Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 616

Chapter 616: Chapter 615: The Shattered Secret Chapter 616: Chapter 615: The Shattered Secret Gazing at the dragon bone that continuously stretched forward through the darkness, Duncan seemed certain of its origin and the “deal” that happened deep in Subspace a century ago.

But he always felt as though he was overlooking something, that this surely wasn't the entire message Homeloss wanted to convey to him–at least not all of it.

He held the lantern high, the flame kindled by Spiritual Fire grew a bit brighter, and its faint glow illuminated the surroundings, making the intricate details on the surface of the dragon bone even more apparent. The light also reflected into the void beyond the bone, forming a halo in the dark mist.

It seemed as if many things lurked within that mist.

Agatha's shadow followed, rising within the mist and standing vaguely beside him: “This spine… could it come from the great demon deity of Elven legends, Saslouka?”

“The possibility is high,” Duncan nodded slightly, “and perhaps only a divine being could possess such a spine.”

“Goat heads…” Agatha hesitated, seemingly muddled in her thoughts as she took a moment to find the right words, “I mean all the goat heads, including those on Homeloss, this Dreamscape, those in the hands of the Heretics, as well as the 'goat heads' that might still be unknown to us, what exactly is their relationship with Saslouka?”

She paused, then continued, “That befuddled goat head claimed Saslouka died a long time ago, and it wasn't Saslouka, but now it seems, 'they' are closely linked to the Elves' 'Primordial Dream'. Now we've even discovered this 'dragon bone' at the bottom of Homeloss… You don't remember the process of obtaining this dragon bone in Subspace, do you?”

Of course, Agatha did not know that the current Duncan was not the original “captain” of Homeloss; naturally, she assumed it was Duncan who had struck the agreement and sealed the contract with the goat head in Subspace a hundred years ago. And as he often mentioned, he'd lost much of his memory in the process of regaining his humanity; thus, she took it for granted that the dragon bone was also part of Duncan's lost memories.

Duncan didn't answer directly but merely nodded slightly, and after pondering for a few seconds more, he spoke thoughtfully, “Perhaps, all the goat heads are part of Saslouka.”

Agatha was taken aback but quickly realized, “So, Miss Lucrezia's calling those 'goat heads' from the Heretics' hands 'divine shards' is correct… and these divine shards are varied in state, unable to recognize themselves… Some still remember things related to Saslouka or Silantis, while others seem to have lost all thought and reason…”

Duncan remained silent, contemplating the impressively scaled spine before him, and after a long while, he suddenly spoke, “Let's speculate more boldly; the 'goat heads' might just be one form of manifestation of the divine shards. The spine we see before us is clearly another form of the 'divine shard', and we cannot rule out the existence of other forms– a tree, a person, a rock, a corpse… they could all be remnants left by Saslouka.

“After all, according to ancient Elven myths, Saslouka assumed countless forms–this could also explain why the goat head suspected to be a divine shard is small enough to be placed on a navigator's table, and yet, as 'fragments', the spine can support Homeloss entirely.”

Duncan stated this possibility in a calm voice, the painted scenario something truly chilling–even Agatha, once a “Gatekeeper,” shuddered at the attempt to imagine the state of the great demon deity.

She couldn't help but speak up, “What kind of force… would turn a 'deity' into this? Into such a… fragmented state?”

She spoke without thinking and did not expect any answer from the captain.

Nevertheless, after a moment of silence, Duncan spoke up as if to himself–he slowly said,–
“…But the second blueprint also failed, and so the Dreaming King was torn asunder on the second long night of Creation, His parts drifting at the edges of the real world…”

Agatha froze, her shadow swaying slightly in the light, the edges blurring. Soon, she recalled the origin of these phrases: “This is from the Book of Desecration…”

Duncan nodded lightly: “Yes, the Heretics' 'Creation Myth', the tales before the age of the deep sea, the Dreaming King used His authority to create, yet was torn to pieces in the long night.”

“Saslouka is one of the Lost Kings!” Agatha realized, “The great demon deity of ancient Elven legends is the 'Dreaming King' who tried to Reshape the world during the second long night?!”

