The sea darkened as they sailed deeper.

It wasn't a sudden change. The water simply lost its color, the blue fading into something more along the lines of gray bleeding into black.

Harsh, dense mist surrounded them, causing visibility to drop to little more than the length of the ship, the fog swallowing anything beyond it until sky and sea blurred together.

The world felt muted, like somebody had just drained all the saturation out.

Waves slapped against the hull in slow, uneven rhythms, rocking the vessel just enough to be irritating rather than dangerous. The ship bobbed, dipped, then rose again, over and over.

Ryn did not look well.

He stood near the rail, one hand gripping the wood a little tighter than necessary, his face pale.

"…You good?" Jay asked, not even trying to hide the amusement in his voice.

Ryn swallowed. Hard.

"Fine," he said. "Perfectly fine."

The ship lurched slightly to the side.

He stiffened.

Fritz watched him for a moment, then tilted his head.

"You know," he said thoughtfully, "for someone who's fought the representative of the beastfolk's, this is kind of disappointing."

Ryn shot him a look. "Say that again and I'm throwing you overboard."

Amelia didn't say anything, but the faint twitch at the corner of her mouth gave her away.

Ryn took a slow breath, leaned forward, and rested his forearms against the rail.

The mist curled low over the water, damp and cold against his skin. The smell of salt was stronger out here—thicker.

His stomach twisted.

"…Excuse me," he muttered.

He leaned over the side and dumped the contents of this morning's breakfast back out into the dark waters below. The motion of the waves made it worse, his vision swimming as he gagged and coughed.

When it finally passed, he stayed there a moment longer, breathing slowly.

That was when he noticed it.

The water below him rippled.

Not because of waves.

The surface bulged outward in wide, circular distortions, spreading beneath the ship. As if something far below had shifted its weight.

Ryn frowned.

The ripples moved again.

A sudden pressure flared behind his eyes as his Blessing reacted on instinct

He gazed downward, into the cold depths—and noticed something.

Ryn straightened sharply.

"Captain," he said, voice tight. "We need to talk. Now."

Hadrik was already turning.

"What is it?" the dwarf barked, one hand tightening on the wheel.

"There's something under us," Ryn said. "Possibly large enough to create opposing currents."

That was as far as he got.

Hadrik's expression changed instantly.

"Turn the ship!" he roared. "All hands—now!"

The deck exploded into motion.

Sailors shouted as they scrambled to their stations, boots pounding against wood as the wheel was hauled hard to port. Oars dug into the water at sharp angles, the vessel groaning as it tried to obey.

Ryn felt it then.

The pressure below them shifted.

"—SHIT!" Hadrik screamed.

A massive tentacle burst from the water and slammed down onto the deck with a thunderous crack, splintering wood and throwing sailors off their feet. The ship lurched violently, tilting hard as something wrapped around the hull and pulled it forward.

Another tentacle followed, thicker than the mast, its sticky surface glistening as it wrapped along the side of the vessel.

"Hold on!" someone screamed.

The water churned as a colossal shape surged upward, mist torn apart as a massive head breached the surface.

From his point of view, the creature looked even alien, way to large to be something Ryn knew and way too dangerous to be something they could run from.

The sailors froze.

"…By Goddess Rhea," one whispered.

"It's a Kraken!"

Panic ripped through the crew.

"Brace!" Hadrik shouted. "Don't let it capsize us!"

Ryn was already moving.

"Fritz, Amelia—tentacles!" he ordered. "Jay, help the crew! Cut it loose if you can!"

Steel rang as weapons were drawn.

Ryn immediately drew Snow from its holster. Channeling Cold Essence, he delivered a horizontal slash right into the creature's tentacle.

However, it didn't seem to do much, as its rubbery skin along with thick mucus caught much of the blade's momentum.

Fritz did the same and came up with the same result.

Amelia's hands ignited, however she couldn't attack recklessly, as she would bring the ship down with it.

She settled for an impact detonation, it seemed to damage its rubber skin, but nowhere close enough to be considered real damage.

The Kraken didn't even flinch.

A tentacle slammed down again, smashing through the deck with brutal force. Planks shattered, and water surged up through the breach as the ship began to list sharply to one side.

Ryn grit his teeth as the deck tilted beneath him.

A Kraken.

He'd read about them, even heard rumors going around from sailors. Encounters with one were rare, and an attack from one was even rarer.

It was a Legendary Class Beast, just two ranks below Leviathan.

That alone made this a death sentence for most ships.

However, in all accounts, there was always one fact that stood out.

Krakens never attacked sailors.

They were deep-sea giants, slow and territorial, who only surfaced to feed on massive whales to sustain them.

They didn't surface like this.

And they certainly didn't attack without provocation.

Another tentacle slammed down, tearing free a section of railing as the hull groaned in protest.

Ryn's eyes narrowed.

Hadrik even told him that they'd steered clear of any known trouble zones…which means this isn't a territorial warning.

Either the captain lied, or something's wrong with the Kraken's aggression—and Ryn's willing to bet its the latter.

Ryn sucked in a sharp breath.

"Amelia!" he shouted over the chaos. "The mucus—burn it off! Just enough to expose the flesh!"

She didn't hesitate.

Flames flared to life along her arm. A focused stream of heat washed over the tentacle clamped to the deck, steam hissing violently as the thick, slick coating began to bubble and peel away.

He moved the instant the opening appeared.

Ryn sprinted across the tilting deck, leapt, and drove his blade down with everything he had. Steel sank deep into softened flesh, biting far more easily than before.

For a heartbeat—

It worked.

The Kraken shrieked, a sound that vibrated through the hull and into Ryn's bones. The tentacle spasmed, loosening its grip just enough to give the crew a moment to breathe.

Ryn braced himself, wrenching the blade free—

And froze.

The wound wasn't bleeding red.

Thick, viscous fluid poured from the gash, dark as ink, clinging to the blade and dripping onto the deck below.

Black.

Ryn's stomach dropped.

"…No," he muttered.

The beast flinched violently. Tentacles tightened all at once, crushing wood and metal alike as the ship screamed under pressure.

The deck buckled.

A deafening crack split the air as part of the hull gave way entirely, seawater surging in through the breach.

"WE'RE TAKING ON WATER!" someone yelled.

Ryn staggered as the deck pitched hard beneath him, boots skidding as the ship began to sink.

He focused his attention ahead and only saw one thing.

It was hurt.

And it was angry.

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