The Return of Shantae

The Abandoned Mermaid Factory

Sorin, Maxine, and Korah ventured deep into the stairwell with a flashlight in hand, finding out if there's anything down there the Techno Baron left behind. Maxine debriefed them that there might be some creatures surviving down there and could be hungry for human flesh, so they readied their  weapons as they entered the abandoned factory. But to their surprised, the factory was trashed and destroyed by strange rocks that might have sprung from underneath the water, they resemble black hellfires leaking out a strange oil from their crevices. The water seemed to be replaced with this oil and the spires were everywhere, all seemed to be leaning towards in a particular direction.

Sorin"What happened here?"

Maxine"I'm not sure darling, this location should have been intact ever since Techno Baron's arrest decades ago, left to collect dust without anyone to claim it. A shame really."

Korah"Well, something else might've happened here and I feel like it has to do with what those things are point at." Korah gestures to the black talon-like spires."

Sorin"This might be bigger then we can handle, so let's get going, but be on the look out for anything."

The group went forward, finding paths they could take and investigate for anything that could be of use. As they ventured over some obstacles and rail grinding over the oily lake, they found a reoccurring pattern every time they land on the floor level; random piles of radiating ashes littering the floors. Though it was against his better nature to not mind the environment, Korah got curious and gained the nerve to get close to one of the ash piles while Sorin and Maxine were looking away. Before touching it, the ashes and soot manifested into a whirling ash phantom which it quickly enters Korah's body while shreaking in horror.

The searing ashes made him roll over in burning pain, his back was ratiating heat and the markings on his back glowing brighter than before. Sorin and Maxine heard his cries of pain and quickly found him in agony, they tried their best to calm him down but the get from his skin was too hot for them to hold or even touch. In an act of desperation, Korah reached for a canteen from his pack and doused himself. The others did the same and used two more canteens and poured it over his back. The markings were then extinguished, Korah was saved from what could have been a serious complication. After some time to cool down, he reassures them that he should be fine for now.

Being weakened from the burns, Sorin carries him by the shoulder while Korah warns his brother to not let him near any of those ashes again, believing that the next time it happens might be his last. Maxine tries her best to help by moving away any ash piles with anything she can find to sweep them away, but was a failure for the ashes would some how burn anything that touches them. The best course of action was to avoid the pathways full of those ash piles and look for other paths. But seeing how those crystal flames are pointing at the one direction and the ashes keep appearing more ahead, that soon became their clues to this mystery.

The further the group ventured forward, it became more difficult to avoid the ashes, even in a distance they were able to see the ashes eeriely shift and plume signaling that Korah was close. The recon team soon reached the epoch of the black spires pointing at a horde of monster statues, each one was half man and half of something horrible or animalistic. The black pirate things were their as well, all of them battled the monsters until they were all burned into petrified ashed statues. In at the center of it all, were two distinguish figures: one is that Korah's familiar with and one that's suppose to be a myth.

One of them was the pirate girl from his nightmare, and the other was a monster of a man with snake arms, two snake tails, a pair of dark cryptic raven wings, four holes in his chest with and one being something shiny, and the most demonic smirk ever made. The two seemed be fight over the crystal lamp in the creature's claw, she was fighting her hardest but it was for not. The only objects that caught Korah's eyes were the lamp and the next emblem on the monster's chest, but mostly the lamp.