“I've long had this association, after all, Their domains are so similar,” Duncan said, “But for a long time, lack of solid evidence has always accompanied ancient Elven tales, and Saslouka, as an exclusive element of Elven faith, has many legends and miracles conflicting with records and facts of other City-States upon the Endless Sea.

“Moreover, an important point–Elves have the most complete mythology and historical records among all races, but in their own texts, there is never any record of 'the Dreaming King attempting to Reshape the world during the second long night', nor any mention of this great demon deity being torn apart at the end of the long night–not even dubious annals.

“These contradictions made me hesitant to confirm Saslouka from Elven legends and the 'Dreaming King' of the second long night as the same deity, until now… when I actually saw the fragments left by this fragmented ancient god.”

Perhaps caught in shock and thought, Agatha remained silent for a long time, while Duncan walked forward slowly, holding the lantern carefully as he stepped onto a joint of the “ancient god's spine.” He then bent down and touched the rough and weathered bone with his hand, as if it was crafted by the toll of countless years, yet remained sturdy and reliable.

The spine had brought the almost completely swallowed and erased Homeloss back from the depths of Subspace to the real world, reshaping its entity and then housing it for a whole century.

His movements suddenly stopped.

An issue that he had never thought of before, one that had been long overlooked, irresistibly burrowed into his mind–after seeing this “keel” made from the spine of an ancient god, after gaining a more clear and direct understanding of the astonishing structure at the bottom of a huge ship, Duncan finally thought of the question–
What was used as the keel for the original Homeloss?!

He abruptly stood up, looking around the dark and vast space.

The ship's skeletal structure supported by the keel and ribs was submerged in boundless mist, while shattered fragments of the ship's hull and higher levels of supporting structures were faintly discernible in the distance.

This structure built upon the spine of an ancient god was enormous and complex, awe-inspiring.

But this wasn't the original Homeloss, not entirely.

The original Homeloss had already been consumed by Subspace; when Goat's Head saw it, the ship was already no more than a faint phantom, as well as Duncan Ebnomal's own obsession.

The “Homeloss” that Duncan now knew was the result of that phantom materializing once again, its original keel replaced with the spine of an ancient god, which enabled it to perform the “miracle” of returning from Subspace.

So what about the ship's original keel?

Duncan was not an expert in the field of shipbuilding, but after living in this world for so long, he had also gained a lot of common knowledge related to ships. He knew how sail warships were built a century ago; he knew that only a single piece of wood that had been rigorously selected for its extreme toughness could bear the weight of the “keel,” and the strength and size of this wood defined the maximum scale of each sail warship.

Yet Homeloss far exceeded this size–not just marginally, but by doubles.

Homeloss was the largest scale sail ship ever to appear in this world, and no larger sailboat had appeared since then. Looking at the structure at the bottom of the ship now, the keel of Homeloss did not use riveting or piecing techniques.

Duncan slowly furrowed his brow.

The keel is the most fundamental part of a ship; the way it is constructed directly determines the entire subsequent structure of the ship. Therefore, the “ancient god spine” in front of him should only be a replacement for the original keel of Homeloss rather than a major alteration to its foundational structure. Hence, like other sail warships of that era, Homeloss should have used a single and complete keel.

But it was impossible for the City-State to have such a large tree.

Even if there was, the strength of the wood itself has its limits–at the size of Homeloss, it had far exceeded the carrying limit of traditional wooden keels.

Unless, from the beginning, the keel of this ship was not ordinary wood, but something… far more unimaginable.

For the past century, as one of the biggest taboos on the Endless Sea, many matters related to Homeloss also became topics people shied away from; despite the fact that the ship was built in Plunder City-State, almost no one would discuss its construction process in public.

But now Duncan could imagine that over a hundred years ago, when this amazing exploration ship had just started construction, that must have been a grand event.

Mist flowed slowly in all directions. The lantern's faint green light softly soaked into the mist as if outlining many vague silhouettes.

Duncan looked at the lingering fog around him, his eyebrows gradually smoothing out.

“It seems this is what you wanted to tell me…”

Chapter end

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