Chapter 232: “Tyrian’s Memory”

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After listening to Vanna’s story, Tyrian fell silent. Without witnessing the events firsthand, he couldn’t deduce from her account what plans the returning ghost from subspace had or how he had changed. One thing was certain: the “Captain Duncan” Vanna described was neither the insane monster the Sea Mist encountered half a century ago nor exactly the great explorer father Tyrian remembered from a century ago.

“Captain Tyrian,” Vanna interrupted his thoughts, “what do you think?”

“I… can’t believe this is really happening, but since it has, I have to accept it for now,” Tyrian said thoughtfully, furrowing his brows. “From your description, he seems to be sane, clear-headed, and humane, but his power… that cursed flame, it’s definitely stronger.”

Vanna nodded in agreement. “I don’t know if that green flame is a curse, but it is undoubtedly powerful.”

“That flame is connected to subspace,” Tyrian explained. “He acquired this strange power after falling into subspace, so calling it a curse is fair.”

“… So, the flame is stronger than what was seen fifty years ago, meaning Captain Duncan’s connection to subspace has deepened,” pondered old bishop Valentine. “He didn’t break free from subspace’s influence but delved deeper. Yet, he also recovered in the process?”

“This contradicts what we know about subspace,” Tyrian shook his head.

“The believers of Lahem often say,” Valentine continued, “the only thing we know about subspace is that we never know enough. For millennia, no one or thing from our dimension has entered subspace and returned. We only have indirect observations and writings from the mad scholars of ancient Crete… Our ‘rules’ about that place are essentially meaningless.”

The learned old man paused and sighed. “We can’t even be sure if subspace is a ‘place’. Sixteen hundred years ago, the mad scholar Bairmin was swallowed by invisible forces in front of everyone because he read an ancient scroll. Before disappearing, he shouted ‘subspace is a shadow on the world’s back,’ and his words drove 142 witnesses mad. Their madness, as a ‘sacrifice,’ gave us the biggest insight into subspace in thousands of years.”

“Scholars have since tried to build subspace model based on Bairmin’s last words… And your father not only entered that place but also returned sane.”

“That’s right, every year of research, every year of death, and the dead are quickly replaced to continue the study… I truly admire the desperate scholars of the Academy of Truth,” Tyrian sighed and shook his head. “So now my ‘father’ might be a valuable sample? A sample that’s been to subspace and is sane and communicative?”

Valentine spread his hands. “This is just wishful thinking. We can’t expect Captain Duncan to cooperate with mortal research. Even if he’s sane now, we can’t assume his reason favors humanity. A sane subspace invader is far more terrifying than those chaotic projections that can’t think.”

Tyrian fell silent, lost in deep memories and thoughts. Abruptly, he spoke, “He showed signs of anxiety before his last expedition. He had been anxious for a long time, preparing for something ominous.”

Valentine and Vanna exchanged serious looks. It had been a century since anyone heard these crucial secrets from Captain Duncan’s descendants.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Vanna asked, “What was he anxious about? Why was he preparing?”

“He believed it was the end of the world,” Tyrian replied calmly.

Valentine frowned. “The end of the world?”

“I know it sounds like the doomsday prophets we hear yearly, but that’s what the greatest explorer of his time was concerned about a hundred years ago,” Tyrian explained. Tyrian sighed and continued, “After Lucretia and I took command of the Sea Mist and Bright Star, he occasionally brought it up. He believed a countdown or time limit was ticking away in our world. Though the earthly world appeared stable and peaceful, this countdown was nearing its end. When the time came, everything would collapse and end. He thought our era was the last part of the countdown.”

Valentine furrowed his brows again. “Honestly, I don’t think our world is ‘stable’…”

“But my father called the current earthly world ‘the last pastoral age’,” Tyrian replied.

Vanna pondered briefly before asking, “So, to stop this ‘countdown,’ he went to subspace?”

“No, he wanted to find Anomaly 000. He believed it could end the world’s distortion and stop the countdown. To do this, he had to pass through the ‘eternal curtain’ at the world’s end.”

Valentine was taken aback. “He passed through the Eternal Veil?”

“Yes… But I can only confirm he entered the fog. I don’t know if he actually succeeded in ‘penetrating’ it,” Tyrian said. “He refused any escorts. All I know is he returned alive but insane. Falling into subspace… that happened afterward.”

Valentine and Vanna fell silent. After a while, Vanna spoke again, “Did he find the so-called Anomaly 000? You know, in theory…”

“In theory, there’s no anomaly or vision numbered zero. He knew that and didn’t find it,” Tyrian replied softly. “I always thought he might have been unstable even before deciding to search for Anomaly 000.”

Vanna thought a moment and asked, “Do you know what your father originally thought was the reason for the world’s ‘countdown’? When did he realize this? Was it due to contact or… did he discover something?”

Tyrian hesitated before speaking uncertainly, “I’m not sure. It was too long ago, but I vaguely remember my father receiving several visitors on the Vanished and talking with them all night. He first mentioned the apocalyptic issue after that day.”

Valentine’s expression turned grim as he pressed for more detail, “How many people did he receive? What kind of people were they, and what was the situation?”

Tyrian spoke slowly, “They all wore gray-white coarse cloth robes and were barefoot. From my memory, they appeared thin and scrawny, as if they had traveled long distances and worked hard. They came aboard during a voyage like they had an appointment with my father. They talked all night, and my father said they left in the morning. But I didn’t see them go. It was as if they disappeared into thin air.”

Valentine’s expression changed. “The Enders? It sounds like them…”

“Your Excellency, after living for a century, I know the Enders well,” Tyrian replied, shaking his head. “But these people were different. They were sensible and friendly, without any trace of madness.”

“Sensible and friendly?” Valentine was surprised. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Did they have any other distinguishing characteristics?”

After a few minutes of thought, Tyrian recalled, “One spoke to me. I can’t remember exactly what he said, but they called themselves ‘lowly seekers’. One wore a talisman with a hexagonal amulet and a fragmented cross in the center. He wouldn’t let me touch it and said it was their way of seeking guidance and shelter.”

Tyrian paused and drew the amulet on a piece of paper, hesitating slightly as he sketched the cross. Vanna frowned at the drawing and asked her peer, “Do you know what this is? You’re more knowledgeable than me.”

Valentine studied the pattern for a while before shaking his head. “I’ve never seen it before. It doesn’t resemble any religious symbol or classical city-state amulet I know.”

Vanna murmured in frustration as she gazed at the amulet, which seemed to reflect in her eyes alongside a faint green flame that was barely visible.

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