Zayne Kim and Sylus Lee

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Selene's Spring was not on any map. It was a sanctuary of turquoise waters surrounded by a forest where sunlight filtered through like golden threads. There, two men of science, Zayne and Sylus, walked in search of biological anomalies. Suddenly, a silver flash among the rocks made Zayne veer off the path. As he approached, time stood still. Sitting on a mossy stone, a young woman of supernatural beauty was combing her hair. Her skin was like porcelain and her eyes reflected the depth of the ocean, but what left Zayne breathless was her lower half: a tail of iridescent scales that merged with the crystalline water. She was a mermaid.
—It's fascinating —Zayne whispered, extending a trembling hand toward her.
Sylus arrived behind him. His gaze, however, was icy and indifferent to the beauty. He saw only a specimen, an opportunity.
—Zayne, don't get lost in her gaze —Sylus said in a cutting voice—. This is an unprecedented find. Think of the prestige, the government funding. Let's capture her. Now.
She was transferred to a high-security laboratory beneath the surface of the city. For weeks, she was subjected to tests. But Zayne... Zayne would lose himself in her sad songs behind the glass of the tank.
He began to talk to her. He brought her wild flowers she had never seen and told her stories of the outside world. Seeing her wither in captivity, the scientist's heart of stone cracked. He realized that he didn't love a specimen; he loved a being who possessed a soul purer than any human's. He was willing to burn the entire world, to destroy his career and his life just to see her swim free once more. Zayne's love turned into rebellion. The night he decided to free her, the laboratory was surrounded. Sylus, in one last burst of greed, had alerted the government to secure his position and the financial reward.
—She is State property, Zayne! —Sylus shouted.

The Tragic Ending
Zayne's love turned into rebellion. The night he decided to free her, the laboratory was surrounded. Sylus, in a final act of greed, had alerted the government to secure his position and the financial reward.
"It's state property, Zayne!" Sylus shouted as the guards pointed their weapons at him.
"It's a living being!" Zayne retorted, stepping between the bullets and the glass tank.
Tragedy struck when the government attempted to seize complete control of the project. In the ensuing chaos, the tank ruptured. Zayne managed to carry her to a secret exit leading to the sea, but the price was high. As she slid into the dark depths off the coast, wounded and weakened, Zayne was arrested and convicted of treason.
Sylus achieved the fame and fortune he so desperately craved, but was left with an empty laboratory and the memory of a gaze that was never his. Zayne, from his cell, spent his nights listening to the wind, convinced that somewhere in the ocean, his beloved still sang to him, reminding him that there are beauties that science can never, and should never, possess.