The day had been long and arduous, but it was finally over.

  After being able to finally clock out, Zain was on the bus with Brayden, just about ready to fall asleep.

  Unfortunately, they still had to trade buses, then take the subway back to their dormitory…then climb 10 flights of stairs…

  Ughhh…just let me sleep on the floor or something.

  Just thinking about their trek back was making Zain regret working so far away. But he needed the money, so- sadly- he would have to suck it up.

  The bus bumped along its route, reaching a more dilapidated part of the city which obviously had a poorer infrastructure. Pot holes could be felt every so often, followed by splashes of water spraying on the windows of the bus; the water had withered the roads considerably, yet there seemed to be little done to prevent or rectify it.

  “This is our stop.” Brayden lightly nudged Zain then began to gather his own items in order to exit the bus.

  “Ah…okay.” Zain drooped his head as he tried to muster the energy to get up.

  He took long, tired steps towards the front of the bus, holding onto the railings until the bus came to a complete stop. They finally disembarked, and found themselves at the bus stop.

  Zain let out a long tired sigh, “Okay, let’s go…”

  Brayden, who was already used to the commute, nodded sympathetically.

  They had to walk to a different bus stop nearby; Currently, they were at the red bus route but now they needed to get to the blue bus route. Then they would take the subway a few stops back to their dorm.

  Where they were currently was not a great place to be after dark; It seemed to be near where he first entered the city when he first spawned into this world. There were a few buildings that had their windows boarded up with cheap plywood and abandoned buildings with overgrowth that was slowly overtaking them.

  Zain could see small reeds dotting the skirts of puddles that had begun to infringe on certain buildings, with different fungi and vines covering the building walls. Within the water pools, small bioluminescent plants revealed the true depths of these holes, small ripplings indicating that they were not uninhabited.

  “Why is there so much water here?” A stupid question, he knew that, but the differences between the different parts of the city were pretty glaring. When they had first arrived there in the morning, he had not taken notice because of how many people were around and because they were in a hurry, but now that he could carefully take in his surroundings...it left a lot to be desired.

  Near the campus, it felt like a small college town, with small businesses within walking distance. Everything felt accessible and more convenient there.

  Near the biologists' lab was more of an old money cityscape, with older buildings that had more impressive architecture along with trolleys that could be found nearby. Larger hospitals were within walkable distance and there were more upscale shops within the vicinity.

  Even near the job board it looked more modern, with high-rise apartments and pieces of conceptual art at certain corners.

  But here…well, not to be rude, but it looked a little ghetto. You would think that a futuristic world wouldn’t have them but apparently even here, they still existed. There were tall buildings, which were likely apartments, built close together. It looked somewhat like his dormitory, but instead of being a stand alone tall building among normal buildings found on a campus, these buildings were all clustered together.

  There were small alleyways littered with trash or completely flooded by water. The street lights flickered every so often, with some having fallen to disrepair.

  “The proje- I mean...This is Coralway. It has cheaper housing so there are a lot of ethereals that live here. But yeah, you don’t want to be here for longer than you have to.” Brayden responded, trying his best to hide a slightly bitter frown that he had on his face.

  Ah, that explains it

  Barbs the biologist had said that they needed to be careful there, and looking around, her warning made sense. Zain felt himself become more alert as he made that connection, and he shifted his gaze around, making sure that no one tried anything. Brayden, likewise, looked very much on edge as he checked his bag and moved a few things around in his pocket. No one was out right now, but that didn't mean that they could let their guard down.

  Just then, a splash sounded from behind them, almost causing Zain to jump from his skin. They both spun around, having been already on edge because of where they were.

  The sound had come from a pool of water; it came from one of those art pieces that Zain had thought had no purpose, but now sitting on the bench was a woman.

  No..that was not quite right. It looked more like…a mermaid…

  The water beneath her rippled as something bobbed in the water, before revealing itself as another woman. Grabbing the railing nearby, the woman in the water heaved herself up in order to place herself next to the other.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Their tails scintillated in fake moonlight, with their dark skin beautifully contrasting the colors, appearing to be cut straight from the depths of shadows. Jewels and crystals decorated their braided hair, and they wore bikinis decorated with shells and numerous beads. The two hummed lightly at one another, soon they began to cantillate a hymn.

  “M-m-mermaids!” Zain quietly exclaimed as he watched on, trembling at the display of fantasy elements.

  “Actually, those are Miengu.” Brayden corrected, “Mermaids live in the shallow coral reefs near the surface, Jengu, or Miengu when there’s more than one, are in the depths of the ocean.”

  The women continued to sing to one another, paying no mind to the boys who stood nearby. One Jengu looked around, her long lashes batted slightly as her eyes scanned her surroundings. It was just a moment, but Zain was able to see her eyes; they looked like black pearls with snow swirling within them. It was as if her pupils had shattered into dust and were not fixed to a single point; instead it shifted with her gaze, drifting around like a strange snow globe.

  Their harmonious singing continued, as they waited on the benches.

  Zain could understand why sailors had been enchanted by the calls of mermaids and sirens. They were hauntingly beautiful and the song had such a hypnotic sound, he could listen forever.

