Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 686

Chapter 686: Chapter 683: Extinguished Again Chapter 686: Chapter 683: Extinguished Again Now, every person who remained here had gained a further understanding of the master of Homeloss–at least, from the standpoint of “enhancing understanding and strengthening dialogue,” they had achieved half of their goal.

Unfortunately, an awkward silence had taken hold in the hall following this “enhanced understanding.” Several Popes, including Helena, seemed momentarily unsure whether or not to continue the conversation, while Fenna and Morris appeared still a bit tense. Sherry was comforting the restless Agou, and Nina was curiously sizing up Duncan–those abruptly appearing starlights hadn't affected her at all.

Lucresia watched everyone in the hall with a half-smile, her expression mysteriously bordering on schadenfreude for some unknown reason.

Only Alice–the Porcelain Miss–maintained her consistently detached demeanor, still lost in her thoughts. She had switched off her mind when Rune began using the concept of “congregation” to explain the world, and it took her quite a while before she seemed to suddenly snap back to reality, looking around with surprise and confusion, “It's over? Is it time for dinner?”

The Porcelain Miss's out-of-touch remark finally broke the awkward silence at the scene. Banster raised his head, his gaze falling on Duncan, and it took him several seconds before he couldn't help but ask, “What exactly was that just now?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Frem, who was closest to him, swiftly stepped several paces to the side.

“I'm just asking,” Banster said, glancing at Helena and Rune, who had also stepped aside, and shook his head somewhat helplessly.

“There are many secrets about me, some of which… even I do not fully understand,” Duncan replied, seemingly unconcerned, shaking his head with resignation. Then he looked at Rune, who was standing opposite him, with a serious expression, “However, I am very grateful for the speculations that you and Morris just made… Your line of thought has cleared some of my confusion.”

“Then I hope the next time you clear up your confusion, you could give us a heads-up,” Rune said with a touch of helplessness, “Though that request might sound a bit insensitive.”

Duncan chuckled: “I'll do my best.”

This dangerous topic had finally come to an end, yet the thoughts stirred by the “congregation model” proposed by Rune continued to linger in many people's minds. Duncan returned to his spot and felt for the folded piece of paper in his pocket–his fingers brushed against it again–
Primitive ash, the “intersections” of the world's principles, the conflict between compatibility and incompatibility, the perspective of Observers within the subset, and…

He took his hand out of his pocket and breathed out softly.

Lucresia couldn't help but look towards Duncan.

A sense of inexplicable palpitations suddenly surged, making her heart throb violently for a few beats. She looked subconsciously at her father but felt that, just for a moment, just as her gaze shifted, her father seemed… no longer there.

He had gone to a very far, so far that he was no longer in this world, in that brief moment… Lucresia felt as though she had experienced the sensation of watching Homeloss enter the thick fog at the border, much like a century ago.

But that was just a momentary illusion, and when she blinked again, Duncan's figure was still sitting there, as if he had never moved from the beginning.

“So, what are the next questions?” Duncan looked up and asked the group, including Helena and Rune, who had also just settled back into their seats.

Alice scratched her hair and sat back down beside Duncan: “Oh, it's not over yet.”

Rune, on the opposite side, glanced at Alice with a subtly nuanced look and began to gather his thoughts. But just as he was about to speak, he suddenly stopped.

He frowned slightly as if he were straining to listen to a distant sound. Seeing this, Helena immediately caught on, “Is there a message?”

“Spiritual Energy communication from Light Breeze Harbor, Ted Riel is contacting me,” Rune looked up, his expression growing solemn, “He said the research facility set up near that 'Luminous Geometric Body' suddenly received some signals released from within the light body…”

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Lucresia.

“The exact same signal that the Brilliant Starship had received during the previous sun extinction event.”

Lucresia stood up abruptly.

It was now dusk–the sun had not yet fully set.

Anomaly 001 was gradually moving closer to the sea level. About one-third of the two brilliant Rune Circles of light were now touching the distant ocean. The sunlight between the sky and the sea created a majestic sunset, bathing the entire sea area with a sprinkling of golden light.

In a different direction, over the waters near Light Breeze Harbor, the massive “Luminous Geometric Body” still floated quietly on the sea surface. Another pale golden “sunlight” emanated from the geometric center, evenly spreading over the surrounding sea, creating a unique scene where “two kinds of sunlights intertwined between the sky and the sea.”

