Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 587

Chapter 587: Chapter 586: Desert Chapter 587: Chapter 586: Desert The automaton Luny looked worriedly at Duncan, who had suddenly become lost in thought. After a few seconds, she couldn't help but turn to Alice beside her, “What's happened to the old master?”

Alice, on the other hand, appeared quite unconcerned as she reassured her new friend, “It's nothing, just daydreaming. The captain often does that…”

Luny paused, “Is that so?”

Their conversation reached Duncan's ears, and he finally blinked and gradually returned to reality from his reminiscence.

After a moment of silence, Duncan raised his hand, gently pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, using his drooping eyelids to mask the turmoil in his eyes–the chaotic thoughts still swirling in his mind, he can't stop recalling the past. He even wished he could start from the furthest reaches of his childhood memories and excavate every day he could remember, spreading them out before his eyes.

He finally became aware of his dreamless past, noticing the subconscious corner he had always ignored, but he had to extricate himself from these chaotic memories and thoughts, focusing his attention on the “reality” before him.

Duncan raised his head, looking at Alice, who was gazing intently at him, and the automaton still wearing a somewhat anxious expression.

“I'm fine,” Duncan said softly, “just remembered some things…”

He paused, looked into Alice's eyes, and asked, “What were we talking about just now?”

“We were discussing that Luny and I might have been left on the 'outside' of the Dream of the Nameless because 'automatons do not dream,'” Alice responded immediately, “then we were debating why you were also left on this side…”

“'Not being able to dream' might just be one factor; the mechanisms of the Dream of the Nameless wouldn't be that simple and are likely subject to change…”

As Duncan spoke slowly, he remembered the Dreamscape that scholar Taran El had once fallen into–
Undoubtedly, Taran El had fallen into the Dream of the Nameless as well, but that should have been in the “shallow” part of the entire dreamscape, which was still at a nascent stage. Back then, he could enter that dreamscape rather easily using the mark he had left on Heidi, unlike now, where he was barred on the side of the real world.

This manifested that the “rules” of the Dream of the Nameless were changing; as time progressed, its scope and influence were expanding. Meanwhile, a new “filtering” mechanism for entering the dream had been established, akin to some self-preservation.

Then, what would happen next? Would this vast “dreamscape” continue to grow? Would its scope expand further? How would its self-preservation mechanisms change?

While pondering, Alice's voice suddenly came from his side, reaching Duncan's ears, “Captain, how are the others doing? Can you feel them?”

Duncan set aside his jumbled thoughts for a moment, drew a light breath, and focused his spirit, sensing the “marks” he had left on the others–
The flames leaped between the borders of reality and illusion, through the ancient and secretive curtain of dreams, and at the crossroads of time and space, indescribably by reason, Duncan “saw” those flickering flames.

The pre-placed Flame Mark had worked–though it merely enhanced some connections, Duncan could now perceive the states of Fenna and others more clearly, and he should be able to communicate with them.

“They're not in any danger,” Duncan told Alice and Luny with a nod.

Alice breathed a sigh of relief, “Ah, that's good… So, what do we do next?”

Duncan looked up, his gaze passing through the nearby window, observing the streets enveloped in the chaotic dusk outside.

The “miracle” scene had reappeared outside the window–with the influence of the Dream of the Nameless seeping into reality, lush forest vegetation once again covered the City-State, and continuous towering canopies obfuscated the sky, the streets beneath the giant trees shadowy, merging reality with fiction.

Light Breeze Harbor had quieted down; the dream world after entering the dream had replaced reality, just as Duncan had anticipated–the City-State authorities and academy guards' hasty preparations had not taken effect. Now, the only awake souls left in this city were he and Alice.

Oh, and there was also a new automaton this time.

“We're going to the place where that vine appeared before,” Duncan stated softly, turning towards the manor's doorstep, “to see if it appears in the old spot again.”

“Okay!” Alice agreed immediately, then reached to pull Luny, who was still a bit dazed, “Let's go, let's adventure with the captain!”

“Adventure?” Luny instinctively followed Alice and Duncan, but was obviously a bit behind in catching up, “What are we going to do?”

“We're going to look for another Homeloss,” Duncan slowed his pace and glanced back as he spoke.

