Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 574 - Chapter 574 Chapter 573 Sailing Through Darkness and Fog

Chapter 574: Chapter 573: Sailing Through Darkness and Fog Chapter 574: Chapter 573: Sailing Through Darkness and Fog With a loud bang, the heretic suddenly spat blood and was sent flying ten meters away until he finally stopped upon hitting the trunk of a towering tree and slump to the ground like a broken sack.

The last expression in his eyes was one of profound bewilderment and confusion–perhaps in his lifetime, he had envisioned various formidable enemies and pitfalls, but he probably never imagined that one day he would be flung away by a dog.

Sherry, holding the dog’s leash, slowly approached the heretic who was unable to move even a finger, stopping at a safe distance.

The heretic was still alive–or more accurately, in this “Dreamscape,” a blow that would have been fatal in the real world seemed insufficient to kill him. Although his head was nearly smashed into his neck and most of his joints were horribly twisted, he was still alive, weakened to the point of immobility, his eyes filled with anger mixed with a trace of fear.

Sherry ignored his terrifying gaze, slightly lifted the leash in her hand, and the dog stepped forward, approaching the heretic.

“Who exactly are you…” the heretic uttered with difficulty from his throat, his eyes fixated on the ghastly Abyssal Hound that moved closer to him, a hint of fear finally starting to show uncontrollably, while nearby, the “death crow” that was symbiotically linked to him also struggled briefly as if trying to resist but soon calmed down due to its partner’s extreme weakness, making his voice sound even more bluffed, “What are you going to do?!”

“This is a Dreamscape, and I won’t be able to catch you once we’re back in the real world,” Sherry’s face slowly formed a smile, she raised the arm intertwined with the leash, gently rubbing the dark chain across her face maintaining her harmless expression, “and if we meet unawares in real life and I don’t notice in time, it could get dangerous, so I need to leave a mark…”

“Mark…?”

The heretic lying on the ground was momentarily stunned, and the next second, he saw the Abyssal Hound that had come closer suddenly open its mouth wide, its ghastly skeletal teeth mercilessly biting down–he only had time to scream in terror as excruciating pain almost shredded his consciousness, his arm was torn into bloody flesh by the Abyssal Hound.

“I’ve remembered your scent now, we’ll catch you in the real world–” the dog raised its head, its eyes filled with blood, staring intently at the wailing heretic, a hoarse and deep voice came from the skeletal chest, “Capture you alive, He will reward us…”

The wailing stopped abruptly, the heretic’s eyes widened, staring hard at the ghastly Abyssal Hound in front of him, his mouth agape, not sure if he was stunned that the Profound Demon could speak human language or if it was the last sentence he heard that filled him with immense fear and danger–“He will reward…” Who exactly are this strange girl and this eerie demon, and who is the “He” they mentioned?

The next second, the heretic’s figure began to fade and distort, and in almost a breath’s time, his figure vanished from before Sherry and the dog.

“He really escaped,” the dog turned its head, shaking it from side to side, its tone somewhat helpless, “Must be his accomplices in the real world sensed something and forcefully ‘pulled’ him out… We can’t stop this kind of mental Transition.”

“It’s okay, didn’t you remember his scent?” Sherry waved her hand, then asked seriously, “Can you really find him in the real world?”

“Don’t stray too far–if that guy happens to appear within my sensing range, I can definitely track him down,” the dog muttered gruffly, “Abyssal Hounds are the best demons at tracking; he can’t erase the mark I left.”

“That’s good,” Sherry immediately breathed a sigh of relief, “It would be great if we could really capture him alive, even if just enough for a couple of scrolls…”

The dog ignored Sherry’s rambling in the latter part of her sentence, it raised its head, hearing the chaotic wind and noise from all directions in the forest, witnessing the trees far away turning transparent and dimming by patches, signs that the Dreamscape was about to disintegrate were becoming increasingly apparent.

Clearly, something was influencing this Dreamscape–it was about to awaken.

…

A sound seemed to come from the darkness, sounding like the chaotic wind howling, breaking branches at the treetops as it swept through the woods, but upon closer listening, it seemed only a figment.

Duncan had no extra energy to pay attention to these vague noises coming from the darkness, as he was completely captivated by the unbelievable scene before him.

It was indeed the Homeloss–after spreading his perception into the depths of that vine, in the heart of this darkness and fog, he indeed saw that familiar “Ghost Ship.”

