Deep Sea Embers
chapter-758

Under the cover of darkness, the night sky was briefly lit up by dazzling lights, like pieces of the sun breaking apart, disrupting the otherwise peaceful appearance of the long night. This dramatic event unfolded when a quarter of the mystical runic ring broke apart and plummeted to the world for all to witness. In response, at least seven city-states hastily organized expeditions, launching fleets towards the Boundless Sea to retrieve the glowing fragments that had descended into its depths.

In the first two days of this extended darkness, the Boundless Sea, which had known peace for centuries by this point, teetered on the brink of war like never before.

Thankfully, the situation was defused when the massive fleet of the Truth Academy, led by their formidable flagship “Balance of All Things,” reached the central sea’s largest crash site before any other city-state. By securing the majority of these sun fragments, the Academy reaffirmed the church’s dominance and preserved the delicate peace among the city-states. The competing fleets of various city-states did not engage in battle for the fragments. Instead, they accepted the church’s proposal for distributing them, putting aside their rivalries to ensure that the cities in desperate need of sunlight received the precious fragments.

However, during those tense four hours, an unsettling undercurrent of discord began to silently spread among the numerous city-states surrounding the Boundless Sea, highlighting the impending struggle over sunlight, now a critical and dwindling resource for survival.

Yet, for Duncan, who remains in Wind Harbor, these events are still distant concerns because he had received unexpected news from Captain Lawrence of the White Oak in regards to Anomaly 077 – Sailor.

Inside the witch’s mansion, Lawrence’s image materialized in an oval mirror on the wall of the first floor, his voice emanating from it: “…He claimed to have been the first mate aboard the Sea Song, stating they crossed a critical boundary six miles beyond the border on the 21st of the first month, 1902…”

Hearing this, Duncan, who stood by the mirror, showed a puzzled expression: “But today is only the 22nd of the first month of 1902. Are you suggesting… Anomaly 077 was still actively serving as a priest for the Storm Church on a mission across the border just yesterday?!”

Lawrence responded with a grave tone, indicating the seriousness of his claim, “That’s exactly what he told me. He mentioned his captain was named Caraline, and he vividly recalled the moment their ship embarked on its journey. He acknowledges it’s been only two days since the Sea Song ventured past the border’s six miles limit, yet he insisted Captain Caraline and her crew have been adrift for fifty years after crossing that line…”

Duncan remained silent, absorbing the shocking information, while Lucretia, who had overheard the conversation, could only express her astonishment with a gasp: “Fifty years?!”

“Perhaps… even more than that, madam,” Lawrence replied, his expression turning serious as he cautiously elaborated. “According to what Sailor has shared, for the initial fifty years, they managed to keep a count of the days using their clear-minded rationality. However, after that period, they completely lost any sense of time. They found themselves adrift in a perpetual fog, existing in a state that wasn’t truly alive but not dead either, reminiscent of those psychiatrists who tragically stumble into ‘void faults’ at the fringes of dreams while treating patients. Similarly, the Sea Song encountered such a fault at the very edge of our world, and as a result…”

Lawrence momentarily halted, his attention seemingly caught by a sound in his vicinity. Then, a raspy, barely distinguishable voice emerged from the mirror’s edge, belonging to Sailor, his voice rough with age: “And so we were ‘forgotten,’ Captain, ahaha… Forgotten by death, forgotten by the sea, and ultimately, even time and reason ceased to acknowledge us. This led to our becoming undying, eternal wanderers at the edge of the world… But then… hic, by the divine intervention of the goddess, we were once again remembered by Her… And thus, we found our way back to the rightful path… hic!”

Duncan, his forehead creased in thought, quickly seized upon Sailor’s words and inquired, “The rightful path you’re referring to is…”

“We found Her! A great…” Sailor began to exclaim, his voice growing louder, but he suddenly stopped as though his words were physically stifled. Following a series of indistinct mutterings, he resumed, “I can no longer recall Her appearance, but we truly found… found the source of the call. That was our mission. The Pope had dispatched us in search of Her after She had sent a revelation to Her Grace…”

“Most of us remained behind there; they had no desire to return, to confront a world they deemed already forsaken. The endless drift through the fog had worn away all their once-grand aspirations and steadfast beliefs, and we came across… what was it again? My memory fails me, Captain. I cannot recall it clearly… All I remember is that Captain Caraline and I made it back from the fog. In truth, it was only me. By that point, Captain Caraline had become nothing but a withered shadow, having lost even the memory of her own image, forcing me to assume command of the vessel…”

Sailor’s voice trailed off into a series of unintelligible murmurs, indicative of a mind struggling with clarity. The fleeting memories that had surfaced seemed to whirl around in his deteriorated mind like scattered pieces of a puzzle, leaving him alternately coherent and bewildered.

