[3rd Person POV]
Silence hung heavy over the graveyard as the air stilled.
Then, almost imperceptibly, Einar... no, Silas, tilted his head.
A thin streak of blood slid down his cheek.
His smile faltered.
My shield… didn't stop it?
Silas, the mind buried beneath Einar's flesh, felt a rare jolt of disbelief. His telekinetic barrier had never failed. It had been honed over decades, a wall nothing short of monstrous could breach. Valen was a child, a skilled one, perhaps, but still a child.
It should have stopped it.
But it didn't.
How? How did it pierce through?
For a man who had once stood at the pinnacle of the Outcast Society, a scholar feared for both intellect and power, this was an unfamiliar feeling. Shock. His whole life, he'd dissected anomalies, solved mysteries, catalogued every strange phenomenon the Outcasts had to offer. He thought he'd seen it all.
Yet warm blood trickled down his cheek, proof that he had not.
For the first time since his death, Silas felt a thrill.
Slowly, his gaze traced the trajectory of the strike. Far behind him, half-embedded in the twisted trunk of an old tree, was a single crimson spear, glowing faintly in the moonlight.
Recognition flared.
"Ah… so that's how it is. The Red Blood…" he murmured, his grin returning, sharper now, more dangerous.
A child capable of using the Red Blood.
"Truly… a pity," he whispered, almost to himself. "I must kill such a talented child. He could have soared the Outcasts into the sky… tsk, tsk… such a shame."
He turned just in time to see Valen charging, eyes blazing, body low to the ground like a beast set loose. Mud splattered beneath his claws as he sprinted, one hand outstretched.
The spear ripped from the tree, streaking through the night like a crimson comet. Silas twisted aside, narrowly avoiding it.
FWOOOSH
The spear snapped back into Valen's grasp like a living creature. His fingers clenched tight around it, a low, feral growl rumbling from his chest.
The battle shifted.
Valen swung. The spear cleaved through Silas's psychic waves as if slicing through silk, its crimson edge shimmering with every impact. Where once Valen had been shoved back, now he carved forward, step by brutal step.
But Silas wasn't some reckless spirit. A lifetime of combat surged back to him like an old song.
"Let's see how long you last," he hissed.
The ground trembled. All around them, shattered boulders, fractured tombstones, and chunks of mausoleum rose into the air. They swirled around Silas like a miniature meteor storm, spinning faster with each heartbeat.
They hurled toward Valen.
Valen moved like a beast. He spun his spear to shatter one boulder, twisted to dodge another. Two more came in fast, he leapt, twisting midair, leaving a black trail as he shattered both to dust.
The air between them cracked with pressure. Valen landed low, sprinting on all fours through the mud, spear gripped in one hand like an extension of his will. His movements were raw, vicious, nothing wasted with no hesitation.
Silas raised his hand.
The entire graveyard groaned. Broken statues, mausoleum fragments, slabs of tombstone, everything lifted into the air, swirling into a defensive storm. Silas commanded the environment like a puppeteer with invisible strings, every motion sharp and deliberate.
Valen didn't slow. He weaved between debris, ducking and twisting with animal precision. One heartbeat he was upright, the next crawling under a spinning slab, spear darting from unpredictable angles. He vaulted off a boulder, smashed another aside, then sprang again.
For the first time, Silas's calm cracked.
"Persistent little beast," he hissed, hurling more rubble.
Valen feinted left, dragging his claws through the mud in a sharp arc, then vanished in a burst of speed to the right.
Silas's eyes widened.
He tricked me.
Valen was suddenly right in front of him, spear lunging straight for his chest.
For a split second, victory was within reach.
The spear plunged forward-
CLINK.
But a thin, black chain shot out from Silas's neck, wrapping around the shaft just below the blade. The strike halted an inch from his heart.
The impact shook the air. Tombstones cracked. Mud rippled outward in concentric rings. Valen's arms strained, muscles bulging against an unseen resistance.
It wasn't telekinetic. It wasn't magic.
It was metal.
The chain hung from a simple black pendant resting against Silas's chest. Up close, it thrummed with a cold, unnatural energy, numbing Valen's fingers.
Silas glanced down at the spear stopped mid-strike, then smiled slowly.
