Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 674

Chapter 674: Chapter 671: News of the Gathering Chapter 674: Chapter 671: News of the Gathering Morris's speculation pointed to a dark future in which everything falls silent forever–it imbued a chill that far surpassed any bizarre destructive prophecies, far surpassing the apocalyptic disasters spoken in a madman's dreams.

It was an icy, dark extinguishment. The last flare of light was to gradually die out amid the ashes of civilization. Civilizations' afterglow choked step by step in the fatal contractions, much like a sinking ship where the desperate threw overboard their burdens in hopes of delaying their inevitable doom, but in the end, every plank on the ship inevitably fell into the Endless Dark Abyss.

Even more unacceptable was that, according to the existing intelligence, the likelihood of this future was extremely high – even, it was the best among all possibilities.

Because “civilization” at least had a chance to linger after the fourth or fifth long nights, at least it could enjoy some last fraudulent peace in the collapsing, continuously crumbling Shelter.

In worse cases, there might not be so many long nights following–the third long night had already been a “miracle” and “fortune” that couldn't be replicated. The twilight that was coming would be the day when everything truly ends.

…Perhaps, this was actually a good result?

Duncan's thoughts stirred chaotically in his mind, and he finally shook his head, putting these messy ideas aside for the moment, “We've fallen into pessimism, Morris.”

“Indeed, making these speculations when we can't yet confirm when and in what form the fourth long night will come is a bit premature,” Morris rubbed his brow, finally breaking free from that somewhat pessimistic mood, “My mentor is organizing an 'assembly' that crosses the four major churches, this meeting will invite you, at least by then, we should be able to exchange more useful intelligence– the pontiffs of the four gods also need the truths we hold.”

Duncan nodded slightly. He wasn't surprised by this news, as it was one of the “agreements” he had previously reached with the true Pope, Rune.

If you really had to say… He was somewhat curious about how that elf elder had convinced the other three god's pontiffs to accept this “proposal”–Pontiff of the Deep Sea Helena wasn't too difficult, for he had interacted with her in Praland and established contact through Fenna, the “Secret Envoy.” That Female Pope could mostly be considered a neutral and friendly camp leader, but the others…
The leader of the Fire Transmitters, Frem, might be interested in the “Chronicle Column” held by Fenna, but what about that Banster from the Death Church?

Duncan's expression subtly shifted, then he raised his hand and tapped on a small mirror set on the coffee table, “Agatha.”

Agatha's figure almost immediately appeared in the mirror, “I'm here.”

“… Do you know Banster well?”

“From 'my' memory, there were experiences of receiving guidance under the Pope's crown and training in the Graveyard Ark,” Agatha mused, a bit uncertainly speaking, “But this is far from being very familiar. There are many saints in the Endless Sea, I'm not as 'special' as Miss Fenna.”

Duncan stroked his chin, thoughtful: “… then you probably aren't very clear about whether Banster is particularly bothered by that ship…”

“Very bothered.”

Duncan: “…”

He hadn't even finished speaking!

“Very bothered,” Agatha repeated, then, as if afraid Duncan wouldn't believe her, she earnestly explained again, “Even a relatively unknown saint like me hears him lamenting that beautiful escort ship every now and then.”

Duncan continued, “…”

“Of course, sometimes the Pope shows greater magnanimity,” Agatha recalled as she spoke, “He usually starts by saying 'actually, I'm not that bothered by it,' then muses a bit, ending with 'it's just a pity, I designed it myself… but of course, I'm not that bothered.'”
Duncan's face nearly cracked, “… Isn't that really caring a lot?!”

“Cough cough,” Morris suddenly coughed twice on the side, disrupting the increasingly strange rhythm between Duncan and Agatha, “I think compared to that famous 'Fleeting Instant' escort ship, Vesselan's Thirteen Islands will be a more sensitive issue at the assembly.”

“Actually… the Thirteen Islands of Vesselan might not be so sensitive,” Agatha nevertheless shook her head, “Although it was a greater loss, within the Death Church, a faction of clergymen tends to see it as a 'Subspace disaster;' they believe the disaster was caused by a dimensional collapse rather than the Homeloss, with the latter merely falling into the subspace along with the thirteen islands, akin to two people being caught in a fire; we cannot claim that the person who crawled out of the fire was the arsonist.