Duncan, choosing to overlook Sailor’s rambling, reflected briefly before stating, “But now you are known as Anomaly 077—a peculiar entity that was sealed by the city-states many years back. You’ve been manifesting in this realm for centuries, with your first known appearance being aboard an exploration vessel that vanished three years prior.”

Sailor lapsed into silence, not uttering a word for a considerable stretch of time. It was an interval whose length remained undetermined until Lawrence unexpectedly shattered the quiet: “He’s at a loss, he can’t recall how he found his way back to our world, nor the fate of the Sea Song, nor the reasons for his current form, one that conjures storms as an ‘anomaly.’ He observes that the world as it stands now is discordant with the one preserved in his memories, yet he finds himself unable to articulate the specifics of this difference to me.”

Duncan took a moment to absorb this, then exhaled softly.

“I understand. Ensure Anomaly 077 is well looked after first. I’ll get in touch if need be.”

“Understood, Captain.”

As their conversation concluded, the glow within the mirror dimmed, reverting it to a mere reflective surface.

Lawrence’s attention then shifted from the now inert mirror to Anomaly 077, who was seated in the corner of the room, clutching an empty bottle with a vacant expression, its movements repetitive and futile as it tipped the bottle towards its mouth as if expecting an elusive sip.

“Alcohol really has no effect on you,” Lawrence remarked, a note of frustration in his voice as he stood and approached. “You can’t get drunk to alcohol, nor can you be poisoned, and not even a bullet from a gun can harm you. After all, you’ve tested all those methods already.”

The figure halted its pointless motion with the bottle, casting it aside, and after a brief pause, raised its gaze to meet Lawrence’s, its expression listless. “What about a twelve-pound cannon…” it muttered after a delay, its voice carrying a tone of desolation.

“If you’re still around when the end comes, I suppose you could give it a try. Maybe even the sixty-four-pounder at the dock would interest you,” Lawrence said, settling beside the mummy with a hint of humor.

“But considering the world’s end is nigh, such endeavors might be futile. We’re all bound for rest, though your journey has been… unusually circuitous.”

Sailor turned to face Lawrence, his gaze empty.

His eyes, dried and withered, shifted slightly, the brief illusion of inebriation induced by self-delusion fading swiftly. After a moment of vacant staring, the restless entity slowly bowed its head, cradling it within the caverns of his skeletal hands.

“I’ve misplaced the log…” He whispered, his voice a blend of confusion and despair.

“What did you say?”

“The log, Captain Caraline’s diary. She penned much before she disappeared, entrusting me with its return. That was our mission…” The figure’s voice trailed off, its tone verging on the tearful, yet it seemed to have lost the capacity for such distinctly human expressions of grief, “It’s lost, the captain’s diary is lost… I had it with me when the Sea Song ventured back; it was in my possession, but now its whereabouts elude me… Everything’s altered, my memory fails me…”

Lawrence absorbed the somber admission from Sailor, his reaction one of silent astonishment, while Martha’s silhouette materialized quietly in the mirror beside him. They both remained motionless, their attention fixed on the mummy. The only sound in the room was the figure’s subdued, low-toned mutterings, reminiscent of a being that had long forgotten the art of weeping, now struggling to rediscover how to express sorrow.

…

Turning to face his companions, Duncan realized that a crowd had quietly assembled behind him. Their gazes were divided between him and the now inert mirror that had captured their colleague’s reflection.

“…So, that mummy actually has such a remarkable backstory?” Shirley murmured under her breath, a hint of astonishment in her voice.

Deep in thought, Vanna reflected aloud, “The Sea Song, crossing the critical six-mile threshold just a day ago… I recall Her Highness Helena discussing this issue. She mentioned that the major religious orders had begun dispatching advance vessels to penetrate the border boundary, aiming to gather insights from beyond our known world.”

“But how does the first mate of a church ship turn into Anomaly 077? They only went into the fog a day ago.” Nina expressed her confusion, “And then there’s the matter of that ‘half-century’…”

“Perhaps… it’s an indication that the very notion of ‘time’ is starting to unravel,” Duncan proposed quietly, “Or maybe, this anomaly is intrinsic to the outer sea regions beyond the borders. The Sea Song’s crew might have paid the ultimate price to uncover this first property of the boundary.”

Upon hearing Duncan’s speculation, Morris’s brow creased in contemplation as if a sudden insight had struck him.

However, before the seasoned scholar could articulate his thoughts, an unexpected knock at the door from the entrance cut through the room, halting his train of thought.

They had a visitor.