The hoverbike's engine hummed a steady, subdued note. Jack guided it through the bustling arteries of Sapphire City.

  The late afternoon sun cast long, distorted shadows across cobblestone streets. Filtered through a mixture of steam and smoke from countless manufactories.

  Their arrival aboard on the hoverbike might draw many eyes in other cities. Here, it drew barely a second glance. In this kingdom's steamrune center, strange machines were a currency spent daily.

  Even right now, mechanical arachnids could be seen skittering along power lines. Delivering messages. Not far, a man on a pair of stilt-like piston-driven legs stomped past a café. And just then, a family of four cruised by on a levitating platform. Powered by a chuffing miniature boiler.

  Reina's arms were wrapped around Jack's waist. Her cheeks were resting against his back. Taking in the city's industrious, organized chaos with a calm, observant eye.

  Flying along the hoverbike, Rune pulsed a soft, curious blue. Her tiny lens-like eyes seemed to be scanning and recording the environment.

  Jack navigated with his muscle memory. Moving through the routes he used to pass through just a year ago. He was heading toward the 'Red Seal's Den'. A decent pub often frequented by the transcendent mercenaries.

  However, on the way, a familiar, booming voice cut through the noise. "By the great forge! Jack? Jack Night? Is that you?”

  Jack eased the hoverbike to a halt. Its anti-gravity machines whined down to an almost unheard whisper. He looked at the direction of the voice.

  Standing outside a gear-and-grease store were two familiar men.

  One was a huge man. Pretty much the same size as the current Jack. With a thick beard and an honest face that was cracking into a disbelieving grin.

  The other was younger, leaner. With a noticeable artificial left arm. Made of mechanical, oiled steel that gleamed in the sun.

  Those two were Jack's old friends... Big Bill and Danny.

  Jack killed the engine and dismounted. A lazy, familiar smirk on his face. "Big Bill! You're still so loud. Good to see some things don't change. Yo, Danny!"

  Big Bill's booming laugh turned heads. "Damn it, Man! It's the second time you are back from death. We thought you were dead in that blasted mission!"

  He clapped Jack on the shoulder with a hand that could tenderize meat. "Only a few people returned from that crazy Tideless Island expedition… We thought Old Sam and you met your end there."

  Danny nodded. His mechanical fingers were clicking together in a rapid, thoughtful rhythm. "Yeah. Wrote you off as a loss. What in the blazes happened, Man?"

  Jack's lie was smooth and effortless. Woven from threads of partial truth. "Old Sam was gone. I buried him myself. That mission was a disaster. I had to use my last life-saving item. Woke up stranded on a beach near Calmcoast."

  "It took months to get back to my top condition. And by then, I figured I needed some break." He gestured back to the bike where Reina was gracefully dismounting. "Got married. Moved to Lonestone. It's... quieter there. Well, relatively. This is my wife, Reina."

  Reina offered a small, polite smile. Her demeanor was cool and composed. "A pleasure to meet you two."

  Danny's eyes widened slightly. First at Reina's striking beauty. Then at Rune, who had flitted to perch on Jack's shoulder. Glowing a polite, greeting white. "And what's this little thing? Your new crazy project?"

  "You could say that." Jack said. Reaching up to let Rune hop onto his finger. "An accidental creation that turned out intelligent enough. Might even be smarter than I am in some aspects. We call her Rune."

  Big Bill chuckled. "Well, I’ll be... Married and a father to a tiny pixie? Never thought I’d see the day. You're just in time, too. Danny and I were about to grab a proper meal. The Gilded Grouper? For old time's sake."

  "Sure! I'll treat. Just earned some nice commission recently." Jack agreed.

  The Gilded Grouper was exactly as Jack remembered. A loud, warm, welcoming chaos of seafood dishes. The smell of seasoned salt, frying oil, and ale permeated the whole place.

  They secured a table by a window overlooking the bustling docks. Platters of garlic-buttered scallops, crispy fried whitefish, and soft mashed potatoes were quickly served to their table.

  As they ate, they traded stories. Jack spoke of Lonestone's foggy streets, odd mystical cases, and even about Symphony Garden. He carefully omitted things the two siblings didn't need to know.

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  Big Bill and Danny talked about the boom in underwater mining, the new contracts for safeguarding ore shipments from sea beasts, and the recent clash of Mercenary Union against Eternal Soul Cult.

  The sun began to dip below the horizon. Painting the sky in orange shades. It was then that the sound came. A deep, mournful wail that echoed over the entire city. Emanating from giant brass horns mounted on towers along the coast.

  Jack paused. A scallop was halfway to his mouth. "What the hell is that? I don't remember the city having a banshee for an alarm system."

  Danny shrugged. Unperturbed, he sipped his ale. "Ah, don't mind that. It's the ghost ship siren."

  "Ghost ship?" Reina asked. Her interest was piqued.

  "Yeah." Big Bill said. Wiping butter from his beard. "It started a few weeks back. Shows up out there on the water just around dusk. Glowing, misty thing. Scared the wits out of everyone the first time."

  Danny nodded. "I remember it clearly. The city council panicked then. Sending out patrol boats immediately. Our Mercenary Union also sent some transcendent bigshots. They found... nothing. It just sits there for a few minutes and then... poof. Vanishes."

