Deep Sea Embers

The dock where the Song of the Sea once departed is still vacant - it's just that the ship that returned in the wrong time window in 1675 has no chance of returning to this place.

"I also have an impression of this place..."

The sailor muttered, looking in the direction of the trestle illuminated by high-power lights. The wharf trestles extending from the motor port are like the stretched limbs of a giant beast. The ends of each limb point to the infinite night in the distance. In this place far away from the lights of civilization, it seems that as long as one leaves those trestles with lights, people will It will be forever dissolved into the darkness outside - starting from here and heading towards the dark fog is a very courageous thing.

"We have arranged three escort ships - they will also serve as pilots," Helena said. "After the preparations are completed, they will enter the curtain with you and take you to the end of the Sea Song." Once the signal is sent back to the 'lighthouse', you will continue to move forward from there and cross the six nautical mile critical line, and the three warships serving as pilots will stay near the lighthouse, waiting for your return."

Duncan didn't speak, but nodded slightly. Lucretia next to him asked curiously: "How long will you wait here?"

"Forever," Helena said lightly, "there will no longer be any new border cruise missions. The eternal curtain is gradually collapsing. More and more ships have encountered unimaginable dangerous changes. Most of the cruise routes are no longer navigable. , so except for necessary fixed monitoring points, all cruise fleets are gradually shrinking into the interior of the Infinite Sea - this mobile port will stay here, and my incarnation will also stay here until you come back. Or... "

She didn't say anything else, she just took a long breath and looked up at Duncan: "I look forward to your safe return."

"We will return safely," Duncan crossed his arms and stared calmly at the distant fog wall. "Both the Homeless and the Brilliant Star have returned from that critical line, and now we have Captain Kalani. The 'route' left behind - nothing can stop us from coming back."

Helena nodded slightly.

After that, Duncan led his crew to make some repairs at this border base until the three escort ships responsible for the navigation mission were ready. At a not very special moment in this long night, they set off. .

Three cutting-edge warships hanging the emblem of the Deep Sea Church, and two "ghost ships" with a history of a century, sailed away from the dock amidst the loud whistles coming from the motor port.

The bright lights in the direction of the port were gradually left behind, and only the darkness gradually became darker and darker all around. The dense fog that seemed to be swelling and squirming like a living creature, appearing pitch black under the night, became increasingly visible in the field of vision. Showing astonishing pressure.

Duncan stood on the towering stern deck, but couldn't help but look back in the direction of the port. As the distance got farther, the lights there became darker. Suddenly, he recalled the last Cretan's words to the port. A few words I said - spoken against the light.

The Final Survey Team once traveled with the backlight, and the Sea Song also traveled with the backlight when it set off from here. Now...it's the turn of the Homeless Ship and the Brilliant Star.

Along the path opened by the deceased, each time you walk against the light, you can move farther - now, the Lost Home finally has the opportunity to touch the real "beyond the end" of the world.

Alice stood next to Duncan. The doll's eyes were completely attracted by the majestic and dark fog in the distance. As she continued to get closer, she raised her head more and more, and finally looked at the curtain and exclaimed: " Wow...it's scarier than looking at it at dawn...Bo'er."

After raising her head beyond a certain angle, Miss Doll's head fell off her neck without any accident - Duncan reached out to fish it out without looking, grabbed Alice's hair with ease, and lifted it helplessly in front of his eyes. I muttered: "When can I have a long memory..."

Alice blinked: "Ship... Captain, don't scratch your head... your hair, it will fall... your hair will fall..."

Duncan casually threw Alice's head to her hands that were reaching out to grab around. The latter quickly pressed the head on her neck, and then touched a piece of hair that had just fallen out, which was quite surprising. Holding it in distress, she muttered: "Another one...poor Kareni Foskina Portitas Angevitant Levogeni IV..."

Duncan was stunned for a moment: "...the names you gave them are already so outrageous?"

Alice didn't say anything, she just lowered her head and carefully wrapped the long silver hair around her finger with a sad look on her face.

Duncan shook his head when he saw this: "...be careful, don't get it stuck in the knuckles of your fingers. It took a lot of effort for me to clean the hair in your knuckles last time."

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked at the "eternal curtain" that was gradually approaching the front of the Lost Home, and then suddenly, he began to frown.

