Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 539 - Chapter 539 Chapter 540 To the Moon

Chapter 539: Chapter 540: To the Moon Chapter 539: Chapter 540: To the Moon Lucia slithered several meters across the deck–the scene unfolded so suddenly that Duncan had no time to grasp what had happened.

Not until the “Witch of the Sea” scrambled up in a panic did he hurriedly release the piece of paper in his hand.

That colorful piece of paper “whooshed” away and swiftly burrowed into Lucia’s hair, while she remained somewhat dazed, standing in place with no discernible expression on her face.

She might have been stunned by the fall.

“Lucy…” With the embarrassment that could bore a hole in the deck and a subtle apology, Duncan carefully approached the bewildered witch, “Are you all right?”

Lucia jolted as if she had finally shaken off her daze from the fall, then slowly turned her head. Her face shifted from blankness to shock, and with an incredulous look at Duncan, she broke the silence, “How did you do that?”

“Ah?” Duncan didn’t quite catch on, “Do what?”

“You caught the… ‘shadow’…” Lucia hesitated as she spoke, seemingly struggling to articulate this overly abstract matter. Then she lifted her arm; from her fingertips, a part of her arm rapidly disintegrated into colorful flying paper pieces, which circled around her, “Can you try again for me to see?”

With confusion, Duncan reached out and casually grabbed a piece of the colorful paper.

The next second, the fluttering confetti abruptly “collapsed” back into Lucia’s arm, and her face registered another shock.

“This is incredible!” The witch’s eyes widened at Duncan, “Nothing like this has ever happened before. Can you tell me how you did it?”

Seeing his makeshift “daughter” seemingly ignited with the passion of a researcher, Duncan was completely clueless about what had transpired. He frowned at the colorful piece of paper in his hand, puzzled, “Is it that difficult? They’re just pieces of paper flying around…”

“They can’t be caught, Daddy,” Lucia spread her hands, “If the Phantom Wind could be disrupted by someone catching a piece of paper, how could I use it as my most frequent transition method–these are all illusions, which theoretically can penetrate any barrier…”

“I didn’t know that,” shrugged Duncan, “I just saw these papers and was curious to grab one and have a look, sorry… Did you get hurt? Bump anywhere?”

Lucia was momentarily taken aback.

It seemed like years had passed since she last heard someone show concern for her with that tone.

Ever since she became the powerful “Witch of the Sea,” a curse feared by many, and the captain of a Ghost Ship, she hadn’t heard such words anymore.

It felt a bit awkward for her.

“I… I’m fine,” her expression strange, she shook her head while trying to suppress the embarrassment in her heart and divert her attention with thought, “You can catch illusions… Is that one of your powers now? What is its essence? Is it a deep understanding of the world? Or is it due to the influence of subspace?”

Lucia truly plunged into thought, her instinct to explore the unknown seemingly making her instantly forget the embarrassment as she murmured, “…Could it be that in the ‘layer’ of Subspace, there is actually no distinction between the physical and the illusions of the real world? Everything in this world in front of Subspace is an ‘idea’… Is Claus Divens’ theory correct? All things are ‘concepts’ and form a consistent projection in Subspace…”

Duncan listened to the witch’s mutterings and finally couldn’t help interrupting her, “Lucy… You can study this some other time.”

The “witch” snapped out of her rumination but still stared at Duncan with wide, unblinking eyes.

Duncan, however, looked down at the colorful paper in his hand, his mind swirling with thought.

He hadn’t expected that these dazzling papers were such a special “thing,” and seeing Lucia’s reaction, his own act was clearly enough to be considered “shocking.”

He had caught the illusion–but Duncan knew he didn’t have the ability to catch illusions.

He just didn’t know these papers were illusions.

His thoughts undulated, and past events and speculations emerged in his memory, some “things” surfaced in Duncan’s mind–fish.

After an indeterminate silence, he suddenly murmured as if talking to himself, “Its essence… perhaps is ‘I don’t know’…”

Lucia heard her father’s mutter but was totally puzzled, “What are you saying? Are you saying you don’t know the essence of this ability?”

Duncan came to his senses, his mouth opening as if to explain something to his “daughter,” but after several hesitations, he shook his head.

“It’s another meaning, but I don’t know how to explain it to you–Lucy, we’ll talk about it another time, we have other things now.”

