Deep Sea Embers.

Chapter 808: Island of Ashes
The huge shadows of the Lost Homeland and the Brilliant Star passed through the thick fog at the end of the world and sailed into a calm sea of ​​material existence. The destination of the voyage was clearly visible - it was right in front of them, a desolate land covered with ash floating on the sea.

Apart from that small piece of land that looked particularly desolate, there were no other landmark objects to be seen in the entire sea. There were only many clumps of floating ash floating on the mirror-like water surface. Under the chaotic light of the sky, those ash clumps floating on the water looked like... falling clouds.

The Homeless was sailing in a narrow channel formed by ash balls, slowly heading towards the desolate island in the distance. The sea surface outside the ship's side reflected the clouds and mist, and with its mirror-like texture, for a moment, Duncan even felt that the ship was sailing in the clear sky - floating mist and ash gathered around the two ships like clouds, and some dark grays looked like islands floating in the sky. The passing of the Homeless did not cause any ripples on the sea, but only slightly disturbed the nearby ash balls and mist, causing them to shatter and gather around.

Shirley lay on the railing of the ship's side, and looked at the scene on the sea in amazement with Agou. Although she had witnessed many incredible wonders with the Lost Homeland, every time she arrived at a node in the journey, she would still be involuntarily attracted by these incredible scenes.

"Agou... I've been feeling that my lack of vocabulary is really a problem lately," Shirley muttered in a low voice, as if she was afraid that the captain would hear her, but she didn't use the mental connection of the symbiotic contract, as if she still hoped that someone could hear her muttering, "All I can think of at this moment is 'shit', but this place is really beautiful..."

"I'll give you two more books?" Ah Gou shook his head slightly, "Why don't you finish reading those books you hid under the bed first?"

Shirley was shocked when she heard this, and quickly pressed Agou's head: "Shh——"

Duncan heard Shirley and Agou's whispers, but he didn't care about them. His attention was completely focused on the approaching land in front of him - as the distance got closer, he could now see many details of the island.

It was flat, desolate, and without any grass. It was a not very big isolated island. As the last sleeping place of a "god", it was not as magnificent as the temple of Queen Leviathan, nor as spectacular as the crystal cemetery of Pilot No. 2. There was not even a single building on the island. All that could be seen were ashes and dust, and some rising smoke.

With some inexplicable feeling, Duncan docked the Lost Homeland on the sea near the isolated island, and then took a small boat to the island.

This was the node of the fire, but the embers were clearly receding from the land - now all that could be seen here was the ubiquitous, warm ash, and dark red burn marks extending through the ashes, seemingly fading away every minute and every second.

Feeling the soft and loose ashes and the warm temperature under their feet, Duncan and his party landed on an open beach on the edge of the deserted island and moved cautiously towards the depths of the island.

There were no roads on the island, only fine ash covering everything. Everyone walked very carefully to avoid being tripped by gravel or other things under the ash - no one wanted to fall into the ash, especially when they were not sure what abnormal properties these "ashes" had.

"I feel like there's dust in my shoes... ahhh, there's dust all over my skirt too..." Shirley couldn't help but mutter after walking a short distance, "I'm going to take a good shower when I get home, there's dust everywhere!"

"...This place should have been full of raging fire. Only when the fire is burned out can such a scene be left behind," Lucrecia's voice came from the back of the team. The witch walked gracefully in the ashes, holding a gorgeous parasol in her hand. There was a breeze under the parasol, which prevented all the ashes from staining her. She looked into the distance, "There are still some smoke columns in the distance. The fire there may not have been completely extinguished, but for the entire island...it's just a few sparks."

Nina glanced at the witch who maintained her elegance even in such a place, and couldn't help but utter an envious voice: "Magic is so convenient..."

"Are you jealous? I have to stay up late every day for a century to get it." Lucrecia looked at Nina with a smile, then turned to look at Duncan and raised the parasol in her hand. "Do you need it? I have a spare umbrella - it can help you stay clean and breathe smoothly."

Duncan looked at the dust on his body, then raised his head to look at Lucrecia's fairytale-style lavender parasol, and his eyes twitched: "No need."

"I can change it to black for you," Lucrecia said seriously, "and it can even have a skull pattern on the handle if you like."

Before Duncan could even open his mouth, Shirley beside him suddenly had a flash of the captain walking on the road holding a dark Gothic-style parasol in her mind, and she almost got scared.

