He had opened a gulf he didn't know how to close.

  The snap and pop of the flames on the dry wood reminded him of the mastication of a hungry animal. The fire desired life, and in exchange, it warmed the stove and provided light in the living room. He'd pulled out the bed that was hidden in the living room couch, offering somewhere comfortable for TJ to sleep, although the only ones making use of it right now were the cats. Warmth trumped safety, and the council of cats had taken up their position according to seniority.

  Brom kept himself busy going through the house, unplugging things. It was a habit his Grandparents had drilled into him when he was young, if the power went out, you unplugged things. While it might be a hassle plugging them in later, it was better than wiring starting a fire. Besides, they'd know when the power came back on, he left the kitchen light on as an indicator.

  But he could only keep himself busy and away from TJ for so long. The other just needed time to process, and it was reassuring to Brom to give him that time, watching that processing happen. TJ's was the correct response to a tense situation and explosive violence, not the numbness inside Brom's chest cavity. He felt nothing. Not a single damn thing. Well, no, that wasn't quite right. He was quite pleased that he'd protected TJ and his house. Kept things safe.

  Would they come back? Would they bring others? He hoped not.

  By the time dinner rolled around, TJ had mostly recovered. Nothing had actually happened after all, and only so much could have been seen yards away in the poor visibility of the storm's light. Still, nothing good would come of letting it fester. Brom was an expert at not dealing with his shit, he had a whole lifetime of it. But TJ didn't, and TJ shouldn't have to learn it.

  "TJ, I'm sorry."

  "It's fine. I mean. I shouldn't be upset. Nothing happened-"

  He flicked his nephew's forehead. "Not that. I'm not saying I'm sorry for throwing a dude out like the garbage he was. I'm sorry the situation came up. There's nothing I can do about it except be there. And it's okay to admit that it was frightening. I'm-" He paused, took a breath, arranged his thoughts, and started speaking again. "Honestly? What's more frightening to me is how okay with the situation I am. It hasn't even been a day, and already there are douche canoes out there who are ready to maim, kill, and destroy... for what?"

  The firelight winked off the sapphire in his ring, and he furrowed his brows. "I'm sorry that this is the world you're going to have to finish growing up in, TJ. You shouldn't be fucking worrying about if you have to shoot looters. You should be worrying about like... Homecoming and the Winter Formal. You should be thinking about Prom in a couple of years and college after that. You should be thinking about finding a pretty girl and maybe doing some risky things as safely as possible with her."

  TJ made a choked noise. "That's not happening."

  "We don't know that. Until we get into Town in the morning, we don't know what all has changed. I remember a world without the Internet. It wasn't all that bad." It would be a hell of an adjustment to go back to, but they had the System and the Communications tab. The world would adapt.

  Still, TJ sat there looking at him with an expression that made Brom think he was missing something. He let the silence go, broken only by the slurp of noodles and the occasional cat noise. It felt a little less tense and a little more impromptu camping.

  Finally, with his bowl empty, TJ felt like speaking again. "I am upset. Like, I mean, I'll admit that reading those books, I did always wonder how cool life would be if suddenly I were in a game. Cool powers, epic loot, all that shit. I kinda forgot that there was the actual killing and death part. Blood is just pixels on screen. Getting killed is just a little frustrating as you respawn and make your way back. What happens now if I die?"

  "I'm going to do everything possible so that you don't have to find out, kiddo." He drew the other into a one-armed hug, squeezing with just enough force to make TJ know he meant it. A little pressure until just a bit of tension went out of the teen, replaced by a shove and a half laugh.

  "Alright, alright, let go! Jeeze, don't be lame."

  "Feelings aren't lame. A musician without feelings writes music without soul. Always be honest with that heart of yours, TJ, and don't end up choking on it like I did. I wasted a lot of years being pointlessly tough, and the pride I kept wasn't worth the friendships I lost. Now, if you're done eating, I'm going to go dump the bowls in the kitchen and turn in. I don't think anyone else is going to try shit tonight, the weather is too bad."

  The storm had only gotten worse, whipping and wailing outside the walls. It chilled the rooms with rapid speed, leaving the living room as the one source of warmth. Luckily, there was plenty of wood in the garage and more outside, though it was unlikely to be dry now. The weather patterns had changed a bit, or maybe the storm was just hitting from an awkward direction, either way, the wood pile wouldn't be spared.

  Brom claimed the recliner and was, in turn, claimed by Bean, who decided an available lap was better than trying to cozy up to Sabbath or fight Marble for the warm spot by TJ's hip. His eyes focused on the fire, calloused fingers seeking the comfort found in stroking soft orange fur. A rewarding purr made him think that all was right with the world for a moment. Or well, everything was calm. He kept an ear on TJ's breathing, waiting for it to even out and let him know his nephew was asleep.

  To pass the time, he delved into the Menu once more and decided to check out that third passive he should have been granted.

  - Unyielding Stance (Rare)

  When you make the choice to fight, you will hold your ground to the end. Once set in a fighting stance, you are immune to movement effects.

  That was reasonably useful. Unlike either of his previous skills, it didn't seem worryingly overpowered or like there were a lot of loopholes to it. Although he did wonder about the overlap with his Enhanced Physique just a bit. That was fine. The depth of coverage seemed like a very good idea, just in case he got himself into a situation that required more from him than he initially thought. He already felt a little guilty that he was starting to rely on Iron Willed Heathen so much. It wasn't total magic immunity after all, and the moment he started thinking magic couldn't hurt him, it was going to bite him in the ass.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Wait.

