CHAPTER 25: “SIREN QUEEN”

They loved their voices more than anything else, and yet it was taken from them. Their beloved home was also taken from them. They had nothing.

That would explain why the guards at the gate didn’t need to refresh themselves with water like an aquatic creature would need to, they weren’t exactly ocean creatures anymore. They were stuck here, on land. But for how long? How long were the sirens stuck here away from their real home? Forever? If that was the case then wasn’t it too…

Ai cut off his thoughts of that there. He had no standing nor did he possess enough knowledge to judge whether or not the punishment was too harsh or not. It was better to leave it at that.

The story also explained why since he came here, he hadn’t seen or heard many singing. They were unable to. He thought about Avra. It hadn’t been that long since he’d seen them, but he still remembered the silence that came when the elf tried to sing. He thought that was sad enough, suddenly being unable to do what you loved. Now he imagined the sirens, trying to sing but all that could leave their mouths are shrieks and sounds that were too terrible to utter. 

Having your melody silenced for good or it being warped into an ugly sound that couldn’t be enjoyed even by oneself. Which one of those were worse than the other? Having your prized possession vanish or destroyed?

If the sirens couldn’t sing anymore, then, “What about the Queen? She definitely sang, right?”

The NPC, Nameless as Ai called her in his mind now, glanced at the fancy letter on the table. The disdain couldn’t be more clear in her eyes.

“Amaeira wasn’t so cruel. The deity left a single parting gift for the sirens. Every generation, there would be a single siren who could sing. Even better than the other sirens could back when they still had the ability. That’s Oceana. The singer of our generation. Our idol.”

Nameless then scoffed and looked out the window. “Amaeira was selfish. The sirens were still their children, so they didn’t want us to die out. This singing ability is bait to keep us all producing more generations and never stop continuing our bloodlines. Everyone thinks its a blessing, but really, it's a never ending curse.”

Ai thought back to the cheering crowd that he saw at Oceana’s little concert. They were loud and incredibly boisterous, to the point where it was unnatural how they were that excited over a single person. Of course, real life had that sort of energetic fan energy, but it wasn’t like what he saw. 

It wasn’t just loving an idol, these sirens were bound. The idol represented more than just someone to look up to. Oceana was their entire life, their devotion. If anything, it was more like a religion warped beyond comprehension than just simple idol culture you saw in the real world.

Once he looked up, he saw that Nameless had already adjusted her hood to leave. She surprisingly didn’t touch Nebule’s letter and instead put it back on the table. Ah, he guessed NPCs weren’t able to take a player’s items even if they desperately wanted to.

Before she reached the door, the hooded figure looked back once more at him.

“If you wish to help me and find Nebule, then I suggest you try visiting Oceana. I will be gathering intel. I will return once I have the information I need.”

With that, Nameless turned and left, her hood flowing behind her.

***

The siren castle looked much more beautiful when Ai reached the edge of the main road leading up to it.

From afar, the castle had been partially covered by the mist and bubbles so he couldn’t really tell how it looked. Up close however, its ocean themed beauty shone brightly to him.

Firstly, the castle wasn’t as tall as he thought it would be. Yes it had twisty spires and towers but the main floor was only two stories high which was quite odd for a supposed castle. Secondly, the walls were painted a lighter blue than the blue the rest of the village buildings used. It wasn’t decorated with the shells, fish bones or nets that the other buildings used but as Ai walked, he could see etchings of them on the sidewalk brick and on the light pillars.

Once he reached the gate, he showed the guard NPC the letter from Oceana. The guard only took a single glance at the fancy letter before allowing him inside.

The inside didn’t look all too special. White walls, a low light blue ceiling, and a tiny stairway that presumably led to the second floor. It barely looked like a castle. The only fancy thing was a mosaic mural that depicted ocean life but other than that, the main hall was empty. Devoid of anything that showed that this was a castle. It looked more like an empty showroom.

Not seeing anything like an obvious pathway, Ai headed towards the stairway at one corner of the room but before he could a sudden rumble along the ground stopped him from taking even a single step. 

