Chapter Text
Do you believe in fairytales?
Or in the old folklore people once whispered in low voices, as if speaking too loudly might draw something closer?
Long before maps were reliable and the ocean was charted, ancient people believed that traveling across the sea was an act of arrogance. The waters were not empty. They were alive—patient, vast, and unforgiving.
They spoke of creatures who lived beneath the waves.
Half human.
Half fish.
Mermaids.
Mermen.
They were said to be devastatingly beautiful, their faces too perfect, their voices too sweet. Sailors claimed they appeared at dusk, when the light was soft enough to lie. Ships lost their way. Compasses spun uselessly. Men leaned over the rails, drawn by something that promised warmth and understanding—and were never seen again.
The sea did not rage when it took them.
It welcomed them.
Over time, the stories were dismissed. Storms were blamed. Poor navigation. Human error. Fairytales were buried under science, and the ocean was declared safe.
But some stories are not meant to be forgotten.
They are meant to warn.
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“Shengfang Company is operating beyond its clearance,” the man behind the desk said, his voice cold and precise. “Find out what they’re hiding. Agent Wu.”
Chenyu saluted, “Yes, sir.”
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The assignment should have been simple.
Instead, it led him beneath sterile lights and into a laboratory where the impossible breathed.
A massive aquarium dominated the room. Inside it moved a figure too fluid to be human alone. Broad shoulders, sharp features twisted in fury—and below the water, a powerful tail shimmering in muted shades of peach and gold.
The creature slammed his claws against the glass.
‘What the fuck is this…?’
A scientist adjusted a dial. The pitch rose—sharp, invasive. The creature convulsed, mouth opening in a scream no human ear could hear. Data streamed across monitors. No one looked away.
Except Chenyu.
That was when he understood.
This was not a monster.
This was a prisoner.
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The night the ocean reclaimed him, Chenyu’s body was already failing. Blood soaked through his clothes, breath coming in ragged pulls as he stood at the edge of the shore. In his arms, the creature clung to him desperately, eyes bright with tears, grip trembling but unyielding.
“Gao Tu,” Chenyu said quietly, forcing his voice to remain steady.
“You have to go.”
The waves surged forward, cold and insistent.
A sharp sound split the air.
Pain bloomed across Chenyu’s back, violent and sudden. His gasp vanished as his body pitched forward, the sea swallowing blood, breath, and sound alike.
When consciousness returned, the shore was empty.
Almost.
Gao Tu sat before him, tail folded beneath, eyes wide and watchful. Behind him stood three more shapes, half-hidden by mist and moonlight. They did not approach. They did not threaten.
They simply waited.
“You returned what was taken from us,” one of them said, voice calm, restrained, dangerous, eyes flowing orange. “That debt is settled.”
Another said, eyes glowing faintly, unnaturally pink.
“Do not speak of what you saw. Do not seek us again.”
The warning carried no malice.
Only certainty.
The sea accepted them back without a trace.
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Chenyu returned to land carrying silence like a wound.
When he stood before the same desk again, he chose his words carefully.
“Shengfang Company was developing a drug,” he said. “One that could be weaponized against human populations.”
The man studied him for a long moment before nodding.
“Very well. I’ll trust your judgment.”
Chenyu left without looking back.
‘I need to stay away from the ocean,’ he told himself.
‘At least until they stop watching me.’
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But some warnings are not meant to be escaped.
There were whispers he could not forget. Old stories that lingered like salt on skin. Tales of the sea taking what it desired—and returning something changed.
And somewhere beneath the surface, the ocean waited.
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COMING SOON