I Have Always Been Here

Lynch walked slowly through the shallow sea.

Walking, not swimming.

It was a magical experience; his body was submerged in the seawater, yet it felt as if he were floating in the air, with the buoyancy only slightly greater than that of the air.

He could naturally gather the buoyancy beneath his feet, suspending himself in the water as if standing on solid ground, or he could let the surroundings return to a state of seawater, allowing himself to swim like a fish.

Lynch felt as if an extra layer of slick fish skin had formed around his body; the seawater would slide away the moment it touched his clothes. At the same time, he could breathe freely in the water, no longer having to worry about drowning in the garden during his dreams.

This was Call of the Water. Its nature was similar to Cat's Favor, a gift from the King in Yellow.

According to West, in the earliest days, besides drama, the King in Yellow held authority over storms, which had nothing to do with water. The authority related to water and the octopus-like appearance were both snatched from a certain unnamed, deep-sea octopus-headed evil god.

So Lynch understood why the deep ones and the Yellow Apostles fought as soon as they met. If he were a deep one, he would also fight the followers of the King in Yellow with his life.

And why do you guys always stamp a mark on my soul for no reason? Is this some kind of quarantine inspection before slaughter?

Lynch shook his head, putting an end to his mental self-amusement. In his line of sight, a dark shadow had already appeared.

It was a massive wind-steam hybrid cargo ship, the most common type of coastal cargo vessel in this era. A few faintly glowing corals hung around it, barely illuminating the pitch-black vessel.

The exterior of the cargo ship was not severely damaged. Painted on the hull were the vessel's name and emblem.

The Cold Crow, belonging to the Morale & Son firm, had suddenly sunk in the waters near the port not long ago, and all the sailors on board had gone missing.

Lynch had learned from Mark's final will that these deep ones were hiding in this shipwreck. Although he didn't know the exact location of the wreck, after interrogating Maya under torture, he had exchanged a secret-recipe steak meal from Lattis Kitchen for detailed information about the shipwreck, allowing him to deduce its exact location.

Like a predator of the sea, Lynch hid behind the reefs on the seabed, silently spying on the shipwreck.

Unlike the shipwrecks in documentaries that were teeming with marine life, there was no sign of life around the Cold Crow at this moment. Schools of small fish swam nearby, but they steered clear the moment they approached the shipwreck, as if the most terrifying death lay sleeping here.

From a hole in the shipwreck, several dark humanoid figures emerged, patrolling around the vessel as agilely as swimming fish. A strange ripple of water spread from their throats, and Lynch, hiding behind the distant reef, could only sense a chaotic, muffled, and bizarre sound.

Sure enough, this was the deep ones' nest.

‘Neighbor, talk to me. I'm starting to lose my grip.’

Entering the enemy's nest alone, with his greatest reliance already exhausted, Lynch was not as relaxed as he appeared. Especially in such a depressing and dark place under the sea, he endured immense pressure every second, making the fear in his heart increasingly difficult to control.

【You can leave, neighbor. You have no obligation to take such risks.】

‘I... have grown a bit fond of this city, and some of the people in it. I want to protect them too. I want to stop Princess Chloe's conspiracy and nip the threat in the bud.’

【Then do your best, Lynch. I look forward to you showing me beautiful scenery. But I want to tell my neighbor and Travel Companion one thing: truth and falsehood are not contradictory. In the world of the mind, sometimes the truth is the most dangerous lie.】

‘Huh? What do you mean?’

【I indeed have kept many things from you, but that is only because I do not wish to use myself to change you. So, enjoy the scenery along the journey to your heart's content, and do what you want to do. There is no need to care about what I mean, because... this is your journey, and no one should influence your decisions.】

‘What if my choice brings about irreversible danger?’

The soft chuckle in his mind was as gentle as a breeze, lightly tapping on Lynch's heart:

【Heh, why be afraid of that? You are my neighbor, Lynch. You are my chosen one. Do you really think the crimson moon would only hang coldly in the sky, watching her neighbor struggle on the path of immortality? Have you forgotten? On the night you truly woke up, I already told you... I have always been here.】

Damn, why did his heart suddenly feel so warm?

Lynch felt a wave of warmth in his chest, and even his eyes grew slightly moist. It had to be that Call of the Water was malfunctioning. Free gifts really were unreliable.

Taking a deep breath, after choking on a few mouthfuls of seawater, Lynch realized that the tension in his heart had long since vanished. He gripped the conch on his chest and tapped it rhythmically: Target spotted. Get ready.

Soon, the same tapping sound came from the conch: Everything is ready. Safe travels, waiting for your triumphant return.

Well then, here I go.

Lynch concealed his figure, leaping lightly against the sea sand on the seabed as he advanced rapidly. As the distance closed, the cargo ship became clearer and clearer in the darkness.

Several large holes were torn in the bottom of the ship, the wooden planks around them ripped and twisted to reveal the inner watertight lining and the cabins. From deep within the cabins, a faint light seemed to emanate.

“Eleven skeleton sailors kick around round human heads, a red-headed parrot pecks at a bloody eyeball...”

Amidst the piercing singing, two more deep ones swam out of the hole, holding sharp blades and looking extremely dangerous.

Lynch after a moment's hesitation switched his state, allowing himself to stride swiftly through the water, silently following behind the two fishmen. But after just a few steps, the singing abruptly stopped, and the fishmen looked around warily.

The seabed was dead silent; no abnormal figures could be seen.

“Why is the current so strange? It feels like someone is following us.”

Shoot, I forgot about the water current. That's probably how fish perceive their environment.

The words carrying through the water waves immediately made Lynch tense up. He stopped motionless in the water, gripping his heavy cane.

“Probably just a fish, or maybe a warm current. It can't be a drowned corpse or a shipwreck specter, or a curse from an angler?”

“Don't say such scary things. With that adult around, no evil spirit would dare approach.”

“Isn't what you said even scarier? Don't mention them. Let's finish the inspection quickly and go back for a couple of drinks. The rum on this ship is good stuff.”

That adult... seems like someone not to be trifled with.

The two deep ones didn't think much of it and soon swam off. But Lynch didn't dare be careless; he kept his distance and trailed far behind them, watching as they made their way onto the tilted deck.

Seeing them disappear past the gunwale, Lynch finally moved again. He trod water all the way up, eventually gripping the gunwale and poking his head out, seeing the scene on the deck up close for the first time.

At this moment, Lynch's scalp went numb, and every single hair follicle felt like it was about to explode.

On the open deck, he saw a massive mass of gray silt.

The lake-like ocean of silt rolled and churned continuously, with hundreds of heads floating in it. These heads had various facial features, and each of them wore an expression of closed-eyed weeping, their mouths wide open as if they were letting out miserable wails.

Holy shit, a jumpscare right at the start. A direct critical hit to the face.

The visual impact was too strong. Lynch subconsciously retreated, almost falling back to the seabed. Meanwhile, he watched the two deep ones shiveringly enter the silt, bypass the floating heads, and slip into the cabin entrance on the deck.

???

They're actually fucking going inside?