Deep Sea Embers

In the endless wilderness composed entirely of black, white and gray, the disordered and cold wind blows across the earth without stopping, the grass waves roll, and the strange black and white plants sway their lifeless limbs in the wind. There are also tiny particles of light rising from the grass from time to time, floating and wandering above the wilderness, like lost souls, wandering in this forgotten land of the dead.

And this entire country is shrouded in a dim sky that is almost night. There is neither thick fog nor clouds in the sky, only a vortex-like turbid color block that circles endlessly.

The Lost Homeland and the Brilliant Star "glided" silently in the endless wilderness. This strange scene could not be explained. Lucrecia sent two tin men to leave the ship to check the "land" outside. They confirmed that there was indeed solid land under the undulating grass waves. However, the two ships were still sailing on this land. The hulls below the waterline seemed to be sailing in the water and immersed in the land, as if: the concepts of "sea" and "wilderness" were strangely fused together here.

Under Duncan's order, the two ships slowed down and sailed very cautiously here under the eternal night. Shirley climbed up to the observation tower on the top of the mast, but saw nothing after looking far away. There was nothing around except wilderness, and only slightly undulating ground could be seen. There were no buildings or eye-catching signs, not even slightly higher hills.

After another period of fruitless sailing, the two ships finally stopped gradually, as if they were "stranded" in this endless wilderness.

Duncan summoned his followers to the deck.

"In view of the strange situation we encountered on the 'Isle of Ashes' before, we must act cautiously this time," Duncan said seriously, looking at the crew gathered in front of him, "Everyone should not leave the ship rashly. The most important thing now is to find a way to figure out the 'rules' of this 'Death Wilderness'."

"We need to ask professionals about this matter," Morris said immediately, "Ms. Agatha should know something about the kingdom of the God of Death.

As soon as the old scholar finished speaking, a hazy shadow appeared on the deck. Agatha's voice came from the shadow, sounding with a strange and ethereal tremor: "I'm trying to find a way - but the current situation may be a bit complicated. "

She paused at this point, organizing the knowledge in her memory while patiently explaining: "According to the records in the sacred books, after arriving at the wilderness of death, outsiders will embark on a 'no return path' that passes through the wilderness. This path has no end and can only go in one direction. The dead will keep walking on this path, and in the process gradually forget the memories of the mortal world. Then he will meet the messenger who will guide him on the path, that is, the 'gatekeeper' on the side of the dead world.

'The gatekeeper will lead the dead through the invisible intersection on the path, cross the entire wilderness in an instant, and arrive at the center of the kingdom of the dead. There stands a huge door. The dead will see Bartok's shadow in front of the gate, and under the gaze of that shadow, he will shed all the filth that he has stained in the mortal world, walk into the door with a pure attitude, and usher in eternal sleep.

Agatha talked about the teachings of the Church of Death. In this teaching, there is no concept of "reincarnation" that Duncan is familiar with. The end of death is obviously eternal sleep, not returning to the world in any form.

Shirley was a little curious when she heard this: "So everyone will eventually go to sleep behind that door after they die? What if the door is full? There will always be more and more dead people.

After Shirley finished speaking, Alice, who had just come down from the bridge, also muttered: "How crowded it would be. Are they all sleeping in layers?

'I think most of them probably sleep vertically, like bamboo sticks in a cage," Shirley muttered to Alice, "When it's full vertically, they will put a layer on top horizontally, and then when it's full, they will sleep vertically again, one layer horizontally and one layer vertically, just like this.

"By the way, will the people sleeping at the bottom feel heavy?"

"No, I heard that the dead have no weight.

The two people with the lowest knowledge level on the ship suddenly opened a strange door and started chatting about a weird topic. Seeing that the atmosphere around them was getting weirder and weirder, Duncan finally couldn't help it: "Ahem, you can talk about this topic in private. "

Shirley quickly shrank her neck and nodded repeatedly: "Oh oh

Duncan looked back at Agatha: "What do you mean by saying that the situation is a bit complicated now?"

Agatha nodded: "To put it simply, if the records in the classics are correct, outsiders need a passage and "guidance" process to see the God of Death, but now this guidance mechanism may have stopped.

Duncan frowned and quickly thought of something.

