MASG chapter 89

 

More and more black sirens gathered around as if looking at something that did not belong to them.

“He’s lost his memory. I infer that he doesn’t remember anything at all.” The female black siren repeated this sentence. Her voice was soft and gentle, like a song. “How did he end up down here?”

The unfamiliar mermaid was still lying among them. As his vision gradually returned, he began to look around. It seemed like he had never been there before, but, more precisely, he couldn’t remember if he had ever been to the trench. Mermaids have an absolute sense of direction in the ocean. Even before getting up, he had a general idea of where he was.

The depths of the trench were not completely dark. Luminous gems served as guiding lights. Along with various minerals, they reflected faint glimmers from time to time. More and more black sirens gathered nearby, and he suddenly spoke without warning: “Nixida…”

“Yes, when he sank down, he said this name too,” another black siren said with certainty. “At that time, he was already completely unconscious. I was the one who brought him in. Otherwise, having an injured mermaid alone outside wouldn’t be good. A group of orcas was following him, but they didn’t dare come closer.”

“Orcas are smart. If they’re not sure a mermaid is dead, they won’t rush up to attack,” the female black siren said.

“Anyway, I chased the orcas away for him. He kept sinking and then fell off the cliff. When I got close to him, he was mumbling something… Nixida. Also, he held a gem tightly in his hand the whole time.” The black siren looked again at the unfamiliar mermaid’s palm. “He treated it as a xla and wouldn’t let go, even in death.”

The female Black Siren paused for a moment. No other mermaid spoke to interrupt her while she was thinking. Clearly, she was the leader of this group of black sirens. “If that’s the case, then from now on, he’ll be called Nixida. It’s a very good name. Nixida, how do you feel? My name is Aibaoyin. This is where we live. You accidentally entered our territory.”

The male mermaid named Nixida could only slowly move a finger.

“You look like a siren who has just reached adulthood. Your dorsal fin has only recently grown out. But your injuries are far too severe. It took a lot of effort to save you. You’re really lucky—your gills and heart avoided fatal damage.” Aibaoyin continued, touching him with her tail instead of her fingers.

They both had black fish tails, but their scales were worlds apart. Siren scales were larger and much sharper. They were the toughest scales among all mermaid branches and also had the ability to make their scales explode. Black sirens, on the other hand, were not so combative or brutal. Their tails were slender and soft, and their scales were oval-shaped and resembled black gemstones.

Black sirens also did not have tail fins. Their tails resembled snakes. Sirens had very obvious tail fins, not to mention elbow fins, which were a defining feature.

“What exactly happened? You really don’t remember anything at all?” Aibaoyin placed her hand on Nixida’s abdomen. The contrast between her pitch-black skin and Nixida’s snow-white skin was striking. She pointed to the wounds and said, “You have two holes pierced straight through your body, and there’s a stab wound on your chest. I’m not sure what kind of creature injured you, but it feels more like some kind of… weapon. Or maybe a narwhal[mfn]A narwhal is a medium-sized Arctic whale known for its long, spiral tusk, which is actually an elongated tooth. They live in cold Arctic waters. The tusk can grow up to 3 meters long and is mostly found on males. It’s believed to help with sensing the environment, social behavior, and sometimes dominance displays. Because of that tusk, narwhals are often called the “unicorns of the sea.”[/mfn] from an extremely cold region. But that doesn’t seem right either. Narwhals wouldn’t attack a mermaid.”

“Sister, did he get caught in a propeller?” The black siren beside Aibaoyin couldn’t help but chime in. “I’ve seen human ships. Those ships—”

“Aituoda, when did you go look at human ships? Didn’t you say you hadn’t gone ashore in two years?” As soon as Aibaoyin finished speaking, she lashed out with her long, slender tail, sending Aituoda flying more than ten meters away. Black sirens have long silver hair. In the seawater, Aituoda turned into a tightly wrapped, silver-haired mermaid roll. Then, swam back aggrieved.