The thick fog seemed darker and darker - when he got close enough, he gradually realized that the darkness of the fog was no longer simply due to the night, but that the color of the fog itself was changing.

Because according to common sense, even at night, "fog" itself should be light-colored. When light shines on it, its true color should not be so dark and gloomy.

He immediately called Fanna who was guarding the front deck in his heart and asked her about this matter - the latter quickly contacted the pilot ship ahead and got a reply.

"The color of the fog has slowly changed in the past two days," Vanna reported in the spiritual connection, "probably after the Sea Song crossed the six-mile critical line - but only the surface layer of the fog experienced this change. After going deep into the curtain, there is still a normal light-colored mist.”

She paused, as if she was still exchanging details with her compatriots in the church, and then continued: "Scholars have done many inspections, and apart from the color change of the surface fog, nothing else has happened to these dense fogs. Change, no poison... It feels like there is something wrong with the attribute 'color' on this shallow layer..."

Listening to the report from Vanna, Duncan nodded slowly with a serious expression, and in his field of vision, the dark fog gradually covered the bow of the Lost Home.

All ships reduced their speed and lit up various warning lights on the hull outline. The pilot ship, the Lost Home and the Brilliant Star began to approach each other, and kept at a distance that ensured that no accident would occur - —The visibility on the surrounding sea is rapidly decreasing, and fleet members must move closer to each other to avoid being separated, but must be careful to avoid collisions.

Then, blazing green fire began to rise around the hull of the Lost Home - the spiritual fire rising into the sky dispelled the surrounding dark fog to a certain extent, and reflected the surroundings in the flowing fog. Those hazy silhouettes of ships.

The dispelled black mist hovered around the fleet, like a thick and undulating veil.

After lighting the flames, Duncan was still frowning and staring at the black mist, and then suddenly walked towards the captain's cabin.

"Hey, Captain, where are you going?" Alice asked in surprise.

"'Leave' for now," Duncan waved his hand, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

As he spoke, he called his first mate in his heart: "Goat Head, take over the Homeless Ship. I want to 'leave' for a while - if I haven't come back after approaching the six-nautical-mile critical line, I will inform the others. Just wait for now.”

"Roger that, Captain."

In less than a moment, Duncan had arrived at the door of the captain's cabin - in front of him, the "Gate of the Homeless" still stood silently.

He took a deep breath, then pushed the door open and entered.

The cool breath and the trance of sensory reset disappeared as usual. Zhou Ming shook his head and saw that he had returned to the familiar bachelor apartment.

There was still the same gray-white fog outside the window. The thick fog blocked everything and sealed the cabin.

But Zhou Ming didn't check the windows this time - he didn't go to the room, but turned back and looked in the direction he came from.

The door of the apartment was open, and outside the door was a thick black fog.

On that first day, when he decided to go through the door for the first time, there was such a thick black fog outside the door - he passed through this layer of black fog and came to the Lost Home, from some kind of In a sense, this "black mist" is the door for him to go from his "sanctuary" to the boundless sea.

Zhou Ming frowned a little bit. He recalled that he had also been curious about why there was gray-white fog blocking everything outside the window, but there was that weird and dark fog outside the apartment door...

Now, the same black mist finally appeared at the border of the Infinite Sea.

Is this a sign that the end is near? Is it a symbol of the gradual collapse of the barrier? Or... the day I stepped through the thick fog, I was destined to arrive at a moment before the end of the world——

The Sea Song that crossed the border did not "navigate" accurately when returning to the Infinite Sea, which caused it to fall into the time window of 1675. However, when "I" chose to pass through this thick black fog, it arrived accurately. By the time we arrived at the Lost Home in 1900 - on this date, we were just one step away from the end.

“…six nautical miles beyond the border, time is discontinuous…

“Without accurate ‘navigation’, the ‘time landing point’ of crossing the six-mile critical line and returning to the Infinite Sea is random...

"Some way to constrain the 'time point'..."

Zhou Ming whispered to himself softly, sorting out his somewhat messy thoughts, and after a while, he slowly walked towards the room.

As he passed the window, he suddenly stopped.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something on the window.

It was a line of letters that were blurry, as if separated by water mist, and mirrored upside down.

Zhou Ming could not describe in words his shock and shock at this moment - he was stunned for only a moment, and then rushed to the window almost like the wind!