The Goldentails weren’t hailed only for their purity of blood, they also had a certain type of reputation.

It was their attitude. To say they were unwelcoming would be wrong. They were nearing the proximity of xenophobia.

Which meant that any visitor was either chased away or killed. The latter choice being a much more common occurrence.

From a distance, they looked like a kind bunch. All singing to each other in sweet voices, laughing, playfully smacking each other with beautiful tails. One would almost jump at the thought of joining them.

But how quickly would their smiles turn into a salivating snarl, their jaws dropping open to the ears. When it did so, mouths bulging with ivory, dagger-like teeth could be seen. Thick, pulsating veins appeared on their once blemish-free skin like some type of intricate web working.

And you were the target for such beast.

It was because of this the Goldentails weren’t exactly a fan favorite. Those of the sea rather preferred the welcoming embrace of the Silvertails.

The Silvertails acceptance to anyone and everyone is what earned them scorn from the Goldentails.

It was absolutely astounding that those whose blood was nearly as pure as their own would dare associate themselves with others so far below them it was impossible to measure.

After all, it was such a tedious endeavor to look down. Besides, they weren’t even worthy of the noble stare of the Goldentails.

Thus, when the Goldentails saw a group of land-dwellers attempting to enter their sacred city. Which, by the way, bore a close resemblance to old, very old, ruins. The Goldentail’s eyes narrowed in judgement.

Without sparing a word, they went to kill the visitors as per usual. When they did so, they noticed something strangely familiar.

And completely unpleasant to view.

Mutters of dissent could be heard. Things along the lines of: ‘Tell Lord Yaq’, ‘that woman’, could be made out.

Within moments of a male Goldentail bolting off, a grey-haired man came swimming over.

His eyes were identical to Yaq-Il’s. His tail was just as, no, even more brilliant than her’s. Though he looked old, the stubborn set of his jaw and his sculpted body said otherwise.

“You,” he began in a ragged voice. “You dare come back here?” the man yelled in a deep, booming voice.

Yaq-Il turned to Erebus. “That’s my father,” she told him and his crew.

Her complete disregard of his words served to anger Yaq even more. His face began to grow red.

When Yaq opened his mouth to speak, Yaq-Il didn’t allow to by saying, “Oh, hush, you old croon. I heard you the first time, no need to shout any longer.”

“Why have you come back here?” Yaq asked her once more, his quiet anger made the other sirens begin to withdraw from the vicinity.

He was the most fearsome creature to them. They had seen his fury before, and none of them wanted to be caught up in that mess ever again in their lives. They did value such things, after all.

“Save your breath, old man. You’re going to find that you wished you had run away earlier.” Yaq-Il smiled at her father, it was cruel, twisted smile. “I’m home, father dear.”

Mentally, she told Erebus and his subordinates to begin their attack.

“And goodbye. Forever, hopefully. I’d be extremely upset if I were to find your miserable ass wherever I go in the afterlife.”

A spear made of darkness pierced Yaq’s unsuspecting body, it impaled him straight through the heart. In silence, a swirling void opened up and swallowed Yaq hole.

Without a single cry or muffled shout of pain, Yaq-Il’s father was killed and turned into nothing.

His daughter’s expression didn’t change. There was no hint of regret, no look of sadness. If anything, there was this look of relief on her face. The invisible shackles that held her were beginning to loosen.

But they weren’t gone yet.

In a whisper, she spoke, “Continue. Please.”

That was all that her avengers needed. The bubble that surrounded them all broke off into four parts and encased their heads. With a movement that shouldn’t be possible for land-dwellers, they began their onslaught.

Vyne indulged in the clean act of severing heads from necks. The sirens attempted to fight back, but, well, they weren’t accustomed to actually fighting. What they had normally engaged in was more of a one-sided beatdown with sheer numbers rather than a traditional fight.

The skill of their ancestors had been long forgotten. With the awkward moments of a novice, the sirens attempted to fight off Vyne. But even in their natural habitat, they struggled to keep up with his expert use of magic in order to maximize his abilities based off of his surroundings.

Since the sirens weren’t idiots, they dropped the tactic of dueling him one on one and instead began to group together and attack him.

