Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 625

Chapter 625: Chapter 624: The Construction of Homeloss Chapter 625: Chapter 624: The Construction of Homeloss In fact, when Lucy sent the message, Duncan had already been on his way back to Light Breeze Harbor–and was almost there.

This was because it had been confirmed that Homeloss's “distancing” couldn't stop The Dream of the Nameless from continuing to evolve, so while taking the action of entering another side of the Dreamscape, he had chosen to sail back in his physical body in the real world at the first opportunity.

Dark chaos dominated the sky above the sea, and dense black “hair” covered the surface of the water, giving the entire ocean an ink-stained texture. Vague illusions flickered near and far across the sea, the bizarre scenery of the Spirit Realm undulating at the edge of his vision.

Homeloss's sails billowed out, speeding across the Spirit Realm ocean like a swift wind. The emerging illusions on the sea scattered in all directions to avoid this colossal entity, and those not quick enough were pulled into its tumultuous wake by the ghostly green flames emanating from it, torn into shreds.

Duncan clenched the steering wheel, standing at the helm on the stern deck, focusing on controlling this large vessel while listening to messages from Lucy and Morris coming from Light Breeze Harbor.

Agatha's apparition stood next to him, appearing like an indeterminate phantom against the murky, dark backdrop of the Spirit Realm.

Morris's voice came through the psychic link: “…The forest spread from The Dream of the Nameless has covered the entire city, and it has started to physically disrupt urban functions… They are no longer illusions but have become tangible matter. Numerous blocks are cut off by dense vegetation, leaving many people trapped…

“Several buildings have been completely devoured, entire homes replaced by towering trees, and the fate of the people inside remains unknown…

“Just now, Fenna went out to assess the situation on the streets and confirmed the reality of these plants and their damage to the city. More bizarrely, these incursions from the Dreamscape don't show any Transcendent traits…

“Additionally, we've tried contacting the Storm Cathedral and the Academy Ark through Psychic Resonance. The church has noticed the anomalies at Light Breeze Harbor and they have dispatched the nearest frontier fleet…”

Duncan silently listened to these updates from Light Breeze Harbor, his expression dark and grave.

Homeloss accelerated slightly, racing across the Spirit Realm sea at a speed far surpassing ordinary vessels. From deep within this massive Ghost Ship, a faint creaking sound emerged, responding to the captain's command.

The Dream of the Nameless was growing, but this time, the pace of events clearly exceeded everyone's expectations; rather than merely growing, it seemed more like it was spiralling out of control.

“Captain,” Agatha's voice came from beside him, “I have an uneasy premonition–how things are unfolding reminds me of the initial Frost.”

Duncan did not speak, only slightly furrowing his brow. Unconsciously, he recalled the scene he had witnessed in the lower holds of Homeloss.

The massive ancient god's spine, relying on the authority of Saslouka from Subspace, had reshaped and navigated Homeloss back, and… the mystery of Homeloss's original “keel.”

Gradually, all these clues seemed to have a direction and pointed toward the current anomalies in Light Breeze Harbor, toward the Dream of the Nameless that was continually seeping into reality.

Duncan suddenly understood some things.

All of this was interconnected; for a very long time, this ship had already been a part of this vast vortex.

The start of this vortex could even be traced back a century, to the day Duncan Ebnomal decided to build this colossal battleship.

“…We must find Silantis,” Duncan suddenly spoke softly.

Agatha did not catch on at first, “Captain?”

“The state of The Dream of the Nameless is closely linked with 'Silantis,' and based on the clues we have, I suspect Silantis is sleeping within the subconscious of all Elves–something must have triggered this dormant 'World Tree' to suddenly deteriorate,” Duncan's thoughts grew clearer as he rapidly spoke, “We must find Silantis.”

“Find? Where?” Agatha's tone carried a hint of bewilderment, “We've already been to the borders of The Dream of the Nameless, yet Silantis exists formlessly in that boundless darkness, and according to the reticent goat-headed being, 'she' now refuses contact and awakening…”

“But there must be another way,” Duncan shook his head, then directly called out another name in his mind, “Lucy.”

Lucy's voice rang immediately in his heart, “I'm here.”

“Do you remember when Homeloss was first built?”

“I… was very young then,” Lucy clearly hadn't expected her father to suddenly bring this up, sounding somewhat flustered, “It's very blurry, and back then, the adults didn't let me near the shipyard. Maybe brother remembers more? He was already seven or eight then, and he used to sneak off to the shipbuilding site…”

“Tyrion,” Duncan called out another name marked by him without hesitation, “I have a question for you.”

