Ashes Of Deep Sea-Chapter 368 - 372 Deeply Lost
Chapter 368: Chapter 372: Deeply Lost
Chapter 368: Chapter 372: Deeply Lost
On the way back to the cathedral, Agatha was deeply troubled.
Clarifying the correctness of the “Second Waterway” for exploration was arguably good news for her, but the identity of that mysterious entity remained shrouded in enigma, preventing her from finding any peace of mind—of course, it was now certain that this entity was quite friendly toward the Frost City-State, but as the guardian leader of the city-state, she had to look at things in the long term.
Any upper Transcendent’s gaze upon the mortal world was not without reason; in some sense, their “gaze” was a disturbance with tangible effects. Just how long would that mysterious “Visitor” continue to watch over this place? What long-term impact might His prolonged stay have on Frost? Would the people living in the city-state change under this influence? Did that entity understand the impact? Or… did He simply not care?
The small steam core emitted a deep and powerful growl, and the vehicle driven by mechanical gears passed through the city-state’s ancient streets. The scenery on either side of the street receded in the corner of the eyes. The vehicle passed another intersection, slowing down a bit.
A subordinate’s voice came from the front driver’s seat, “My Lord, shall we return directly to the cathedral?”
Agatha lifted her head, her gaze through the window looking in the direction of the cathedral.
As usual, the Silent Sanctum quietly overlooked the entire city-state.
The heart of Frost was a mountain, a roughly conical mountain that towered in the hinterlands of the city-state. Below it lay the boiling gold mines that brought endless wealth to the city, while both the Silent Sanctum and the city hall were located at the top of that mountain—both large buildings stood at the highest point of the city-state, visible from any corner of the city.
At least one of them was.
The cathedral’s towering solemnity stood out against the backdrop of the sky, imbued with Holiness, and the city hall opposite it was also quite a magnificent structure—during the Queen’s era half a century ago, it was actually a palace. Officially, it was called the “Winter Court,” but more people simply referred to it as the Queen’s Palace.
In that now taboo era, the Winter Court and the Silent Sanctum loomed over the city-state like twin siblings, filled with magical colors in classic stories that portrayed them as two symbolic guardians—the Church protected the city’s night, while the Royal House protected the city’s daylight, supporting each other.
But in truth, today’s situation was almost the same, with the worldly power represented by the city hall still guarding the city—only the Queen’s era had ended.
Agatha was somewhat distracted. Unconsciously, she stared at the mountain, the mountain she had seen countless times, and the two structures on its peak like crowns. She saw them as two giants standing on the summit, while the various houses and factories arrayed along the mountainside seemed like blood spilling from the insides of giants, meandering down the terrain.
Her eyes felt a bit stinging.
“Gatekeeper, are we returning to the cathedral?”
The subordinate’s voice came again from the front, jolting Agatha out of her reverie. She blinked her eyes, feeling as if there was a slight buzzing in her ears, but the next second, this lingering buzz and the memory of a moment ago quietly disappeared.
“No, let’s head to the sewage treatment center first,” Agatha shook her head. “That ‘fake’ that disappeared in the washroom is truly concerning, I must see it with my own eyes.”
“Understood.”
The steam core hummed cheerily again, and the vehicle took a neat turn at the intersection, heading towards the road leading to the sewage treatment center.
…
The sky was covered with thick clouds, and the dim Sky Light floated weakly among them, appearing indistinct and unclear. In the distance was the Endless Sea and a slight mist floating above its surface.
Lawrence stood at the prow of the White Oak, furrowing his brows as he gazed at the distant view—a view that had not changed for a long time.
He turned back, seeing that in the other direction, the sea was nothing but an endless expanse, with no other ships in sight, and no trace of any city-state.
A biting cold wind blew across the deck, stirring the hem of his clothes and his temples’ white hair. Lawrence’s brows had been furrowed for quite some time.
“How long have we been away from Frost?” he suddenly turned and asked the first mate standing beside him.
“One day and one night, Captain,” responded the first mate promptly, “We’ve been at full speed this whole time.”
“Something’s not right… Why do I always feel like we’re just sailing in circles…” Lawrence’s expression was grave as he looked up at the chaotic Sky Light above, then as if suddenly remembering something, “Can we receive signals from other city-states or ports nearby with the wireless?”
