Deep Sea Embers

Anomaly 077 is the "route" itself - the key secret to the outer barrier, hidden deep in his weird characteristics as an "abnormal" from the beginning!

In the upper level of the spiritual world, the process of the sea's collapse and reorganization is still being repeated around the mirrored "Song of the Sea". The scenery of a distant foreign land keeps flashing through Duncan and Agatha's vision like a picture with poor contact, originating from "Sea Song" The obsession of "is constantly driving the ship, trying to guide the Lost Home to its "destination"...

However, in the relatively stable, closed-loop sheltered sea area inside the Eternal Veil, the power of Anomaly 077 cannot take effect correctly at all - so the routes collapse and become dislocated over and over again, and a huge amount of power is accumulated in the process of collapse.

Once the Lost Home really shifts space, this force will find an outlet in the real dimension and turn into a violent storm.

Duncan raised his arm far away, and the flames spread and rose from the sea. The power that was enough to brew a storm was ignited by him, and was quickly eliminated in the harmless burning.

Then he broke off the "connection" with Agatha and returned directly to the real dimension.

The sailor was still standing in front of the steering wheel on the bridge, tightly holding on to the dark rudder, and his body was so tense that he was ready to "crack" again at any time - noticing that the captain's eyes turned to him again, he immediately spoke : "Captain, look at me..."

Duncan nodded: "You can let go."

As soon as the words fell, the sailor on the bridge "jumped" and almost "bounced" out from in front of the rudder, as if what he was holding was not the helm but a ball of hot magma. The mummy disappeared in the blink of an eye. He ran to the farthest place on the bridge from the rudder, and then while holding on to the railing on the edge of the platform, he nervously looked at the ropes and buckets nearby. Occasionally he glanced at the steering wheel that he had just held in his hand, but there was something in his eyes. Full of nervousness and even fear.

Seeing Anomaly 077 looking so nervous and alert, Duncan suddenly had a very complicated mood in his heart - for some reason, he suddenly thought of Captain Kalani's figure standing in the chaotic mist, and of the scene in the mirror world just now. The hazy vision of standing on the platform holding the rudder tightly, and the Sea Song's long wandering in the displaced time stream...

The ugly and shriveled mummy huddled in the corner of the bridge, nervously looking at everything around him - in him, the "first officer" who had persisted to the end in the time and space journey seemed to have been completely eroded, leaving only what remained. The only thing left is the logbook left by the captain of the Sea Song and the "route" that has been integrated with him.

Duncan stood in silence for a long time, finally exhaled softly, and walked towards the sailor with evasive eyes.

"Captain, my mission is completed..." the sailor said cautiously, as if he was afraid that he would have to "steer" again because he failed to do something just now.

"It's done this time," Duncan looked into the sailor's eyes and said with a very serious expression, "but this is just a test. After we enter the depths of the eternal veil, I still need you to take the helm again - officially take the helm until we Arrive where the Song of the Sea has been.”

The deep grooves on the sailor's face suddenly wrinkled, and he ducked back subconsciously, but there was nowhere to hide because there was a railing behind him - but soon, he noticed the solemnity in Duncan's eyes, which made him hesitate. Then he stopped dodging.

"The Lost Home needs your navigation," Duncan said in a particularly sincere tone, "Listen, you have not lost the 'route' left by Captain Kalani. The route is on you, and you are the route itself—— Your 'ability' and the extraordinary phenomena you caused are actually the influence of this route, and now we need it - I need your help."

The sailor hesitated. This was the first time he had seen the terrifying ghost captain like this, and this sincere attitude was directed at him. This made him feel an unspeakable... touch in his confusion. , he seemed to have not felt this kind of touch for a long time.

"I...can I," the sailor muttered, not daring to speak too loudly, "This ship is not something that ordinary people can touch. When I touch it, I feel like it is going to eat me..."

"You are qualified to take the helm." Duncan said calmly.

The sailor seemed a little surprised, a little dazed in his surprise.

"I know this is a lot of pressure for you - I'm afraid there are few people in the world who dare to take the helm of the Homeless without psychological pressure, but you are the first mate of the Sea Song, and you have done it before You are qualified to take the helm here on a long voyage that is unimaginable to mortals." Duncan paused, then nodded solemnly, "If you are willing, I will grant you the title of helmsman during the border voyage as the captain of the Lost Home. Position."

At this point, he suddenly stopped, as if he thought of something, and added seriously: "Of course, you can still refuse without worrying about any consequences - I will think of other ways, even if you want to come back now White Oak, too.”

