*TALE OF THE LOST ISLAND*
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Chapter One B:
The whisper had faded, but its echo remained—lodged somewhere between Eren's ribs and reason.
The boat rocked gently under the weight of silence, tethered to nothing but the sea's breath. The sky had dimmed to the color of old parchment, the clouds dragging their bruises across the horizon. All around him, the ocean was still—too still. It was the kind of stillness that felt like it was watching.
Eliot leaned over the edge of the boat, squinting into the darkened depths. The water was clear, unsettlingly so. He could see his reflection… and something else.
A flicker.
A shimmer.
Gone.
He blinked. The current had not moved. The tide had not breathed. Yet something had shifted below.
"Is anyone there?" he called into the wind.
Only the seagulls answered—distant, disinterested.
Then he saw it: not a figure, but a shape. Carved into the sea floor was a strange circular marking, barely visible, glowing faintly with a light that pulsed like a heartbeat. It looked ancient—weathered yet alive. Like something waiting.
He jotted it in his sketchbook with a shaking hand, shading in the symbols, noting the pattern.
Suddenly, a gust of wind knocked his cap off and sent his pages flapping. He caught them mid-air, but not before something else caught his attention—a distant thunk from beneath the boat, as if something had nudged it.
He froze.
There it was again.
A low, hollow knock. Rhythmic. Almost like… knocking.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Like someone—or something—was tapping from beneath.
He scrambled to the edge again, peering into the stillness. The light was gone. The symbol… faded.
But the knocking didn't stop.
It grew louder.
Then—
Silence.
His radio, long dead, crackled to life with a burst of static. "Turn… back…"
Eliot dropped the radio.
He didn't move for a long time. Not until the sea rippled again—not with waves, but with a strange low hum that vibrated through the air like a forgotten lullaby. The kind of tune that made your bones ache with memory.
The kind that had no lyrics… but felt like a warning.
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