Chapter 5: The Pirate's Welcome

The Valkyrie dropped them on a narrow, black-sand beach on the island's northern shore, a place battered by relentless waves and shadowed by volcanic cliffs. As the transport ascended back into the storm clouds, a profound sense of isolation fell upon the team. They were alone, with two rival factions of god-like beings landing on the opposite sides of the same jungle.

The island was a primeval nightmare. The jungle was a dense, tangled mass of unfamiliar flora, dripping with humidity. Strange, brightly-colored birds shrieked from the canopy, their calls sounding more like warnings than songs. The air was heavy with the smell of salt, sulfur from the dormant volcano, and decay.

"Rory, what's our status?" Caesar asked, his voice low in their comms.

"Topographical scan is complete, but it's unreliable," she replied from the orbiting Valkyrie. "There's a massive source of electromagnetic interference emanating from the island's center, near the volcano's caldera. It's scrambling my detailed sensors. I can give you a map, but I can't see what's moving on it."

"It's the Pearl," Leo said, his own senses confirming Rory's report. He closed his eyes, activating his Dominion not as a weapon, but as a compass. He could feel the soft, powerful hum of the Seal, a beacon in the oppressive jungle. "It's near the peak of the volcano. That's where we need to go."

With Leo navigating by his supernatural sense, they pushed their way into the jungle. The path was treacherous. An hour into their trek, they emerged into a strange, unsettling clearing. The ground was littered with the wreckage of dozens of ships from different eras—Spanish galleons, British frigates, even the pieces of a World War II-era patrol boat. This was the heart of the Dragon's Triangle, the ship graveyard.

And the graveyard had guardians.

With the groan of water-logged wood and the scrape of rusted metal, the wreckage began to move. Pieces of driftwood, barnacle-encrusted cannons, and shattered masts pulled themselves together, animated by a crude, powerful alchemy. They formed into lumbering, humanoid shapes—Wreck Golems, each one unique and horrifying. A glowing, cursed-looking pirate doubloon burned at the center of each one's chest, its power source.

The golems, Calico Jack's eternal welcome party, charged.

"They're powered by the coins!" Leo yelled, his Golden Eyes seeing the flow of energy instantly. "Destroy the coins!"

The battle was a chaotic symphony of splintering wood and shattering steel. These were not the sleek, advanced constructs of the King. They were brutish, immensely strong, and relentless.

Caesar used his explosive rounds to blast apart their limbs, creating openings. Kael was a blur, his movements a stark contrast to the golems' clumsy power. He didn't try to cut through their massive forms, but instead used their slow speed against them, darting in to surgically shatter the glowing doubloons with the pommel of his katana.

Leo stood back, his primary role fulfilled, but he acted as the team's spotter. "Two more reforming on your left, Caesar! Kael, the big one's core is reinforced, you'll need a direct hit!"

As Kael dispatched the last of the guardians, a moment of quiet fell over the shipwreck clearing. They were breathing heavily, but they had won the first encounter.

And then, in the distance, they heard it. To the east, the distinct, sharp crack of a high-energy discharge—the sound of the Winter Clan's ice magic. To the west, a low, rumbling boom that could only be the King's alchemical fire.

Faint flashes of violet and bronze lit up the storm clouds in opposite directions. Their rivals had also met the island's guardians. The race was on, and all three teams were now fighting their way to the heart of the volcano.

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