The sailor listened blankly. He already understood the captain's intention, but he still needed some time to think about it. There seemed to be many things for him to hesitate.

But after thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind. After showing an almost terrifying smile, he nodded slowly: "Okay, then I'll do my best."

The moment he finished speaking, many subtle sounds suddenly came from all around——

The ropes near the bridge were rustling, the barrels stacked on the back deck were shaking gently, and the tight sail ropes on the mast made creaking sounds. Deep in the cabin, some ancient and huge structures seemed to be moving. Whispering something softly——

All the sounds gradually converged, like... applause and welcome.

The sailor listened to the movements around him in surprise, looking a little dazed and at a loss, but gradually, he seemed to understand it all - the wrinkled and pitted skin suddenly stretched out on his face, and he smiled, just like For example, a long, long time ago, the moment when I first received my promotion on the Sea Song.

Duncan also laughed, and he reached out and patted the sailor's shoulder gently: "Very well, just do your best - now go back and rest, we are still far from the assembly point on the border."

The sailor left the bridge and seemed to be a little dizzy when he walked to the deck. After a while, his swaying figure gradually disappeared into the night.

Duncan shook his head and looked away at the middle deck, then out of the corner of his eye he saw the puppet squatting not far away.

Alice squatted on the edge of the bridge, complaining to a ball of ropes coiled on the ground: "You didn't welcome me like this when I arrived on the ship... You just applauded..."

The rope wriggled slowly on the ground, and a rope end came out of it, pattering against the railing next to it, as if to explain something.

"The helmsman's induction ceremony? What is that?" Alice's eyes widened in surprise, "And this one? Then I don't have an induction ceremony... Was it held? When?

"...Huh? That was that time in the kitchen!? Didn't you tell me earlier! I thought you were blocking the door because you were going to fight... My dear, I almost tore down the kitchen that day, and dinner was delayed..."

Duncan was originally planning to talk to Alice, but when he saw this scene, he immediately stopped. He watched expressionlessly as the puppet communicated back and forth with the end of the rope. After a long time, he turned around stiffly. Go too far.

The communication between this girl and these things on the ship seems to be getting more and more outrageous...

But at this moment, something suddenly moved in his heart, and then he heard the goat-headed voice in his mind: "Captain, have you authorized a temporary helmsman?"

"Do you think it's inappropriate?" Duncan returned to the helm and responded in his heart while controlling the Lost Home to dive into the spirit world, "Do you mind if an 'outsider' takes over this position?"

"No," Goathead replied immediately, "The captain has the authority to appoint or remove any crew member and increase or decrease the duties on the ship. The helmsman you approve is the helmsman approved by the Lost Home, but... I am a little worried about that 'sailor' completing this task. What happens after the mission."

Duncan didn't speak for a while.

"It seems that you have already thought of it," the goat head said unhurriedly, "He is a person who should have disappeared in the flow of time long ago, just like the ashes after the firewood is burned out, on the day he returns to the boundless sea, He should have disappeared from this world - but Captain Kalani's diary turned into a shroud, binding his body, and the Sea Song's final mission turned into a 'route', fixing his humanity, and he became A restless corpse...

"Now, he only has one last mission left to complete - Captain Kalani's last mission.

"And now, Captain, you have given him the duties of helmsman...he has the opportunity to fulfill his mission."

In the cool sea breeze at night, Duncan looked at the dark sea in the distance. After a long time, he finally broke the silence: "I know - in fact, the 'Sailor' himself also knows."

The goat head said nothing.

"We will finally have a long voyage..."

Duncan suddenly said softly, he remembered a book he had just read, and remembered the famous "mad poet" Pullman's sentences in the book——

"We will finally have a voyage

"When time comes to an end..."

…

The door of the room closed softly, and the mummy returned to the room and slowly sat on his bed - the cabin was brightly lit and very warm, but he had actually been unable to feel the temperature since a long, long time ago.

He slowly lay down in this cold and empty world, the messy and broken memories of the Sea Song hovering in his mind, as distant as another person's life.

He murmured softly, those were Captain Kalani's favorite verses - they shimmered in fading memories like the beach glowing at night:

“…the dusty sails will rise again,

"Carrying us to places we have long forgotten.

"On that most suitable day,

"Get ready and hit the road...

"We will all be sailors,

“Go to other places when the wind blows.”

The sailor turned over and his dehydrated eyes slowly closed.

He still couldn't sleep.

But there was a hint of a smile on his face.

The day of return is near.