Deep Sea Embers

After Duncan opened his eyes, everyone came together instantly.

The translucent green ghost fire was still burning quietly between the folds of the shroud. Duncan blinked and extinguished the flame before it completely burned the shroud. Then he slowed down again. , while sorting out the information he just saw, his eyes fell on the "sailor".

The mummy stood a little further away. While keeping a distance, he couldn't help but poke his head in this direction, looking hesitant.

"Uncle Duncan, what did you see?" Nina came over and tugged on Duncan's arm, raising her head and asking with worry and curiosity on her face.

"...Captain Kalani's memory," Duncan exhaled softly, without selling out, "it records the Sea Song's experience after it lost its way and the process of returning..."

"Sailor" immediately pricked up his ears and moved towards this side in small steps unconsciously.

Duncan told everything he saw in the vision without any concealment.

After he finished speaking, all eyes at the scene instantly fell on the "sailor" who had already moved to the coffee table in small steps.

Anomaly 077 was listening with his ears stretched out a second ago. Suddenly he heard Captain Kalani entrusting him with the route to the outer barrier. His expression suddenly froze, and he immediately noticed that everyone was looking at him. He took half a step back, stared and waved his hands: "Hey, don't look at me, I don't know about the route, what route... I'm confused about this too!"

"You don't know?" Helena frowned when she heard this and looked at the other party very suspiciously, "Captain Kalani said that he would leave that route to you...you have no impression at all?"

"I didn't!" The mummy opened his hands, looking even more confused than when he was thrown out of the portal by Ai Yi. "I only remember the log, and I still remember it vaguely... You guys are You know, I can’t even remember the specific process of my return!”

The tall and silent Frame stared at him for a long time, then suddenly asked: "Then what do you remember? Isn't there anything else that impressed you more deeply after returning to the Infinite Sea?"

"Sailor" thought hard and clapped his hands: "Yes, I remember that as soon as I opened my eyes, I was lying in a box, and the two men in blue and black robes were talking to me while they sprinkled ashes and spices on me. There was a Sen'jin man who was as stone as you and was about to nail the coffin lid to my head. When I refused to let him nail it, he gave me a hammer - and the next time I opened my eyes, it would be 1864."

Frame: "..."

The living room was quiet for two seconds, and the atmosphere seemed a little awkward, but Alice didn't seem to notice it at all. Seeing that no one else spoke, she asked curiously: "Ah, what happens next?"

"Then? As soon as I sat up, I heard someone yelling next to me. I couldn't hear the specific shouting, and then I saw a girl rushing up and giving me another hammer. The next time I opened my eyes, it was 1901. Captain Lawrence and a group of The angry sailor tried to push me down on the bridge, but I didn’t resist... You all know what happened next..."

Everyone in the living room looked at each other. Helena coughed awkwardly, and Duncan spread his hands helplessly. Everyone began to try to divert attention away from this topic...

The careless Alice was still muttering to the "Sailor": "Hey, how did you know it was from 1864? Wasn't it true that you were stunned as soon as you opened your eyes?"

"I asked Captain Lawrence about it later. He said that in history, that was the only time I came close to completely losing control... In addition, I actually woke up several times, but I have no memory of those..."

"Let me tell you, I used to sleep in a box, and there were people mumbling beside the box, scattering things, and driving nails..."

"Really? How was your sleep quality?"

"It's okay. Their chanting is not very noisy - but now I don't sleep in the box half the time. The captain gave me a bed..."

"Sailor" sighed from the bottom of his heart: "I really envy you for being able to sleep like this..."

The two of them suddenly started discussing a very nefarious topic without anyone noticing. Duncan couldn't help but couldn't help it. He coughed twice and interrupted their exchange: "Ahem, now is not the time to talk about this."

"Sailor" closed his mouth instantly.

"First of all, I believe what you said. You should have indeed forgotten about the 'route'." Duncan adjusted his expression and said to Anomaly 077 seriously, "But the things recorded in Captain Kalani's log must also be true. Yes, the 'route' is on you."

"Sailor" opened his mouth and pointed at himself: "Then what should I do if I don't remember..."

"I haven't finished speaking yet," Duncan waved his hand, "It may not matter whether you remember it or not - because this important route may not have been simply 'recorded' in your mind from the beginning, Captain Kalani. In the diary, she mentioned that she 'entrusted the route to you'. This sentence made me very concerned... She seemed to regard the route as some kind of 'item', or... some other 'entity', maybe she was staying there When she wrote that diary, she realized that such a day would come."

