On a pitch-black, storm-swept night, a violent tempest raged across the surface of the sea.

Suddenly, the mad waves parted with a roar as a battered black ship burst forth from beneath the ocean, soaring up through the crashing tide. Droplets flew in all directions, glittering under the pale moonlight.

Boom—!

The black ship landed atop the waves with a heavy thud, rocking violently with the swells.

And yet, it didn’t capsize. As if guided by some unseen will, the ship stabilized itself each time it came close to tipping over, drifting with the current as though it were alive — continuing its journey on its own terms.

At the bow stood the captain of this eerie vessel — Davy Jones, a truly monstrous figure.

He wore a barnacle-encrusted tricorne hat atop his cephalopod-like head, its surface crawling with slick, writhing tentacles. Rain poured down upon his hunched form as he gazed out over the endless sea with narrowed, gray-blue eyes, silent and sharp.

Where… is this place?

Davy Jones had once been the captain of the Flying Dutchman, a ferryman of the dead. Because of his time guiding lost souls, he was certain of one thing:

This was not the world of the dead.

The land of the dead was an endless sea under eternal night, empty and mournful, with nothing at the end but pale white void. It was a place soaked in sorrow and despair — utterly unlike this world, alive with lightning and thunder, motion and chaos.

This was still the realm of the living.

But… it was not the world he had once known.

Could it be?

Had he fallen into the abyss of the sea — only to be reborn in another world?

His memories began to stir.

The last thing he remembered was the cursed Jack Sparrow, using Will Turner to drive a dagger through his heart — the source of his immortality. With his heart pierced, Davy Jones lost his eternal life and sank into the sea’s cold, dark depths.

By the law of the curse, whoever killed the captain of the Flying Dutchman would inherit the ship and its duties.

And so, in his old world, Will Turner became the new captain of the Flying Dutchman, taking on the solemn task of ferrying souls to the afterlife — granted only a single day ashore every ten years.

As for the one he once loved — Calypso, goddess of the sea — she had abandoned him in that final moment. She had offered him no aid in that desperate fight for life and death.

And yet, as he fell into the blackness, his body sinking into freezing waters, he had heard a familiar voice — hers.

> “Davy Jones…”

He tried to respond, but it was as if something had clogged his throat. No sound came out. He could only listen, quietly, to what the sea goddess had to say.

> “Once, I loved you. And even now… I still do. But my nature is not meant to be bound. You and I were never fated to last. For you… the best ending is to leave me behind, forever.”

> “I will send you to another world. There, a new fate awaits. But even with all your strength as the Dread Lord of the Deep… you may not survive in that world.”

> “So I will grant you a power… and a fragment of my own. Davy Jones, do not hate me. This is all I can give you.”

Her voice faded into the abyss, and then — only darkness. His consciousness dissolved, drifting into nothing.

Then suddenly — silence shattered. The roar of the waves surged back.

And he awakened in the world the sea goddess had spoken of.

Strangely, Davy Jones felt… at peace with this new fate.

He had once fallen for a woman he should never have loved — Calypso, the untamable goddess of the sea. Her wild nature had made any lasting bond impossible, and yet, he had clung to her all the same — only to be betrayed and left with a broken heart.

Then came Lord Cutler Beckett, who seized control of his heart and used it to manipulate him like a puppet. That heart became both weapon and weakness — and forced him to commit vile acts he loathed, including the slaying of his own greatest ally: the mighty Kraken.

All of it, pain.

Now, in this new world, Davy Jones swore — he would never make the same mistakes again.

He would never again fall for a woman, never again be used by love. He would seek power — real, unshakable power — to ensure that no one could ever bind or command him again.

Freedom.

That precious, priceless treasure — he would never lose it again.

But first, he needed to recover the full strength he once wielded as the Dread Lord of the Deep. He could feel it — the power was still out there, but it was only partially returned to him.

The sea goddess had kept her promise — she had gifted him a power.

But where was the rest?

His heart, once sealed away, was now back in his chest. His torso and legs had returned to human form. But his head was still that of a monstrous octopus, his left hand a giant crab claw, his right hand still a coiled, slick tentacle.

He retained some of his powers — control over his tentacles, short-range teleportation, and even a degree of regeneration — but all had been weakened. Most of his abilities were still lost.

So where were those missing powers — his own and the goddess’s?

He could feel it. Somewhere deep beneath this ocean, those powers lay sleeping — waiting for him to reclaim them.

And once he did…

He would become the Dread Lord of this new world.

And with the goddess’s power… he could rise even higher.

Still, Davy Jones had not come empty-handed.

The ship beneath his feet — it was a gift from the goddess. He had named it the Terror Ghost. Though it wasn’t the Flying Dutchman, it possessed something unique: the potential to evolve.

And most importantly — the ship answered only to him.

Every door, every sail, every anchor — all could be commanded by a single thought. Even the course and speed of travel bent to his will.

And beyond that — he had been given a strange, otherworldly ability.

He could now harvest fear — draw in the emotional energy of terror from those around him, and feed it to himself and the ship, allowing both to evolve and grow stronger.

Each time he harvested fear, the event was graded. The higher the grade, the more potent the fear, and the more powerful the resulting boost.

The grades of fear, from highest to lowest, were:

Bone-Chilling

Heart-Pounding

Panic-Stricken

Frightened

False Alarm

—

Publicly Known Information:

Davy Jones, Dread Lord of the Deep

Right Hand — Tentacle: Can extend and retract at will

Left Hand — Crab Claw: Hard as iron

Short-Range Teleportation: Can blink short distances

Undying Regeneration: Can heal all wounds except to the heart

Terror Ghost: Controlled by thought, absorbs ship fragments, summons storms

Fear Harvest: Absorbs localized fear, empowers self or ship accordingly

—

His first and foremost objective: to reclaim his lost powers — both his own and the goddess’s. He could feel them out there, calling to him from the deep. The closer he drew, the more he would sense their pull.

But before he could go that far — he needed to solve his first problem:

The ship beneath him — the Terros Ghost (OC) — was in tatters.

A brief inspection confirmed it wouldn’t last much longer. Without repair, it would eventually sink beneath the waves. To restore it, he would need two things: fear energy, and ship fragments.

It was starving.

And now — it was time to feed it.

With no hesitation, Davy Jones narrowed his eyes, sharp as a hawk’s, piercing through the night and the driving rain.

Under his will, the Terror Ghost began to turn — drifting slowly westward across the sea.

Soon, he and his ghost ship would find their first prey.

—

Author’s Note:

This is a brand-new series! If you’re enjoying it so far, please consider following and reading daily — those “follow” rankings really help, and I deeply appreciate the support!

The main character is Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean.

He will not return to a fully human appearance, and this novel will be female-lead free — no romance arcs planned.

If I think of anything else important to clarify, I’ll post it in future chapters.

Thank you for reading!

PS: Access advance chapters at

https://www.patreon.com/c/NanamiTL

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep