Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 515

Chapter 515: Chapter 516 “Approaching Chapter 515: Chapter 516 “Approaching “`
“Based on our current speed, we will arrive in the waters around Light Breeze Harbor in one day–but that's according to the 'nautical chart.' As for whether the Homeloss is actually in this sea area, we still need to confirm that, after all… this matter is too inconceivable.”

“`
The goat-headed one spoke with gravity and hesitation, something Duncan had rarely heard from it since their acquaintance.

Without a doubt, what was happening to the Homeloss at the moment had completely exceeded the experience of this so-called “first mate.”

Duncan braced his hands against the edge of the navigation table, his expression solemn as he stared at the mist slowly undulating on the sea chart. Between the phantom of the Homeloss and the northern sea route, large swathes of fog floated at this moment–that was the course the Homeloss should have sailed through, yet it remained shrouded in mist.

“…During the twelve hours when the sun extinguished, we directly 'leapt' over the entire journey from the northern sea route to the southern sea area, and even you don't know how this happened,” Duncan looked up, his gaze meeting the goat head at the edge of the table, “but the White Oak, which was on the Endless Sea during the extinguishing of the sun, didn't encounter this phenomenon–they maintained a largely correct sailing path.”

“…I don't know how to explain this situation, Captain,” the goat head shook its head slightly, appearing embarrassed and uneasy, “Both the Homeloss and the White Oak underwent your baptism of flame, but the differences between the two ships are too great, and any minor detail could potentially be the cause of this phenomenon…”

Duncan didn't speak for a moment, his demeanor grave as he pondered for several seconds before seemingly thinking of something, breaking the silence, “When did the sea chart change?”

This time the goat head answered with unusual speed, “Just now, when the sun was rekindled.”

“Are you sure?” Duncan knew the other wouldn't deceive him, but still asked subconsciously.

“Certain,” the goat head nodded, “I've been paying close attention to everything related to 'navigation,' including the movements of the sea chart. During the period the sun was extinguished, the sea chart showed no changes at all, as if we were static, but when the sun lit up again, the chart began to show some…chaos, much like the confusion when rising from the Spirit Realm to the real world. I thought it was just self-adjusting, but unexpectedly, when it stabilized anew, it showed that the Homeloss had already reached near Light Breeze Harbor…”

Duncan listened intently to the goat head's narration, suddenly furrowing his brow, “This means that the 'jump' could very likely have occurred at the instant the sun reignited…”

The goat head nodded slowly.

The captain's cabin then fell into a momentary silence.

Duncan didn't know what the goat head was thinking at this moment; he only knew that his own mind was filled with chaotic speculations and countless questions, all revolving around a central issue: What changes did the Endless Sea undergo during the process of the sun's extinguishing and reignition?

Initially, he had thought it was just a temporary darkness, like when the sun rose fifteen minutes late previously. In that delayed sunrise, apart from a few who noticed and felt tense and panicked, the whole world seemed completely unaffected.

But soon, he realized that this extinguishing of the sun brought about many irregularities–including the communication breakdown among the City-States and the observation of eerie “boundary” phenomena by the White Oak.

And now, after the sun reignited, he found that the peculiar effects of this event were far more than just that–the entire Homeloss had 'teleported' two-thirds of the distance, arriving near Light Breeze Harbor directly. Tiran reported that other City-States didn't even know the sun had been extinguished…

It seemed that during the sun's “extinguishing” and “igniting,” the entire world briefly showed a bizarre “appearance,” with various rift-like disharmonies emerging, and the Homeloss, this “Ghost Ship” wandering the edge of reality, briefly and lucidly crossed these torn “rifts.”

A chilling thought uncontrollably surfaced in Duncan's mind–
What exactly was the purpose of the sun?

Was it merely to provide light and heat while suppressing the “Supernatural Erosion” in this world? Was it suppressing the supernatural erosion of this world…or the world itself?

“…Captain,” the goat head's voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Duncan's thoughts, “What do we do now? If the Homeloss truly has arrived near Light Breeze Harbor… shouldn't we contact Miss Lucresia?”

“…First, ascertain the surrounding situation before rashly approaching the City-State,” Duncan pondered for a moment, inevitably recalling his previous experiences in Prand and Frost, and shook his head subconsciously, “Let the Homeloss hide in the shadows and fog until the timing is right to contact Lucresia.”

The goat head's head drooped immediately: “Yes, Captain.”

Duncan hummed in acknowledgment and then stepped toward the oval mirror in the corner of the room, his hand gently tapping the surface.