The Dream of the Nameless had appeared again in the real world, and Duncan was there to verify many of his hypotheses–the “enhanced temporary mark” he left on Fenna, Morris, and others was just one of his many ideas, aimed solely at strengthening his connection with his followers. Yet, what he cared about even more was whether the Homeloss, navigating through the darkness and mist, would appear again.

Whatever growth The Dream of the Nameless experienced next, Duncan had to find a way to circumvent its “self-defense mechanism” to further intervene in this massive Dreamscape, and his intuition told him that the eerie Homeloss sailing through the mist was likely the best breakthrough in bypassing The Dream of the Nameless's “self-defense mechanism.”

Because the “sea chart” on that ship showed that it was very likely sailing right above the forest of The Dream of the Nameless.

Beneath the chaotic night sky woven by “Sunlight” and Creation of the World, the streets in the City-State were just as eerily silent as before. Duncan and two puppets left the now silent witch's manor and walked into the night, where the city blended into the forest.

And as he stepped into the night, Duncan also began to cautiously communicate with those temporary marks that were now on the “other side” of the Dreamscape, trying to summon his followers.

This time, he had to be very careful to learn from the lessons of that dark, fog-filled space–be cautious in using the power of Flame Mark, to avoid… awakening Silantis in the Dreamscape.

A sinister crimson rift covered the sky, and the ominous red light diffused into a distorted and hazy mist. Under the Sky Light, all one could see were sand and boulders.

Rolling sand dunes filled the view and jagged rocks stood under the sky like the twisted bones of enormous beasts, with the yellow sand burying their bases, their sharp edges extending upwards like swords in a vast, despair-inducing expanse of sand, making “human” appear more minuscule than ever.

Fenna lifted her head, her silver hair whipped up by the wind–a wind that didn't stop for a moment, mixing dryness with sand and dust, making her squint slightly.

She had come to this desert again–this boundless, dead, withered land.

Gazing at the vague silhouettes of distant boulders, Fenna breathed out lightly and reached into the wind–a mist of moisture absurdly condensed from the dry, sandy wind in her hand, forming a cold, giant sword.

Feeling the weighty heft of the giant sword, Fenna nodded in satisfaction.

The Dreamscape's endlessly dry desert wasn't a comfortable environment for a follower of the Storm Goddess, but fortunately, as a saint of the Deep Sea Church, her powers still worked here–the Dreamscape couldn't block the god-given powers, which somewhat eased her journey here.

Drawing coolness from the giant sword, Fenna stepped forward into the wind-blown sand, heading in a certain direction.

Of course, she wasn't walking aimlessly–her destination was the rugged shadows in the distance, which looked like jagged rocks, yet also like remnants of a city.

While walking, Fenna suddenly felt a stir in her heart.

She instinctively stopped, focusing her attention on the voice that had suddenly surfaced in her depths. After a moment, she heard the voice clearly–it was the captain.

The calm and forceful voice of the captain resonated in her mind, “Fenna, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” Fenna immediately responded in her mind, unwittingly breathing a sigh of relief in her heart, “That's good, it looks like your arrangement worked.”

“Hmm, as expected,” Duncan's voice continued, “I have to be careful in contacting you now, and can't rashly transfer too much power–based on the last information, Silantis sleeping deep within The Dream of the Nameless seems not to like my flame too much.”

“I understand,” Fenna stepped forward, continuing on her way as she responded, “How are the others?”

“Everyone else is scattered deep within the forest, the team compositions are basically the same as last time, Sherry is with Dog, Nina is with Morris,” Duncan updated Fenna on the others' situations, “Also, after entering the Dreamscape, Lucy successfully found the rabbit Rabi–they almost 'landed' in the same place.”

“Miss Lucresia found that strange rabbit? Their 'landing spot' is together? The others' 'combinations' are also the same as last time?” Fenna's steps paused thoughtfully, “It seems… the process of us entering this Dreamscape indeed follows a pattern…”

“Yes, so far their entry points into the forest also seem to be very similar to last time,” Duncan said, then inquired about Fenna's situation, “How about your side?”

Fenna stopped walking, lifting her head to gaze at the endless sands before her.

After a few seconds, the Storm Saint sighed.

“Sand, rocks, hot and dry weather–it looks like everyone's 'position' entering The Dream of the Nameless hasn't changed much; I'm still in this desert. Honestly, I don't really like this place…”

Chapter end

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