Embers of the Deep

Chapter 798: Chapter 795: The Body of Civilization

It was deep night now, but for the Homeloss sailing at the world’s end, the sky above was ever a layer of nebulous gray, eternal and unchanged beneath the perpetual twilight.

The sailor sat at the stern deck in a daze, his gaunt face displaying a complex expression, maintaining this pose for a long time like a statue.

Duncan stood next to him, gazing down at the desiccated corpse, and suddenly broke the silence, "Are you still thinking about your pile of ’last words’?"

"...Not really," the sailor awkwardly adjusted his posture, muttering, "It’s mainly... I’m suddenly unsure what to do with the future."

Duncan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, "The future?"

"...In my original plan, by this time I should have vanished from this world," the sailor spoke calmly and slowly after a few seconds of silence, "I never thought about continuing to ’live’ after completing this task; I hadn’t considered any possibility of it—I have wandered in this world for too many years, but now, suddenly, I find I have to consider ’life’s’ future. This leaves me a bit... at a loss."

Duncan looked at the sailor seriously, "If you’re unwilling, I can ’fire’ you—in just an instant you can have the ’eternal rest’ you desire."

Upon hearing this, the sailor’s expression subtly changed, and he awkwardly adjusted his posture again, "Ah, no... it’s not quite necessary..."

A faint, elusive smile appeared at the corner of Duncan’s mouth, as he crossed his arms, gazing at the sea under the mist, "In the end, do you really still want ’eternal rest’?"

This time the sailor remained silent for a longer period, as if he had never seriously pondered this question, suddenly being caught up in deep thought.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the desiccated corpse moved suddenly, a coarse voice hesitantly coming forth, "This world... still feels as cold as ice to me."

"But the new world will be warm," Duncan said softly, "There, perhaps you might not be just a corpse, and perhaps, corpses can feel warmth."

The sailor raised his head, a hint of surprise in his eyes, "A new world?"

"Did you forget your own words? What I will do will definitely succeed—there will definitely be a new world in the future; you said it yourself," Duncan lowered his head, calmly gazing into the sailor’s eyes, "Do you still believe it?"

After a silent moment, the sailor nodded, "...I believe, always have."

"Good, then wait to see it for yourself," Duncan began to smile, "I think it will be a great place—and the story of Sea Song, many things should really be told by the involved parties themselves, if you want it to be passed to the future, then do it yourself."

The sailor remained in his rather dull pose listening to the captain’s words, and after a long time, the deep trenches of wrinkles upon his corpse-like face suddenly softened as he smiled, though still so hideous and terrifying, "Alright, I’ve realized."

He slowly stood up, looking at this still cold world, his wrinkles more relaxed, "I want to see that ’new world,’ Captain—I truly do not want to die."

"Good," Duncan exhaled with a smile, stepping forward to pat the sailor on the shoulder, "Then let’s not die."

It was deep night now, and in seven hours, it would be time for Homeloss and Brilliant Starship to set sail as planned.

After resting overnight, the crew gathered on the deck, and Alice returned to the helm at the stern—the puppet lady stood at the darkened wheel more solemnly than ever.

Brilliant Starship waited quietly next to Homeloss, ready to depart.

"Relax," Duncan stood by Alice’s side, speaking gently to the puppet, "You’ve tried it once, and the ship is ready; just do it like last time."

"Mm!" Alice nodded with a stiff resolve, taking half a step forward with determination, reaching for the wheel that seemed particularly heavy.

Before the puppet’s fingers touched the helm, Duncan and Fenna simultaneously turned back to gaze into the depths of that archipelago, at that misty sea—at the heart of the cluster of islands, the gentle sound of waves came both true and illusory, as if bidding farewell.

Duncan nodded slightly towards that direction, murmuring in a voice only he could hear, "Goodbye, I will come again."

The next second, the puppet’s fingers touched the helm of the Homeloss—the navigation authority of Number Three started to take over the whole ship.

A colossal illusion descended from the sky; under the chaotic sky light, the fragmented projection of the New Hope appeared, its rapidly spreading shadow enveloped the Homeloss and Brilliant Starship along with a considerably large area of the sea, then a voice, both unreal and distorted, seemed to penetrate through distant times, resonating in the depths of everyone’s mind:

"...Warp engine activated, the New Hope is setting sail...May we meet again at the far destination, future hope awaits us all..."

