Chapter 213 “The Promised Ark”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.com

When Vanna heard the words “Get Lost,” she felt a sudden jolt akin to a static shock that coursed through her brain. The intensity of the feeling was inexplicable, leaving her unable to determine its origin. What she could discern, however, was its power as it intertwined with the surrounding fire and spread rapidly across the island.

She then locked eyes with “Captain Duncan,” who stood ominously behind the figure called the Ender. This wasn’t the same Captain Duncan she’d encountered in her dreams. This version of him appeared entirely engulfed in flames, resembling a spectral figure straight out of ghostly legends.

In the fleeting moments that followed, Vanna quickly deduced that this wasn’t the real Captain Duncan. Instead, it was a projection of him, created by her own powers as a “medium.” She could feel the potent energy coursing through her, a fire kindling deep within her, and a second voice echoing from within her very being.

Instinctively, she looked down at her hand and saw a tiny green flame clinging to her skin, crawling up her arm and onto a man’s limbs. In this moment, she understood the horrifying truth: the ghost captain had transformed her into a “node”, a conduit he could use to manifest himself in the city. The corruption and erosion of her being had been far more pervasive than she and her ally, Bishop Valentine, could ever have anticipated. All of this was building up to this very day…

Suddenly, her perception of the world shifted dramatically.

The ghostly green flame started to merge with the red fire, seeping into every trace of ash, swirling in every waft of smoke, breaking its confines, and permeating the entire city after lying dormant for who knows how long.

The situation escalated quicker than anyone could have anticipated. In fact, it seemed the groundwork for this had been laid long before the “actual invasion” commenced. Memories flooded back to Vanna of what she witnessed beyond the veil. She came to the chilling realization that the fires set by the Enders and the Suntists had inadvertently acted as conduits for the ghost captain’s ethereal flame. Their destructive actions had only amplified the ghost captain’s malevolent scheme.

Interrupting her thoughts, a heart-wrenching scream pierced the air. Turning towards it, Vanna saw the skeletal Ender, now consumed by the very same ghostly green fire.

In agonized torment, he cried out: “You fool! You’ve been so blind! By rejecting the gift of subspace, you’ve doomed yourself to endless torment in this world… Such foolishness!”

Yet, in stark contrast to the Ender’s enraged lamentations, the surrounding area of Pland was undergoing a transformation. Every entity touched by the spectral green flame was regenerating at an astonishingly rapid rate.

The cityscape underwent a miraculous transformation. Buildings that had been razed to the ground by the ferocious flames began to reform, brick by brick, restoring their original glory. Roads that had been split apart due to the intense heat now seamlessly mended themselves. The incendiary downpour ceased, and the ominous clouds that had blanketed the sky in darkness now dispersed, revealing a clear blue expanse above.

Soon after, the melodic chimes of bells, which had been silenced amidst the chaos, began to resonate once more throughout the city.

It was as Captain Duncan had commanded: he had told the distorted reality to vanish, and so it did.

Vanna’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she witnessed this surreal spectacle. But in no time, she grasped the essence of this restoration. The malevolent distortions introduced by the Enders and Suntists were being eradicated, their fabricated history being purged through Captain Duncan’s potent abilities.

She stared, spellbound, at the towering Captain Duncan, who stood at a distance, his gaze fixed on the Ender, who, despite his charred condition, continued to spew his deluded ramblings.

“Everything can be tainted, save for subspace…” Vanna whispered to herself.

Though the Ender’s body was grotesquely warped beyond human recognition, he wasn’t done. He shouted in disbelief, “Did you… transform the city-state into an extension of the Vanished?!”

“The Vanished is our envisioned sanctuary,” Duncan replied with a smirk, leaning forward to lock eyes with the deformed being. “If a ship that encounters the Vanished on the open seas becomes one with it, then what sets Pland apart? Why can’t Pland merge with it, just as any other vessel?”

As if to punctuate Duncan’s words, the distant clang of a ship’s bell echoed from the horizon.

Drawn to the sound, Vanna instinctively looked seaward. What she saw next was a sight so staggering that it would remain etched in her memory forever: a colossal black ship.

Emerging from the Boundless Sea was the Vanished, its sinister ghostly flames animating its ethereal sails.

The ship didn’t merely sail on water; it levitated, transcending the coast and floating above the now-healed port, making its way directly towards the city-state of Pland, which was enshrouded in the same ghostly green flames.

