Ashes Of Deep Sea
/ Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 605 – Chapter 605 Chapter 604 Duncans Problem
Chapter 605: Chapter 604: Duncan's Problem-Solving Approach Chapter 605: Chapter 604: Duncan's Problem-Solving Approach The image in the mirror gradually faded, but Duncan still stood in front of it, lost in thought for a long time.
He had never concealed from Lucresia the situation about his “incarnation” or the powers related to the incarnation–his “messenger,” Ai Yi, could move quickly between the “signposts” constituted by his incarnations. His power and primary consciousness could also instantly switch between them. This ability was both powerful and convenient, but in Light Breeze Harbor, he had not arranged such an “incarnation.”
One reason, of course, was that he had not found a “suitable” vessel, but he kept the more important reason to himself.
He looked at the mirror in front of him, scrutinizing his current visage within it.
Somehow, he had become completely accustomed to this once strange face, this powerful body, this somber and majestic appearance… It had become the “code name” by which he lived in this world.
A soul named “Zhou Ming” inhabited this shell, just as he did the other two with Prand and Frost, and as time passed, he adapted well to all of them.
And he believed that even if there were new, long-term “incarnations,” he would adapt quickly, whether it was one or ten, or even more. He could “adapt” to them.
He realized his mind was far more resilient and… peculiar than he had thought. Being in control of multiple identities and lives did not burden him too much, and he had never experienced the feared mental breakdown or personality disorder.
But he still instinctively curbed his impulse to create new “incarnations,” controlling the thought of finding a corpse in Light Breeze Harbor to serve as a “signpost.”
Duncan's worry was not that having too many incarnations would cause him to lose himself–he knew that the residual emotions and memories he accessed while inhabiting those bodies had a negligible effect on him. Those feeble wills could not shake his spirit in the slightest.
He was concerned about something else.
If he gradually became accustomed to “occupying bodies” as a habit, treating the control of multiple fates as a trivial “means to an end,” perhaps one day, something worse than “losing oneself” would happen–after he had inhabited dozens or hundreds of living lives, would he still be able to seriously deal with the “follow-up” of those incarnations as he did now?
By then, there might be another “Nina,” but he would no longer be a conscientious “Uncle Duncan.”
Humanity could slip away unnoticed.
So, after realizing this, he decided to be especially cautious with future “additional incarnations”–unless the situation was truly appropriate, or absolutely necessary.
Of course, temporarily occupying the bodies of Heretics for investigative purposes did not fall under his caution–they were disposable “daily-use” material.
A thin layer of black smoke quietly emerged in the mirror, with Agatha's figure appearing in the depths of the smoke.
Seeing the captain looking into the mirror, Agatha quickly shrank back, minimizing her image in a corner of the mirror, then looked at Duncan, “Are you still thinking about the 'suggestion' Miss Lucresia made to you just now?”
“…Perhaps she still has some doubts about me,” Duncan sighed softly, “Her suggestion was somewhat probing, but that's not what I'm thinking about right now.”
Agatha nodded, not probing further, and instead took the opportunity to change the subject, “What's our next plan?”
“It's simple. Homeloss will continue sailing north until it crosses the northern channel of Light Breeze Harbor to see if The Dream of the Nameless will still occur over such a distance and if the mirrored Homeloss will still appear in the Dreamscape of Silantis. Fenna and the others will continue as previously planned–now, what's most worthy of attention is Rabi's situation, that rabbit is hidden aboard the Oblivion Cultist's ship, and those Cultists will hold a meeting before nightfall today. I'm very curious… what they are going to do at that meeting.”
While speaking, Duncan exhaled lightly, his expression carrying a hint of anticipation, “Next, we just wait for news from Lucresia's side.”
Agatha listened quietly, and after the captain finished speaking, she couldn't help but raise a long-held question, “And if The Dream of the Nameless does appear again unaffected, how will you go back to that ship sailing through the dark fog, the mirrored Homeloss? Your actual body is currently on the ship, and that 'vine' only appears in Light Breeze Harbor…”
Duncan smiled and looked into the corner of the mirror at Agatha, “Do you remember? The last Dream of the Nameless ended prematurely because I touched the vine from the real world and entered that dark space, taking the helm of the mirrored Homeloss as an 'Outsider.' And after returning to reality, I told you I had an idea to solve this issue.”
Agatha knit her brows, puzzled, “The idea you mentioned…”
Duncan, still smiling, turned his head to look out the window beside him, while in the mirror in front of him, he slowly bowed his head, looking down at Agatha, who was in the same mirror surface as him.
