Day 25

I was abrupt in my last entry's ending. Harry woke up and startled me, so I put away the journal. I don't really know who was trying to calm down who in that moment. That was last night.

This place is strange. This is definitely the place that the voice wanted me to find. For what purpose? I'm still not sure.

I saw behind the mask and hood of one of those creatures*. One of them took it off for a second but it was enough. It was human-like, but purple with rotting flesh. Clearly not dead, but looking almost dead. Sharp teeth and elf-like ears. I'm not sure what these abominations are. It was only a quick glimpse. I probably missed details.

They prefer to have their masks and hood up.

When they saw us awake, they made a gurgling sound. Most likely a call.

Another creature but with more extravagant clothing approached from the shadows. It had a different kind of mask than the other. It had red tentacles around it. I suspected it to be their chief.

From this moment, I thought perhaps they could be reasoned with. There were plenty of tribal nations in Shieldrake. Harry was afraid. I could tell from his face. I would be lying if I said I wasn't. These could be creatures that want to eat us for all I know.

The chief was only staring at us. Not making any sounds. So, I initiated contact. I said "Hello". The creature only stared blankly. I was unsure if they understood or not.

At this moment, a voice came to me. It told me "M'kar". "M'kar?", I thought. I have never heard of that word before. The voice repeated the phrase.

Then, I said the phrase to the chief hoping for a response. "M'kar". The creature turned his head towards me. Harry and I were utterly confused. Harry being confused by why I said some random word and me being confused by saying it.

The chief looked towards what I presume to be the guards and made some gurgled noises. Those guards came towards the cage. Harry and I both moved towards the back of the cage. The guards unlocked the cage doors and opened it. They signaled to us to get out by their head movement. "They knew human interactions?" I wondered. I stepped out first. Harry behind me.

Those two guards closed the cage door behind us.

The place was blanketed in darkness. I couldn't see any of my surroundings besides the few small areas of light. The guards took our arms and walked us forward. Their chief walked in front of us. Beyond that, I couldn't really tell the details of the place. I can't really recall.

Anyways, they took us to dark, dank cave. The chief pointed at it and the guards pushed us towards the cave's entrance. I wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed like we had no choice. I looked at Harry and Harry looked at me. We both nodded thinking that we were prepared to go through the cave. As we entered the cave, the entrance behind us was blocked off and we were in complete darkness for a second. Blue lights surrounded the cave walls. I learned about this before. Bioluminescence. Some kind of plant giving off light in the cave. Both Harry and I were stunned to see it.

I asked Harry if this felt like an adventure, now. He made a big smile looking around the cave. I was happy. We were both happy. For a long time, we both felt stressed by last 20 or so days. At least, in one moment in our lives, we could both relax and enjoy the sensational lights being given off by the plants.

We made it to some kind of large room at the end of the cave. The whole room was covered with the glowing blue plants. In the middle of it, there was some kind of altar. The alter was made of stone. It sprouted stone hands like that of those creatures. As soon as we walked closer to the altar, a light shot itself up from it and created an orb of light in the middle space of the room. The orb was extremely bright blue and we both had to look away. We couldn't stare directly at it. In an instant, the orb transformed itself into a symbol.

It looked somewhat like this:

_/\_ **

| |

My drawing of it is as close as I can get it to be. We stared at the symbol for a good minute. Admiring its beauty.

After the minute, the voice spoke, but not just to me. Harry could hear it, too.

The voice said "Do you believe in Gods?"

We both awestruck. Neither of us could speak.

I looked and Harry and Harry back at me. I knew he could hear it from his reaction.

The voice continued after a brief silence. "I am M'Kar. Ruler of these seas. You have trespassed upon my world. Why have you come?"

I replied before Harry could say a word. "It was a job. We never meant to intrude on somebody else's property."

M'Kar replied "Captain Jim Ackeron and First Officer Harry Chyllings."

It knew both of our names without us telling it.

We both didn't know what to say.