"Ahhh," he breathed, delighted. "I was wondering when you'd get close enough for this."
He ran two fingers along the pendant, almost lovingly. The chain tightened around the spear like a serpent.
"This little trinket has ended more ambitious hunters than you, child," he whispered. His dual voice was sinister but tinged with excitement, like a killer savoring the end of the hunt.
Valen growled low, claws digging into the mud as he tried to push forward. The chain didn't budge.
Silas tilted his head, grin widening.
"Did you really think power alone would be enough?"
Then, with a sharp jerk, he yanked.
The spear ripped from Valen's hands.
Before Valen could react, invisible fingers wrapped around his throat, crushing the air from his lungs. He was lifted effortlessly off the ground.
He reached out instinctively, trying to recall the spear. But nothing happened.
His eyes widened.
"What, can't use your spear powers?" Silas taunted, floating closer.
Seeing Valen muttering something, he leaned in, ear tilting toward Valen's strained mouth.
Valen forced the words out through clenched teeth and groaning neck scales. "I… will kill you… and feed you to dogs."
Silas stared at him, then burst into wild laughter.
"AHAHAH! I thought you'd ask why I'm doing this- like those pathetic heroes who demand explanations mid-fight. But you… you're different." He spread his arms theatrically. "Still, as the villain, I must play the part. I should explain before you die… at least for the readers' sake, right?"
"…what?" Valen rasped, thrashing in the telekinetic grip.
"Ah, just talking about our readers..." Silas waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it."
He floated higher, dragging Valen with him until they rose above the graveyard. In the far distance, the dark silhouette of the academy loomed against the night sky.
"I am Silas Sane," he declared. "Not your pathetic teacher Einar. I was once the headmaster…"
He narrated the story Valen already knew, his rise as the headmaster of nevermore, his dog, the night a normie violated and killed it. His voice shook when he spoke of the dog. Rage radiated from him like heat.
Valen clenched his jaw. I have to use that thing… There's no other way...but Enid's in the range! Fuck! What do i do!?
"You know how regretful it was?" Silas's voice cracked into fury. "To die before I could kill him? And tell me, who's the monster? Me? Or that sick human who wanted to defile a dog?!"
His hands clenched into fists.
"But to think… fate gave me a second chance. To finish the job. And no matter the sacrifice… this time, I will build a better tomorrow. A world without normies."
Mid-speech, his head snapped to the side.
"Tsk. The barrier's weakening." He turned back to Valen, eyes narrowing. "Let's finish this."
His grip on Valen's throat tightened as he drew a slender rapier, aiming for Valen's heart.
But before the blade struck-
CRACK.
The rapier snapped clean in half.
Silas hissed, glaring toward the forest. "Tsk! They came too fast!"
In the distance, shadows surged through the trees, an incoming group!
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Milestones this week: Every 400 powerstones = +1 bonus chapter!
Current progression → (0/400)
So drop those stones if you want those extra chapters!
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A/N – About the last chapter and my next project!
Wow… I honestly didn't expect 90% of you to pick Pirates of the Caribbean as the next fanfic project, but damn, y'all have great taste. That series is easily one of the best movie franchises ever made.
And speaking of which, I heard the rumors about the sixth film-Pirates of the Caribbean: A Day at the Sea. Holy hell, I cannot wait for that!
As for the fanfic itself, I don't have a full structure set in stone yet, but here's my current idea:
The MC will be younger than Jack Sparrow, probably around Will Turner's age and Jack will be more of a mentor figure, someone the MC learns from, with plenty of chaotic interactions and moments. Our MC will basically get dragged into Jack's madness, tagging along on all sorts of adventures.
I really want this to feel like a flagship POTC fanfic on Webnovel, something on the same level of recognition of wednesday fanfics like-
Re: In Wednesday Addams' World with a Pencil and a Death Wish by ulixe
Wednesday: The Strongest Psychic! by nathe
(Big shoutout to my homie ulixe for helping me lock down on POTC idea)
Anyway, if you've got theories, scenarios, or just ideas you'd love to see in a Pirates fanfic, drop them in the comments. Let's make this an epic ride together!
-Over and out,
Captain Lag ⚓