The mural he saw before suddenly started to move, the mosaic ocean glinting as the waves depicted on the mural started moving like it real water would. It was almost like looking out the window of a submarine, so mesmerizing and hypnotizing.

The mosaic water moved a bit more before a leg stepped out from the mural, followed by a body and a head.

Ai assumed that this was one of the castle servants. They were a green haired, fin-eared siren wearing a short dress that looked very similar to a victorian maid dress. The siren looked around the room until her eyes landed on Ai.

Politely, she gestured towards the still moving mural and said, “Please, this way. Priestess Oceana is waiting.”

Gulping, Ai followed the siren’s words and stepped in front of the mosaic mural. What was he supposed to do now?

Slowly, he brought his hand to touch the mural. He looked back at the maid for confirmation, but she merely gestured again with her head, telling him to keep going.

Bringing his hand to touch the mural, Ai’s eyes widened as he witnessed his hand slowly disappearing into the mural. It felt incredibly weird. Cold and almost painful as he slowly pushed his whole body towards the mural.

On the other side, were stairs down and then a long hallway. The blue walls were painted with more paintings of the ocean view. Ai saw corals, fishes, sunken ships and plenty more sights. He felt like he was walking in an undersea tunnel made of glass and he wondered if that was why the hallway was designed that way.

At the end of the hallway was a set of double doors with shell shaped handles. Ai assumed this led to the real entrance. Before he reached the door, a painting just on his peripheral caught his attention. He glanced at it and saw something that didn’t exist in the real world.

It was a golden colored palace, much more grand than the Siren’s castle. It looked incredibly fancy and high class with its polished gold and flush undersea greenery. He didn’t really know what it was exactly, but he was sure that this was a painting of the castle in Atlan, the Sirens’ real home back in the sea. The home that they could never return to.

“Come,” the maid urged when she saw him stop. “We should not keep the lady waiting long.”

Ai stammered an apology and continued walking. Yet his eyes still drifted towards the golden palace painting until it was finally out of sight.

The maid guided him through a few more turns before they reached their destination. The inside of the halls here were definitely much more fancy and well decorated than the first floor hall. It looked and felt like an actual castle.

Finally the maid stopped in front of another set of double doors similar to the one in the first hallway.

“Please step right in.”

The maid then bowed and left almost immediately, her steps precise and rigid. Ai didn’t even get a chance to thank her, she left quickly and was gone in mere seconds.

Not wasting any more time, Ai pushed open the door and walked inside.

Behind the door was an incredibly tall and spacious room with a glass dome roof as well as glass floors. If he looked up he would see the clear blue sky and if he looked down he could see a sea coral garden tended by a few sirens. Looking at them, Ai realized that this was the first time that he saw the sirens in their natural home, the ocean. He didn’t realize that they moved incredibly quick and elegantly in the water, right where they belonged.

“Hello there.” A soft and melodic voice called out to him. It was much more melodic than any of the siren voices he’d ever heard.

Oceana was incredibly beautiful. Her ocean like eyes were gentle and kind, her long blue hair laid perfectly down her back in waves and the white dress she wore made her look incredibly angelic and holy.

Ai pulled his gaze away from the coral garden below and gave Oceana a nervous smile. The siren nodded then gestured for him to sit across from her on an outdoor dining set. On the table there were many sweets and snacks laid out on a clam plate. Two cups of tea were also there, one on Oceana’s side and one presumably for him.

After he sat down, Oceana’s smile turned wider into a grin.

“I’m so glad you decided to accept my invitation.” Oceana clasped her hands together and placed them under her chin, elbows on the table, as she leaned towards him. “I do hope your stay in our lovely village has been wonderful?”

Ai didn’t know if he was imagining it, but he could’ve sworn that he could see the slightest bit of disdain when she said “lovely village”. He could understand why she would hate the village, even though it was lovely and everyone seemed happy to live there. It wasn’t their original home after all, it was more like a place of exile. 

How deep does the priestess’s hatred of Oceanus?