Pirate: Crew of Desire and Bonds

As time passed, the ship grew quieter.

The distant sounds of the crew gradually faded, until only the low creaking of the hull and the soft rhythm of the waves remained.

Deep night had settled over the vessel, wrapping the lower decks in heavy silence.

Jake sat with his eyes closed, resting his body while keeping his senses sharp.

Then—

His eyes suddenly opened.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Slow, deliberate footsteps echoed from the corridor outside.

They were not rushed, nor heavy... yet each step carried a strange, unnatural clarity in the otherwise silent night.

Jake’s hand slowly moved to the hilt of his sword.

Across from him, Grace also froze.

Her golden eyes lifted from her gun, instantly alert as she quietly shifted her posture, ready to move at any moment.

The footsteps continued at a steady pace.

They were getting closer.

Jake’s expression hardened.

It was happening again.

Then, without warning, the footsteps stopped...

...Right in front of Jake’s door.

Jake’s eyes sharpened instantly.

’...Again?’

A cold tension spread through his chest.

Out of all the rooms along this corridor... despite the carefully arranged bait elsewhere, the footsteps had once again chosen to stop directly in front of his cabin.

’Is there something special about my room?’

Before he could fully process the thought—

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Three slow, deliberate knocks echoed through the quiet room.

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft... yet it carried an unnatural weight, as if something on the other side already knew they were awake and listening.

Grace’s breath caught slightly.

Her fingers tightened around her gun, golden eyes locked on the door.

Jake remained still, his hand firmly gripping the hilt of his sword.

The corridor outside had gone completely silent again.

Whatever was standing beyond the door... was waiting.

Jake’s grip on his sword tightened.

Then—

A familiar voice came from the other side of the door.

"...Is anyone in there?"

Jake’s eyes narrowed.

It was Garrick’s voice.

"Come out."

The tone was calm, steady, and almost identical to the real Garrick’s way of speaking.

Even the slight roughness in his voice was matched perfectly.

Grace’s expression stiffened.

She quietly raised her gun a little higher, her golden eyes filled with caution.

Jake did not move.

’...So it’s using Garrick’s voice this time.’

Jake remained seated on the edge of the bed, sword in hand, his gaze fixed coldly on the wooden door.

He had no intention of answering.

Outside, the corridor remained unnaturally quiet... as if something was patiently waiting for a response.

Jake’s eyes remained fixed on the door for a moment longer.

Then, without making a sound, he slowly got up and leaned down and lowered his head toward the gap beneath the door.

He wanted to confirm something again.

Last time... there had been no feet and no shadow.

Jake carefully aligned his vision with the narrow space under the door and looked through.

As expected—

There was nothing.

No boots.

No legs.

Not even the faintest outline of a shadow under the corridor’s dim light.

The space beyond the door was completely empty.

Yet the voice still came again, calm and familiar.

"...Is anyone in there? Come out."

Jake’s expression grew colder.

He slowly straightened back up, his hand never leaving the hilt of his sword.

Grace watched him closely, her voice barely a whisper.

"...Well?"

Jake gave a small, grim shake of his head.

"Nothing. Same as before."

Jake and Grace exchanged a brief glance and nodded.

Without a word, Grace immediately stepped further back into the cabin, raising her gun and taking a clear shooting position behind him.

Jake drew his sword in one smooth motion.

A faint aura began to rise around his body, quietly wrapping along the blade as he adjusted his stance.

There was no hesitation left in his eyes.

Whatever was outside... he would force it into the open.

Taking a short breath, Jake stepped forward and swung.

Slash—!

A sharp arc of power tore through the wooden door, splitting it apart with a heavy crack.

CRACK!

Fragments of wood scattered outward as the damaged door was forced open.

In the same instant, Jake surged forward.

His aura flared more strongly around him as he rushed out into the corridor, sword raised, ready to strike down whatever ghost or creature had been knocking.

But the moment his eyes took in the sight beyond the doorway—

His body froze.

The aggressive momentum in his charge came to an abrupt halt.

Even the aura around his blade seemed to waver for a brief second as shock flashed across his face.

"...What... the fuck..."

Jake murmured as he stared ahead, completely dumbfounded.

...There, rising from the dark sea beyond the ship’s side, was something... long and unnatural.

It looked like an elongated neck emerging from the black water, stretching upward through the night and peeking onto the deck.

The surface of that strange, black extension glistened faintly under the dim light, as if it were neither fully solid nor fully liquid.

And at the very top of the long, stretched form was... a strange mask.

The mask was smooth and expressionless, vaguely human in shape yet wrong in every detail.

Even more disturbing were the pair of human limbs protruding from beside the mask, hanging limply as if they had been attached there without reason.

The arms swayed slightly with the movement of the sea, fingers half-curled in a disturbingly familiar way.

The entire thing floated there in the darkness, its elongated body rising from the water like some incomplete, twisted mockery of a person.

Then—

Crack...

A soft cracking sound echoed through the night.

Thin lines spread across the surface of the strange mask, fracturing it like broken porcelain.

As the cracks deepened, the expressionless face slowly twisted, and a bizarre, unnatural smile formed across it.

The elongated form swayed slightly above the dark water.

A moment later, that familiar voice came again.

"...Is anyone in there?"

It was still Garrick’s voice.

Yet hearing it come from that cracked mask... full of tiny, sharp teeth and twisted into a smile made the words feel deeply distorted.

"C...ome o..ut."

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