“This explanation isn't without basis–there are many academic studies about the 'border collapse phenomenon' supporting this interpretation.

“Of course, this interpretation is quite controversial within the church, and for obvious reasons, the bishops do not like this 'defending Homeloss' interpretation, but since the Pope has now accepted the invitation to the meeting, I believe he is prepared to characterize the events back then with this explanation… or at least use it to stabilize the bishops' attitudes.

“By comparison, the 'Fleeting Instant event' really was an undeniable… attack, Homeloss indeed openly took that ship away in front of the fleet.”

Morris suddenly realized, “So that's how it is…”

Duncan suddenly reacted, “Wait, was that ship really called 'Fleeting Instant'? Isn't that just a nickname given after the event back then?”

Agatha and Morris silently nodded.

Duncan looked puzzled, “Why would you choose such an unlucky name?”

“Naming battleships after the Death Church tradition, in fact, is also our tradition for many things, such as the 'Untimely Death' class main battleship, 'Sudden Demise' long-barreled cannon,” Agatha said calmly, “We view death and disappearance as a necessary part of the world's workings, and related vocabulary isn't taboo for us–and to be strict, the name 'Homeloss' isn't exactly 'auspicious', is it?”

Duncan thought about it and felt that the gatekeeper Miss was right.

Just then, Alice suddenly looked up, interrupting the exchange between Duncan and Agatha, “Captain, I've finished my drawing!”

The reflection of Agatha in the mirror was startled by this sudden noise, and Duncan couldn't help but look at this doll with a somewhat peculiar expression.

Alice had been engrossed in her drawing from the start, as if the conversation and discussions happening around her were from another world, and now she had completed her “creation,” eagerly wanting to show it to the captain without any hesitation or thought.

Duncan even felt a bit envious of the doll's good demeanor all of a sudden.

Alice then happily pushed the drawing in front of Duncan.

It was a… crude piece of artwork.

Not only could one tell at a glance that the painter was untrained, but it was also evident that the painter wasn't even proficient with using a pencil–there was simply no technique to speak of, let alone a discussion about beauty and composition.

The drawing featured a large, abstract ship, sketched in black pencil that outlined sails and wave patterns. Several small figures with arms stretched out were standing on the ship, the strokes were messy but you could barely make out the features of the Homeloss crew–
Fenna was tall, Morris had a pipe in his mouth, Sherry was with dog, Nina had a flame above her head, Agatha was a dark shadow, Ai Yi perched on the mast, and the goat-head was peering out the captain's room window…
Duncan stood at the highest point, wearing a captain's hat, distinctly drawn with more care but still squiggly.

Aside from Duncan, lines floated and curved whimsically around each “person” on the ship.

Morris, curiously leaning over to take a look, spoke with a subtle expression, “Well… for a first 'drawing' it's not… too bad, but generally, you don't see lines on people… at least not needed to be shown in drawings…”
The old gentleman's comment was very tactful, but Alice clearly had her own ideas, “But they're really there.”

Morris seemed somewhat amused and looked up at Duncan, who, however, started laughing, “They are,” Duncan chuckled and his gaze fell on Alice's first “masterpiece”, gradually becoming thoughtful, “…This is how she sees the world.”

“Right?” Alice immediately felt proud, “I didn't draw it wrong!”

“But…” Duncan noticed another issue, “Why aren't you in this?”

At that, Alice paused, looked down at her drawing of the Homeloss, and responded, “Because I was drawing.”

Duncan took a moment to grasp the doll's logic.

He couldn't help but laugh and found it rather amusing.

“The person drawing can also include themselves in the picture–let me add you.”

As he spoke, he picked up the pencil Alice had put aside and swiftly sketched a simple image of Alice onto the Homeloss, right beside himself.

Alice's eyes widened with a joyful exclamation, “Wow! Captain, you draw much better than I do!”

At that, Duncan just smiled, casually put down the pencil, and seriously rolled up the drawing before placing it in Alice's hands.

“Keep it safe, this is your first 'creation'.”

Alice looked extremely happy, “Okay!”

Duncan then turned his head, looking towards an empty area in the living room, “Is everything taken care of?”

Almost at the same moment his words fell, Lucrescia's figure, along with a flurry of colorful paper scraps, suddenly appeared in the air.

“Don't worry, Dad, everything's taken care of.”

Chapter end

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