Misumi watched Kenji closely over the next few days after he displayed uncharacteristic behavior, like drifting out of focus or losing his concentration at random times. He’d be in mid conversation and just fade away, glancing anywhere but at the faces of those speaking with him. Something had gotten under his skin. And when they had yet to talk about, she knew it had something to do with what they saw in Phantom Valley. Watching his own mother act like a demented zombie must have been horrific, so she really couldn’t blame him for losing his edge.
However, they had gained enough experience to delve further into the Spire; specifically, into The Underwater City. It was an incredibly difficult region to traverse, given that all of it was submerged underwater, but with six-hour waterbreathing potions, they felt confident enough to give it a shot. After all, if anything happened, they could just come back up for air and start again. At least, that’s what they hoped.
Thus, when Kenji seemed to recover from the emotional scars of Phantom Valley, they bought more gear and took on a job from the Expedition Hall that involved seeking out an old treasure in The Underwater City—one that consistently reappeared after Adventurers claimed it time and time again, like a recurring RPG quest. Apparently, they were after a goblet said to bring mental healing after each sip taken from it. And when the moment finally arrived, the four of them left the Expedition Hall and headed straight into the Spire, hoping this next adventure might end better than the last.
There were five entrances to The Underwater City, and only one of them was simple to reach and not blocked by monsters. Like the opening atop a nuclear cooling tower, it was a perfect circle in the ground, lined with rocks that hummed soft light in and out, and the water steamed despite being perfect temperature for swimming. Six hours—that’s all they would get. If they didn’t find the goblet in four, they agreed to swim back to entrance together and search for it another day.
“You guys ready?” Kenji asked as everyone held their waterbreathing potions by the neck. They nodded. “Well, down the hatch, I guess…”
As soon as the potion touched her lips, Misumi regretted ever drinking it in the first place, because it tasted like dirty bath water mixed with chalk. Like a bedridden grandma, she coughed her lungs out and all but cried—as did everyone else.
“Could this be any more disgusting?” asked Cleo, smacking her lips with a repulsed expression like she had just drank a bottle of worm juice.
Amelia added, “Verily. Though it is rather pungent on the taste buds, I doth believe there are worse flavors. For instance, there is soured meat. Or perhaps moldy vegetables would be considered a more bitter taste than this.”
Cleo covered her ears. “Oh my god, just be quiet before we all vomit.”
“I was merely providing examples, nothing more. There is no need for vomiting whilst in the Spire. It may attract unwanted beasts, so do try to contain yourself.”
Having prepped for their journey into The Underwater City with suitable clothing made for traversing the submerged depths, Misumi and her companions were ready to begin. And one by one, they dove into the pool and vanished below, with Misumi being the last to enter.
What came next was truly unexpected, and despite all the research they had done and all the questions they had asked, nothing prepared them for the city’s appearance, for it was a collection of stone towers at the bottom of a hidden ocean, each one filled with entrances, windows, and connecting passageways between them. According to common lore, the Merfolk used to live there, but had since been wiped out by the Sirens, who were notoriously good at luring unwary Adventurers and dragging them further into the depths. So many innocent people had died because of those creatures.
Fortunately, Sinopa had a few warnings for them, which she gave that morning before they left the guildhall. One—a siren’s call sounds like music, and that if heard, one should swim in the opposite direction. Two—they will often appear as a beautiful woman, and naturally the majority of their victims are men. And three—they will never harm someone directly, but instead distract or trap the Adventurer until they drown. With all that knowledge in tow, avoiding Sirens altogether was the best and safest option.
Through the city they swam, kicking their feet and sweeping their arms, and breathing felt so natural, like the water wasn’t there at all. They reached ground level where a Merfolk statue stood colossal, and the plant life was so colorful around it, swaying in the water like a delicate flower arrangement in the breeze. There were fish passing through the city in massive schools, forming walls of sifting scales and swaying bodies, and tall scraggly weeds reached up to form jungles, often penetrating the towers themselves, as if nature wanted to reclaim what rightfully belonged to it. How could a place so beautiful harbor creatures so deadly like the Sirens? Just being there felt like a dream.
Whenever their group paused, Misumi and Cleo would be forced to combat their own hair as it drifted into their faces, while Kenji led them onward, guiding them to a plaza and into advanced architecture well beyond that of the surface world. There were tunnels and glass domes, chipped stonework that must have seen millennia without upkeep. In all of that, it seemed impossible to find a single goblet, even if the general location of the item was known. There were too many passages to navigate, too many structures to explore.
And yet they persisted. They prowled through old residences filled to the brim with coral, sea sponges, colorful fish swimming in and out, and the walls of buildings were covered in a mossy substance that helped breathe life into an otherwise dead place. There were colonnades, stone gazebos, old gardens that were too overgrown to be defined, and the more Misumi took in, the more she thought of something from her past, back when her parents were still involved with her day-to-day life.
