Abyss

CHAPTER 29

Note: Unedited

Days turned into weeks, and Darius felt as if they were ready to venture out into the ocean once more. This time, headed to Malum Trench - the place where the Angelus sank. His gut feeling told him he would be able to find some clues about the long-lost vessel that had vanished years ago before the Mediterranean had ventured out into the seas.

His frigid grey eyes stared at the scrolls in his hands, most of them borrowed directly from the ministry. The records of sailors' entries were written in cursive by Arkenheilm researchers. Fortunately, they had retrieved some incidental reports and entries from the sailors.

Darius' eyes scanned the paper as one of them caught his eye. It was an entry a few years ago, right after the Angelus' wreck. It seems like they too were curious about the place.

I pray this message reaches you and I must record what I have witnessed for the sake of all sailors who venture into these treacherous waters. Malum Trench.

The stories they told us were no exaggeration. As we sailed deeper, the first thing that greeted us was a graveyard of ships. Once proud and mighty, these ships now lay broken and forgotten, their stories lost to the depths. I am uncertain as to which nation had owned these ships.  

The water here is dark and cold, like the heart of the abyss itself. It chills me to the bone, and I cannot shake the feeling that we are being watched, that something ancient and malevolent lurks beneath the waves.

Something was whispering in my ear.

We pressed on, hoping to find some trace of my brother. As we moved deeper into the trench, the water grew even colder, and I could now see multiple eyes watching over us.

We never decided to seek what or to whom those watchful eyes belonged. It pursued us for a time, but we managed to outmaneuver it, and eventually, it disappeared back into the darkness.

We are now far from that cursed place, but the memory of what we witnessed still haunts my dreams. I pray that my brother and his crew did not meet the same fate as those sunken ships, and I hope that this warning reaches all who would dare to sail into the heart of Malum Trench.

It is a place of death and despair, and no treasure is worth the price of venturing into its depths.

May the seas protect you, and may you heed this warning.

Krieger Alcinder
Captain of Válka Agro

As Darius delved into the aged scrolls, the heavy door creaked open, and the stoic figure of Arsen entered the bustling inn. Her icy blue eyes, as sharp as the ocean's edge, scanned the room before it had landed on Darius, who had been so engrossed in his reading that he hadn't noticed her arrival.

"Captain Thorren," she began in her usual composed tone, "I heard from the other researchers that you borrowed some of the scrolls. A sudden interest in Malum Trench, they say. May I inquire as to what draws you to know about it?"

Darius looked up, his eyes meeting Arsen's unwavering gaze. His hands now closed the scroll he had been reading, carefully placing it on the table before responding. "Had I borrowed it at a bad time?"

Arsen disagreed and told Darius that she was just questioning why he wanted the scrolls. They weren't completed and were stacked until the researchers had finished the record but judging how he hadn't minded, Arsen felt as if there was something amiss.

"General Arsen, it's the fate of the Angelus that kept lingering in my thoughts. I couldn't almost sleep." 

"That ship and its crew never returned, and it had always haunted me since then. My brother's friend was part of its crew, and I've always wondered what truly happened to them," he continued before a sigh left his mouth.