Calamity

Across the vast, mist-shrouded ocean, the Silver Dawn sailed through the waves, its bright, eye-catching sails catching the wind. The silver Eagle Figurehead at the bow gleamed beneath the morning sun, creating the beautiful illusion that it might spread its wings and take flight at any moment.

"It seems... like this... I did it!"

In a cabin aboard the ship, a young man with brilliant golden hair sprang excitedly to his feet from the table. Bathed in the morning light streaming through the window, he examined a metal gauntlet with a silvery-gray sheen. Embedded in its smooth, streamlined surface was a strange, transparent object shaped like a teardrop of crystal. Under the sunlight, it reflected a dreamy blue glow.

At the same time, in another cabin, Ling Ying was examining her own equipment: a plain-looking long sword that gleamed with a chilling edge.

"Doran's Blade..."

Ling Ying picked up the sword and casually spun it in a flourish. Thanks to the memories of a certain unlucky mercenary she had devoured, she was no stranger to swordsmanship. That was another advantage, at least. Her Void Body wasn't well suited to sunlight, and if her current body were strong enough, plenty of problems would be easy to solve. As for why a weapon forged by Master Doran of Ionia had ended up in Ling Ying's hands, she had no idea. But this probably wasn't the original. After all, she had gotten it from the so-called starter gift bag left behind by that Cloaked Figure. The one thing she knew for certain was that the sword was a rare masterpiece, almost indistinguishable from the original.

"I just don't get it. She's so mysterious. What is she trying to do?"

Ling Ying muttered to herself as she rubbed her temples. Pondering the Cloaked Figure's motives had practically become part of her daily routine. Of course, she had never gotten anywhere with it. Today was no different. After gazing for a while at the faintly glowing purple crystal on the table, she let out a sigh, picked it up, and put it back in her bag. Then she stood, smoothed the wrinkles from her dress, and casually tied her waist-length purple hair into a simple braid behind her head. After that, she put on a hooded cloak. Ling Ying wanted to get some fresh air on deck. But just as she grasped the doorknob, the ship lurched violently beneath her feet. She stumbled and smacked her head against the doorframe.

"Damn thing's lucky. This is a passenger ship now. Back in the day, I'd have skewered it with a Whaling Harpoon and made a feast of it."

Wearing a Tricorn Hat trimmed with silver feathers and sporting a thick beard, the captain grumbled as he surveyed the sea through a high-end telescope from Piltover. In the lens, an enormous blue whale appeared and disappeared among the waves. But unlike the whales people sometimes saw gliding peacefully across the water, this one was moving incredibly fast, as if something deadly were chasing it. Perhaps that was why it had slammed into the bottom of the ship, shaking the Silver Dawn hard.

"Hey, Captain, maybe you should give up on whaling. Besides little fish and shrimp, when have you ever taken down a big one like that?"

"Fuck off, kid. You're too young for your brain to be going soft. A few years ago, I took you lot across the strait and caught dolphins..."

"Hey! Do dolphins count as big? I mean, you—"

"Wait. Shut up."

The captain's voice suddenly turned grave, and the first mate wisely fell silent. The captain cranked the telescope's magnification all the way up and looked toward the distance. His expression darkened.

"Take a look."

The captain handed the telescope to the first mate, who took it carefully and gazed out to sea. The weather was bright and sunny, yet a few miles away the ocean lay under a dim sky. Vast banks of dark clouds had swallowed the horizon and were rapidly spreading outward, as if daylight had ended and night had fallen. Even the swells rolling across the water were as black as ink, just like the sky above.

The first mate drew a sharp breath at the ominous sight. He stared at the captain for a long moment before slowly speaking.

"The Black Tide?"

"Looks like it."

"How could that be? Doesn't that thing only appear around Bilgewater?"

"Who the hell knows? But experience tells me this is definitely not normal. When the Black Tide comes, the air reeks of corpses. Some people even say they see the ghosts of those who died at sea..."

"Don't say that. I think I can smell it already. As for ghosts, do you mean those?"

The first mate pointed to the nearby water. Strange clumps of black mist were congealing above the surface, with ghostly figures flickering inside them, seeming both real and unreal. The captain's words caught in his throat. He exchanged a look with his first mate, and the next moment, they both shouted:

"The Black Tide's here! Hard to port! Turn around at full speed!"

"Load the cannons! Anyone who doesn't want to die, get moving! Don't let those things get near us!"

The captain and first mate herded the dazed, sluggish sailors to their stations like two sheepdogs driving a flock. The passengers quickly saw trouble brewing and hurried back into the cabins. But one cloaked figure appeared on deck, moving against the flow of people.