Duncan stopped when he said this. He thought for a moment, and then his eyes fell on the "shroud" again.

"Just as her diary crossed the border in this form, she may have also used other methods to leave information about the 'route' to you, even if the border distorted that information and interfered with your memory and even self-perception. , this 'route' will not disappear - it is still with you, in some 'form' that we don't understand yet."

"Sailor" listened blankly and seemed to be gradually convinced, but he suddenly had some doubts: "...Can Captain Kalani really do such a thing? I thought it was just that her diary turned out like this. Some kind of 'accident'... After all, she is only a mortal..."

"But she once faced our Lord directly," Helena suddenly broke the silence. "After any mortal has faced the gods directly... it will be difficult to be regarded as a pure 'mortal' anymore."

Sailor stopped talking.

"We need some time to consider how to arrange the next actions, including verifying whether there is really 'route' information on you," Duncan looked into Anomaly 077's eyes and said with a very serious expression, "But no matter what, you You will have to stay with us for the next period of time - if necessary, you will sail with the Lost Home, so be prepared for this."

When "Sailor" heard this, he trembled visibly: "Huh? I thought I could just come over and send a message..."

Duncan looked at him silently.

"Sailor"'s expression instantly changed: "Of course, you know that I have been a loyal member of the Lost Home Fleet from the beginning. It is my lifelong wish to board that legendary expedition ship..."

Duncan relaxed and nodded with a smile. Others also smiled at "Sailor". Shirley even stepped forward and patted the other person's skinny arm: "Don't be nervous. The captain is actually very kind! And stay on the ship." It’s not boring at all, there are all kinds of excitement every day…”

She was embarrassed to say that she was also one of the biggest "liveliest people" on the ship...

Everyone was happy, except Helena, who was watching this scene with a complicated expression.

She still couldn't help but think about not long ago, when the Sea Song was preparing to set off, the warriors who came to the Ark to receive her blessings, and those positive, determined and faith-filled faces.

It was still hard for her to believe that those warriors had disappeared in such a long time - even the only one who returned to this world had become like this.

"It's time for us to leave," the female pope sighed softly. "We have been disturbing here for too long - there are still many things waiting for me and Frame at the church."

Duncan glanced up at the mechanical clock on the wall across the living room and saw that the day was over.

"Then I won't send it away," he said casually, "I also have some things to arrange."

Helena nodded, and after saying goodbye to the others, she and Frame turned and walked towards the door - but when they were about to leave, she suddenly stopped and looked back at Duncan.

After a brief hesitation, she said: "The Deep Sea Church's border assembly point is located on the southeastern border, near the sea area where you last met with the Tide."

"I understand," Duncan nodded slightly, "I will contact you before setting off."

The two popes left, and a moment later, two cars were seen outside the window driving into the distant night.

The living room became quiet for a while, and Shirley was the first to stretch out: "Yawn... I'm sleepy, I'm going to go back to sleep first!"

Vanna and Morris also left the living room.

"There are a lot of empty rooms here." Lucretia, as the hostess here, was now arranging accommodation for the 'new members'. She glanced at the mummy in front of her, "Do you have any requirements for the room? Floor or Ventilation-wise.”

"No, no, no," the mummy immediately waved his hands, looking quite nervous, "Just find a place for me to stay. I'm not sleeping anyway..."

His eyes suddenly fell on the stair railing not far away.

"Hey, this railing is good. Give me a rope and I'll be fine hanging here. The front is still facing the sun, so I can get some sunshine in the morning... Oh, although there hasn't been any sunshine lately..."

"Are you sure?" Duncan raised his eyebrows when he heard this, "Let me remind you, Nina gets up the earliest every day, and that girl is prone to getting confused when she gets up. She will look up from the stairs in a daze and see you hanging on the railing. It's not just a shock - you're actually seeing the sun."

"You have to stay in the room!" Lucretia immediately became anxious when she heard it, and immediately said to the mummy, "Don't really scare Nina - my house will be gone by then."

Nina whispered behind Duncan: "Actually, I have good control now..."

"Sailor" blinked his eyes, listening to the words of Captain Duncan and Miss Witch, and looking at the "Sun Shard" muttering next to him with a wronged look on his face, he suddenly felt that... the atmosphere here seemed to be different from what he had imagined. Same.

not bad.

He twitched the corners of his mouth and showed a somewhat scary smile.

"Okay, I'll follow your arrangements."

(happy New Year to all!)