Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 756

Chapter 756: Chapter 753: Another Plan Chapter 756: Chapter 753: Another Plan No one hopes for bad news; however, as Crete once told Duncan–in the twilight of time, there is no good news.

This small Shelter, forged among the ashes, was accelerating towards its ultimate collapse. It was no one's fault, nor was it a local malfunction or a deliberate act of sabotage–it was the end of all things, the time for doomsday had come.

Rune and Helena listened quietly as Duncan relayed everything to them, including what the joint exploration team had seen and heard in the border waters, the clues found on Holy Land Island, his contact with the Saint, and even the plan to “take over the world.”

Duncan did not hide the latter. He did not mind the two Pontiffs knowing this world's “other option”–conversely, he did not conceal what the ultimate end of the “fire's future” would be, nor the vision of the apocalypse shown to him by the last Doomsday Preacher.

Rune and Helena remained silent for a long time until Duncan had told them everything; they still had not spoken for quite a while.

After who knows how long, Rune finally sighed softly, “Some things are perhaps better left unknown.”

“Ignorance is a privilege of the ordinary; you do not possess it,” Duncan stated calmly, “Having learned so much truth, what do you wish to say?”

Helena thought seriously for a moment, then slowly lifted her head and said, “Although the world's end is inevitable, there still seems to be another path we could take, right?”

She paused, her gaze fixed steadily on Duncan, her eyes deep blue like the sea, seemingly reflecting distant waves, “You actually have another plan, don't you?”

Beside them, Fenna opened her eyes wide–at the moment the Female Pope spoke, she seemed to hear indistinct, distant sounds of waves, but those sounds seemed especially surreal as if just a casual glimpse from the goddess.

She suddenly realized and quickly turned to Duncan, “Captain, is this…”
Duncan waved his hand, cutting off Fenna's follow-up words. He then calmly met the gaze of the “Pontiff of the Deep Sea”: “Greetings.”

The “Female Pope” seemed as if she hadn't heard, not responding to the greeting; instead, she kept her eyes fixed on Duncan, the turmoil in her eyes mirroring tumultuous waves. Then, she repeated, “You actually have another plan, don't you?”

Her voice was tinged with a slight tremor and echo, as if many barely distinguishable murmurs were layered in everything. The air in the living room became moist and cold, carrying that distinctive salty tang of the sea breeze.

Sherry and the dog sensed the change in the air and suddenly appeared uneasy.

Duncan seemed unsurprised; he merely took a light breath and answered faintly, “…to build a new one.”

The “Female Pope” merely frowned slightly and did not respond.

“The Shelter in the Endless Sea is beyond repair, any patchwork done internally can't save it–it's just a brief gasp for survival; starting the age of fire is another form of survival without a way back. Once this path is chosen, the whole of civilization is essentially sealed in a grave…”
Duncan spoke evenly, his gaze never leaving the eyes of the “Female Pope.” He then made a slashing gesture with one hand.

“Since the plans to continue the old world either lead nowhere or are unreliable, then we only have one path left… Not to continue the old world, but to build a new one.”

The “Female Pope” blinked, finally breaking the silence. Accompanied by the gently rising sound of waves, her voice seemed to tremble directly in everyone's minds, “Another Shelter?”

“Another world,” Duncan said calmly.

Then he paused for a moment, during which the entire living room was quiet–to the extent that even the crackling from the nearby fireplace became the loudest sound there.

“A Shelter is a narrow, enclosed system, with limited disaster redundancy, where all resources can only circulate internally, and crucial support systems are singular–there's only one sun, one Endless Sea, even the number of City-States has been limited since creation, and all of these are enclosed within the Eternal Veil…

“It has proven that such a system is too fragile in the face of a major collapse, like a building about to fall, those hiding inside the home have no chance to repair the system from within and can only watch as the entire Shelter slowly collapses, regardless of how long the Shelter ultimately lasts or how many years the civilization inside develops, the outcome is predetermined.

“Because the upper limit of the civilization inside the Shelter is that 'shell'–the Eternal Veil.”

