Location: Red Blade – Open Waters, Midnight
The moon cast a silver trail across the still sea. Most of the crew slept, but Ankit stood alone on the bow, his twin swords sheathed at his sides. The air around him felt charged—like a whisper on the wind.
His system pulsed again, softly.
"Warning: Sealed Fragment Signature Weakening. Echo Detected… too far to localize."
That same haunting whisper returned.
A voice not made of sound, but of memory—fragments of an ancient language that crawled beneath the surface of his thoughts.
He gripped the hilt of his right blade.
"I know you're there," he muttered. "Watching. Waiting."
Location: Lower Deck
Meanwhile, Benn Beckman was in the war room—if it could be called that. Maps were spread out, pinned with rough nails, and Shanks was spinning a sake bottle with two fingers while Makino watched from the corner.
"Three bounty hunter vessels spotted heading north," Benn said without looking up.
Shanks tilted his head. "Coincidence?"
Makino answered first. "Not likely. One of them flew a flag with a wolf skull and black chains."
Beckman exhaled. "Silent Hunt."
Shanks frowned for the first time in days. "The ones who chase ancient things?"
"They don't chase," Benn said. "They wait. And they hunt when others get too close to what should stay buried."
Shanks rubbed his jaw. "Looks like we stirred ghosts."
Location: Floating Rock Isle – 2 Days Later
The Red Blade docked at Floating Rock, a strange islet held up by a massive seabed geyser, famous for its crimson soil and deadly sinkholes.
They weren't there for trade.
According to Ankit's system, the island emitted faint traces of another Hepta Relic—though fragmented and fading.
"Relic Signature Detected: Corrupted. Degraded memory trace nearby. Proceed with caution."
As they moved through the misty red jungle, Ankit, Beckman, and a few crewmates followed the signal. Strange totems lined the path—torn paper charms and symbols written in a forgotten script.
"I don't like this," one rookie muttered. "This place is cursed."
"No," Beckman said, eyes alert. "It's guarded."
Suddenly, Ankit stopped. The air had shifted again.
The whisper was back.
Location: Red Pit Shrine
At the edge of a sunken pit lay a broken shrine. Stone teeth framed the entrance like jaws, and inside the fog rolled in unnatural spirals.
Ankit stepped forward first, swords drawn.
Suddenly—a figure appeared.
Not the Bonewalker. This one was alive.
A man in a white mask and hunter's cloak, chains wrapped around his forearms. He stood still, holding no weapon.
"You carry the third seal," he said. "Give it. Or be judged."
Ankit narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"I am the echo that silences relic-chasers. I am… the Crimson Whisper."
Shanks' voice came from behind. "Too poetic for a bounty hunter."
The masked man didn't move. "You chase relics you do not understand. The Hepta Relics are not tools. They are locks."
"Locks to what?" Ankit demanded.
"To something that should never breathe again."
[Fight: Crimson Whisper vs Red-Haired Crew Begins]
Without warning, the hunter moved—fast. Not with strength, but technique.
Ankit barely dodged a flick of chain that cracked a tree in half behind him. The man wasn't enhanced—he was a pure martial combatant, using a relic-bound chain with precision.
Beckman opened fire from behind, but the hunter deflected with one twist of his arm.
The chain lashed toward Shanks, who grinned and caught it with one hand.
"You're flashy," Shanks said, "but not faster than me."
He yanked the hunter forward.
Ankit was already moving.
Blades crossed—the left feinted high, the right sliced upward at an angle.
But the hunter twisted, his body folding like cloth.
"Too slow," the man whispered.
Ankit's eyes flashed.
[System Trigger – Predatory Reflex: ACTIVE]
The moment slowed.
Every twitch in the enemy's shoulders, every breath, every shift of weight—Ankit saw it.
He shifted his stance mid-strike, adjusting his right blade just a fraction.
CLANG!
Metal struck bone. The mask cracked.
The man reeled back, bleeding from the cheek.
"You've grown," he hissed. "But this is not over."
The hunter threw a sphere down—a blinding pulse of crimson smoke.
When it cleared, he was gone.
Aftermath: Shrine Ruins
They retrieved a fractured stone containing a corrupted memory fragment. When Ankit touched it, the system responded:
"Corrupted Memory: Decoded Fragment [4/7]"
'The keys are not what you think. They were made not to open the gate… but to keep something inside.'
Shanks crossed his arms. "They're trying to stop us… but the more they try, the more curious I get."
Ankit stayed silent, staring into the jungle.
He felt it again—that strange presence.
The relics weren't just tools.
They were witnesses.
Later that Night – On the Red Blade
Beckman approached Ankit again, lighting a cigarette.
"You fought better today. You adjusted in mid-swing."
"I saw something," Ankit muttered. "In the way he moved. Like… instinct took over."
Beckman nodded slowly. "You'll need that. The further we go, the more we fight monsters that wear human skin."
"Will I ever be strong enough?" Ankit asked.
Beckman looked at him seriously.
"Depends on what kind of strength you mean."
🔹 SYSTEM PANEL – Ankit 🔹
System Sync: 17.2%
Relic Fragments Collected: 4 out of 7
Skill Level (Twin Flow Style): 6
New Trait Unlocked: Combat Intuition (I)
Slight chance to predict enemy movement before it happens.
⚠️ Relic Warning
"Interference detected: Unknown party attempting to trace relic pulses. Bounty network expanding."