Dark images churned within the mirror, and in the blink of an eye, Agatha, dressed as a female adventurer, appeared before him.

“I never thought that my first long voyage with you would involve such an incredible experience,” Agatha exclaimed, “It's just as you said, setting sail with the Homeloss, I shall witness all the unbelievable things in this world–my imagination before departure was too conservative.”

“Feeling a bit too exhilarating?”

“Thank goodness I no longer have a heart that leaps and thumps at the slightest provocation,” Agatha said with a wry smile. “Next, you need me to keep an eye on the changes in the Spirit Realm, don't you?”

“The Spirit Realm, and those 'reflections' that move between the Spirit Realm and the real world,” Duncan replied without courtesy. “If possible, watch what's happening beneath the sea's surface too. I always feel… even if the sun is relit, the aftermath of this event won't end. Caution is never a bad thing.”

“Understood,” Agatha said, her smile gone as she nodded solemnly. But then she quickly added, “Ah, according to the rules on board the ship, I should say–Yes, Captain!”

The figure in the mirror gradually dissipated.

But Duncan's expression remained grave as he stood silently in thought in front of the mirror.

Colorful pieces of paper fluttered across the sky above the streets, weaving through the gaps between the jumble of tall and short rooftops and buildings, finally flying into a building near the City-State University, into the study of the elf scholar Taran Aer.

The figure of Lucresia materialized from the colorful papers.

The next second, the “Sea Witch” looked puzzled and furrowed her brows.

The elf scholar was nowhere to be seen in the study.

“Surely he's not still stuck on the rooftop and unable to get down?” Lucresia couldn't help but mutter, turning to look at the window that was still wide open.

Just as she was about to fly to the rooftop to check if the elf scholar was indeed trapped up there, a somewhat frantic flurry of footsteps suddenly came from the hallway outside, halting her movements.

Listening to the commotion in the hallway, Lucresia casually gestured toward the door not far away.

With a “bang,” the door burst open. Immediately after, a shadow rushed along the direction of Lucresia's pointing finger into the hallway, accompanied by a brief shriek and the sound of falling. Moments later, an apprentice, who was desperately trying to stand up while flailing his limbs, was “invited” into the room.

The apprentice had entered lying down, seeming to 'slide' into the room, floating about ten centimeters off the ground. But once he came to a stop inside, the things that had “delivered” him into the room scurried out from beneath him–countless toy soldiers emerged from under the apprentice and quickly organized themselves into formation on the floor nearby. Then, to the music of drummers and horn-blowers, they marched in neat, rapid rows back into the shadows beside Lucresia.

The “invited” apprentice watched the scurrying toy soldiers on the floor in terror, then his gaze landed on the owner of those soldiers and their shadows. He lifted his head to look at Lucresia, who stood by the window, and realized who the vaguely familiar woman was.

“Witch… Ah, Miss Lucresia!” the apprentice quickly got up and greeted the lady shrouded in many legends and with an aura of radiance, “Good… good afternoon…”

As he spoke, the apprentice couldn't help but suddenly twist his body–a tiny toy soldier crawled out of his pocket, crashed to the ground, and shattered. But the toy soldier quickly reassembled itself and scurried back to its mistress in the shadows.

Lucresia paid no mind to the young apprentice's impolite behavior in his panic or the lagging toy soldier, but cut straight to the point and asked, “I'm here for your teacher; where has he gone?”

“I was actually on my way to look for him too,” the apprentice swallowed and hurriedly answered the legendary “cold and solitary witch, skilled in curses, as capricious as the sea.” “Someone saw him heading towards the Tower of Flowing Clouds when the sun went out… he went from… from the rooftop of the university…”

Lucresia raised her eyebrows, “From the university rooftop?”

“Yes… yes, someone saw him. He seemed very hurried… and he has not returned yet. I fear something might have happened to him…”

“He would have to be in trouble, going up to the university rooftops, flitting from eave to eave with a hundred years of shoulder and neck problems–even as an elf, he shouldn't attempt such extreme feats,” Lucresia commented offhandedly. She then waved at the young apprentice, “I'll go and see how he's doing–by the way, what's your name?”

The apprentice stood up straight: “Josh… Joshua Dino.”

“Fine, I'll tell your teacher to deduct three points from your conduct grade.”

Joshua was momentarily stunned, “Why?”

Lucresia's figure had already exploded into a flurry of colorful swirling papers, spinning out the window, leaving only a muffled phrase to reach the young apprentice's ears–
“… Running is not allowed in the research building.”

Chapter end

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