Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 508

Chapter 508: Chapter 509 Banster's Deliberation Chapter 508: Chapter 509 Banster's Deliberation Banster's response was simple, straightforward, and honest.

Rune failed to react at first.

“What's the point of saying all this?” the short, plump Rune grumbled, “With so many questions, I almost thought you were going to seal away the Church Ark as soon as you got back today…”

“I'm just emphasizing the risks behind this,” Banster's expression remained unchanged, his gaunt and pallid face looking extremely serious, “We all know what happened back then in the Veserlan Thirteen Islands–the 'Island Sinking' is merely a mild euphemism. The essence of the incident was a large-scale connection between our reality and Subspace. That area of the sea is still unstable to this day, and those Leviathans…”

“They are safe, Banster,” Rune interrupted calmly, his eyes a deep blue as if imbued with a glint of calm and wisdom, “I'm not some mad scientist who would dare to bring relics from the border into the civilized world on a whim. The 'corpses' of those Leviathans were subjected to a full decade of research and verification at the Academy of Truth before I decided to convert them into Church Arks, after eliminating all unstable factors.”

Banster fell silent for a moment, until after more than a dozen seconds, Frem next to him broke the silence with a heavy voice, “In any case, given the situation at the time, we had to build the 'Pilgrimage Arks'–Rune took some risks, but without those Arks, we might have lost contact with the Four Divinities by now.”

In the chaotic and dark space, four figures fell silent in unison.

“Sometimes I really can't help but think that the four 'Leviathans' that appeared on the eastern border were some kind of gift from fate,” Rune shook his head, muttering in a low voice, “Without them, the Academy of Truth couldn't possibly have built a Pilgrimage Ark suitable to act as a 'Dustworld Divine Kingdom.' And at that time, all of our other plans had slim chances of success–my friends, I admit, I did conceal many details about those Leviathans, but I hope you understand that was a border collapse… When I handed over the Ark back then, I told you not to be curious about their origins and to just treat it as a miracle.”

“A gift from fate…” Banster began slowly, “If possible, I really don't want to hear that. It feels to me like a bloody sacrifice, offering up countless souls of the Veserlan Thirteen Islands to that ship, in exchange for today's four Pilgrimage Arks.”

“That's not a fair statement, there's no evidence that the appearance of the 'Leviathans' is the work of the Homeloss. Things in the world are interconnected, and some events just happen to be related to others,” Rune reassured, “Moreover, 'that ship' is now sailing on the Endless Sea, and whether you like to admit it or not, its master has regained humanity. The warnings from the Homeloss, just like the warnings about the 'border collapse' discovered by Captain Duncan a century ago, must be faced and taken seriously, just as I often say…”

“Truth is not subject to human attitudes, for it is eternal,” Banster waved dismissively, “I know, I've heard you drone on about such things till I've developed calluses.”

Helena looked up at Rune, then at Banster, and after hesitating slightly, she spoke, “Banster, if you still feel uneasy, why not try talking directly with Captain Duncan? See his current attitude, or even… confirm with him the real truth about the Veserlan Thirteen Islands back then. Although he's now publicly claimed that his memory is impaired, if you personally…”

Before she could finish, Banster waved his hand dismissively.

“Helena, among your many outrageous ideas, this one is excessively so.”

“Alright, just suggesting.”

“At this stage, we do need to be cautious with our communication with the Homeloss,” Rune also chimed in timely, “The level of contact we currently have is already quite bold. Going further… we must consider the influence of Subspace. We can't allow any possibility for the Pilgrimage Arks to be contaminated.”

The rock-like giant Frem shifted his gaze slowly as his eyes swept over the three Archbishops in conversation.

“Then your Saints were still taken aboard the ship…”

Helena and Rune spoke simultaneously, “That wasn't taken aboard!”

Only after the two finished speaking did Banster add slowly, “My Saint is still in the church, it was only a shadow that went aboard.”

In the next second, the chaotic and dark space once again fell silent, as if a kind of awkward and delicate atmosphere was swirling among the four.

Eventually, Rune was the first to break the silence, “No matter what, you all haven't divulged to your Saints the true nature of the 'Leviathans' underneath the Church Ark, have you?”

“No,” Helena was the first to shake her head, “Although I thought of Leviathans the moment Fenna mentioned the astonishing structure beneath the City-State, I did not reveal anything to her.”