It continued "I have need of one of you. I believed that Captain Ackeron would be suitable, so I called him here. But it seems First Officer Chyllings is here, as well."

The voice was slow and calm, but had a menacing undertone. We were both scared.

Harry this time said "Need? What do you need us to do?"

It replied "I have only need of one of you. I will let you both decide. Kill one and the other will follow my instructions."

Both of us were shocked. Kill!? How could I kill my best friend? I've killed people before, but I would never kill somebody close to me. Harry was probably thinking the same.

After a few seconds, M'Kar continued "I will provide you motivation, then, Captain." as if it was reading my mind.

It felt like an hour, but was only a second in reality. My mind warped into itself. I saw my own brain. The nerve cells. Stars. Nothing. A white speck in front of me. I tried to reach for it, but I had no arms, no legs, no body. I don't even know if I have a head. Yet, I can see. I see the speck and reach towards it with an invisible hand. The white speck encompassed me.

I was at home. Back on Shieldrake. Kara cooking. She's feeling much better. I smile trying to move towards her, but nothing is moving. I see my wife and another man. Me. A reflection? The man with my Kara. A younger version of ourselves. A reflection of the past. I felt a tear. Time moved faster and faster.

My wife and I about to have our first child. The happiest moment in our lives. The child was born perfectly healthy. A cute baby girl. Kara Jr. More tears ran down my non-existent face. Time moved faster and faster.

My baby girl turning one year old. Kara and I couldn't have been more happy. During her birthday party, I was working offshore. I promised that I would make it, but was unable to. Transporting some goods to another port was delayed. Kara and Kara Jr. went sailing to take their minds off. Kara was looking away for a second. The baby fell off the railings. She didn't survive. I wasn't there. I could have saved her. Why wasn't I there? Time moved faster and faster.

One month later, I paid a therapist and a doctor to take care of my wife who tried to take her own life. They must be helping her. She must have been feeling better. I need money to keep paying them.

Two years later, I'm promoted to Captain. My wife and I didn't talk much. My wife was sitting alone in an empty house. No expression. I was probably at work. Why wasn't I there? Needed the money for the therapist. Economy worsened. Needed more. Time moved faster and faster.

Three months later. My friend Harry needed some time off from work. I let him have his time off. Strange. My wife and Harry together while I'm off working. Huh? Harry and Kara laid in bed together. That never happened! Lies! Lies! Lies! Not lies. Never knew. Never saw it. Betrayal. Betrayal. Time moved faster and faster. More tears fell. My sight became blurry from the tears.

As time moved, I repeatedly saw the Harry and Kara together. Why could I never see it? Was it a lie?

One year later, I became quite the experienced captain. Many more people wanted my services. That is when I met Donovan Green. Time moved faster and faster.

Days passed. Harry was outside my private quarters. He put something in the drink. I never did see him drink out of it. He came into my private quarters. Offered the drink. I accepted. Don't do it. I drank. After the first sip, I started feeling dizzy. I fell and hit the back of the head. But why would Harry want to kill me? He dragged my body and threw it out the cabin window. I fell into the sea. Why am I still alive?

The sea spit me back out. More accurately, M'Kar spit me back out from the depths. Grabbed my lifeless corpse and sparked it back to life by jellyfish and eels. Hands attached to purple tentacles move my body onto the Raging Squid. Rat-sized maggots from the back of my head dug their way out and dragged my body back to my room and onto the bed.

Time slowed and slowed. I was back at the house. Just Kara. The present at that time. I tried to scream. Tried to open my mouth that was never there. Tears continued. I wanted to still say that I love her, even after seeing all those things. Kara couldn't hear it. Not from where I was. A rope appeared into the image. A noose. No. It can't be. It's just an illusion. A false. Kara stepped onto a stool. I tried to scream. Kara put the noose on her neck. I tried to scream. Kara lifted her foot. I didn't want this. I never wanted this. Kara kicked the stool.

I'm back at the cave. I collapsed and vomited right on the floor.