  His train of thought was interrupted by someone grabbing his collar.

  It was Brayden, who was looking at Zain, with slight concern. “You have to focus, dude. You might fall prey to the siren call.”

  Indeed, Zain had taken a few steps towards the Miengu without even noticing.

  “Oh shit! What!” Zain turned back around and started to walk back, holding his head. The song had been nice, but he didn’t think that he liked it that much.

  “It’s probably because you’re tired.” Brayden explained, “Siren calls target people that are susceptible to that kind of hypnotism.”

  Hearing that he was easily hypnotized was not great, but it was still cool to learn that siren calls actually existed.

  “Who would use a siren call in the middle of the city?” It seemed irresponsible to do something like that unless you wanted trouble.

  “Actually, I think they were just talking to one another. That’s what their native language sounds like. I don’t think they were actually trying to lure you. They were probably trying to shed their scales to walk around, I hear there are a lot of clubs nearby.”

  They hadn't even been trying? Now that was even more embarrassing for Zain. Maybe he really was too tired…

  “Okay…I think we should hurry back…” Zain slumped his shoulders. Being susceptible to low level hypnotism was probably not a great thing, so he decided it was better to make it back home before someone tried to sing a lullaby or something.

  They both walked on their route once again, making sure to stay within the lighting of the street lamps.

  “How does the siren call work anyway? Is it something only Jengu can do…”

  “No…actually, anyone can do it. They just need mana and a decent singing voice. Jengu and mermaids are the most efficient with it, because they can do it naturally.”

  “WHAT?!” Zain exclaimed, absolutely floored that this was not an exclusive skill.

  Brayden nodded, understanding his confusion. “I know it seems like it would be a nightmare to deal with, but those songs only affect those who are susceptible to them.”

  “How do you even defend against that?”

  “Well, using siren calls is illegal within the city. I hear that there are devices that disrupt mana used in siren calls, so I wouldn't worry about having to defend against them too much. But yeah, it’s possible to have hallucinations and disruptions to the psyche because of them.”

  “Hallucinations?! L-like a genjutsu?!”

  “Pfft- yeah something like that. Or so I’ve been told. Never had it happen to me, though. “

  They continued to walk, going around a particularly large puddle obstructing their path. Water pattered rhythmically on a nearby metal trash can. A low rumble could be heard nearby along with the occasional sound of a broken alarm. A hum almost too low to hear occasionally reached Zain’s ears, but he assumed that he was too far from the source to discern what it was.

  “There are certain genres of music that invoke certain effects on some people. It can even strengthen or weaken people depending on the person. I hear that Metal is banned in certain countries because it makes people too hyped.“ Brayden stated factually, looking slightly smug as he added, “That kind of makes it more metal, if you ask me.”

  “Woah, that sounds pretty cool.” Zain added as they turned the corner. “Maybe I should listen to some metal and see what it does to me.”

  Brayden had a big smirk spread across his face. However, just as he was about to respond - he stopped in his tracks. He looked around, confused and slightly perturbed.

  They were walking in a small, dark alleyway; Zain could not remember going this way when they had first walked to work this morning, so they must have taken a wrong turn.

  “Why did we go this way…” Brayden asked, somewhat more to himself as he began to turn back around. His brows furrowed, “The street we’re supposed to go down is still down the road…”

  “It’s okay, we took a wrong turn. It happens.” Zain tried to reassure him. For some reason, this mistake really upset Brayden. Maybe he was more of a perfectionist than he had thought…Though, Zain hadn’t noticed that they had taken a wrong turn either.

  The humming nearby became louder and louder, until it finally drew their attention. Along with it, the alarm that had been petering out began to belt out a more brassy tone, and the low octave rumble turned into low resonant strums. All of these previously inconsequential sounds coalesced into a unapologetic swing of music, molding the environment to its whims.

  They both looked around frantically, looking for the way they had come from, but for some reason, their path now looked warped and drastically different. The walls to the building on either side of them began to quiver and fold like a curtain. From the faux walls, brass instruments poked their heads out and let their harmonious intones, and a giant string instrument plucked its strings.

  “I–’ve got moxie~”

  A mysterious voice began to sing. It echoed around, projecting itself every which way.

  Instinctively, Zain could feel that they were in danger; The boys tried to run, but the ground beneath them seemed to warp, causing them to trip over themselves. A piano joined in the orchestral assault.

  “I–’ve got jewe–ls~”

  A chill in the air turned Zain’s rapid breath to fog as he hurriedly tried to make sense of what was happening. Brayden tried to get up again, but Zain witnessed as the ground undulated beneath his feet to knock him down again.

  “Ya walked into the lion’s den~”

  Zain pulled himself to his knees, wobbling as he tried to balance himself and gain his bearings. The strange, jazzy song continued, discombobulating his thoughts and focus.

  With great effort, he was able to get himself back up. However, Brayden was still struggling, so Zain began to reach for him.

  “Well…now.”

  He felt someone grab him from behind with cold chilly hands. He turned his head, his eyes wide with fright as he looked at the mysterious woman holding onto his shoulders.

  “I–’ve got yo–u~”