Deep Sea Embers

In a world where the stars burned with the intensity of distant fires on the edge of reality, Duncan-Zhou Ming witnessed the faint sparks he had placed at each corner of the external barrier merging into a glowing ring.

These sparks radiated starlight, enveloping the ancient deities that formed the node points of the barrier. They melded with the gods’ power, essence, memories, and information…

This fusion echoed his first encounter with the golden sun mask, during which he unearthed hidden truths by imbuing it with his own fiery essence. In a similar fashion, he had manipulated mystical objects with his flames, and was now applying this method on a much larger scale.

Throughout its existence, from its birth to its decline, the information of this world flowed into his consciousness.

For Duncan, perceiving through the “Counter-Singularity” perspective, the Boundless Sea resembled a magical artifact—this dwindling civilization stubbornly persisted, pretending to be more than a mere pile of ashes.

Alice looked up at Duncan, her eyes filled with curiosity. “Captain, how much longer must we wait here?”

“We can leave now,” Duncan responded softly. “Nina and the rest have safely made it back to the Boundless Sea. It’s time for us to move on to our next location.”

Curious, Alice inquired, “The next place? You haven’t yet told me where that is…”

“It’s a location we must uncover ourselves—but it won’t be hard,” Duncan assured her, then glanced at an object near him.

In his hands, he held an ancient, intricately designed hourglass, a vestige bequeathed by the god of death, Bartok, to the storm goddess, Gomona. He had retrieved this hourglass from a temple just three days earlier.

The sand within, representing life force, was nearly exhausted.

Cradling the hourglass, Duncan watched a gentle flame flicker inside. The final grains of sand hovered within the central flame, defying gravity. He listened to their soft, barely audible murmurs, then nodded slightly: “Yes, it’s time to go.”

These whispers seemed to send him off, though their exact phrases were barely discernible.

Duncan appeared to understand their intent and began to smile warmly: “Ah, that sounds delightful… To reunite with friends, to embark on new adventures, to establish a vibrant group… and maybe even start a souvenir shop?”

“Alright, I understand. I’ll make it happen… Don’t fret or doubt; this is a unique opportunity to influence the world and the future—you all deserve this chance.”

“…Yes, it will take a considerable amount of time, indeed, but don’t worry, I have all the time in the world; it’s merely a blink of an eye to me…”

“Now, we must depart, Gomona, farewell—sweet dreams.”

As he spoke, the final grains of sand disappeared within the flame, and the hourglass silently crumbled to dust, scattering into the breeze. The entire island commenced its slow submersion beneath the celestial flames.

Knowing its time, Duncan stood up, waved his hand, and magically opened the fiery portal. Moments later, they were back aboard the Vanished. Under the guidance of Goathead, the ship sailed smoothly through the fog that lay between the Leviathan Islands, edging closer to the outer limits of the node sea.

Inside the captain’s quarters, Goathead, the ever-diligent first mate, sat by the sea chart table. As the door swung open, Goathead turned around. Seizing the brief moment before possibly being interrupted, Goathead sighed and began to speak hurriedly:

“Ah, it’s really a bit hard to adjust to the silence here. Normally, Miss Vanna would be exercising on the deck, and Shirley and Dog would be ‘exploring’ around. I used to think they were too noisy, always wondering when it would finally be quiet. But now that it’s suddenly silent, it feels strange. It’s like how it was when I first came aboard this ship; it’s amazing how quickly time has passed. The human heart is indeed peculiar; I never imagined I’d go through so much back then. Of course, now I can’t really claim to have a good human heart anymore… I’m done talking, I’ll be quiet now.”

Feeling the words press at him, Duncan had been just about to tell Goathead to be quiet but found himself holding back his words, merely staring at the table momentarily before blurting out, “You’re able to be quiet on your own?”

With its usual lack of expression, Goathead responded, “Yes, I just finished speaking.”