The “sunlight” released from the Luminous Geometric Body was warm and calm, seemingly no different from any other time.

However, according to the records from highly sensitive observation equipment–the specific spectra within that “sunlight” were now “vibrating” periodically in an extremely complex pattern, continuously releasing wave signals that were difficult to comprehend.

Duncan and the others arrived at the stern deck, gazing at the colossal Luminous Geometric Body near Light Breeze Harbor amidst the intertwined glow of twilight.

Frem looked towards Rune, his voice deep as he asked, “Are the signals still continuing?”

“They are still continuing. The signal has a twelve-second transmission period, repeating three times before pausing for thirty seconds, then reappearing,” Rune nodded and said, “Ted Riel has already rushed to the research station, he is personally monitoring the equipment there…”

“The transmission period and repetition pattern are exactly the same as last time.”

Lucracia spoke rapidly, glancing up at the nearby sea surface–her Brilliant Starship was quietly docked beside the Homeloss, and at that moment, a peculiar structure at the top of its bridge was slowly rotating–
A compartment resembling a mechanical bud was angling one side towards the distant sea, its front shielding structure opening up, and the hidden precision optical lenses within shimmered under the sunlight.

“I'm commanding the servants left on board to open the optical lenses on the Brilliant Starship,” Lucracia explained to Duncan beside her while paying attention to the movements on her flagship, “When the sun was extinguished before, it was I who first observed the strange light signals, and only then did Light Breeze Harbor create similar devices and install them at the research facilities… In theory, if they've observed that signal at the research station, we should be able to observe it here too.”

“Even from this distance, it's unaffected?” Nina couldn't help but ask in surprise.

“Light will attenuate and can be disrupted, but this distance isn't a problem–the real question now is what this strange signal means,” Lucracia's brows were furrowed with concern in her tone, “Last time the signal appeared, it was after the sun had extinguished, but this time the signal has appeared even though the sun doesn't seem wrong…”

“Let's approach Light Breeze Harbor first to ensure there are no problems on the City-State's end,” Duncan said, and as his words ended, the Homeloss began to turn its bow, slowly accelerating in the direction of the Homeloss.

The Brilliant Starship beside them, after a brief delay, received Lucracia's orders and made the same maneuver.

Rune watched with some surprise as the Brilliant Starship performed its agile movements and the peculiar “experimental capsule” on the top of the bridge made a “synchronized response” with the adjustments of the ship's posture, remarking with some admiration, “That's a brilliant design… Miss Lucracia, did you personally complete all of this?”

“I spent a hundred years designing a 'vanguard exploration ship' capable of completing frontier missions under any circumstances. There are many parts of this ship that make me proud,” Lucracia casually remarked, “But are you really in the mood to analyze the engineering technologies applied on the Brilliant Starship at a time like this?”

“We don't have anything else to do anyway,” Rune shrugged, appearing not the least bit flustered, “Rather I'm looking forward to it–a remarkable phenomenon has appeared, and this is a field I've never dabbled in. If we can truly unravel the secrets of the signals released by the Luminous Geometric Body, we might have the chance to truly understand what the 'sun' above us really is. That is a good thing.”

Lucracia said nothing; she had already shifted most of her focus to the Brilliant Starship, to the “servants” left on the ship.

Those servants were all crafted by her hand–each of them contained fragments of her soul, each servant, even the entire ship was an extension of her body.

She carefully issued orders, getting the complex and precise observational equipment on the Brilliant Starship operating.

“… The signal strength has surpassed what I observed last time,” she suddenly lifted her head, looking towards the expanse of pale golden sunlight spreading over the sea, “The situation seems a bit different from last time…”

Duncan turned his gaze in another direction–to the slowly setting “sun” that had a third of its structure submerged below the sea level, anomaly 001.

“Last time the sun was extinguished…” Sherry's somewhat nervous voice came from the side, looking rather anxious, “This time anyway, at least the sun seems unaltered…”

She stopped mid-sentence.

A low humming sound suddenly seemed to rise from the bottom of everyone's heart.

An unusual sense of unease interrupted all conversations.

The distant sky suddenly darkened.

Sherry raised her head stiffly, staring in the direction where the sky had turned dark.

A dark, chaotic sphere, like a hollow void, along with two ring-shaped “bright edges” that seemed akin to searing-hot steel, quietly hung at the edge of the sky.

The sun had extinguished once more.

“…Damn it.”

Chapter end

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