“We can,” the first mate nodded, his expression also serious, “But we only receive signals from Frost.”
Lawrence took a deep breath, “What’s the content?”
“Welcome message,” the First Mate slowly said, “Welcome to Frost,’ repeating the message over and over.”
Lawrence furrowed his brows, silent. After a moment of quiet, the First Mate muttered under his breath, “It’s like… we’re still circling around Frost.”
“Clearly, we’ve been trapped in these waters,” Lawrence said in a low voice, “What’s the state of the crew right now?”
“Everyone’s realized something’s off, but all are still calm,” the First Mate glanced back towards the deck, where sailors were busy with their tasks, “They’re a good bunch—we’ve dealt with strange occurrences on the Endless Sea before, but everyone believes you’ll lead us out, so no one’s come to bother.”
Lawrence didn’t speak, just lifted his head to look again at the chaotic and obscure sky.
The First Mate noticed the Captain’s somewhat strange behavior and couldn’t help asking, “What are you looking at?”
“I…” Lawrence rubbed his temple, feeling a sense of haziness in his head as if he had forgotten something important, “I’m thinking about our course.”
“Course?”
“Yes, the course,” Lawrence squinted his eyes shut then opened them again, pondering over what exactly he had forgotten, murmuring as if to himself, “Do you feel like… we’ve forgotten something? Is our current course… in need of adjustment?”
The First Mate paused, then unconsciously blurted out, “Adjust the course? You mean the Observatory? Has the navigator…”
“Wait, no, not the Observatory,” Lawrence suddenly interrupted the First Mate. He seemed to be waking up bit by bit from a long dream, “The Observatory is for calibrating the route under special circumstances because it has pollution and can’t be used often. There should be a simpler, more common, and safer method to use during the day, to confirm the direction of the ship… There should be such a method…”
As Lawrence spoke, his speech became faster, and then, as if he thought of something, he suddenly turned and ran towards the captain’s quarters.
Confused, the First Mate still instinctively followed the Captain’s footsteps. He followed Lawrence back into the captain’s quarters and then saw him rummaging through the room. Eventually, he couldn’t help but ask, “What are you looking for?”
“Some kind of instrument, used in the daytime, to calibrate the course…” Lawrence said rapidly as he searched through his room. A strong impression kept reviving in his mind, and he felt he was on the verge of remembering, of knowing what he was looking for… Suddenly, his gaze landed on a table not far away.
There lay a small instrument, made up of a telescope tube and some peculiar scales.
Lawrence walked over slowly, picking up the small instrument with a puzzled expression, trying hard to recall its purpose.
After a moment, he thoughtfully took the small instrument and left the room, went out to the deck. With the First Mate watching in bafflement, he lifted the instrument, held it before his eyes, and aimed it at the sky.
“Captain, what are you doing?” asked the First Mate, curious.
Lawrence slowly lowered the instrument.
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A faint green light seemed to flash in his eyes for a moment, but neither he nor the First Mate standing across from him noticed.
The seasoned Captain’s face was filled with blankness and bewilderment—he locked eyes with the First Mate for a few seconds before speaking hoarsely, “Do you remember… in the sky, there being something that glowed and gave off heat, something accurate and punctual, floating above our heads, that could be used to help ships adjust their course during the day…”
The First Mate’s eyes gradually widened, some memories or impressions seemingly awakening in his mind.
Lawrence turned his head back again, looking at the muddled clouds and the obscure, indistinct Sky Light behind them—where the light seemed to be evenly scattered, with no clear sight of a strong, definite body of light existing within the clouds.
He took his gaze back, looking straight at his First Mate, “Where has the sun gone?”
The First Mate could only blankly repeat the Captain’s words, “… Where has the sun gone?”
“It’s not being lost at sea, not a lock-in, not a cyclic anomaly…” Lawrence muttered softly, “The White Oak has entered an abnormal space as a whole…”
The First Mate slowly lifted his head, looking out across the vast sea beyond the ship’s side, his gaze filled with bewilderment and fear.
But suddenly, he seemed to spot something.
There appeared a piece of land on the sea.
It was a small island.