Lucrecia and Morris beside them also reacted almost immediately. Morris held his pipe in his mouth and frowned: "The death mechanism of this world has disappeared - 'Yes, the death mechanism has disappeared - and the corresponding 'gatekeeper' who guides outsiders in the wilderness of death has also disappeared," Agatha said in a deep voice. She raised her head and looked at the endless wilderness outside the ship's side. "Without new deaths, there will be no 'path of no return' and 'gatekeepers'. All we can see is the wilderness itself. Although in theory, the gate and the master of death should be in the center of this wilderness, it is a place that can never be 'reached' without the right method. "

Nina listened curiously with her eyes wide open. She looked up at Duncan and then at Agatha. At this time, she couldn't help but say: "Is there a 'condition' like passage and guidance? There is nothing else. Alternative? Ceremony or something?

"I'm afraid there is no way," Agatha slowly shook her head, "'Symbolism'" is a very important part of the field related to gods, and its essence is to 'reproduce specific events with strict procedures', And because the area controlled by the God of Death is extremely special, the 'rules' here can only be stricter than at other nodes because the boundaries between the living and the dead must be clear. "

She suddenly stopped when she said this, and added with a complicated expression: "At least until the death mechanism disappears in this world."

Fanna, who had been silent since just now, suddenly broke the silence: "In other words, if there is a 'dead person', it is possible to restart the guidance mechanism here and open the way to Bartok's door? "

"That's how I understand it," Agatha said cautiously, "at least from the records in the sacred classics, but it may not be that simple. After all, everything in the classics corresponds to the days when the world was still 'normal' , and now many things have changed, and even the gods themselves are distorting into things that are difficult for them to understand. ""

"This is at least an idea," Vanna said seriously, "it is better than continuing to wander blindly in the wilderness."

"But there's a problem," said Morris, holding a pipe in his mouth. "Where can I find a dead person now? There is no 'dead person' in the world."

After the old scholar finished speaking, many eyes on the deck suddenly looked at each other, and the atmosphere quickly became a little weird.

A few eyes fell on Agatha. The "gatekeeper" lady immediately spread her hands: "Don't look at me. Strictly speaking, I shouldn't be considered a 'dead person'. I'm just a shadow that has almost disappeared since birth. Judging from the process, I have not even 'lived', and naturally I have not 'died'. "

Then another gaze fell on Fanna, and Miss Inquisitor quickly waved her hand: "I can't count, can I? I died back then, but I have come back to life, and my survival is now supported by the captain." "Solidified" cannot be considered dead no matter how you look at it.

She hesitated for a moment when she said this, and then added uncertainly: "At least it can't be counted in full, right?"

'I can't count - I'm a deep demon now, the kind of person who has regained a new life.' Shirley noticed that eyes were starting to fall on her, and quickly waved her hands, 'Even if I really died once, now Bartók's 'gatekeeper' can't control me anymore

Duncan looked around and suddenly touched his chin with a subtle expression: "In that case, why do I feel that there is not even a normal living person on the ship? There is no normal dead person either.

While he was talking, he glanced at Morris subconsciously, and saw that the old gentleman was holding an unlit pipe in his mouth, holding a screwdriver in one hand, and clicking on the tightening screw near the back of his head -

Noticing the captain's gaze, the old gentleman put away the screwdriver, and the reed in his chest vibrated: "Sorry, there is a little noise inside the skull, and a screw is loose."

Everyone on the deck looked at each other and fell silent in unison.

Only Alice suddenly came back to her senses after wandering for a while. She leaned over and whispered to Shirley in a low voice: "Is it possible that she fell asleep hanging? Just like the 'Sailor'."

Shirley was shocked: "Are you still thinking about this?! The topic has changed eight hundred times.

She was suddenly stunned.

‘Who did you just say? "

"Sailor—

He just hung up and slept, even though he was pretending to sleep. "

Shirley blinked, then slowly turned to look at the captain after reacting: "Yes, where's the mummy? Why didn't he come over?"

"He should be on the lower deck at this time. He is probably lazy again," Duncan also reacted and frowned slightly, "But then again, can Anomaly 077 be considered a normal 'dead'? Why do I feel like he's 'dead'?" Are there not many of you who are "authentic"? "

His eyes swept across Agatha, Vanna and Shirley in turn.

Shirley couldn't help mumbling: "Captain, your way of describing it is a bit strange.

Duncan's eyes widened: "Isn't this topic strange enough?

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