The faceless monster kept wailing out a sound that itched in the blondie's ear canal. The two people didn't even dare to move, until Ossythe shook its body, making Uriel and Seawatcher stutter on their feet.
The blondie was the first one to snap out of it. He looked beside him to see Seawatcher still frozen in his spot. Uriel desperately shook the watcher, each slight movement making his lantern sway in the darkness.
"Seawatcher... what should we do..." He whispered to his friend, but even after all the disturbance from his partner, Seawatcher remained unfazed, still standing in the same spot, unresponsive to his team. It was like he was being hypnotized by the serpent's siren.
After getting no response from his guide, Uriel's mind started panicking. His head darted all around the black ocean, trying to find a way to break Seawatcher free from the creature's sound.
"What should I do... what should I do..." The boy crouched down while one of his hands was on his head, the palm gripping his bright yellow hair, and the other hand found his mouth. His teeth clamped down on his thumbnail, gnawing and chewing at the edge until he tasted something metallic. It was blood. The red liquid started dripping onto Ossythe's skin, making the creature's body shiver. But right now, the blondie didn't care. The pain from biting his nail kept his thoughts away from the siren's song.
"Go away... please go away..." He kept ripping his silky blonde hair. With each pull came yellow strands that started to pile up on Ossythe's body. The creature couldn't really see what was going on, but he could sense that Uriel was having a panic attack. Ossythe came to the conclusion to resort to their ancestor's technique, one they had been using for a very long time. And that was singing.
With the siren clouding every inch of Uriel's mind, he kept trying to gnaw at it, but instead of getting rid of the sound, he kept ripping out his own hair. Just when the boy was about to get hypnotized again, he heard a faint melodic tune buried under the loud moaning.
His eyes, which had been closed, instantly shot open. He felt like he had heard that music before. He dropped his head to see Ossythe's body trembling beneath him. Seawatcher's other partner was singing a song Uriel recognized. It was the same melody from a couple hours ago, when Ossythe had calmed himself after the wave had hit him.
But this time, Uriel felt the song had changed. The sharp edges were gone. The desperate rise and fall had smoothed into something warmer, something slower. It was like Ossythe had taken the same notes and reshaped them into a blanket, wrapping Uriel in sound instead of fabric. It was as if Ossythe was saying: I am here. You are not alone...
Ossythe's song had completely taken over Uriel's mind. Knowing the blondie wasn't alone, that same anxiety-filled expression turned into a confident one. Uriel wiped the tears that were clouding his eyes away. He hauled himself up and looked down at Ossythe again.
"Thanks for the encouragement, buddy. Really appreciate it!" Ossythe replied with a happy purr. The boy, now with his newfound courage, looked around him. He noticed the mysterious siren snake's body was so long and ginormous that it had become a wall of flesh, curving to the left, stretching to the right, and coiling somewhere in the distance ahead. Every direction Uriel turned, there was serpent. It was like they were in a prison.
But every prison has a way out, right? Uriel came up with a plan. He turned his head toward his guide, who was still frozen in place. The blondie tapped his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, partner. We're getting out of here!" That was what Uriel said before he snatched the watcher's walking stick from his hand. Uriel went to the edge of Ossythe, examining the labyrinth the snake had made. The serpent's body was everywhere.
It coiled around them in massive loops. Some were high, while some were low, and some even cut across the water's surface. The coils overlapped each other, weaving a living maze. Uriel followed one path with his eyes, watching it curve left, then right, then double back on itself until it disappeared behind another coil. He tried another direction, but it was the same result. He tried another, but eventually it was all the same.
The serpent had turned the open sea into a prison of flesh. Every passage led to another wall. Every turn ended in more serpent. It was a labyrinth designed not to confuse, but instead to trap. But Uriel wasn't going to give up, not after obtaining his newfound power.
The boy stood proudly on the head of Ossythe, his weight shifted onto one leg while the other stretched forward. He lifted the walking stick just above his shoulder, holding it like a knight raising a sword. His chin was high. His back was straight. He looked like a commander ready for battle.
"Okay, soldiers, looks like our captain is currently being hypnotized by the strange siren..." Uriel slightly glanced over his shoulder to see the frozen Seawatcher. Not daring to see his partner's mind being controlled, the blondie quickly looked away while catching his breath.
"It's okay... I'm okay... Cause I'm not alone!" Uriel's dandelion pouch was currently hanging from his crimson pant. He slightly opened the bag to see the glimmer fish still swimming in a circular motion while glowing brightly in the dark, tight space.
"I have my glowing Scout!" He pointed at the crescent-shaped fish. "And my War Mount!" He stomped lightly on Ossythe's head. "And me? I'm the Acting Commander. Since the captain's out right now, someone's gotta take the lead!" Ossythe seemed to agree with the way Uriel was coping with this stressful situation; he wailed loudly under the water, making bubbles on the surface. The glimmer fish just kept swimming, having no consciousness whatsoever.
Getting the approval from his team, the commander gripped the walking stick tighter. "Alright, team. Let's find a way out of this maze!" Uriel shouted as he pointed the walking stick toward one of the open directions. The lantern lit the road ahead as the war mount trembled slightly, like it was turning on its engine.
And thus began the three's journey to escape the man-made maze of the siren snake.