  "It doesn't do anything?" Jack pressed. His curious mind was clicking into gears.

  "Not a blasted thing." Danny confirmed. "No attacks, no phantom crews waving cutlasses, no sinking ships. It's become a bit of a tourist attraction now. The siren’s just a formality. Folks even come down to the cliffs with spyglasses to watch."

  Big Bill chimed in. "You two want to see it? We can get to the coast in five minutes. It should still be there then."

  Jack looked at Reina. She gave a subtle, almost imperceptible nod. His curiosity, a force that had literally killed him once and then defined his second life, was fully ignited.

  "Why not? It's not a common thing to see, isn't it?" He tossed a handful of coins onto the table. More than enough to cover the bill. "Lead the way."

  The brothers led them to a high bluff overlooking the sea. A small crowd had already gathered. Pointing and chattering excitedly. And there it was.

  Far out on the darkening water, there was a dilapidated ship. Shrouded in a dense, unnatural mist that seemed to repel the dying light. It was not like the current steam ships or the old sailing ships like galleons or frigates.

  This vessel had a distinct, menacing oriental silhouette. A serpent-like dragon figurehead. Pagoda-like structure behind the masts. Tattered dark sails that might have once been richly painted. And a hull that seemed both impossibly ancient and solidly real.

  It glowed with a pale, sickly green luminescence. A corpse-light that cast no reflection on the waves.

  It was silent. Ominously so. It didn't radiate the profound sorrow of the only ghost ship Jack had ever encountered, the Brilliant Twilight. Instead, this thing exuded a silent, patient menace. A predator waiting for a scent.

  They watched as it just sat there. A motionless phantom on the placid sea. Then, after several minutes, the mist surrounding it condensed violently inward. And the ship was simply gone.

  The crowd on the bluff erupted into a mix of relieved and disappointed chatter. Already beginning to disperse.

  "See?" Danny said. His mechanical arm gestured toward the empty sea. "Told you. All show and no go."

  "Fascinating..." Reina murmured.

  Jack's eyes were narrowed though. He had focused his mystical senses. He had even activated his [Eyes of Judgement] power. Probing the empty space where the ship had been. It was too far though. He couldn't sense anything wrong.

  ...

  They said their goodbyes to the Hill brothers. And then, Jack secured a room at a decent hotel overlooking the port.

  The familiar rhythm of the city at night soon accompanied them. The distant clang of the forges. The hum of steam generators. The occasional whistle of a late steam freight. They were like a lullaby Reina quickly succumbed to after their long day.

  Soon, her rapid breathing became deep and even. Jack, beside him, however, did not sleep. He lay still until he was certain Reina was deep asleep. Then, he shifted.

  His physical form instantly dissolved into a wisp of pale, silent mist. It soon turned into his specter form. A translucent masked magician with top hat, suits, and flowing cape.

  He passed through the closed window like it was just smoke. He soared out over the dark, sprawling city. Heading straight for the spot where the ghost ship had manifested.

  The night air was cool and carried the sharp tang of the sea. He hovered over the approximate coordinates. His spectral senses extending into the surrounding. Nothing. The sea below was just sea. The air was just air.

  There was no residual energy. No psychic echo. Not even a temperature drop. It was as clean as if the ship had never existed.

  Pure illusion? An enhanced mirage? Perhaps. But his instincts said no. The [Eyes of Judgement] he had activated could not see the information clearly due to the distance. But, he was immune to illusion. And he could see it clearly. That ship had to be real. Or at least not completely illusion.

  Nothing above the water gave him any clue. Then what about... under the water?

  He decisively dove into the dark water. The shock of the cold did nothing to his spectral physique. However, his [Shapeshift (Voldyanoi)] power activated itself once he was completely submerged under the water.

  His spectral form changed. Shifting, expanding, becoming humanoid murloc. Webbed and scaled, yet still translucent. He was now a Spectral Voldyanoi.

  The dark depths became his domain. He swam with powerful strokes. Diving very quickly to the bottom of the sea. He scanned the seabed far below. Searching for wreckage. Or ballast stones. Or any sign that a ship, real or spectral, had ever been anchored there.

  He found nothing but sand, rock, and scattered shellfish. Frustration began to simmer. He was missing something. A key.

  He activated his [Eyes of Judgement]. Data and information flooded his perception. He could understand the composition of sea water now if he was willing to focus hard. He didn't want to though. He was now an investigator. Not a scientist.

  He fanned out. Expanding his search pattern. His enhanced perception scoured the ocean floor.

  And then he saw it. A pinprick. A tiny, furious, concentrated point of mystic energy. Blazing with malevolent purpose against the muted seabed. It was tucked beneath a ledge of dark rock. Nearly buried in silt.

  He swam down and reached for it. Not with his spectral hand, but with his [Mysterious Anomaly]'s telekinesis. A telekinetic hand passed through the rock and silt without disturbance and closed around a small, cold, metallic object. He pulled it out.

  It was a coin. Tarnished. Ancient. And made of a strange, non-reflective metal. It felt heavy in his palm. Heavy with a weight that was not physical. In the sight of his [Eyes of Judgement], it was clearly a... cursed object.