Deep Sea Embers
chapter-727

In the midst of a cacophony of sounds akin to bones twisting and reshaping, a remarkable transformation unfolded from a cloud of dust. Twelve symmetrically aligned black limbs sprouted and extended from Shirley’s body. As this happened, a dark, bone-like armor began to envelop her, its surface adorned with razor-sharp spurs that gleamed with a sinister, blood-red hue. This was Shirley, yet again, metamorphosing into her formidable demon form, one that was shadowy and fearsome.

Shirley was mastering the art of toggling between her two distinct forms with a speed and ease that was nothing short of astonishing. This process of adaptation seemed less like learning anew and more akin to reawakening a latent, deep-seated knowledge as if her brain and limbs were merely recalling a long-forgotten skill.

With a subtle shift of the additional limbs that now aided her movement, followed by a rotation of her hands and feet, Shirley assessed her new form and nodded in approval. “In such a dangerous environment, this demonic form is definitely more reliable,” she remarked, a sense of satisfaction in her voice.

Dog, gazing up at the now towering figure of Shirley, suddenly found himself engulfed in a swirling cloud of dust. Within moments, he had seamlessly blended into the shadows that lay beside Shirley.

Quietly observing the entire scene, Duncan waited until Shirley fully adjusted to her new form before stepping forward. “I had half expected you to resist embracing your demonic nature,” he commented, his voice tinged with a hint of surprise. “For most, such a radical transformation would be an affront to their very sense of self.”

Shirley, casually prodding the ground with one of her newly sprouted limbs, replied with a detached tone, “Under this situation, do appearances even matter? I consider myself realistic—my immediate concern is survival, and living comfortably comes later. This demonic form is really well-suited for the challenges of the abyss. The only real issue is its tendency to absorb the essence of fallen demons automatically without my intention… Now that I think about it, it is still somewhat revolting…”

Before she could finish, Dog’s head emerged from the shadow. “You know, I actually find that it tastes quite good. Shirley, are you sure you don’t want to try the bone I brought you?”

Shirley’s response was immediate and decisive: “No, thank you. It’s repulsive!”

Duncan, who had been silently observing the exchange, finally allowed a smile to cross his face.

“So, our next objective is to locate the ‘Nether Lord’,” he said, steering the conversation back to their mission. “This realm is a vast expanse of floating islands, far larger than we initially imagined. Dog, can you pinpoint our exact location?”

Reemerging from the shadows, Dog scanned their surroundings with a serious expression. “We seem to be in the upper region of the Wasteland Belt, closest to what is known as the ‘Starry Sky.’ If I’m not mistaken, our path leads downward.”

Duncan asked with intrigue, “Downward?”

Dog nodded in confirmation. After a brief exchange with Shirley, he approached the edge of the desolate terrain and peered into the endless, chaotic darkness below.

Beneath the floating islands in the vast void, the dim starlight that peppered the chaos seemed to grow even more subdued. Through the murky gloom, one could barely make out additional islands, each drifting haphazardly in the darkness. Yet, at the very depths of this shadowy expanse, a faint, twinkling light could be discerned, offering a glimmer of something different.

Initially, Duncan mistook this distant luminescence for another fragment of the ‘starry sky’, perhaps suspended at the abyss’s nadir. However, he soon realized that these faint lights were actually emanating from a structure of immense proportions. This structure, barely visible in the enveloping darkness, had lights flickering dimly across its surface.

They sketched out a pattern of winding branches and a central ‘main trunk’. The lights on this trunk were more concentrated, pulsating slowly as if part of a living entity.

Standing at the edge of the fragmented landscape, Duncan peered into the abyss, trying to decipher the enigma of these lights. He could not estimate the distance to the bottom, nor could he ascertain the true scale of the ‘entity’ these lights belonged to. Yet, even from this limited perspective, he could sense the sheer enormity of whatever lay below.

“That is the Nether Lord—the ‘Mother’ of all demons and their final resting place after death,” Dog explained from the shadows, its voice carrying a mix of awe and unidentifiable emotion. “At the very bottom of these shattered islands, Its limbs extend to the furthest reaches of the abyss. What we can see of Its body is already comparable to dozens, perhaps hundreds, of city-states. The invisible parts, the tips of Its tentacles, pierce through the abyss’s floor, reaching into subspace, defying any conventional mathematical logic.”

“Every second, the dark abyss generates countless demonic essences. Like ethereal smoke, they rise from the ‘bottom’, carried on erratic winds through discontinuous spatial layers to the floating islands above. There, they materialize, consuming each other in endless battles. The fallen demons disintegrate back into dust and mud, eventually returning to the abyss below, either swiftly or after an extended period. They are absorbed by the Nether Lord, perpetuating an eternal cycle.”

“I have escaped this cycle… but my absence is but a drop in the ocean for the abyss. The cycle of consumption among demons continues unabated, and the ‘operations’ of the ‘Nether Lord’ persist endlessly.”

After Dog finished, Duncan nodded slightly, processing the information: “So, we just need to head downward?”