Nixida blinked. He still hadn’t figured out what was going on, but it was obvious that Aibaoyin hadn’t used much force when she hit him.

“You are…black sirens? Where is this place?” Finally, Nixida spoke in a halting voice. Making a sound was painful—his wounds felt like they were being torn open again.

“This is the Moman Trench, 7,000 meters deep. Many black sirens live here. You’re obviously half of our kind,” Aibaoyin said. She was a young leader. After thinking it over, she decided to take on this responsibility. “All right then. Since you fell here, you’re one of us. I can let you live here with one condition: you can’t marry Black Siren girls. If you dare, I’ll expel you.”

“What? Marry?” Nixida slowly sat up. The wound on his chest seeped blue blood periodically.

“According to my observations, you’re an adult and have just entered the breeding period. During this time, you’ll have strong reproductive urges and may fall in love with someone here. But your bloodline isn’t pure. You only have half black siren blood. In the future, your offspring will also be hybrids. We don’t reject hybrids, but if juvenile deaths occur, it would be your mistake.” Aibaoyin suddenly reacted to something. “Wait. Why do you know nothing about your own world?”

For Nixida, listening to her words was like listening to white noise. It wasn’t just that he didn’t understand; it was completely unfamiliar, bizarre, and inconceivable.

“You really have no life experience at all. How did you grow up?” Aibaoyin’s tail tightened around her younger brother’s neck. “Look at what you’ve done. He’s completely stupid now.”

“He’s obviously lost his memory. Just explain slowly, and he’ll understand,” Aituoda said, hurrying his speech as his sister was about to “strangle him to death.” “Mermaids only reproduce with partners from the same branch to ensure the health of their offspring. If mermaids from different branches reproduce and lay fish eggs, it’s irresponsible. The offspring will be weak or develop strange abilities. Nixida, you’re one of the lucky ones. You’ve lived this long, and you’re still very strong.”

“Enough. You just haven’t seen a real female siren yet. Any female siren is stronger than him,” said Aibaoyin as she loosened her tail. “All right, let Nixida rest. Let’s not disturb him. From now on, he’s one of us. Everyone should be more tolerant. But be careful, girls—don’t fall in love with his face. His face is deceptive. He’s handsome, but he doesn’t meet the conditions to marry into our group.

At Aibaoyin’s command, the black sirens quickly dispersed, swimming astonishingly fast. The only one who didn’t leave was Aituoda. He helped Nixida, who was still clearly hazy, up. “Can you swim by yourself?”

Nixida looked at his long, silver hair. “It’s okay. How did I get injured?”

“Who knows…” Aituoda led Nixida upward through the water. He stared in surprise at the siren’s tail fin. “Oh my god! Did you really live in a propeller before? Why is your tail fin asymmetrical?”

Originally, Nixida hadn’t noticed these details, either. It was only after he heard him say it that he lowered his head. His tail fin swayed freely; it was fan-shaped and capable of beating up powerful undercurrents. However, the defect was obvious: one side looked torn off, and the tail fin was incomplete.

“A mermaid’s tail is extremely precious. What exactly happened to you?” Aituoda grew even more curious.

“I…” Nixida tried hard to recall it. However, when he tried to remember how his tail fin had been torn, he drew a blank and felt a faint headache coming on. “I can’t remember. If only I could remember… this too, is this mine?”

He raised his arm. A necklace that clearly did not belong in the deep sea was hanging from his wrist as if it had grown into his skin—completely fused with him.

“I’m not sure if it’s yours, but you were gripping it tightly, as if your life depended on it. Even when you were unconscious, you never let go. It must be very important to you.” Aituoda led him to sit at the edge of a cliff. Before them was the abyss of the trench, nearly ten thousand meters deep. “This might sound crazy, but were you raised in human society?”