That would’ve spelled the defeat of Vyne if it were not for Tear’s support. She was assisting Vyne and Lilian at the same time with deft movements. Tear’s arrows were slowed in the water, but they still flew with deadly force at their target. If they landed, they killed.

Since Lilian’s corpses were essentially useless underwater and there weren’t enough dead sirens to really do any damage.

Her magic could only draw out as much power as the owner of the body already knew. Meaning if it was an unskilled siren, it would be an unskilled undead. She’d have to summon many in order for them to overwhelm the living with sheer numbers. But, since the clan was originally only two hundred or so members, it was entirely useless to even do so.

Necromancy was surprisingly inconvenient at times like this. She had to resort to using magic that she was not nearly as well-versed in.

And, well, Erebus was being himself. With every miniscule muscle movement, a life or even more would be taken.

Some attempted to run away from the carefree dragon, but they were cut down by black blades that would then suck their body away into the abyss.

The screams of sirens filled the water, the noise provided Yaq-Il with the strangest sense of serenity. With every clan member slaughtered, her shackles loosened even more.

Slowly, they were slipping off. Soon, she would be free. Byron’s torment would be appeased with their blood.

The turquoise blood of sirens made the water cloudy and lowered visibility, but that did not slow the onslaught of Erebus and his followers. Rather, it gave them even more fuel.

A chaotic scene was transpiring. The already destroyed buildings of the Goldentail clan finally collapsed due to the raging powers. Yaq-Il raised up her arms, palms facing the sky.

She began to sing the lullaby her mother used to hum to her when she was a child. Yaq-Il didn’t do this to give them a peaceful rest, she crooned in order to mock their very being.

The sound of her enchanting singing overpowered the blood-curdling screams of her family.

Her father was dead!

Rejoice, rejoice.

Those who once scorned her were dead!

Rejoice, Yaq-Il, rejoice!

She sung even louder. With the last death, the invisible manacles she wore shattered and fell into nothingness. Tears of joy sprouted from her eyes, her voice shook with emotion until she finally stopped singing.

“Byron, Byron! I have avenged your death, my love!” she cried to the heavens. She looked straight up, her hands reaching out as if she held the world in her hands. “Byron, Byron,” she continued to repeat his name.

Erebus, Lilian, Vyne, and Tear grouped back together. Their spheres grew and once again enclosed all four of their bodies.

The bubble drifted lazily towards Yaq-Il, Erebus wore an unreadable expression on his face. “Are you satisfied?” he asked her.

“Of course, I am satisfied,” she answered.

“Are you satisfied?” he repeated.

Yaq-Il blinked. “Yes.”

He asked her once more.

She opened her mouth, then shut it. Was she satisfied? The elation she had felt only moments before had vanished without a trace.

Now she was feeling empty. “My family is dead. And I don’t care, I don’t care at all.” A bland expression appeared on her face.

Erebus repeated his question. “Are you satisfied?”

“No,” Yaq-Il answered softly.

“When will you be satisfied?”

Yaq-Il hesitated, she racked her mind for answers. “Never. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.”

“Then, do you regret it?”

Did she regret this? No, if giving the opportunity she’d do it again. But at the same time, she wouldn’t. Now that she knew what she felt afterwards, was it really worth it? Was all that death worth the emptiness she was experiencing. Sure, it had been a great freeing moment.

But now, she looked over at the carnage. The death. Had they really all needed to die? Was this what Byron had wanted? He had always been a kind soul, even as they killed him, he never cursed the Goldentails once...

Doubts started to swarm in her mind. They plagued her consciousness with questions of ‘what if’?

Yaq-Il shook her head furiously.

“Don’t take it to seriously, Yaq-Il. I’m simply messing with you,” Erebus said, tilting his head to the side with a cryptic smile.

“Thank you for your assistance,” Yaq-Il grinded out.

Now that he said it, it was too late. He had planted the seeds in her mind and they would continue to grow.

“We’ll be leaving now,” Erebus said. “Enjoy the rest of your life,” he spoke the last part slowly and deliberately.

With a quick burst of force, the sphere carrying Erebus, Vyne, Lilian, and Tear bolted back to the surface.