He turned away, looking at the majestic “light wall” that had reached the bow of the Brilliant Starship, exuding a heavy sense of oppression.

“Take me to see that stone sphere first.”

Lucricia nodded but didn’t leave. Instead, she stood still, looking at her father with a tangled and complex gaze.

Duncan furrowed his brows in confusion, “Is there something else?”

Lucricia hesitated for a moment, then carefully raised her hand to point, “Can you… please give that back to me first?”

Duncan looked down and realized he was still holding the colorful paper fragment that had split off during the “experiment.”

His face stiffened for a moment, and as he released his grip, he apologized, “Ahem, sorry.”

The paper fragment floated up and quickly burrowed into Lucricia’s arm, replenishing a spot that had been dim and colorless with new hues.

“The Sea Witch” watched this scene with a slightly peculiar expression, then nodded at Duncan and turned to transform into a flurry of colorful papers, preparing to fly toward the bridge–but not even half a meter out, she stopped and coalesced back into form, turning her head to look back at Duncan uneasily, “Don’t grab it this time, okay?”

Duncan’s face turned embarrassed, “…Of course.”

Lucricia nodded again, turned to leave, but unsurely turned back, “If you’re curious, let’s agree on it next time before experimenting, really, don’t grab it.”

Duncan spread his hands with a helpless smile, “Definitely won’t grab it, I’m no child.”

Lucricia made an “Oh” sound but lingered in hesitation as she turned, finally sighing, “I might as well walk…”

And so, the witch walked all the way to the distant bridge.

Duncan watched her receding figure with a strange expression, finally unable to refrain from reflecting within himself:

It’s a good thing Master Taran El, out of nervousness, didn’t dare to come up on deck with me and is now lying in his room recuperating; otherwise, the scene here would be more than just fatherly love and awkwardness.

The “Sea Witch” might choose to silence him outright–then Taran El would truly die on this ship.

Duncan’s mind was swirling with these jumbled thoughts. He took a deep breath, and his mind gradually calmed. Simultaneously, the Brilliant Starship, under its captain’s personal control, subtly adjusted its angle and then sailed straight into the magnificent “light screen.”

Like some sort of tangible crystal yet having no sense of obstruction, the pale gold “sunlight” filled the view, gradually engulfing the Brilliant Starship.

Duncan stood at the end of the forward deck, calmly watching the “sunlight” surge toward him, enveloping him completely.

He contemplated the nature of this sunlight, slightly lifting his hands as if to feel its “touch.”

On the way here, he had heard Lucricia talk about many details related to the “luminous fallen object,” and learned that during the solar extinguishing period, this luminous geometric body constantly emitted systematic “light signals.” There was a lot of information–however, not a single piece could explain the “moon” at the center of the luminous geometric body.

Duncan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Some tiny shadows appeared in his field of vision.

These were the research stations set up by the Elves at the center of the luminous geometric body, as well as the nearby… mysterious orb.

The research station was a two-story building constructed on a floating platform, and the stone orb was just a few meters away, connected by temporary bridges and numerous cables to ensure the platform’s stability.

As the distance shrank, more and more details on the “orb” came into Duncan’s sight.

Now, he had confirmed it in the real world.

Those familiar patterns, the play of light and dark on plains, basins, and crater structures, which had frequented his recent memories, seen in books and online more than once–the Moon.

“It really is it…”

A complex emotion that was indescribable spread through him–it wasn’t shock since Duncan was already past shock, nor was it bewilderment, for he had been pondering in confusion well before today.

At this moment, he simply confirmed, witnessed a matter that had long entangled him, a strange truth he couldn’t understand or accept, which had come before him in an indisputably real way.

The Brilliant Starship slowed down, and under Lucricia’s control, the ship–a Ghost Ship alive just like the Homeloss–finally stopped with incredible precision just meters away from the stone orb.

Duncan went to the edge of the deck, where he could even make out any fine lines on the surface of the stone orb.

He became more certain that this sphere, about ten meters in diameter, had an astonishing “fidelity.” It was so detailed and aligned with the “Moon’s” surface features that it didn’t seem at all like the “miniaturized model” he had first imagined.

It seemed to be the real “Moon,” just “compressed” to this size.