At eight years old, she had gone to visit an aquarium in the city with them. It was her birthday, and she’d been excited about it for an entire week. And while the memory was hazy, she remembered how alive Tokyo seemed on the car ride through downtown, how the people were bustling to and fro like ants gathering bread crumbs, and she loved the way each skyscraper reached into the sky like an arm from the earth. A sunny sky reflected off their windows. The summer breeze rustled the tree canopies along the sidewalk. Nothing could erase the way she felt that day.
But now, as she passed by the colorful spectrum of fish and the aquatic landscape, an aching sense of nostalgia took hold, for it reminded her of pointing out every fish, every seal, every crab that swam around and over the aquarium’s glass corridors. She’d show her parents everything and they’d actually listen. They’d smile when she spoke and respond to her giggles.
However, that was a far cry from how they treated her as a teenager. They weren’t mean or cruel, but they were neglectful to the point of living away from home more often than not, and she had gotten used to life without them, slowly losing interest in ever being with them again. One big happy family—that was something she hadn’t known in years, and probably never would.
She, Kenji, Amelia, and Cleo continued their search of the area, swimming through a network of plants and buildings alike until they discovered a tunnel of roots, seaweed, and the prettiest coral. Naturally, they couldn’t speak to one another, but after an exchange of stares they unanimously determined to delve inside in search of what mysteries lay hidden within. Maybe one such mystery would be the goblet, maybe not; either way, the charm of the locale was too great to ignore.
Trailing behind her friends, Misumi stayed in a daze of thought, a cloud of both memories and longings.
I wonder how Kenji feels… she wondered. Does he want to go back to Japan? Do I? It’s not like I have much to look forward too. I wonder if my parents came home for my funeral…
It was painful to even ask that question, but she legitimately wanted to know. They were so caught up with work that they never made time for; they didn’t even bother calling. So if they heard about her death from the police, it wasn’t too unreasonable to think they might postpone their trip home once more and just agree to visit her grave after she was laid in the ground. Heck, to them, her death might be a burden off their shoulders.
While swimming, Misumi shook her head and refused to let those thoughts linger.
Her parents loved her. She knew that. They were just…complicated. And even if they rarely came home, she knew they’d be heartbroken after hearing the news.
To her surprise, and to the rest of her party, the tunnel twisted into the base of a tower, then continued straight up the structure’s hollow center, a vibrant coat upon the walls. They had been swimming for at least two hours, meaning two hours remained before it was time to head back.
This place is unbelievable. It’s like a giant aquarium, except we’re inside the exhibit. Speaking of exhibits…how do we know they’re aren’t sharks in here?
They swam upward for what must have been a lifetime, coming into contact with a swirl of underwater flora that spiraled along the walls. But as Misumi swam, as she smiled, as they reached the highest point in the tower and discovered a silver goblet nestled on an altar of gold and jewels, she heard it: music. It was sweet and soothing, whispering through the waters in a soft hum. Voices of the divine seeped through the glass dome around them, and as Kenji clutched the goblet in hand, the vocals grew closer, more alluring.
Sirens? Misumi panicked, darting her eyes about and brushing her hair aside. But how? From where? We didn’t see any on our way inside.
As if communicating telepathically, their entire party recognized the sound and began swimming down the tower as Kenji held onto the goblet. Whatever happened, they couldn’t let the Sirens reach them. They couldn’t get trapped. Then again, Misumi couldn’t help but feel they had already messed up, that they had been deceived into thinking that tower was safe, and while kicking her feet rapidly, she noticed gray-skinned creatures emerge from the plant life around them. They had a feminine figure, gills upon their necks, large silver eyes, skin like pasty concrete that had yet to dry, fins behind their cheeks, along their craniums and upper backs, and finally, the tails of mermaids and webbed hands. Not a single one of the creatures appeared to be friendly, and all bore sharp, needly teeth.
Misumi grew frightened. Seriously? I thought Sirens were supposed to be beautiful!
Meanwhile, Kenji had turned back to beckon her onward, as she had fallen behind, and it was then she noticed the other Sirens gaining ground from the rear. Just the sight of his panicked face made her heart beat faster and the fear burn stronger within her, like embers stoked into flames. And yet the height of her fear was not reached until a hand clutched her ankle with unrelenting force, digging its claws into the skin that made her cry out in pain, ceasing to swim altogether as her lungs unleashed a garbled message to the waters that caused both Cleo and Amelia to twist around as well.
In a muffled, blubbering voice that could hardly be translated, Cleo screamed out with the most terrified look her face had ever worn: “Misumi!”
Immediately, she, Amelia, and Kenji swam back to aid her.
But at that point it was too late and the Siren tightened its grip around Misumi’s ankle and dragged her away at unprecedented speeds, barely giving her enough time to reach out or scream. And like a rabbit snatched up by a mountain lion, she was pulled into a nearby tunnel in the wall, one that was hidden well by seaweed and other flora, and the Siren did not care if she was thrashed against the walls on the way. Finally, as her head struck against the wall, Misumi did not cry or scream, but instead felt herself blacking out, drifting into a sleep she’d probably never wake up from. Yes, for the second time now, she was greeting death in the most unexpected of ways—though she by no means wanted to die.
Kenji, please…
Her reality turned to black within seconds.
…help me.
