Chapter 9.

The Spell of Shadows.

Silence fell upon The Shadow of Thunder, after the Erebus and his crew attacked. Darkness enveloped the ship as the black waters of the sea separated the wounded sailors from the rest of the world. 

Marcus, hiding in his secret cabin, watched from the shadows as his crew fell unconscious, including Iris, who had been outraged by an enemy sailor.

Erebus, known as the Shadow of Death, stood on the deck, a cold smile on his face. Spare them, he ordered his men. They no longer pose a threat.

The enemy sailors began to retreat, leaving behind a trail of wounded and desolation. Erebus knew that his victory would not be complete until Marcus was out of the way, but he decided to play with his prey, knowing that he would find him later and then they would meet their final encounter.

Marcus, with a heavy heart, knew that he could not face Erebus at that moment. He was weakened and his crew was helpless. He decided to wait until the sun rose, for he knew the dark magic tricks that Erebus and Morgana used to impose their authority at sea.

The darkness became even more oppressive as the sailors fell unconscious one by one. The silence was only broken by the soft whisper of the waves against the hull of the ship. Marcus remained in his hiding place, watching helplessly as his crew suffered under the spell.

The hours passed and the night seemed endless. Marcus struggled to stay awake, his mind clinging to the hope that dawn would bring with it a chance to reverse the situation.

Finally, the first glimmers of light began to paint the horizon. With dawn, the darkness began to recede and the dark magic of Erebus faded as "The Lament of the Damned" was now far from Marcus's field of vision, and he emerged from his hiding place, feeling a renewed determination.

Iris, he murmured as he knelt beside his loyal friend. Wake up. The sun has risen.

One by one, the sailors began to regain consciousness. Their bodies ached and their spirits were downcast, but the light of day gave them new hope. Iris slowly opened her eyes, her gaze meeting Marcus with gratitude and sadness.

Captain... I don't know how we managed to survive, she said weakly.

We will not give up, Marcus replied firmly. Erebus may have won this battle, but not the war. We must find Morgana and complete the ritual before the next full moon. We will not let these monsters rule the sea with their dark tricks.

The crew, though wounded, rose with renewed determination. They knew the fight was not over yet and the road to victory would be arduous. But together, they were willing to face any challenge.

The sun shone brightly in the sky, promising a new day and a new chance to win. Marcus and his crew prepared to continue their search, knowing the real battle had only just begun. The Two-Colored Route had been an obstacle, but they would not allow the darkness of Erebus to defeat them.

What they did not know was that Morgana was allied with Erebus by a sinister treaty agreed in blood. At the moment when the entire crew was unconscious, Erebus had hidden a small chain in one of the cracks of the rudder that would show him through a painting the route of his enemy, where to find him and where he also stopped.

Marcus was practically naked in front of her, but she did not know it because her eyes could not differentiate what was hidden in small cracks so tiny that only an ant could fit through.

Marcus' entire crew practically idolized him and would only obey his orders. Meanwhile, from The Crimson Fury, Morgana looked at that painting that showed that The Shadow of Thunder had just left the two-colored division and were heading to the Sea of ​​Storms, where sea furies and dangerous and charming bloodthirsty mermaids lived.