The sound filled with interference and distortion gradually dissipated, and the mist-covered sea area faded along with it; beyond the ship rail of Homeloss and Brilliant Starship, the entire world swiftly lost all color and detail, reverting to that familiar, monotonous and uniform "gray-white."

Only the ancient projection of the New Hope still floated above the two ships, like a protective figure opening its wings.

Alice held the helm tightly, her eyes wide open to the distant front—a countless number of "threads" connected her, the Homeloss and Brilliant Starship, and the projection of the New Hope, her thoughts leaving this puppet shell temporarily, transformed into the will and guidance of navigation.

The path ahead was clear...navigating toward the world’s end’s node.

Meanwhile, the long night continued to shroud the Endless Sea—under the prolonged night curtain, the new "order" built for survival had started operating. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

A magnificent "sunshine" was slowly moving across the sea, as heavy tugboats dragged the weighty Sun Shard along the long route between City-States, with pale golden radiance emanating out tens of kilometers from the tugboats, a region enveloped by countless cargo ships of all sizes.

The fleet navigating between City-States embarked as the moving sunlight set sail, steam cores powered them to traverse this endless long night, captains transported crucial supplies to cities in desperate need, along with hope represented by sunlight—they would stay at a city for three to five days, once the sunlight dispelled the city’s darkness and distortion, once the City-State’s guardians had a chance to breathe, the fleet would depart once more, carrying new goods along with sunlight to the next destination. freēwēbnovel.com

Across the Endless Sea, such fleets carrying sunlight and supplies were increasing.

The northern City-State alliance had started operating as planned, and in the central sea area, the new "sunshine route" centered around Pland had completed its first oceanic material transport under the night. In Faerun, White Oak served as the flagship, leading the tugboats dragging the Sun Shard to breakthrough the night curtain blockade, reconnecting isolated cities, while far in Light Breeze Harbor, several fleets formed by the church itself had already sailed into the night—they were heading to Moco and Rensa, to breach the blockade in the night.

Sunlight cycling through the long night, fleets were sailing on this gradually declining world, akin to those pioneers who explored the dark islands in the Ancient Era, wielding axes and torches against spreading, deepening darkness as this giant named "civilization" entered its decline, striving with all effort to maintain the flow of blood within the giant.

Taran El stood in the highest tower of Light Breeze Harbor, somewhat absent-mindedly watching the pale golden glow moving away over the sea surface, he saw a giant luminous geometric body akin to crystal forged from light, being tugged by the heavy tugboat proceeding towards the night, and within the gradually receding sunlight, countless silhouettes of ships big and small could be seen faintly.

It was the first cargo fleet departing from Light Breeze Harbor; they would traverse this long night in the coming seven days, under the sunlight’s protection delivering supplies to Moco, then from there set out to try reaching even further to the central sea area and entering the "sunshine route" established by Pland, achieving "connection" with the transport line there.

If all went smoothly, the central sea area and the southern sea area would be reconnected thereafter.

And now, Light Breeze Harbor had already sunk into the night.

The "sunlight" that had shrouded the City-States for the past entire year departed, Light Breeze Harbor facing the long night truly for the first time meaningfully, now darkness descended on every neighborhood, gas lamps lit in the night, outlining the city’s silhouette in Taran El’s view.

Footsteps came from behind, Taran El did not turn around, he knew who it was.

"Honestly, I’m a bit melancholic, Ted, do you understand this feeling?" he said casually, "Almost the entire past year I’ve spent researching that Sun Shard, it almost became part of Light Breeze Harbor—many including myself never thought that thing would leave this place."

"It’s now not just a ’research sample’ anymore, after anomaly 001 fell, it has become part of many City-States’ lifeline," Truth Confidant Ted Riel came to the edge of the terrace, joining Taran in watching the city fallen into the night below, "... I received orders from the Academy, ’preservation’ will become the primary mission for all City-States, all people hereafter, everything else will have to make way for it."

Taran El listened silently, saying nothing until he broke the silence with a sigh after a long while, "Let’s go take a walk by the docks."