Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 241 “Other Side”

An entire continent hung inverted and gradually drifted overhead, casting a vast and gloomy shadow that obscured four-fifths of the view. The overwhelming sensation it produced was astonishing, so much so that even Duncan felt smothered in that moment, fighting the urge to look away.

But he resisted the temptation to avert his gaze and instead compelled himself to continue observing the suspended celestial fragment.

Duncan was unsure of what was happening, how he arrived here, or how to return – but it was precisely for this reason that he needed to scrutinize any unusual scenes and collect useful information.

Was the suspended celestial debris real? Or merely a horrifying illusion? Was it the remnants of a shattered world? Or just an object deformedly projected in the warped spacetime of subspace?

The floating landmass glided slowly on an inclined path, drawing nearer to the Vanished. Duncan grew anxious as he realized that the ship beneath him seemed to be moving along the edge of the “continent,” with the potential for a collision!

As the landmass approached and the stern of the Vanished was about to graze the edge of a fractured mountain, Duncan suddenly felt a quiver beneath his feet on the deck.

Soon after, he thought he heard a faint, ghostly wail emanating from somewhere, accompanied by eerie creaking and groaning sounds from various parts of the ancient ghost ship, breaking the silence of the Vanished. The next second, the massive hull beneath him began to turn slightly – narrowly avoiding a collision between the Vanished’s upper structure and the jagged mountain peak.

Astonished, Duncan observed the movement on the ship, listening as the spectral cries and creaking noises gradually faded into silence. Suddenly, he spotted something in his peripheral vision and looked up at the fractured mountain peak at the edge of the inverted continent.

It was a cliff, a jagged cliff as if violently torn apart, and a colossal humanoid creature leaning against it – “he” was nearly as tall as the mountain, with slender, pale limbs and a misshapen, swollen head. A single, large eye was set in the pockmarked face, half-open and half-closed, with an opaque liquid seeping from it, solidifying into amber-like droplets midair.

This one-eyed giant had clearly been dead for an indeterminate amount of time, but “his” remaining body still seemed to radiate an enthralling aura of power and oppression. There were no visible injuries on “him,” as if “he” had perished from exhaustion, and up to the moment of death, “his” hands were pressed against the cliff behind him, fingers deeply embedded in the rock.

The colorless black continent and the pale, one-eyed giant who died on the cliff’s edge, in this disordered, dim subspace, under the lengthy “lightning” illumination, left a deep impression on Duncan’s mind.

Eventually, the persistent flash of light started to fade – it traversed the center of the continent and gradually dissipated. In Duncan’s view, the floating landmass slowly retreated into darkness.

However, he continued to gaze upward, knowing that the continent had not entirely vanished, and its last bit of structure was leisurely floating over the Vanished. He felt as though he could hear the low rumble of the heavy and massive object slowly compressing overhead – even though he knew it was merely his imagination, the rumbling illusion still echoed in his mind, like the final lament of a dead world lingering in subspace.

Duncan finally shifted his gaze, taking in the vast chaos beyond the ship’s rail.

Occasionally, flashes of light and turbulent currents cut through the darkness. In this dark and chaotic void, those flashes and currents sporadically illuminated various shapes, ranging from large to small indescribable shadows.

Duncan took a gentle breath, glanced down at the ship beneath his feet – the Vanished, which was entirely different from the one he knew, exuding a sense of brokenness throughout.

He closed his eyes briefly, attempting to communicate with the ship, just as he had connected with the intact Vanished in the real world, in order to understand this ghost ship floating in subspace.

But in the next instant, his eyes snapped open.

He couldn’t sense the ship – it wasn’t that he couldn’t communicate, but rather that he couldn’t feel the ship’s existence at all!

The moment his perception expanded, it felt as though the ship beneath his feet had vanished, leaving no deck, mast, or cabin. He even felt as if he was adrift alone in this vast chaos, the intense feelings of emptiness and disorientation that followed disrupting his focus.

Duncan stared at the ship’s structure in disbelief, stepping on the deck as if he couldn’t accept that the ship carrying him was merely an illusion.

Or… was he the “illusion”?

Duncan’s mind raced for a moment, then he shook his head and walked towards the hatch leading to the lower deck.