His mind went silent for two or three seconds, followed by a burst of chaotic noise–that was a bunch of “thoughts” unexpectedly crashing through the barrier of consciousness, accidentally forming a “sound,” after which came Tyrion's flustered and shocked voice: “Father? What happened? How…”

“I heard from Lucy that during the construction of Homeloss, you often sneaked over there?”

Despite the vast spatial distance and barriers of consciousness, Duncan could sense the sudden panic transmitted from the other end of the psychic link.

Tirian seemed utterly baffled, “I didn't! Don't listen to Lucy, she…”

Before he could finish, Lucrecia's voice abruptly intervened, “Brother, just admit it. There's trouble at Light Breeze Harbor, and Dad has some serious things to ask you.”

Fenna's voice followed closely, “Mr. Tirian, it's a serious matter.”

Tirian instantly fell silent, speaking again only moments later, still sounding bewildered, “…why is everyone here?”

“Yes, everyone's here,” Sherry piped up. “Dog is here, too.”

“Quiet, this is not a place for chit-chat,” seeing a group of people chatting casually through a temporary 'communication channel' established by the Spirit Fire Mark, Duncan had to interrupt their conversation in his mind. “Tirian, do you still remember what happened during the construction of Homeloss? Do you remember where its 'keel' came from?”

Tirian finally realized the gravity of the situation from Duncan's tone.

Duncan's mind quieted down.

A moment later, Tirian's voice finally emerged, “…I actually don't remember very clearly. You wouldn't explain much about complex shipbuilding knowledge to a child, but I do remember that the ship's 'keel' was dragged back by you from a fog near the border after one of your sea explorations…”

“Dragged back from the fog near the border?”

“Yes, it was one of the 'trophies' from that exploration. You often found things on your adventures, and those 'trophies' earned you the respect and envy of other explorers. But even among many trophies, that 'huge timber' you dragged back from near the border was the most special… It was so huge that it even exceeded the towing limit of your ship at that time. You had to arrange two smaller ships to assist from the sides and it took almost two months to drag it to Pland…”

“The reason you chose Pland was not just because our family was living there at the time, but also because that City-State had the world's largest shipyard at the time.

“Yes, thereafter you announced the construction of a ship, the greatest and most astonishing exploration ship in the world, to be built using that piece of 'timber' you found in the border's mist.

“That ship took a full seven years to build–despite having ample manpower and resources, the world's largest and most advanced shipbuilding facilities, and a large number of shipbuilding experts drawn to Pland by your incredible plans, it still consumed seven years to complete. And only after it successfully launched its maiden voyage and went through years of continuous improvements and adjustments did it become the Homeloss that captivated the world.

“My awareness of that ship also gradually built up during this process, including the origin of that 'keel,' which I only heard about from others when the ship was half-built–before that, you rarely mentioned anything about it.”

Duncan listened solemnly to Tirian's recounting in his mind, not speaking for a long time.

These were indeed things he was hearing for the first time–as the current captain of Homeloss, he had only now come to know the story of its construction.

But finding out now was not too late.

After a brief silence, Duncan asked again, “About that keel… what else do you know?”

Tirian's side fell silent, seemingly lost in memories.

After who knows how long, his voice finally emerged again, “I remember the craftsmen involved in the construction once told me that the keel was extremely difficult to work with. It was unlike any conventional wood, unfathomably tough. And as a strange 'object' from near the 'border,' it had some unsettling 'unnatural' traits, such as emitting bizarre sounds at night and slowly repairing any marks left on its surface… Because of these strange traits, the construction plan for Homeloss nearly came to a halt from the first step, as no one could shape that raw timber into a keel…

“But then, the craftsmen discovered something odd–
“Workers with elf blood could easily cut that 'timber.'”
Duncan immediately spoke up, “Elves?”

“Yes, after nearly two months of wasted efforts on that huge timber, an elven craftsman accidentally discovered this trait–under elven hands, that keel which nearly drove everyone insane with its toughness was as easy to work with as balsa wood. Therefore, Pland's shipyard later transferred all elven craftsmen to the Homeloss project and even recruited some from nearby City-States…”

Duncan listened intently, and after Tirian's voice faded, he remained silent for a few seconds before asking, “Anything else?”

“Let me think…” said Tirian, pausing to recall, then speaking uncertainly, “There's one more thing, but I don't remember it very clearly… It was near the completion of Homeloss. I had been allowed to assist you with some less important tasks by then. One time you brought me to the drydock, you had been drinking, appeared quite spirited, you pointed at Homeloss and told me…

“Tirian, that's actually just a small twig.

“To this day, I still can't understand what you meant by that.”

Chapter end

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