Duncan, slightly taken aback and suspecting that Goathead’s timing was intentional, managed to keep his cool and stated, “…Then continue to remain silent here, Alice and I need to plan our next navigation steps.”

Goathead simply acknowledged, “Understood.”

Feeling a mix of irritation and bemusement, Duncan led the conversation deeper into the captain’s room, approaching the bedroom when he whispered to Alice, “Remind me later, I need to establish a rule in the new world—those who speak incessantly without pausing deserve a flick on the tongue…”

Alice leaned closer and whispered back, “But Mr. Goathead doesn’t have a tongue, its voice comes directly from its neck…”

As Duncan entered the bedroom, he casually shut the door behind him and turned to Alice, “Now that you mention it, I’m curious, do you have a tongue?”

“Yes,” Alice responded earnestly, opening her mouth and stretching the corners with her fingers to show him, “Look—plurr plurr, here’s my tongue.”

“I’m really curious how the original Navigator One managed to ‘create’ you, even including a tongue. Couldn’t they have just focused on reinforcing the joints?” Duncan eyed the doll curiously, then approached the bedside, retrieving the winding key for the “Navigator Edition Alice Mansion,” and playfully waved it in front of the doll.

Alice, adeptly managing the task, sat down in front of Duncan, turned her back to him, and unzipped her dress to reveal the keyhole for winding.

Duncan, holding the navigator key, hesitated before using it. He looked at the keyhole on Alice’s back and spoke thoughtfully, “Alice, have you ever thought about wanting something more? Like a desire or a wish… to no longer be a ‘doll’?”

Alice adjusted her dress and turned her head back in slight confusion, asking, “No, what’s wrong with being a doll?”

“Do you have any desires or ideas about the new world and the future?” Duncan continued seriously. “Nina and the others have their dreams—Shirley wants a vast space, Morris desires room for research and exploration, even the Leviathan Queen has her own ambitions. But you… you’ve always been quiet during our discussions about the new world.”

Alice pondered for a moment, then shook her head, saying, “I don’t really have an opinion. I’m not dissatisfied with anything; everything as it is suits me fine,” she said earnestly. “I don’t know what the new world should contain; everything I’ve experienced since ‘waking up’ has been good. And I actually enjoy being a doll, I like it this way.”

After a brief pause, she added, “Ah, but if I choose something to want, I still want to be with you in the new world—I’m not comfortable living in the city-states.”

Duncan’s face showed a mix of surprise and gentle resignation as he smiled.

“Okay,” he responded softly, patting Alice’s hair. “I’ll make sure you come with me, that’s guaranteed. If you’re unsure of what you want, leave it to me, I’ll think about it and make it happen for you.”

“Great!” Alice exclaimed cheerfully, adjusting her position on the bed to turn around, then suddenly she remembered something and turned her head back with a smile, “Oh right, I would like a new frying pan, a smaller one, for making tiny sweet pancakes.”

“Okay, I’ve made a note of that,” Duncan replied with a gentle smile, nodding earnestly, “In the new world, Alice wants a new frying pan.”

“For making small sweet pancakes!”

“Yes, for making small sweet pancakes.”

He inserted the winding key into the keyhole; it clicked into place and turned automatically—light and shadow danced around them, resetting the ambiance. When Duncan opened his eyes, he found himself back at the starting point before leaving the Alice Mansion.

In the dimly lit main hall of Navigator Three, a “tree” constructed from cables, pipes, and metal branches stood quietly. At its base, a doll holding a drawing board slowly opened her eyes, powering on like a robot, becoming alert, and then smiling brightly.

“Captain! We’re back in!”

Duncan nodded, assisting the slightly unsteady doll to her feet.

“Captain, what are we doing next? Should we greet the Black Sun at the door? Do you want to find the entry… the next route you mentioned?”

Duncan glanced at the “drawing board” in Alice’s hands, now serving as the remaining “functional interface” of Navigator Three.

“We need to search for something,” he started.

“Search for what?”

“The escape pod of the New Hope—it’s lost at the end of the ashes.”