Siren's Kiss

54: Of All That Has Passed Part Six

"Find my kind..."

Ciel stood by the shore, gazing out over the vast, gleaming ocean, lost in thought. He looked down at the clear water, where corals, rocks, and even the smallest bits of seaweed were visible, along with fish swimming near the bay. He could also see his own reflection-the appearance he had taken on in this timeline.

Although born in the sea, Ciel had a love-hate relationship with the great briny. It was a vast world, richer in treasures and resources than the land, but it had also claimed countless lives. Even sirens weren't safe in its depths. The sea had powerful children in the underworld and cared little for anyone else, mercilessly pulling under those caught in her waves. It felt as if she took reckless joy in the spray on his face and the wind in his hair.

Ciel had never truly appreciated the beauty of the vast waters. As a siren, the sea and the ocean depths had always been his home. But now, wearing the skin of a saurian and no longer the siren he once knew, standing on the shore filled him with a main feeling of awe at her majesty and a tingle of fear up his spine at her reckless nature.

How was he going to swim down to Thalassara?

How would this skin adapt to the kingdom beneath the waves?

He glanced at his hands and feet, reassuring himself that he was still the same Ciel. The skin was only a disguise, visible in reflections and to the people of this past timeline. With a sigh, he frowned, knowing he wouldn't find a solution by merely imagining possibilities. He had to take the risk.

This was a memory, after all. They couldn't alter anything that had already happened. This entire venture was merely an illusion, designed to make them feel part of the past. And if these were shared memories hidden within his and Drake's minds, then they should have some control over it.

Bracing himself, Ciel glanced around, ensuring no one was nearby. He didn't want anyone to misunderstand, thinking he was trying to end his life. Slowly, he dipped his feet into the water, feeling no need to remove his clothing or the satchel he carried. This was all happening inside his head-a memory. He repeated that to himself as he submerged, the world around him becoming a blur of images, with small fish darting away, disturbed by his sudden descent.

Sure enough, his chest expanded, allowing him to breathe just as easily as he did on land. The sensation sparked a curious thought in Ciel-perhaps this was how land dwellers felt when they were suddenly dragged into the ocean, gripped by the fear that something might pull them down, preventing their return. But gradually, the saurian skin he wore began to morph, transforming him into-

Ciel tried to look at himself, straining to identify what kind of sea creature he had become, but his reflection eluded him. As he swam further from the shore, diving deeper into the ocean's depths, something caught his eye-two tentacles with familiar, incredible rotating hooks on their club-shaped ends.

"A squid?!" Ciel blurted out, incredulous. He had been one of the most beautiful sirens under the sea, and now this memory had transformed him into one of the ocean's more mysterious creatures. If this was the best his mind could conjure, he might as well go with it. There had to be a reason he hadn't turned back into a siren-either that, or the Phoenix God was truly having fun with this.

He would have swum further, eager to explore the sea, if not for a familiar melody that suddenly called to him. It was as if his entire being did a 180, and his hair stood on end. He turned around and saw a beautiful, long-haired siren with pearly white skin swimming toward him.

Queen Nerissa. His mother. But she wasn't the queen he knew in his present time. This was the young Nerissa, who resembled Ciel closely but hadn't yet ascended to the throne. Her iridescent scales shifted colors with each movement, reflecting deep blues and silvers. Ciel had never fully appreciated his mother's regal presence. Even in her youth, she radiated an ethereal allure. She was smiling and calling to him-SHE WAS CALLING HIM?