The Siren's fate

Capítulo 3

In the lands of men, the legends of the sirens were long whispered among mortals, though they were regarded as naught but myth, tales woven into the fabric of their folklore. Mothers, in times of old, would speak of these beings to their children as a warning, a story to keep the young from mischief and the reckless from straying too far into the unknown.

In the annals of mortal lore, particularly among the ancient Greeks, the sirens were painted as malevolent creatures, temptresses of the deep whose songs lured sailors to their doom. They were feared as harbingers of death, their voices said to be the very embodiment of peril, guiding men toward the crashing waves and rocky shores where their souls would be lost forever.

Yet, though these tales were passed down through the ages, they were dismissed by many as mere fables, legends meant to frighten rather than to speak of truth. Few believed that such creatures truly walked—or swam—among them, their existence relegated to the realm of imagination.

***

Adrian

I woke up disoriented, the world around me spinning in slow, disjointed circles. My body felt like it was weighed down with lead, each limb sluggish and unresponsive as I struggled to make sense of where I was. A dull, throbbing ache pulsed behind my eyes, and my head pounded in rhythm with my heartbeat, sharp and insistent.

Groaning, I reached up to touch my forehead, the motion slow and clumsy. My fingers brushed against something wet and sticky. Blood. I hissed in pain as I felt the jagged edges of a cut slicing across my brow. Great. Just what I needed. The sting of the wound was sharp, but the throbbing in my skull was worse. I must've hit something—hard. But what? And how?

My mind was foggy, memories fractured and distant, like trying to grasp onto fragments of a dream that was slipping away. I blinked, forcing myself to focus, but the hazy edges of my vision refused to clear. Everything felt... wrong.

The ground beneath me was cold, hard, and uneven, sharp points digging into my side. I shifted, wincing as pain shot through my ribs. What the hell happened?

My mind buzzed with confusion, a thick fog clouding my thoughts. The last thing I remembered was hiking, a cave, shimmering water, and then—nothing.

The cave was enormous, illuminated by bio-luminescent algae clinging to the jagged rock walls, casting an otherworldly glow. The air was damp and cool, carrying the salty scent of the distant sea, creating an atmosphere that was both serene and ominous.

Somewhere in the distance, I could hear the faint echo of waves crashing against rock, but here, everything was still—too still. A cold shiver crawled up my spine. There was something unnatural about this place, something that felt wrong and yet inescapably beautiful.

Beams of moonlight filtered through narrow cracks in the cave ceiling, dancing across the water's surface like spectral fingers. The scene should have been peaceful, mesmerizing even, but all it did was make me feel more trapped. I took a deep breath, trying to shake off the strange sensations prickling at the edges of my mind. My body felt heavier than it should as if gravity itself had doubled its hold on me.

What the hell happened? Where was I?

I struggled to piece together the last few moments before I blacked out, but the memories remained frustratingly out of reach. I had gone exploring—

My thoughts were interrupted by movement. A shadow slipped through the narrow gap between two rocks. Instinctively, my muscles tensed, every nerve on high alert. I scanned the dim light, my pulse quickening as a figure emerged from the darkness.