Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 384 - Chapter 384 Chapter 388 Boundary of Illusion

Chapter 384: Chapter 388: Boundary of Illusion Chapter 384: Chapter 388: Boundary of Illusion Leaving the captain’s quarters, Duncan didn’t go anywhere else, but turned around and grasped the handle of the “Door of the Displaced” again, then he pushed it open–

Zhou Ming returned to his own bedroom.

Looking around, the familiar scene entered his view; everything in the room was exactly the same as when he had last left, and it seemed like he hadn’t been back here in quite a while.

Slowly moving beyond the entryway, stepping on the somewhat patchy and worn floor, Zhou Ming, as usual, first approached the tightly closed window. He checked the traces on the windowsill and confirmed the status of the window locks–although he knew in his heart that this was meaningless, he still carefully completed all the inspections and solemnly picked up the diary hanging by the window, writing down today’s inspection results on the blank part of the notebook:

No changes in the windows and doors; this room has not been opened during my absence.

After leaving this new record, he let out a soft breath and then slowly approached his desk.

On the desk, tiny green sparks popped and jumped, gradually spreading flame outlining the contours of an object, completing the whole process almost at the end.

It was a ship, one with a beautiful white hull and high chimneys, a steam-powered mechanical ship that looked quite advanced.

Zhou Ming watched the scene with a calm expression, his face showing no sign of surprise.

The “model” of the White Oak appeared in this room, but why? Why did it suddenly appear here? What change had occurred to this ship?

Zhou Ming looked up and glanced at the nearby shelf, where the models of Homeloss and Plunder City-State still lay quietly in their compartments.

Items thoroughly burnt by the Spiritual Fire, completely under one’s control, would appear as precise models on the desk of this bachelor apartment–a pattern that had been confirmed, with both Homeloss and Plunder models following this rule, and now, the White Oak…

Zhou Ming recalled his first encounter with that ship.

The White Oak had indeed been burnt by his Spiritual Fire before, and the whole ship had been “swallowed” by the Homeloss, but perhaps at that time his control over the Spiritual Fire was not adept enough; after that “burning,” the White Oak had not become a “collectible” on his desk but had left only a mark–a state that persisted to the present.

Zhou Ming sat down in front of the desk, quietly watching the ethereal green sparks jump and complete the last outline of the White Oak, his expression thoughtful.

He was certain that he had not paid attention to the movements of the White Oak during this time, and had not actively “triggered” the Flame Mark on that ship, so this change was not caused by him–it was the White Oak, the ship itself that must have run into some situation, causing the mark on the ship to be activated, and even “coming to life” to become one of the “collectibles” here.

Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and tried again to locate the position of the White Oak and sense its current state.

Moments later, he opened his eyes, his expression somewhat solemn.

Even in this bedroom, he still could not precisely confirm where exactly the White Oak was; a vague sense only pointed generally toward Frost City-State in the world on the other side of the door. And in trying to confirm the state of the White Oak, he received some odd feedback.

He felt that the entire ship seemed enveloped by seawater.

On the desk, the jumping of ethereal green sparks stopped, and the precise model of the White Oak lay quietly before Zhou Ming, each fine detail exquisitely crafted.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Ming reached out to pick up the model of the White Oak and observed it closely.

But he saw nothing incongruous.

After fiddling with it for a while, Zhou Ming shook his head, realizing that he couldn’t confirm the ship’s state from here–he would have to go to Frost to check the situation.

He stood up from the desk, holding the White Oak, preparing to first put this new “collectible” on the shelf, but he had only gone a few steps when he suddenly stopped next to a mirror.

He looked toward the mirror, where in the reflection, he was not holding the White Oak, but a strange ship, shrouded in black fog and massive shadows!

The outline of the ship bore some resemblance to that of the White Oak, as if they were variations of the same design, yet it presented an almost phantom-like, unreal texture, with signs of damage and ruin all over the hull, as if it had slumbered in the depths of the sea for many years–Zhou Ming stared at the ship in the mirror, then after a moment, he looked down at his hands and saw that he was indeed just holding the model of the White Oak.

After a brief startle and reflection, Zhou Ming suddenly put the model of the White Oak aside. He strode quickly to the shelf, picked up the models of Homeloss and the Plunder City-State, and tested them one by one in front of the mirror.