Under the gaze of the “Female Pope,” Duncan slowly spread his arms, his expression extremely serious, “Thus, we need a world, a 'world' much larger than a Shelter, one that can accommodate more possibilities, one that allows civilization to continue evolving beyond its limits, at least… even when the day of apocalypse comes again, it should have the ability to leave more embers, rather than fall into darkness after the sun goes out…”
The “Female Pope” watched Duncan in silence, and after a moment, she softly spoke, “Of course we understand–but how can this be done? In the chaotic, scorching ashes after the great destruction, supporting a Shelter like the Endless Sea is already a miracle, and outside the Shelter, order has long been lost, we've waited an agonizingly long time without seeing any hope that the chaos will subside… This Endless Sea is the only remaining 'fragment' with order, and beyond this, there is no more 'material' to build a new habitat from.”

In the gentle sound of the waves, there seemed to overlap some disturbing howls and noise. At some point, Helena's eyes slowly exhibited a hint of chaos, something in her throat seemed to be growing, writhing, and on the skin of her cheeks, deep purple scales resembling those of a sea creature quietly emerged.

But she still sat straight on the couch, seemingly waiting for Duncan's answer.

Including Morris and Lucrecia, everyone consciously shut their mouths, daring not to interject at this time.

“So, the key is 'order,' the 'order' that can sustain the whole world's operation–the limited lifespan of the Shelter is also due to the imperfection in this order.”

Duncan looked at the “Female Pope,” as if through her profound eyes, he gazed at another distant existence, then he gently exhaled, “… just as I have thought during this time.”

He raised his hand, pointing at himself.

“I have order here, complete 'order.'”
The living room was silent like a dropped pin could be heard.

Suddenly, a warm touch came from his hand–Duncan turned his head and saw Nina grasping his palm, her expression somewhat uneasy.

Duncan smiled, and reached out to pat Nina's hair, “Don't worry.”

Nina inhaled softly and nodded vigorously–In her vision, Uncle Duncan's smiling face gradually became blurred.

That smile gradually vanished amongst countless stars.

As magnificent as the Milky Way–a giant constructed of starlight slowly stood up in everyone's vision. The ancient stars, gas clouds, and star-forming nebulae seemed to flow and cover everything visible. The giant stood in the living room, yet it appeared to fill the entire world, supporting the heavens and the earth.

It bent down towards “Helena,” the stagnant ancient stars in the illusion seemed to contract and tremble violently, as if at any second they might expand dramatically, releasing light that would devour everything.

“The entire universe's order–complete and healthy, untouched by that apocalypse,” Duncan slowly said, his voice trembling among the stars, “It's only a moment, but from a data perspective, it is complete.”

Duncan felt his own body, felt his thoughts flowing among those glorious stars, and for the first time, he realized his “breathing” on the scale of the stars.

Then, he immediately restrained the impulse to continue breathing.

He knew that the “transformation” on his body had once again accelerated.

Ever since leaving Holy Land Island, his “transformation” had been accelerating–at first, he could only know what he looked like during the careless, fleeting glimpses from others, and after glimpsing parts of the truth from the King of the Pale Giants, through conscious control, he could detect the starlight on his body in the mirror, recently, he saw the changes on his body in his “bachelor apartment,” and now…
He had to be very cautious to keep himself “looking human.”

The time left for this Shelter was short.

His time was also short.

Duncan gazed into the eyes of the “Female Pope,” he saw a distant creature–coiled on a grey-white reef, curled up within a palatial nest, long dead.

Countless deceased “offspring” surrounded her palace.

The long-dead creature raised her head, her many eyes meeting Duncan's gaze.

Her voice came through Helena's mouth to Duncan's ears: “… so beautiful…”

“Now there are two problems,” Duncan started, controlling himself, as the starlight gradually collapsed back into “Duncan,” “First, mere 'data' cannot construct a new world, I need materials, a lot of materials… and I don't know how exactly this process should be completed. I only have a vague and general impression, this impression tells me that what I need isn't in this Endless Sea… it's too small, it's not enough.

“Second, I don't know how to preserve everything within this Shelter while creating a new world–at the birth glow of the new world, it might all dissipate into ash.”

Chapter end

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