A ship floated lazily on the ocean with its sails and anchor raised. One man, the only man on the ship, sat on a stool in the middle of the deck. He was the ship's captain, and his last order to his crew was to abandon the ship and leave him behind. He didn't want them to die with him.

The captain of the ship was named Clovis Sylvestre Aquila. His feathered hair was barely contained by his old white and brown bandana. He wore his dark blue coat over his shoulders but kept his arms out of his sleeves. Everything else he wore was a few days fresh off a Spanish sailor's corpse. He was strapped from chest to heel with pistols. Sabers, and knives with some tucked away in hidden compartments. The wind blew hard on the captain, but his eyes were focused on the pearl necklace between his fingers.

Only two pearls were attached to a golden chain, but the pearls were a rare, natural blue. Clovis always wondered how his captain back in the day managed to get a hold of something like the pearls. Their color alone would have been enough for any pirate to fight to the death over them, and ironically, it was part of the reason he found himself alone on his ship.

Before Clovis' orders, he and his crew had made enemies with another up-and-coming pirate, Kiren McCormick. As far as Clovis knew at the time, Kiren didn't have any sailing background, and Clovis believed his quick rise to infamy was carried by his ruthless nature. Clovis found out the hard way that Kiren also had the power to back up the infamy. In Kiren's latest attempt to take the blue pearls from Clovis' corpse, Clovis decided to run, thinking he could outrun the rookie pirate in his superiorly built boat.

However, Kiren had monsters working for him.

Despite being able to control that water like Poseiden, Clovis realized Kiren was relentless and would not stop until the pearls were in his hands. And so, through arguments with his first mate and crew, Clovis decided to wait for Kiren alone.

Suddenly, the ship rocked. Hooks attached to ropes firmly gripped the ship's starboard. The opposing ship was slowly pulled until the two ships violently hit each other.

Still looking at the pearls, Clovis heard manic laughter as monstrous men leaped onto his ship. They surrounded the sole captain with weapons trained on him, but Clovis remained steady and calm.

Soon, the monsters parted ways for the one human that was on the ship, and it was for this man that Clovis looked up from his treasure. For this man, Clovis stood from his seated position. Before him was Kiren McCormick.

Kiren was shorter than Clovis. His long red hair was wildly unkept and was topped with a tricorn hat that barely fit him. Across his chest was holstered a shark-toothed dagger that was just as much of a treasure to Kiren as the blue pearls were to Clovis. Kiren smiled like a predator who successfully caught his prey but hadn't killed it yet.

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Clovis was straight-faced. He knew he was going to die.

"Where's your crew, old man?" Kiren asked. There was no sarcasm in the question.

"I sent them away," Clovis replied honestly. I don't know where they have gone or where they will go."

"Even till your last days, you continue to live up to the title of Chivalrous Pirate." When Clovis didn't respond, Kiren pulled out his knife and brandished it towards Clovis' chest. "Draw your weapons. I can't let a legend like you die without a fight to remember. Besides, I want to feel like I earned your pearls."

Without hesitation, Clovis drew his sword and almost reached Kiren's neck while avoiding the dagger. Of course, he was not able to finish the fight in that instance, and that was his one good shot.

As the fight raged on, the water around the two boats became violent even though not a cloud was in sight. Blood and saltwater swirled on the deck of Clovis' ship to a point where Kiren's crew had to make more space for the combatants. Some went so far as to get on the other boat. Stray bullets from Clovis caught some of the crew, with some dying outright.

As space on the ship increased, Clovis and Kiren took advantage where they could. This being Clovis' ship, he had the benefit of knowing every crack and failing of the ship and used it to slow down or prone Kiren. As the intensity of the fight grew, the captains summoned spectral and physical creatures to fight by their side. The fight was a close one. Clovis put all his strength and experience into every strike and maneuver.

It wasn't enough.

Clovis was bleeding profusely from wounds all over his body. His coat was on the ground covered in boot prints, and his bandana had fallen off. He couldn't breathe without choking and coughing up his blood, but his eyes never faltered off his enemy.

Kiren was also covered in blood, but his wounds did not bleed. His smile was manic.

Then, Kiren's smile faded as Clovis fell backward. Clovis' back was on the port side ledge. He was succumbing to his wounds but kept his sword raised and didn't seem to care that it was shaking.

"That was a good fight, old man," Kiren proclaimed. He walked forward and crouched in front of Clovis while letting the blade cut him. Again, Kiren didn't bleed. "But I'll be taking the pearls now."

With his dagger, Kiren stabbed Clovis in the heart, causing him to drop his sword. Kiren then triumphantly grabbed the pearl necklace.

However, before the dagger was pulled out of Clovis, he grabbed both Kiren's arms with surprising strength. A headbutt caused Kiren to drop the pearls, allowing Clovis to catch them. He forced his body to not collapse, and with his last breath, he blew onto the pearls and then threw them into the sea.

When Kiren came to and didn't see the pearls anywhere, he screamed at his crew, asking where the pearls went. When they told him what happened, he violently ordered them to fish the pearls out of the water but clarified that they should not bond with them, or they would be the next to die.

The monsters that could swim were the first to jump off the boat while others scrambled to gather fishing supplies.

Kiren went back to Clovis' corpse to retrieve his knife, only to find that the dead captain was smiling. Kiren had no idea what the old man did, but he had a sickening feeling that no matter what his crew did, he wasn't getting the pearls that day.

Clovis had the last laugh.