There were no changes in their reflections.

Only the White Oak showed a peculiar “alternate appearance” in the mirror.

Zhou Ming once again placed the model of the Homeloss in front of the mirror, thoughtfully looking at the dark silhouette of the ship that appeared in the mirror.

It looked like a reflection of the Homeloss in another dimension.

Lost in thought, he slowly stretched out his hand towards the phantom in the mirror.

He only touched the cold, hard surface of the mirror.

…

Steering the small boat alone, Lawrence watched as the towering hull of the Homeloss gradually enlarged in his view, and the fog, seemingly filled with shadows, enveloped his surroundings. The lantern hanging at the bow of his small boat struggled to dispel the surrounding darkness, barely sketching out a blurred path for him.

He looked back to see the Homeloss had become a vague shadow in the mist–while standing on the bridge of the Homeloss, the two ships had seemed so close, but now he felt as if there was a chasm between them, not one of physical distance, but rather some kind of barrier between reality and illusion.

And now he was gradually crossing this barrier.

His mood calmed down, the more eerie and dim the surroundings became, the calmer his mood, as if all paths were clear, and destiny had shown him all the choices–he was going to board the Homeloss, no matter what awaited him there.

But it seemed that only he himself was calm–the other passenger on the small boat didn’t appear to be.

“Please, just let me go back! Tie a rope around me, hang me on the mast if you have to!” the abomination 077 was clamoring, the hideous mummy having been prattling on since a while back, “As long as you let me return to my slumber, I’ll do whatever you say… even if you want me to convert to the Storm Goddess… or even the Death God! I don’t want to keep my eyes open any longer!”

Lawrence finally turned his head, responding to the mummy for the first time since they set off, “You are still able to convert to a deity?”

The mummy was startled for a moment, before immediately nodding emphatically, “As long as you allow me to go back to sleep, I will convert to any god in my dreams!”

Lawrence thought for a moment, recalling a joke popular among sailors, a smile appeared on his face, “Then how about you try converting to the god of wisdom?”

Abomination 077 stiffened up all of a sudden, and after an unknown length of time, it barely moved, squeezing a few words out of its shriveled throat, “I could start with plane geometry…”

“You dare to try even the god of wisdom, it looks like you’re really desperate,” Lawrence shook his head, his curiosity piqued, “But why are you so afraid? According to the records, you are an abomination prone to losing control, yet now you’re desperate to go back to your slumber?”

Abomination 077 didn’t answer, instead curling up in a corner of the small boat, nervously eyeing the green Flame Mark that burned quietly on Lawrence’s body.

Lawrence looked down at his own body, which still hadn’t returned to normal, then raised his head, “Is it because of this flame, or because of the power that stands behind this flame?”

Abomination 077 murmured gruffly, “Isn’t that obvious to you?”

“I didn’t expect that even an ‘abomination’ like you would recognize the reputation of the Homeloss,” Lawrence felt somewhat sentimental, “I saw the description of you in the documents, saying that after losing control, you possessed consciousness, you were able to converse with people, but I didn’t expect your consciousness to reach this extent… If you weren’t a mummy, I would have almost thought you were a human.”

Abomination 077 hung its head, seemingly resigned, and fell silent once again.

But Lawrence wasn’t concerned with this “sailor’s” reaction; he had countless mysteries to ponder, a peculiar out-of-control abomination was trivial compared to those enigmas.

So many unknowns, so many secrets.

How many years had it been since he had felt this way?

It seemed as if after parting with the Homeloss, the adventurer Lawrence had disappeared from this world, and the unknown and distant had become vocabulary of memory, until now–

The moment he saw the Homeloss again, the spirit of the adventurer Lawrence awoke once more from deep within an old captain’s heart.

He looked up to see that the towering hull of the Homeloss was now only a few meters away from the small boat. He maneuvered closer, stopping at a familiar spot in his memory, and took up the oar to knock against the hull.

A rope ladder was thrown down from above, landing on the prow of the small boat.

Lawrence turned around to look at abomination 077 huddled in the corner.

“Come aboard, sailor.”

Abomination 077, quite reluctantly, got up, lowering its head, “Yes, Captain.”