Chapter 33: Whispers of the Mad and the First to Kneel
The island stretched before them, jagged and wild. The sea refused to touch its shores—waves stopped inches from the sand, as if afraid to cross. Trees were twisted like they'd grown in pain, and the air itself smelled like rusted metal and forgotten tombs.
Jake led the way, swaggering with casual confidence, but his eyes never stopped moving. "You know," he started as they trudged up the cracked path, "I once drank with a man in Tortuga who swore the Drowned King wasn't a myth."
Raina rolled her eyes. "You drink with a lot of people who swear nonsense."
"Yes, but this one foamed at the mouth when he spoke. That adds credibility, doesn't it?" Jake smirked, twirling his compass absentmindedly.
Elias, walking beside him, tilted his head. "What did he say?"
Jake grew quiet, for once. "He said the Drowned King was never a man. Not really. He was the first to make a deal with the sea… and the first the sea tried to erase."
Raina frowned. "Tried?"
Jake nodded. "Aye. The sea rose against him, storms broke continents, leviathans turned on their maker. But he wouldn't sink. Wouldn't die. So the sea did the next best thing—it forgot him."
"And now," Elias said, eyes narrowed, "he's remembering."
They reached the heart of the island. A ruined temple stood crooked beneath a black sky, pillars crumbled and sunken into the earth. The walls were covered in ancient carvings—ships overturned, gods drowning, men with mouths open in eternal screams.
"Lovely décor," Jake muttered. "Really inviting."
They stepped through the archway. The moment Elias crossed the threshold, the air shifted. Warm. Cold. Then—
"Elias."
The voice came from the shadows. Deep. Ancient. And somehow… familiar.
Raina grabbed her sword. Jake just raised a brow and muttered, "And now it gets fun."
A figure stepped forward from the dark. He was tall—inhumanly so. Skin pale like a corpse left in the sea. His eyes glowed faintly green, and barnacles clung to his armor like badges. Seaweed hung from his shoulders like a cloak.
"You," he said again, pointing a long, dripping finger at Elias. "The one who left. The boy who forgot."
Elias's jaw tightened. "I don't know you."
The figure grinned. "That's because you chose not to remember. But you were one of us once. One of the first."
Jake glanced sideways. "Well, this escalated."
The follower's grin widened. "The Drowned King remembers you. You were his sword. His chosen gatekeeper. Until you ran."
Elias stepped forward. "I didn't run. I escaped. I guess I mean i don't remember shit so yeah"
The creature hissed, a wave of dark water surging from behind him. "Then come back. Kneel now… or drown forever."
Elias drew his black sword.
Jake stepped back and gestured to Raina. "Alright, best we give the boy some space. Things are about to get splashy."
The temple trembled as the follower of the Drowned King let out a roar—his body shifting, warping. His hands turned into claws. His skin darkened like the deep sea. From his back rose spectral tendrils made of salt and shadow.
Elias charged.
Their blades met in a crack of energy. Every strike sent out waves of force. The walls shook. The sea outside hissed and crashed even though no wind blew.
"You were made for him!" the creature screamed. "He carved your soul from the Abyss!"
Elias shouted back, "Then I'll carve it out again!"
They clashed again—sword to claw, strength to fury. Elias ducked under a spinning strike, slashed upward, and caught the creature's shoulder. It let out a scream that shook the temple stones.
Jake leaned against a broken pillar, sipping from a flask. "I give it two more minutes before someone explodes."
Raina shook her head. "Do you ever take anything seriously?"
"I do! I seriously think Elias should win before that thing grows more limbs."
The follower growled and slammed Elias to the ground, pinning him.
"You were supposed to lead us back to him. You were the key!"
Elias gritted his teeth, grabbed his sword, and jammed it into the creature's throat.
"Then I'm locking the door."
The follower shrieked and burst into sea foam and shadow, dissolving into the air.
Silence fell.
Elias stood, blood on his face, chest rising with every breath. He looked at Jake and Raina.
Jake raised his flask. "Well done. Heroic. Wet."
Raina walked over and helped Elias steady himself. "He knew you. Really knew you."
Elias nodded slowly. "He wasn't lying. I… felt it. A pull. Like I belonged to something. But I don't."
Jake stepped beside them, compass spinning in his hand. "Well, whatever you were before, you're not that now."
Elias looked toward the temple's far end, where a symbol glowed faintly—an anchor made of bone, wrapped in chains.
"He's waking," Elias whispered. "The Drowned King."
Jake's face turned serious. "Then we'd better make sure the sea remembers how to fight back."
They turned and left the temple.
And somewhere deep beneath the waves… a pair of glowing green eyes opened.
---
You can contact me through my official page on the following Accounts:
telegram:
miraclenarrator
tiktok:
miracle_narrator
instagram:
miracle_narrator