“That’s where the challenge lies. ‘Descending’ here is far from straightforward,” Dog raised its head from the shadows, locking eyes with Duncan, “Do you recall a particularly strange and troublesome ‘feature’ of the abyss?”

“…So, you’re referring to spatial discontinuity?” Duncan mused aloud, his brow furrowed in thought. “I recall our discussions about it. In the abyss, ‘traversing’ from one location to another isn’t straightforward. Here, directions and distances are entirely unpredictable. But we haven’t really encountered this issue on our journey so far, have we?”

“That’s because we’ve been confined to the islands,” Dog clarified. “Within the bounds of a single floating island, spatial dimensions adhere to the continuous structures we’re familiar with. But the moment we step off these islands…”

As he explained, Dog emerged fully from the shadows. It casually picked up a fragment of stone from the ground, held it between its teeth, and hurled it into the vast, enveloping darkness that lay beyond the boundary of the floating island.

In an instant, the stone vanished from sight. Just a few meters from the island’s edge, it seemed to dissolve into nothingness.

Alice, who had been observing intently, saw the stone disappear and couldn’t contain her curiosity. “Where did the stone go?” she asked, her eyes wide with wonder.

“I don’t have an answer for that,” Dog replied, shaking its head. “It’s highly unlikely it just ‘fell down.’ In this void, any direction, any distance, any possible destination is a gamble. That stone could be endlessly falling through this star-speckled space, or it might have abruptly landed on some unsuspecting demon’s head. It’s even conceivable that it ended up right on the Nether Lord itself. Movements in the ‘void’ between these islands are that unpredictable.”

Duncan’s expression turned into a frown. “Then the ‘cycles’ you mentioned earlier, the endless cycle of demons moving between the floating islands and the Nether Lord, are governed by this randomness too?”

“Exactly,” Dog nodded in affirmation. “It’s all a tapestry of uncertainty. A demon emerging from the Nether Lord might spend centuries before materializing on a floating island. Conversely, the remains of a demon cast into the void after its demise might drift aimlessly in darkness for millennia before reaching the abyss’s deepest reaches. This ‘descent’ can occur in any conceivable direction…”

Dog paused, casting its gaze towards the dark, star-filled horizon.

“Considering the vastness of the abyss and the infinite number of demons within it, it’s entirely plausible that some original demonic essences that split from the Nether Lord are still adrift in the darkness, never having materialized. Similarly, there might be remnants of the earliest demons, those who perished in battles long past, that are still enduring their descent, a fall spanning ten thousand years or more, without yet reaching the bottom. All of this is within the realm of possibility.”

Duncan and Alice were left to contemplate this reality—a universe of uncertainty and discontinuity, underpinned by a ‘chaotic cycle’ operating on a grand scale of randomness. The sheer strangeness of it all was almost beyond comprehension.

Duncan’s expression conveyed deep contemplation, his brows knit together as he tried to conceptualize a world ‘order’ that defied all known logic based on Dog’s detailed descriptions. After a moment of thoughtful silence, he ventured a comment, “…But initially, the Vanished plummeted straight through the abyss without deviation.”

“That’s precisely what’s most alarming,” Dog responded, its eyes glinting with an eerie green glow. “More astonishing than the notion of being struck down by a meteor from the sky is the fact that something could descend from above and assuredly reach the abyss’s bottom. This certainty in trajectory is what truly astounded the demons of the abyss. While demons may lack sophisticated intellect, they have adapted to the chaos of this realm through instinct. The sudden arrival of the Vanished, breaking all known rules and norms, presented an enigma so irrational, so against the grain of the abyss’s laws, that it drove many demons to madness instantly.”

Dog paused, its voice taking on a gravely serious tone: “Do you grasp the significance of this? In the context of the abyss, the concept of ‘an object falling from above and consistently reaching the bottom’ is an unthinkable, unspeakable violation of the natural order. The descent of the Vanished didn’t just obliterate several islands and exterminate hundreds of thousands of demons; it fundamentally ‘pierced through’ the very fabric of the abyss’s order.”

Pondering this, Duncan mused, “…So, for the sake of the demons’ mental and physical well-being, I should avoid causing any more such ‘falls’?”

“It’s not about preserving the well-being of the demons—they hardly live in what we’d call ‘healthy’ conditions,” Dog corrected with a shake of its head. “It’s about maintaining the ‘health’ or stability of the abyss itself. This place is teetering on the brink of instability. Triggering another fall could very well cause its complete collapse.”

Duncan stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment.

While he was deep in contemplation, considering the challenge of navigating the spatial discontinuity beyond the floating islands and devising a strategy to reach the ‘bottom’ where the Nether Lord resided, he suddenly felt a gentle tug on his arm.

Turning, he was met with Alice’s wide, expressive eyes.

The doll held up her hand, revealing a dark object: “Captain! Stone!”

Momentarily caught off guard, Duncan responded with a hint of confusion, “Uh, Alice, this isn’t really the time for…”

His words trailed off abruptly as he recognized what it was – the stone in Alice’s hand… it was the very same one Dog had thrown into the abyss earlier!