grounded—he parried a slash, pivoted low, and sliced upward in a clean arc, splitting one attacker across the chest. No blood—just seawater and rot.
He felt the strain in his muscles. This wasn't flashy. This was work.
Another undead leapt forward—Ankit sidestepped, using the momentum to flip behind it and drive his right blade into its spine, pulling the left in a spinning deflection to intercept a second assailant.
Shanks took the center, his sword burning with red haki as he tore through three enemies in a single swing—raw, brutal, efficient.
"Don't let them pull you into the water!" Mace shouted, blasting one with his flintlock.
More were climbing up the wrecks.
Ankit growled. "They're endless!"
"No," Shanks said, eyes locked onto the Harpoon in the distance. "They're just trying to stall us."
[End of Combat Scene]
The tide of undead slowed.
The last corpse sank back into the sea.
An eerie calm returned.
They sailed closer.
Now, right beside the Whispering Harpoon, embedded into the wreck. Strange symbols pulsed faintly.
Ankit approached it carefully. He placed one hand near the surface.
[System Alert: New Artifact Detected – "Relic: Whispering Harpoon"]
Sync rate: 2.3%
Warning: Touch will trigger vision.
Proceed?
He hesitated.
Then—
He touched it.
[SYSTEM PANEL – USER: ANKIT]
Status: Tense. Fatigued.
Mental Alertness: High.
World Integration Sync: 9.2%
Combat Skill Proficiency – Updated:
Dual Sword Style – Lv. 2
Efficiency Rating: 54%
Flow Reading: ★★☆☆☆
Off-Hand Coordination: 71%
Style Branch Unlocks: 0/3
Passive Unlock: Momentum Flicker – [Allows redirection with minimal movement]
New Trait Observed:
[Harpoon of Echoes – Dormant Relic]
Effect: Vision Trigger / Sea Binding
Currently Locked – Requires "Forge" Access
End of Chapter 13 – Deadmen's Vane
Next: Chapter 14 – "The Gate Beneath the Grave"