A feeble voice, barely more than a whisper, emanated from the ashen remnants of the Ender on the ground. “You might have salvaged the city… but you can’t prevent the sun’s descent… Even a mere fragment of its power, summoned from the annals of history, holds enough force… to obliterate… all…”

With those final words, the life force within the Ender was extinguished. His already decimated form disintegrated, scattering to the winds.

Upon hearing the Ender’s final, haunting words, Vanna felt a surge of anxiety and dread. She looked up at the looming “Black Sun” in the sky. It seemed like a gaping maw from some abominable abyss, threatening to consume the world below with its overpowering presence.

While the ethereal flames of the Vanished had successfully purged Pland of its historically tainted afflictions, the menacing sun was an entirely different beast. This wasn’t an inherent part of Pland’s history. Instead, it was a temporal projection summoned forth by the Enders, bolstered by the efforts of the Suntists. This sun was an entity of its own!

“There’s movement within the black sun!” Vanna shouted out to Captain Duncan, trying to alert him, despite their differences. “It’s about to…”

But before she could finish, Duncan gently dismissed her with a casual wave.

Vanna watched intently as the ghost captain turned to face the blasphemous sun hovering above. With an outstretched hand, as though summoning a long-lost friend, he spoke in a soothing, coaxing tone: “Come here… that’s it, don’t be afraid. You won’t fall. Keep moving just like we practiced. Remember how it felt to ride a bike? Just like that… Continue, and I’ve got you.”

Suddenly, a dazzling golden arc of flame seared across Vanna’s field of vision. It emanated from the sun and zipped toward Captain Duncan.

The sun seemed to have sustained a grievous wound as the flare departed. It was as if some colossal entity inside had been pierced straight through its heart. The sun’s surface was quickly riddled with blinding, branching cracks. Without a moment’s delay, a flood of dark green flames surged forward, infiltrating the sun through its newly created breach.

Then the turmoil within the sun began to wane as the green flames took over. Its once foreboding aura was now almost entirely snuffed out. Gazing at it now, one could even observe a massive rupture, from which a molten substance poured, only to be instantaneously consumed by the voracious green flames before they could even graze the city.

Amidst the cacophony of ear-splitting screams, furious roars, and thunderous detonations, the distorted sun began to disintegrate. All that remained were fragments and debris that drifted down, ultimately getting swallowed by the outer peripheries of the Vanished.

By this time, the gigantic ghost ship had navigated its way to the heart of the city, steadily drawing nearer to the cathedral’s towering bell tower.

And right then, as if on cue, Vanna heard the resonating chimes of bells. Looking down, she realized that the bell tower beneath her had been liberated from its historical contaminations. The mechanism responsible for tolling the bells had sprung to life, functioning autonomously once more.

The ethereal silhouette of Bishop Valentine began to materialize in the sky. It was the Bishop who had valiantly stood guard over the city-state until the very end. As his form solidified, it became evident that he had been successfully anchored back to reality. This was a clear indication that the destructive path history had been on had now been completely erased.

Yet, Vanna’s attention wasn’t fixed on the triumphant return of the Archbishop. Her eyes were riveted on Duncan, who was not too far away. Encircled by a dancing arc of golden flames, Duncan appeared both ethereal and commanding. With their radiant glow and warmth, the flames cast a gentle light on his face, softening the usually stern and regal expression he bore.

“I half-expected you to launch into one of your signature jump strikes,” Duncan remarked with a grin, his tone light and reminiscent of past conversations with Vanna. “Much like our previous encounters.”

Vanna replied tersely, “I don’t act without thought.”

Duncan chuckled, “Is that so? I was under the impression you had a penchant for such aerial moves. It seems every seasoned warrior finds it hard to resist the temptation of a dramatic leap towards their adversary.” He extended his hand, pacifying the flickering flames around him. With a nod to Vanna, he added, “Well, my task here is done. Until we meet again.”

Vanna, taken aback by his sudden departure, instinctively moved forward, protesting, “Hold on! You can’t just leave like…”

But Duncan had already begun his retreat. With a casual wave, he ascended into the sky beyond the bell tower’s platform. The immense silhouette of the Vanished moved alongside him, and there, on the ship’s deck near the rudder, stood another figure of Duncan, hands firmly gripping the helm.

The projection of Duncan, enveloped in ghostly flames, approached the ship and seamlessly merged with his other self.

Now unified, he stood confidently at the helm, steering the ghost ship. He then glanced down, locking eyes with Vanna one last time, offering her a warm, reassuring smile.

With that, the colossal ghost ship began to gain momentum. It gracefully soared above Pland’s skyline, making its way toward the coastline opposite the city-state, destined for the vast expanse of the Boundless Sea.

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