  Where had the water come from?

  Brom blinked, looking around in sudden shock as he realized he wasn't in the living room anymore. He was hip deep in the sea, watching talons of lightning rake through the waves. It was only thanks to the shock of water colder than the rain meeting some very sensitive areas that had started out of his stupor and back to a reasonable awareness. His feet kept trudging forward, drawing him further with every step, and while he was now aware he was unable to fight against the pull. He'd walked from his house this way, barefoot in jeans and a t-shirt, and at no point in his thirty-minute stroll had anything been able to stop him from this march into the tide.

  + Lure

  + Enchantment

  The effects glittered in the top right of his vision. Hadn't he just been thinking about how he wasn't totally immune to magic? Not one bit of his body responded as he sloshed deeper and deeper into the waves, helpless as they rose waist high.

  Chest high.

  Neck high.

  Above his head.

  He tried to hold his breath and found himself unable, and yet he didn't feel the water rushing into his lungs. Instead, the ring on his finger began to glow with a pretty blue light, like a star had awakened deep in the sapphire stone. Around him, he could see others, men who, now that they'd begun to float, were swimming with various levels of success. Only Brom, aided by his ring, remained on his feet and strolling down the tidal plane.

  A hand softly brushed his cheek. It had been severed at the wrist, the radius and ulna sticking free of chewed flesh. Part of a face swirled by, no eye behind the eyelids, no teeth past the lip. Just viscera separated from the bone and let float free. The water was becoming brackish and black with blood, and the song, fewer and fewer voices were singing as more and more of the choir began eating.

  He couldn't hear the screams, he didn't have any extra acute underwater senses after all. He could hear his own heartbeat, elevated, like the drumline of the beautiful melody. It was starting to pull him, to glaze his brain like a doughnut now that the stimulus wasn't enough. Half-hallucinating the shape that was moving toward him in the water, he tried to remember if he'd seen this movie before. What key was this song in?

  A pearlescent body caught the light of his ring, hair swirling as it twisted a conventionally pretty face toward the glowing object on his finger. Delicate fingers dressed in shimmering webbing rested softly on his shoulder, pausing his descent in the water, the other set dragging up his chest and weaving clawed nails through the mat of hair there. The long, sleek tail with its faintly luminous caudal fin began to coil around him.

  A spine floated past, trailing nerves and skin like the tendrils of a macabre jellyfish.

  The level 3 Siren could have taken more time with him. It could have stayed wrapped around him like that for as long as it liked. But the beast was hungry, and it hadn't brought Brom down here to have a chat about undersea living conditions and beach clean-up initiatives. That clawed hand twisted itself around, and then those talons, sharp as steak knives, punched into his abdomen. Or tried. Brom's rather thick abs proved a bit of an obstacle.

  HP: 583/600

  - Lure

  -Enchantment

  Brom watched the confusion spread across the creature's face, first subtle and then growing. Confusion became panic when his hand, previously relaxed and hanging at his side, caught the wrist of the hand the siren was trying to disembowel him with. He braced his stance as the creature tried to flee, the crack of the tail causing the sea to boil as it yanked against his grip.

  - Unyielding Stance Activated!

  It thrashed, letting out concussive shrieks that hammered at him, waves of sound that were meant to batter his flesh apart and leave him dazed and reeling as his inner ear was disrupted. To summon others of its kind to help deal with the vicious intruder.

  - Daze

  - Concussion

  HP: 551/600

  The siren was far superior to the goblins. Its body was meant to resist pressure, Brom's vice-like grip not crushing the wrist it held. Still, when his fingers dug into the fleshy folds of its gills, the scream the creature let out made the bloody water bubble like it was carbonated. Siren blood glowed, reminding him of a glowstick only a little softer, more pastel. The more force he applied, the more the scream turned into a gurgle and eventually his fingers found bone under all that. Or maybe it was cartilage, it felt surprisingly flexible. It also would have made more sense for a deep ocean beast that only rose toward the surface to feed.

  A little tugging, a little twisting, and the spine came free of the flesh under it like he was an alien taking a trophy.

  +12 XP

  You have acquired Siren's tears x 10!

  You have acquired Siren's scales x 5!

  You have acquired Siren's blood x 1!

  The other sirens didn't dare approach him. There were easier things to feed on. Some swooped around him, picking bits from the flesh that had been shredded off other bodies in the frenzy. He watched two squabble over an eye, the victor eating it like a grape and discarding the trailing nerve. That was his cue to go the fuck home, and this time, he was actually going to bed.

  It was a slog to climb back up out of the water, skin pebbled and bluish from the cold.

  'Human.' A haunting voice sing-songed after him. 'Human, who are you?'

  He wasn't sure if telling your name to sirens was a bad thing or if that was just the fae. Either way, he was tired, and so, maybe he was making a bad decision. "...Brom." There was silence for a long time behind him, the rain slowly drawing to a close as the wind pushed the storm out over the water. He resumed his trudge back up the beach, the blood running from the five wounds on his stomach and leaving little speckles on the sand that the waves scrubbed away.

  'You are worthy, Human Brom. Return when the moon is full!'

  [Quest: The Sea God's Test]

  - Return to Aria Beach on the night of the full moon!

  He put his hands on his hips, letting out a broken croak as the wind dried the salt on his skin. "...you have got to be fucking kidding me..."