Deep Sea Embers

"What did you say? They pushed up a wooden sculpture of a goat's head?!"

Duncan's voice came from the mirror on the dressing table, with undisguised shock.

"Yes, a black wooden goat's head," Lucretia said quickly. She turned her head and glanced at the crystal ball on the table next to her, distinguishing the image that vaguely appeared in the crystal ball. It was the rabbi's direct message. The scene coming from the cultist meeting place, "It looks very similar to the 'first mate' on the Lost Home... No, I can't say it's very similar, it's exactly the same!"

"Other than that? What was the goat head doing after it was pushed up?" In the mirror in front of Lucretia, Duncan's figure leaned forward slightly, "Is it communicating with those cultists?"

"...No," Lucretia shook her head while looking at the blurry image in the crystal ball. "This goat head seems to be 'dead'... It didn't move after being pushed up. It looked like it was A wooden sculpture... The cultists were holding a ceremony around the goat's head, lighting candlesticks and burning incense. The goat's head, which they called the 'Dream Skull', was still unresponsive."

Duncan frowned tightly in the mirror.

He knew that Rabbi lurking in the cultists' stronghold would definitely be able to send back a lot of valuable information, but he didn't expect that the information sent back by the rabbit would be so valuable - from the beginning of the cultists' gathering to Now, both he and Lucretia were paying attention to the news that was constantly coming from the rabbi, and among the news, the most shocking thing was the current scene.

Those Annihilation cultists... actually have a goat head exactly like the "first mate" on the Lost Home! ?

And judging from the situation at the scene, is this the reason why they can freely enter and exit the Dream of the Unknown?

In the mirror dimension connected by the mirror, Duncan stood in the darkness and fell into thinking. After a long time, he raised his head and scanned his surroundings.

This is the world in the mirror - but according to Agatha, a more accurate description here is "the reflection of the Lost Home on the edge of the spirit world and reality."

Where he looked was the Homeless Ship that he was familiar with, but the entire ship was shrouded in a paradoxical, contradictory and strange atmosphere. Through the window next to him, he could see the deck outside shrouded in In the darkness, the sky and ocean in the distance took on a quality similar to the spiritual world. There was a hazy glow near the side of the ship, and its outline seemed to be inexplicably disturbed, slowly rising and shaking like a reflection in the water.

Behind him was the familiar sight of the captain's cabin, including the chart table, shelves, precious tapestries on the walls, and... the silent goat's head on the edge of the chart table.

All of this is shrouded in a strange kind of darkness. Even if there are oil lamps hanging on the wall next to them, and even if there are lights everywhere in the room, the darkness seems to be imprinted on this space and lingers, always reminding you to come here. People, this is not a realistic dimension.

There was only one thing in the room that gave off a soft, reassuring light, and that was the oval mirror in front of Duncan at this moment - that mirror reflected the scene in Lucretia's room, reflecting the scene from the real dimension. temperature".

Duncan turned around and walked slowly to the chart table, looking at the goat-headed wooden sculpture that was sitting quietly on the table. The latter showed no reaction to his approach, just like... those cultists at the assembly hall. The "Dream Skull" used in the ceremony.

After quietly looking at the dark wood carving for a moment, Duncan reached out his hand and patted the goat's head.

If it were the real world on the other side of the mirror, this move would definitely result in overwhelming noise, and the goat head would never let go of this opportunity to speak.

However, here, in the "reflection" of the Lost Home, the goat's head is still just sitting quietly, as if... it hasn't woken up yet.

The sound of footsteps came from the side, and Duncan turned his head and saw Agatha coming to his side.

"Captain, there are still thirty minutes until the Dream of the Nameless One is 'activated'," said the woman who "lives" in the mirror world. "According to my last experience, the reflection of the Lost Home will be transformed into That ship sailing in the dark fog, the 'wooden sculpture' in front of you will also come to life."

"...Yes, alive, but it is still different from the 'first mate' I am familiar with. It is another goat head - and in the hands of those Annihilation Cultists, there is also a goat head," Duncan said slowly , with a thoughtful expression on his face, "They actually used a goat head that they found from nowhere to enter the dream of the Nameless One. This is... reasonable, but beyond my expectation."

Agatha hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but ask: "Are there many 'goat heads'?"

"...I once thought there was only one," Duncan shook his head, "it thought so too."

"I remember you said that the 'First Mate' was brought out of the subspace by you. If it is the subspace... maybe everything is possible. Maybe the 'Goat Head' is even a group there..."