Looking at the chaos on deck, Ling Ying was momentarily bewildered, but that did nothing to dull her awareness of the growing danger around her. She pivoted, turned sideways, drew her sword, and thrust. A shrill cry rang out as a bizarre creature writhed on the blade of Doran's Blade. But Ling Ying knew its struggles were futile. It didn't even have limbs. If she had to describe it, it looked like a giant slug—if one ignored the layer of black sludge writhing like living flesh across its surface and the strange, spiral-shaped mouth at the center of its body. Neither was something any normal sea creature should have.

Ling Ying frowned at the creature. A purple flame burst from the blade, and it let out a tearing shriek. In the blink of an eye, it was burned away by the hellish purple fire, leaving not even a speck of ash. Oh, right—this was another skill the mercenary had "taught" her. But Ling Ying's Void Flames were on a whole other level from the original owner's psionic flames.

"Boom!"

Ling Ying had dealt with one unwelcome guest, but the others on deck clearly hadn't been idle either. After the initial chaos, the experienced sailors had quickly loaded the cannons under the captain's direction. A moment later, the thunderous roar of gunfire became the only sound in Ling Ying's ears. Dozens of cannons along the ship's side fired all at once, filling the deck with the acrid stench of gunpowder. A hail of powder and cannonballs blasted into the waves, and countless bizarre, pitch-black mutated creatures—or chunks of their flesh—were hurled into the air before falling back into the water and vanishing beneath the waves.

The sight seemed to lift the sailors' spirits. Amid their cheers, more cannonballs slammed into the monsters. But their limited firepower couldn't cover everything. Soon, a towering wall of black water crashed against the Silver Dawn above the waterline. When the wave receded, a row of indescribable creatures, writhing like sludge, remained clinging to the hull.

"The Black Tide's getting closer!"

"Monsters! Those monsters are climbing aboard... Aaaah!"

A young sailor by the rail was about to warn his companions when a large, black mass that barely resembled a jellyfish suddenly floated up from below. A huge crack split open in its round "bell," and in an instant it swallowed the unsuspecting young man whole. At the same time, a similar scream rang out from elsewhere on deck. A creature resembling an octopus had climbed aboard, and its eight tentacles lashed in every direction, sweeping two unlucky sailors into the sea. Chaos erupted across the deck. These sailors had spent their lives sailing the relatively safe waters west of the isthmus, where they had scarcely even encountered pirates. They had never seen anything like this.

"Fshh!"

Ling Ying dodged a revolting glob of dark green slime, then lunged forward and slashed at a seahorse with a head covered in slimy green seaweed. The seahorse had been holding its head high, but in the next instant, its body stiffened and collapsed into a puddle of sludge. Ling Ying stared at its "remains" with a complicated expression. That thing had just been twice the height of a person. Even after crossing over into this fantastical world, she had never expected to see anything like it.

"Watch out!"

The warning from behind snapped Ling Ying out of her momentary distraction. She turned her blade toward a spiny ball-shaped monster charging at her, but before she could strike, a radiant energy bolt shot from behind and hit it at high speed, blasting it into splattering clumps of loose sludge. Ling Ying turned in surprise. A young man had appeared behind her at some point. Her gaze swept over his golden hair and handsome face, whose playful air made him seem rather charming, before settling on the ornate gauntlet on his left hand. Points of light flickered across it. Clearly, the energy bolt had come from there.

"..."

"Ah, are you all right? No, no, no need to thank me. Rescuing a lady in danger is what every honorable gentleman sho—Whoa!"

Ezreal let out a rather comical yelp as he tried to establish his image. Without a word, Ling Ying had suddenly swung her sword at him. A crescent of flame whistled past his side, burning up several mutated monsters that had climbed onto the deck behind him. It then exploded over the sea with a force that rivaled the ship's heavy cannons.

"?!"

"No need to thank me, gentleman."

Ling Ying smiled, then swiftly charged toward the Black Tide monsters still rampaging across the deck. The sailors watched, stunned, as a purple blur swept past them, its cold, flashing blade tearing across the deck. The Black Tide's monsters were all carved to pieces beneath the crossing sword flashes. In the blink of an eye, the deck, which had been in utter chaos, was left with nothing but scattered sludge.

"Cap... Captain!"

"I don't need you to tell me. I can fucking see it."

The captain cut off the first mate impatiently. After a moment's thought, he pulled the pistol from his belt.

"Bang!"

The gunshot rang out especially clearly on the deck, which had fallen quiet as everyone stood stunned. All eyes turned toward the captain. Standing at the helm with one hand on the wheel, he shouted in a hoarse but forceful voice:

"If you want to live, get your asses in gear! Come on! Let's get our lovely girl moving!"