Banster also shook his head, “I'd rather understand what's going on by consulting you, old timer, than to unnecessarily trouble my subordinates–although it seems you know only so much.”

Frem was the third to shake his head, “My Saint hasn't been taken to the ship…”

The three voices finally spoke in unison, “Will you ever stop?!”

“… I'll stop talking.”

“Not revealing it for now is the right choice,” Rune looked at Frem, who was like a rock giant, with a sense of helplessness, then turned back to Helena and Banster and nodded, “We have too little information at the moment. We need to first confirm what's going on beneath the City-States, verify the accuracy of the information from the Homeloss, and then we can plan our next move.”

Pausing for a while, he added, “And when the conditions are right, we can contact 'that ship' again through our respective Saints. For now… let's discuss the remaining parts of the 'warning' from the Homeloss.”

Every person's expression turned serious with his words.

“I'll share my opinion first,” Banster was the first to speak, “I believe we need to establish a 'monitoring' system for Homeloss's 'alarm' that spans across the churches, city-states, and oceanic fleets–the coverage must be expansive and all-encompassing because if the contents of that warning are true, if ancient gods truly exist in everything, then any uncovered blind spot could potentially trigger the next 'Frost crisis.'”
“On this foundation, the patrolling fleets of the major churches must also make corresponding adjustments, just like… when we were vigilant of a 'border collapse.'”
Helena glanced at Banster, somewhat surprised.

“It looks like Rune's earlier concerns were redundant; you take the warning from Homeloss seriously enough. I thought that due to the impact of the Viselan Thirteen Islands incident, you would be skeptical of all information coming from that ship.”

“Exactly because of the Viselan Thirteen Islands and the recent 'Frost crisis',” Banster said with unusual solemnity, his tone low and serious, “those events have convinced me of one thing–the affairs related to that ship can't be trivial, so I will keep a close watch on everything to do with that ship, closer than anyone else.”

The pitch-black sea surface quickly returned to normal, the chaotic shadows that filled the sky gradually gave way to sunlight, and the sky and ocean once again regained their vivid colors, warm and serene, while the pervasive green flames that lingered on the entire ship gradually subsided and retracted as they left the Spirit Realm.

The Spectral Flame on Duncan's body gradually faded; he released the wheel, feeling the surging power within him slowly ebbing.

The wheel began to adjust itself, and squeaking and creaking sounds came from deep within the ship–Goat Head had taken control, and Homeloss's speed consequently dropped again, slowly returning to its standard cruising speed.

The moment Duncan stepped away from the helm, Alice ran over with high spirits, “Captain! Captain! Have we arrived in the south?”

“How could that be?” Duncan gave the puppet an exasperated look upon hearing this, “Do you know how far it is from Frost to Light Breeze Harbor?”

Alice scratched her head: “Oh, I saw you slowing down, and Homeloss was leaving the Spirit Realm state, so I thought we had arrived…”

“Surfacing to the real world to 'get some fresh air',” Duncan said casually, “Lengthy voyages in the Spirit Realm aren't good for the mental and physical health, and we have several normal humans aboard…”

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, then shook his head.

“Coming back to the real world, feeling the sea breeze, sunbathing, it helps relieve the pressure of a long sea journey, and Homeloss itself needs to rest as well.”

“That makes sense,” Alice nodded slightly, her face carrying a happy smile, “They did seem pretty tense; they all relaxed a lot more after coming into the sunlight.”

Duncan knew that the “they” the puppet referred to were the ship's buckets, ropes, and pots and pans–somehow, she had developed a good relationship with the animated objects on the ship, she was even able to perceive their “emotions”…

But these were all good things.

“Goat Head will steer for a while; I'm going to rest,” Duncan told Alice, “Dinner tonight will be pancakes, fish steaks, and vegetable soup.”

“Okay!” Alice immediately agreed cheerfully.

Then the puppet lady looked up at the sky.

The sun was gradually sinking near the horizon, and the outer ring of the double Rune Circle had started to dip below the surface of the sea.

“I'll go start cooking then!”

Alice shouted and then turned to run towards the kitchen.

Duncan watched with a smile as Alice's figure disappeared behind the cabin door at the end of the deck.

He then let out a soft sigh, turned, and walked to the captain's cabin door at the aft of the deck.

The Displaced's Door.

Duncan's gaze swept over the letters on the door; he placed his hand on the doorknob, pushed the door open, and entered.

Chapter end

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