“What? Raised in human society? Me?” Nixida stared at the aquamarine gemstone once again, as if trying to see through it to find the truth about his identity. Deep down, he felt restless, not only because he couldn’t remember much, but also because he was certain, instinctively, that there were important matters he hadn’t finished.

What exactly were they?

Aituoda nodded confidently. “Yes, think about it. You don’t understand the mermaids’ survival rules, not even the most basic ones. You have huge scars on your body. If you had grown up in a hatchery with a protective double tail, you would never have been left with scars like these. And then there’s this crystal…”

Nixida clenched the crystal in his hand. His past seemed to have a great deal to do with it. Perhaps it was the key that could unlock his mind.

“The crystal is very round. It’s clearly been polished. There aren’t any naturally occurring, perfectly round crystal balls on the seafloor. The silver chain on it couldn’t have come from the sea either. It’s purely a human accessory. I’ve seen human women wear things like this before. Maybe it was a gift from your partner on shore… but that’s also unlikely. How could a mermaid grow up on land?” As Aituoda spoke, he dismissed his own guess.

He didn’t truly understand human society, and mermaids indeed had no ability to hatch and survive on land. He must have been out of his mind to guess that Nixida had been raised by humans.

“My partner on shore?” Nixida’s fingertip slid over the surface of the crystal. It felt as though only a wall separated him from it, yet he couldn’t hear a sound from beyond the wall. After a moment of thought, Nixida solemnly put the crystal around his neck. For an instant, he felt as though he had seen this scene before, as if some feelings had resurfaced vividly.

Had this crystal ball once been worn around someone else’s neck? Who was that person? Was it his partner on shore or an important friend? Or was it just an insignificant necklace?

What exactly had injured him to this extent?

“Tell me, how can I remember everything?” In the end, Nixida gave up trying to remember things on his own. As soon as he tried to think, he could sense the chaos in his mind; his thoughts turned into a gray-white blur. “Is there any way?”

“There is a way… If you can find the snake women or Haisiruola, they might be able to help you. Otherwise, someone you used to know could find you in the sea. Wouldn’t that solve it?” Aituoda was idealistic. “Don’t worry. Even though the ocean is vast, your sisters will track your blood and bring you back.”

“Is that so?” But Nixida didn’t think so. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“About three days?” Aituoda froze after saying this.

That’s right—three days! Nixida had almost bled dry. Why hadn’t any sisters come looking for him? A terrifying premonition made Aituoda’s whole body go numb. What if Nixida didn’t have any sisters? No one remembered the scent of his blood at birth, so when he bled in the sea, no one came to save him.

In the sea, he was a completely lonely, solitary mermaid.

If this was true, then it was likely that Nixida would never find his former companions in this lifetime. The ocean is too vast, far larger than land. Once separated, the chance of an accidental reunion was smaller than encountering krill. Even if Nixida’s mermaid companions were desperately searching for him, finding him would be like looking for a needle in the sea—perhaps taking decades.

“Three days have passed, and no sisters have come to find me. I won’t be found,” Nixida said, stroking the aquamarine gemstone. His low voice was filled with loneliness and helplessness. “Tell me how to find the snake women and Haisiruola. I need to find them. I must remember… it feels like… I still have something very important unfinished.”

“I can take you to find them, but you need to heal first,” said Aituoda. He had just gone to see Haisiruola the year before, so he understood the hardships of the journey even better. “The road is long. With your current stamina, you won’t be able to endure it. You’ll die on the way.”

“I want to set off now. I can’t wait too long.” Nixida swam up from the edge of the cliff. Before anything could happen, however, he was choked by blood in his throat. Just as Aituoda was about to swim over and help him, a shiny silver object flashed before his eyes, putting him on alert instantly.

“What is that?” Aituoda curiously swam toward it.

“Don’t go over!” Nixida grabbed his tail in one motion. Although he couldn’t remember anything, he realized through instinct alone that he deeply hated silver devices, as if there were a blood feud between them.