He resolved to carry on with his initial exploration plan.

Regardless of the ship’s true nature or why it appeared “non-existent” to his perception, it was still transporting him and had demonstrated no intent to expel or harm him as the “captain.” This provided Duncan with the motivation and confidence to continue exploring.

He descended the steps and entered the spacious cabin below the deck.

After opening several cabins in succession, they all revealed the same dilapidated scene, with dubious black stains covering the walls and ceilings, and all the rooms were empty – some rooms were distinctly filled with items in Duncan’s memory, but now only broken walls and pillars remained.

He even specifically sought out Alice’s cabin, which, naturally, was also empty – for some reason, this actually gave him a sense of relief.

He would rather not encounter familiar people or objects in this eerie and terrifying place.

After leaving Alice’s room, Duncan proceeded through the crew area and dining area, heading deeper into the cabin.

When he reached the central warehouse, he hesitated for a couple of minutes in front of the stairs leading to the lower levels.

In the real-world Vanished, he had explored those areas, knowing that the cabins of light and shadow inversion lay below, and even deeper, the “broken bottom” – but during that exploration, he had a special lantern with him.

That lantern could help him extend his perception and reveal the twisted and dangerous corners of the cabin in advance.

But here, he hadn’t found that lantern.

Nevertheless, after a moment of hesitation, Duncan decided to press on.

The situation here had changed so drastically compared to the real dimension that even if he found the lantern, it might not prove useful in the rooms below. Moreover, the primary function of the lantern was to enhance his perception. However, in his perception, this ship didn’t exist at all, so what would be the point of expanding his perception further?

Duncan simply raised his sword, lightly running his finger through the air above the blade. A faint green flame ignited along the edge, casting limited light.

Using the sword as a source of illumination, he cautiously descended the stairs and moved forward.

A dark, expansive cabin came into view.

This was the “light and shadow inverse” cabin. In the real dimension, this cabin was filled with oil lamps, but the relationship between the light from the lamps and the darkness in the cabin corners was inverted. The brighter the light, the darker the corners became, and vice versa.

Duncan looked around.

There was no light and shadow inversion here; only a uniform, chaotic dimness. The spiritual flame burning on the sword’s blade didn’t activate any light and shadow inversion mechanism, but instead illuminated the surroundings normally.

“…This place is much more normal.”

Duncan couldn’t help but murmur softly as he cautiously navigated the empty space, moving forward until another staircase came into view.

This staircase led to the bottom of the Vanished, a place filled with shattered fragments.

Duncan took a deep breath and stepped down, coming towards a door that appeared at the end of the staircase.

He instinctively glanced up at the door frame, remembering that a phrase had been written on this door, signifying that it was the last door to the bottom of the cabin.

Yet, there was nothing on the door frame.

No warning for future generations, no guidance for the path ahead, just an ordinary wooden door, slightly ajar, as if inviting visitors to enter.

Duncan wasn’t overly surprised, simply looking away as he gripped the burning sword in one hand and slowly pushed the door open with the other.

Beyond the door was another dim area, an old and broken cabin.

But it was intact.

Upon entering, Duncan immediately noticed the complete cabin walls surrounding him. Although worn and shabby, there were no gaps in the walls, and the scene outside the walls was invisible.

The bottom of the ship in the real dimension was fragmented, but the bottom here was still intact?

Duncan felt an odd sensation in his heart as he continued to walk forward. After a few steps, he suddenly halted.

In the dim depths of the cabin ahead, an ancient, weathered door stood in midair.

Duncan’s heart raced, and he quickly approached, the door’s appearance becoming clearer.

It was identical to the door at the bottom of the Vanished in the real dimension!

Duncan reached the door, observing at first glance that it was slightly open, revealing a small gap.

Through the gap in the door, he could vaguely see the scene on the other side.

It was a fragmented cabin, with dim lights hovering within.

Duncan abruptly turned his head, examining the place where he was standing.

An ancient, broken cabin, dim and dusty, abandoned for who knows how long – it was just like the scene he had glimpsed through the door’s gap when he first explored the bottom of the Vanished with Alice.

Duncan finally confirmed his initial suspicion:

He was on the “other side” of the door.