Duncan looked at Lucretia with a stern face and silently ignited the fire in himself.

His body turned into a spirit in the flames. He floated and walked above the ashes, and uttered in a deep voice: "I have my own way."

Lucrecia shrugged her shoulders and raised the corners of her mouth secretly when her father wasn't noticing. Shirley on the other side seemed to suddenly realize something and clapped her hands: "Yeah, I think I have my own way..."

Before she finished her words, there was a series of crackling sounds of bones exploding inside her body, and then pitch-black smoke enveloped her entire body. Hideous and bony bone fragments spread and grew from her body, and in the blink of an eye she transformed into a tall, dark demon - then she used the twelve skeletal limbs behind her to prop up her body and walked above the ashes.

"This is much better, and the view is better," Shirley's slightly mature and hoarse voice came from above. She used the end of her long limbs to poke the ashes on the ground and couldn't help muttering, "...I don't know why, I just don't like the ashes here. It's not that I think they are dirty, but I always feel that they feel weird and uncomfortable when they stick to my body."

Hearing Shirley's words, Nina, who was walking beside Duncan, also frowned and tugged at Duncan's sleeve: "I feel the same way. It's very uncomfortable when these ashes touch my body. I can't breathe and can't walk. It's like I'm entangled by something."

Duncan stopped immediately. Just now he had only found Shirley's behavior amusing, but now his expression had become serious.

"Do you feel this way?" He immediately turned around and looked at the other people in the team.

"No," Alice was the first to shake her head. Miss Doll even lowered her head to check her body and moved her joints. "I just feel the ashes getting into my joints. It's itchy. I'm going to take a good bath when I get back."

"I feel the same as Shirley and Nina," Morris said solemnly, "The environment here is not right... It's different from the realms of the Goddess of Storms and the God of Wisdom. It seems like something is 'moving' deep in these ashes, influencing us."

He paused, as if he was carefully judging something, and shook his head: "But I didn't sense any direct malice. It seemed to be just part of the 'environment' here."

Duncan frowned when he heard this and turned to look in another direction: "Vanna, what about you?"

no respond.

There was only endless ashes there, but Duncan was sure that just a moment ago, Vanna was still standing there - he even thought he saw her fleeting phantom, who had been standing there silently until just now.

The surroundings suddenly became quiet. Nina looked at the empty direction in astonishment, and a question almost subconsciously emerged in her mind: Who is Vanna?

But just as this question was about to take shape, a leaping flame appeared before her eyes, and then a large amount of information rushed into her mind as if awakening from a numb ice.

The youngest judge in Plande...strong power and firm belief...beautiful long silver hair...always meticulous when she first came aboard, but after getting to know her, she turned out to be a cheerful, optimistic and friendly person...seems to have some resentment about "not being able to get married"...very tall...

Nina looked up with a trace of bewilderment. The countless pieces of information swirling in her mind surged and reorganized. From time to time, she could see the image of Vanna in front of her eyes, but it turned into a pile of blurred fragments in an instant. She saw an invisible wind blowing across the island, and the light ashes were swept up by the wind. There was a tall figure vaguely visible in the wind.

The figure was walking towards the center of the island, as if walking in some parallel time and space, without looking back, like a traveler who had forgotten everything in the past and was on a long journey.

Nina woke up with a start and suddenly raised her hand to point at the figure that was quickly disappearing in the wind and ashes: "Over there! Vanna went over there! I just saw her walking over there!"

Everyone seemed to wake up and looked at each other in confusion. The fragmented memories of Vanna and the illusion that just appeared in the wind made it difficult for everyone to distinguish the surroundings from reality. At this moment, the captain's steady and majestic voice suddenly broke the "quagmire" that seemed to be sinking continuously, the reality and the illusion were entangled together, and the perception was sinking rapidly -

"Everyone return to the ship!"

The dark green flames spread out, burning a stable area in the ashes-covered open space. Morris looked up and saw a rotating flaming door opening next to Duncan, and Ai's figure hovering above the door.

"The 'ashes' here refer to the burned history," Duncan said quickly, "You should return to the ship immediately."

"What about you?" Nina was stunned for a moment and spoke subconsciously.

"...I have to bring Vanna back," Duncan said, looking up at the endless stretch of ashes in the distance, "and find Tarek."

(End of this chapter)