The Duncan in the mirror bent down and touched the reflected Agatha, who was downsized to the size of a palm, “This is my idea.”
Agatha was suddenly taken aback. In the mirror world, she looked up at the captain, who had also entered the mirror world, and after a two or three-second pause, she finally let out a soft exclamation–then shattered all over the place.
The Duncan in the mirror sighed helplessly, bending down to pick up the pieces of Agatha while putting them back together and muttering, “You should try to face the life on this ship with a more flexible mind, particularly in adaptability, you should learn more from Morris or Fenna–the former now can even accept Sherry's homework…”
Lucresia sat in front of the mirror, zoning out for who knows how long before she heard the voice of the rabbit Rabi coming from the crystal ball nearby, “Mistress, are you worried that the old master is angry with you?”
Lucresia turned her head, “Why do you say that?”
“Because the suggestion you made at the end seemed like a test for the old master, to see if he still retains normal human cognition and 'humanity.' The old master might care about that…”
“I didn't mean to test my father, it's just… I didn't think that much,” Lucresia said offhandedly, but then she furrowed her brows and looked at the faint illusion emerging in the crystal ball, “It's really you who has the leisure to eavesdrop on my conversation with father–sounds like you have a lot of free time.”
“Rabi is relieving stress, Rabi is in danger~~ Rabi has to be in the best condition to complete the task entrusted by the mistress~~~” The rabbit doll's high-pitched and annoying tone came immediately from the crystal ball, “Here there are only terrible heretics; they are stupid and ugly. Rabi must talk to the mistress to maintain control of himself and avoid~ eating them all up~~~”
Lucresia ignored those bizarre and outrageous parts of Rabi's speech and said expressionlessly, “Whatever, I don't care how you plan to complete the task. After all, if you're really discovered by that 'saint,' don't expect me to save you.”
“But the mistress will definitely come, Rabi knows~~ You will bring Rabi back from the Spirit Realm, and then stitch Rabi into a new doll~~ Can it be a little bear next time?”
“You talk too much.” Lucresia knocked on the crystal ball casually.
The rabbit finally quieted down.
The massive apparition 001 was gradually sinking, the sunlight transformed into magnificent sunset hues stretching across the waves, and the gentle glow coming from the window had begun to soften. After a whole day of restorative efforts, the condition of Homeloss had finally improved considerably.
It was almost time for the meeting; the footsteps outside the cabin and the sounds of kin greeting each other could now and then be heard.
The tall and gaunt man with a grim face rose from the bed, listening to the noises outside.
He had spent almost the whole day lying in this bed, adjusting himself and Homeloss, and now he had had enough of lying down.
The heretic named Richard took a long breath, went to the wardrobe in the corner, and took out the black hooded robe he needed to wear for the meeting.
He never liked these robes–although most dark worshippers were accustomed to this attire and believed that clothes that could cover the whole body helped to settle the spirit, bringing them closer to the enlightenment of the Saint, he never thought so.
The robes were uncomfortable to wear and utterly unsuitable for movement within the City-State. They had an old-fashioned, stubborn texture, and wearing them made one feel like those exiled prisoners who hid in burrows, slowly rotting away centuries ago. As for their supposed effect in “settling the spirit,” that was even more laughable–
How could a truly devout believer need a robe to focus their spirit and draw closer to the Saint?
But now, Richard found himself beginning to like this attire.
The feeling of hiding his whole body amongst his kin wasn't so bad after all.
He draped the robe over himself, pulling the hood down to its lowest, covering his eyes–accompanied by a feeling of comfort that rose within him, he sighed softly and then stepped towards the door.
Before he pushed the door open, a sudden breeze whipped through the cabin, as if a light figure had leapt toward him, bouncing. Richard felt a slight weight on his shoulders, as if something had latched on.
A soft voice whispered in his ear, “You took Rabi's cotton… Now, let's set off.”
“Alright, let's set off.”
Muttering softly, with the tremble of his vocal cords and windpipe, Richard felt as if there was something itchy in his chest, warm and fluffy…
It was just cotton.
The cotton was growing.
He smiled reassuredly and reached out to open the door.
Figures draped in similar black hooded robes walked through the corridor, heading to the meeting place deep within the cabin, conversing softly, discussing the Dream of the Nameless, the Saint, allies, and news of the Doomsday Preacher.
Then, Richard and Rabi set off.
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Chapter end
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