While vomiting, M'Kar stated "I have given you motivation. I have shown you things that never should have been revealed. This is a power beyond regular life's comprehension."

I stopped vomiting and repeated "It's not true. You're lying" over and over quietly while my knees were on the ground shaking. Tears wouldn't stop overflowing.

"It's true. All of it" Harry replied. He saw the same visions. I looked up at him while he looked down on me. His eyes weren't the same. Full of hate and disgust. Not the Harry I knew.

I didn't believe him. He must have been mind controlled. Who knows what kind of power this monster has.

"I cannot control minds" it said in response to my thoughts "This is the real Harry. The one filled with jealousy. "

"I don't need some floating thing talking on my behalf" Harry replied to M'Kar.

"You had everything I ever wanted. You were the one with the beautiful wife. A loving family. I should have been the one to at least be captain, but you had everything." Harry told me.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. That monster that could be considered a God was right. There was no deception in it. No trick. No lies. Was I always this blind?

Harry continued with his speech "Now, you seemed to have lost everything. Though, I do still wonder about our employer, Mr. Green? I don't know why, but I suspected you had something to do with it. Alas, I couldn't find a body. My guess is you threw him into the oce-" As he was making his long speech, I threw a large rock right at his face.

He fell right on his back. I ran over to him and grabbed the large rock from the ground. While, Harry was disoriented, I smashed his face in.

"I didn't throw him into the ocean." Another smash.

"I ground him up into stew" Another smash.

"And I know you liked his taste" Another smash.

"And I would do it again to save my crew." Another smash.

"But you're not a part of this crew." Another smash.

I kept hitting him. I kept smashing his face right in.

He was more than a member of the crew. He was family. He betrayed family. These thoughts burst into my head as I continued to smash his lifeless corpse. My face red with tears. Sadness for losing my best friend and anger for being betrayed by him. I didn't know how to feel. I lost count on how many times I struck him. His face looked as if a pile of pudding.

Once that was finished, M'Kar spoke "That was entertaining, but now I need you for a sacred mission."

I listened. Whatever the being was, it showed me the truth. I gave into it.

It continued "I require a messenger to spread the truth about me to the rest of the world. You are a reliable captain, Ackeron. You will spread my influence across the entire ocean."

I nodded with new resolve. I had nothing left to live for. Nothing left to lose. At least, I will be given some purpose.

Purple tentacles with hands grew out from the floor and surrounded me. I didn't resist. The tentacles created a dark cocoon which enveloped me. As I awoke, I was on the beach. I looked around and saw the same creatures.

"They will be following your voyage. I have given you some of my strength. And you may call upon me if you require"

I looked down upon my self in the water's reflection. I wore a mask similar to that of the creatures found on the island. I was given a hat that usually pirate captains would wear. I was given purple skin and claws. My back contained spikes that ripped through my clothing. Speaking of my clothing, I was wearing new garments. Garments that was worn by Grand Admirals but purple. My shoulder pads were dark hands. Beneath the garments was armor plating.

I looked upon the sea. A giant sea monster arose behind the ship spreading its tendrils around my ship. The monster was a combination of a leviathan and kraken. It sunk back into the ocean as it places the ship carefully on the western sea.

The Raging Squid. The holes patched up with lines of maggots. The sails lined with new cloth showing the symbol of M'Kar. The mast replaced by a giant purple bone-like spike. A new flag on top with the same symbol.

But most importantly, my crew. My crew was still alive. Or somewhat. They were brought back, but they look like the creatures that were found on this island. M'Kar must have brought them back and mutated them to his desire. Not that I could complain. My crew is safe. I could see them waving their hands to me. My fellow crew members never abandoned me and I will never abandon them.

But there was something missing.

"M'Kar, I would like to request Harry to also be brought back."

"Any reason why?"

I placed a mutilated Harry as the figurehead of the Raging Squid. He has been transformed into a squid using his bones and skin. He is unable to move and will constantly drown from each wave without dying.

As I set sail, may M'Kar give blessings.