Deep in the dream realm, a single whistle sounded. The night sky hid nothing from the ground and the lone figure walked through the cold dunes. The whistling stopped and a faint voice began singing.

“A time of the endless reap.

Shall rest in the endless sleep.

Oh gods forgotten by hearts so rotten.

The moon alone, weeps the bone.

Disaster from darkest day

A guide for those left astray

Oh gods forgotten by hearts so rotten

The sea alone, weeps the throne

The singing stopped. The wind replaced the song with the noise of rolling sand. The grains were carried away before stopping, landing helplessly upon black stone. The sun peeked over the horizon, showing just how truly dark the stones were, sucking in all light.

“A scholar should learn all the words to the song, don't you think?” The singer said to no one in particular and walked forward to the pyramid.

The breeze lashed out at Rio’s skin. The master didn’t mind at all, he even welcomed it. The ship cut through the waves, slowing for nothing. It moved powerfully through the ocean with one destination in mind--Antarctica. Rio sighed. He was going to be stuck on this boat for who knows how long.

Rio’s vassal clan, Howling Tides, was sent as a proxy for Song. He was going to use the chain of nightmares as an alibi while he targets Valor’s saints. Rio frowned a bit. Venus stood next to him, looking rather pale.

“You don’t have to be out here if you don’t want to. But I understand if you want to.” Venus shot him a dirty look before leaning over the railing, when he came back he was looking more green.

“I don’t swing that way, especially for someone like you.” Rio laughed at the Awakened’s attempt to be threatening. “Lord Direfang has ordered me to stay by his side. To both of our regrets.” He wasn’t referring to Rio, but the man with deep brown hair.

“I thought I was responsible for him?”

“Now that you have to deal with being the leader of a clan, I’ve been appointed vice watcher of Mordret.” Venus shivered a bit, not from the cold, but from the man’s unnerving gaze. Mordret had said nothing to Rio after the master blew apart Helianthus. Rio just smiled back at the man and watched the water.

Despite the amassed forces of humanity, the ocean still possessed the largest threat. The heavy mech suits, thousands of tungsten rounds, and hundreds of Awakened aboard the vessel were all powerless over the sea. Rio tugged on his bodysuit. He was a lucky rare few who could survive a battle in the water despite not being a part of the Night Clan. ‘I’m half, so does that make me a cheat?’

“When will we kill the saint?” Mordret asked. Rio and the seasick Venus looked at him. His eyes burned with some complex feelings. Determination and pride among other things.

‘I did kill him instantly.’ Rio mused. But that was a one time thing. Now that he knows what Rio has, the tyrant could counter it.

“Once we make landfall, we will carve a path to Erebus Field and hold the siege capital. After making a wonderful show that Song is taking action, we will slip away to hunt the saint in the dream realm.” Rio thought for a moment before adding, “If. Very big ‘If’. There is no chance it goes that smoothly.”

Rio stayed out till the water had turned black. Even in the middle of the ocean, it was bright. Searchlights from every ship scanned the water for threats. The flag ship was by far the most domineering of the ships. Much larger than the others and having a Saint aboard. From his spot Rio could sense the fearsome aura.

‘Bloodwave hasn’t changed.’ Rio thought. He snapped his head up, hearing a faint sound. As he listened more, it became clearer. It was…singing. Rio looked out over the waves trying to pinpoint the origin of the voices.

They harmonized with each other, and sang a beautiful song. However, the words he couldn’t understand.

“Sir.” Rio turned around to see an officer approaching him. “Are you hearing voices?” ‘Strange question,’ Rio was about to nod, but then he stopped. His aspect protected his mind. The singing wasn’t necessarily harmful. He eyed the woman, whose face was expressionless.

“Yes.”

“Don’t you feel like you should join them?” The woman asked. Her face was still, and her eyes empty.

The lights suddenly went out, and Rio was left in utter darkness. He heard the women move. He guarded himself, but the woman grabbed his body and threw them both over the rails. Rio punched the person, their body falling apart into streaks of water. Rio splashed into the water, the voices got louder.

‘Sirens.’ Rio remembered the Greek myths. ‘They can’t harm me.’

Rio summoned his armor and spear. He was able to breathe and see in the water. He swam through the water getting closer to the voices.

He leaped out of the water and swung his spear. He felt flesh and continued to cut. The night air lit up with flashes of light, illuminating the bird-like thing. Rio kicked another through the chest and the spell sang.

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[You have slain awakened Demon ‘Drowning Maiden’] The song abruptly stopped after Rio dealt with the cause, but the fireworks continued blasting the water. Rio saw several figures jump into the sea from the mountains of metal.

‘The cohorts of the House of Night.’ he was feeling jittery. The convoy was surrounded by some circle of darkness that made the night water several shades darker. Then a rush of force pushed against Rio. Bloodwave had joined the battle.

Rio dove into the water. The once empty sea was filled with hundreds of monstrosities. Rio changed Ocean’s Wrath into a bow and shot through the water, causing bubbles of blood to rise to the surface. He fired again and again, listening to the symphony of the Spell.

The scales of the slain fish merged with his chiton, forming an armor of green, blue, and black. Rio swam past the smaller creatures, his Flaw driving him to the greatest of the nightmare creatures. A giant hammerhead shark flung itself against the hull of a ship.

‘This is interesting.’ Rio watched the shark for a few moments, astonished that the ship could hold against the attack of a Titan. Rio summoned his javelin. It sizzled, ionizing the water and Rio threw it. The titan stopped its attack to look at him before the javelin crashed into its body. The titian thrashed, bolts of lightning pulsed from the wound, causing more damage inside. Rio wasted no time and shot the Titan. But the beast shook off its initial shock and charged at Rio.