Agatha stopped as she spoke. Apparently she also felt that her conjecture was a bit far-fetched.

Duncan didn't speak. He just looked at the silent goat head on the table that looked like a real wooden sculpture. He pondered for an unknown amount of time before whispering softly: "Is it falling apart..."

Agatha heard the captain's murmur, but was confused: "Huh?"

Duncan did not respond to her question, but shook his head slightly: "It seems that there is another reason to capture those Annihilation cultists alive... This time, not only must we find a way to capture their people alive, but we must also find a way to capture their It’s a boat.”

"As long as the location of the ship is determined, no secular ship can escape the pursuit of the Lost Home." Agatha said immediately.

Duncan glanced at the former gatekeeper with some surprise: "You are quite confident - you probably haven't seen the battle scene of the Lost Home with your own eyes."

"But the books of the Church of Death contain tons of horrific descriptions of the Homeless Ship." Agatha spread her hands. "It is said that you once wiped out the battleship just built by Pope Banster in an instant. ——Even in front of the Pilgrimage Ark, in front of an entire fleet. No matter how you think about it, it is impossible for those cultists to build a ship more powerful than the Pilgrimage Ark."

Duncan's expression froze for a moment. After two or three seconds of embarrassment, he shook the corners of his mouth and said, "I'll just take it as a compliment."

Agatha seemed to realize the awkwardness of this topic, and she quickly changed the subject abruptly: "Captain, what do you think of the purpose of those cultists?"

"Purpose? Are you talking about their interest in Shirley and Agou, or their goal of cooperation with those 'followers of the sun'?"

"Both." Agatha nodded.

"It is expected that they are interested in Shirley and Agou - no Annihilation cultist with normal views will not be shocked after seeing Agou, and judging from the performance of that saint, 'Netherworld The phenomenon that demons have reason seems to have extraordinary significance to them," Duncan said while recalling the information from the rabbi. "The saint mentioned the 'last piece of the puzzle on the road to promotion'... This One sentence stuck with me.

"As for their 'cooperation' with those sun followers..."

Duncan stopped suddenly when he said this, and after thinking quietly for a while, he broke the silence: "The target of those Annihilation Cultists is the 'tree', which is easy to understand. It should be referring to the World Tree Silantis, and The goal of those followers of the sun is 'the sun'..."

He frowned and raised his head, as if he wanted to look through the dimensions of time and space and look at a "star" that hung high in the dream of the unknown person and existed in the memory of an ancient past.

"...How are they going to get the 'sun'?"

The captain's room was quiet for a while, and Agatha didn't know how to answer the captain's question. But after an unknown amount of time, Lucretia's voice suddenly came from the mirror not far away, breaking the news. This quietness:

"Dad, the rabbi said that the cultists seemed to be performing the final steps of the ritual."

Duncan immediately raised his head and looked at the mechanical clock hanging on the wall opposite.

On the dial that shows a left-right mirror flip, the hands are rotating counterclockwise, slowly pointing to nine o'clock.

The Dream of the Nameless One is about to come alive.

He looked back and glanced at the chart on the table next to him.

Even in this "reflection" world, the chart in the captain's room at this moment shows the normal trajectory of the Lost Home in the boundless sea - the Lost Home is now about a thousand nautical miles north of Qingfeng Port, and is still there. Continuing to sail northward, continuing to move away from the city-state.

The "test" is about to come to a conclusion, but Duncan has actually vaguely felt that even if the Lost Home is kept away from Breeze Harbor and the Goat's Head is allowed to run so far away, the Dream of the Unknown will still appear - - Qingfeng Port will still be shrouded in a dream, and the reflection of the Lost Home will still change as before.

Because dusk is approaching.

Because the "sun" is becoming gentle, and those who have been exiled will return to the real dimension - just like the "warrior" who suddenly fell into reality and eventually turned into an indescribable thing, the so-called nameless one Dreams are just returning to the realm of reality from forgetfulness and exile.

When dusk comes, all these changes will occur irreversibly, and the arrival of the Lost Home at Breeze Harbor only speeds up the activation of the Nameless One's dream.

As the "saint" declared, the so-called "Age of the Deep" is approaching its "last second."

"Lucy, report the progress observed by the rabbi." Duncan said suddenly.

Lucretia's voice immediately came from the mirror: "Yes, those selected cultists have gathered around the 'Dream Skull', and they are waiting for the final sacrifice ceremony...

“The saint is ordering the ‘blood food’ to be brought into the hall.

"...They are two scarred elves."

(I have a bold idea!)