But why? Why would the Homeloss appear here?

Duncan moved closer, observing the “Homeloss” as it seemed to float on a pitch-dark surface of water, the dense darkness cloaking its lower half like it was swallowing it, and on its towering deck, the entire ship was utterly still, with no sounds coming across.

After some hesitation, he “flew” onto the deck of the “Homeloss.”

In this darkness, he moved purely as a “perspective,” which afforded him sufficient convenience.

The deck was deserted, everywhere he looked were old, familiar scenes.

Following the route from his memory, Duncan slowly surveyed the deck’s facilities and nearby cabins.

Everything was exactly as he remembered.

But he knew this wasn’t the real Homeloss, nor was it some projection of the Homeloss–because he didn’t feel that close connection with “this ship,” he didn’t receive feedback from the flames.

This ship was created by some other force.

The dark once again carried faint sounds of wind and noise, and this time, they were a little more noticeable than before.

Duncan focused on the sounds emanating from the depths of the darkness, then headed to the stern deck area, stopping in front of the captain’s quarters.

His gaze lifted suddenly, and he froze.

On the doorframe, a line of unfamiliar words was inscribed–“May He Wander in the Dreamscape.”

Wasn’t it “The Door of the Displaced”?

Duncan felt a moment of astonishment because he clearly remembered that above the door to the captain’s quarters were the words “The Door of the Displaced,” and this door was the only passage to his “studio apartment”… Every aspect of this “Homeloss” deep in the dark fog was as he remembered, so why were the words above this door different now?

He shifted his gaze from the doorframe and looked at the door panel–the next second, the door seemed to open silently as if inviting him in.

The familiar captain’s quarters appeared before him, with dim yellow lights lit; all furnishings and the goat’s head on the edge of the navigation table were visible under the light.

Goat’s head?

Duncan’s mind stirred suddenly.

He remembered that when he first mistakenly entered the Subspace, on that damaged “Homeloss” on one side of the Subspace, he hadn’t seen a goat’s head, and in his studio apartment, that “model Homeloss” also did not feature a goat’s head.

The presence or absence of the goat’s head seemed to be a subtle yet critical “divergence” between the various “versions” of the Homeloss.

With a series of conjectures and memories flashing through his mind, Duncan had already stepped through the doorway of the captain’s quarters and cautiously approached the navigation table, his eyes focusing on the black “wood carving” on the edge of the table.

The goat’s head rested quietly on its pedestal, like a real wood carving, motionless and unresponsive to the “captain’s” approach.

Of course, this could also be because Duncan’s presence here was merely a “viewpoint” and not a perceptible entity.

Duncan did not attempt to disturb the goat’s head on the table but continued to observe carefully.

Soon, he discovered another anomaly.

The sea chart on the table–it should have been a chart recording the routes traveled by the Homeloss across the Endless Sea, documenting known City-States and routes; however, it now depicted a completely unfamiliar “map”!

It looked like a forest viewed from the air, the holographic-like landscape included undulating mountain ridges, enormous plant structures, and oddly architectural sites scattered throughout the dense forest, symbolizing the semi-transparent icon of the Homeloss floating above this miniature projection, slowly moving through the forest.

Filled with profound astonishment, Duncan stared at the strange “sea chart” for a long time.

He obviously couldn’t recognize any reference-worthy information from this entirely unfamiliar map, but he remembered another strange sea chart he had seen on the “damaged Homeloss” in the Subspace before.

On that Homeloss navigating through Subspace, the sea chart also presented an eerie scene: chaotic, misaligned unknown sea areas filled with jumbled and strange navigation records.

Now, here on this Homeloss emerging from the dark fog, he was seeing another inexplicable “sea chart” — this time… it even showed that the ship was navigating through a forest?!

This notion alarmingly sprung into his mind–

How many different “versions” of the Homeloss are simultaneously navigating through various dimensions, charting different routes?!

While this bizarre thought emerged in Duncan’s mind, a slight creaking noise suddenly came from nearby, interrupting his wild speculations.

He instantly turned his gaze toward the direction of the sound.

The black goat’s head at the edge of the navigation table was slowly turning its neck, directing its gaze this way.

In the Obsidian-crafted pitch-black eyes, a hint of awareness seemed to gradually emerge.

The next second, Duncan heard a hoarse, deep voice enter his ears–

“Who is there…”