‘This monster,’ Rio braced and was beaten back. His arms bent to an unhealthy degree and he was flung back in the water. If he’d been bracing against land, Rio would have lost his upper body. The hammerhead roared and the ocean carried its call. The monsters got more frenzied, attacking viciously.

Rio contemplated his options. The spell wouldn’t let him run. Oath of the Watcher still damaged the Titan, but Rio would be dead by the time it felled the titan.

‘My win condition is getting it away from the ship and to the Saint.’ Rio couldn’t find anything in the water, with the vast amount of powerful creatures. Something stronger than the shark was in these waters.

The shark struck again, and Rio got out of the way, but was pulled by the current it made. He felt his back being crushed, and spun uncontrollably in the depths. Rio brought out his charm and activated it, disappearing into the red water. The titan looked around, its frenzied eyes scanning for prey. Then its body was compressed. Rio slashed the tough skin, and activated his weapon’s attribute. The back fin succumbed to the presser and broke. The titan wailed and the bodies of the dead minions started to break apart. Then they moved.

With the titan at the center, a tornado of scales and bones formed. The whole area became a zone of death, tearing everything to bloody bits. Rio needed to get this titan away from the ships, or else it would shred the convoy to bits. He took off the tablet and called the javelin back. He swam down, letting the titan follow him. The murky water cleared and Rio could see better.

The titan swerved to face him, the shredding storm paused. Rio threw the javelin, and activated [Thunder pulse]. The titan’s storm blew apart, and the clap vibrated through everything in Rio’s body. The titan dogged the attack, even without its back fin. The displaced water spun the titan, and Rio took that opportunity. Ocean’s wrath became a spear and he drove the silver blade into the titan’s head. Ocean’s wrath scraped against the titan’s skull, but did not pierce it.

‘Crap’. The storm returned. Rio’s body was assaulted by shards of bones and scales. Strips of flesh hung from his bones, and the entire area of water around Rio was stained red. He felt his bones exposed and removed his arms from his face. His armor was in bad condition, and his weapon was chipped, even though he was the one who attacked. The shark righted itself, looking at Rio with hunger.

Rio’s essence was running out, having used the javelin twice. His body was already knitting together thanks to his armor, but the attribute had its limits. Rio summoned the javelin into his hands. The hot metal bubbled in the water. Rio smiled at the beast, activating his aspect.

The little bits of moonlight and gun lights were shrouded by the massive figure. With limbs stretching to the four corners of the world and rubbery skin a sickly purple, the creature moved, facing the shark.

The octopus that appeared dwarfed the shark. Rio was glass he was deep under the convoy, or they might have panicked to death by the sight of the thing. Rio could only guess the rank of the terrifying beast. If the shark was a titan, was this thing unholy? Or another level that humans haven't discovered?

The shark activated its storm, the sharp water cut the octopus. But the octopus still moved, unfazed. It slowly moved, memorizing every monster in the vicinity. The shark tried to flee, but its tail was broken. The octopus wrapped one tentacle around the shark, and held it. The shark stopped, paralyzed by fear. Rio threw the javelin one last time, hitting the titan in the head. It writhed. The octopus vanished as Rio ran out of essence. The shark looked at him with pure hate and even with half its skull caved in, it moved with the same power.

‘What made such unfair creatures?’ Rio couldn’t move. He’d fought the titan for ten minutes, yet it was already over. Rio dismissed all his memories, gaining enough strength to dodge the disabled titan.

The bodies of dead nightmare creatures tore apart to fill the shark’s storm. Rio smiled.

‘Not a bad way to go out.’ Fighting a titan had been one of his dreams. Well, defeating one. The monstrous, half head shark concentrated the storm, and a spire of sharp death cut its way to Rio. The shark roared. Then it was torn to pieces by currents of blood.

The Saint arrived.

The large whale destroyed the remnants of the titan. The scales lost their power and spread out like slowed down confetti, drifting deeper into the sea.

Someone grabbed Rio and they surfaced. Rio heard the sounds of shells being fired. The man dragged him up and laid him upon the deck.

"Are you alright?" Rio opened his eyes and was staring at his grand uncle.

"Bloodwave?"

The man looked embarrassed for a moment before correcting him. “No, Naeve.” Rio winced as the man dragged him to cover and sat him against a wall. Rio studied the man more. He wasn’t Bloodwave. He was much younger, and with black hair. His eyes were what matched the Saint’s.

“Bloodwave took care of the titan, you need to rest.” Naeve got up and Rio grabbed him before he went.

“What rank?”

“Dormant.” Rio let go, letting the master return to the ocean. Rio was left alone, with only the sound of guns as confort. At least until another man stepped in front of him.

Rio looked at Mordret, deadpan. The man was similarly expressionless. Rio didn’t have any strength left, and the shell needed preparation to help him recover. Rio cracked a smile and tried not to sound like a fish out of water.

“Are you going to kill me?” The man responded by summoning a black knife. Rio regarded the blade for a second before looking back at Mordret’s eyes.

“The chest please. Less messy.” Mordret’s eyes twitched before he bent over and put the point against Rio’s chest.

“Are you scared?”

“Not really. I know you are an experienced killer, so I’m not going to spend hours slowly dying.”

“I could drag this out.”

“Could you not?” Mordret starred at Rio, and he starred back. The sounds of battle disappeared.

“I still need you to help me kill a saint. I’ll kill you after that.”

“I can't wait.” Mordret pulled the knife away and walked off. Rio watched the ocean be riddled with columns of water and sudden holes. He summoned the shell and let it fill with his blood. Essence flowed back into his body, and he summoned the armor back. His body knitted back together and he stayed there through the night.

Rio sat there letting his mind wonder. ‘So far my hunch is right. Mordret can’t directly kill people.’