Chapter 315

Chapter 315: Deeply Shocked

General Belazov arrived at the Chamber.

The moment he stepped into the large building of reinforced concrete and stone foundations, the burly gray-haired soldier felt a solemn, heavy, and eerie air, as if something pressed down on him. That feeling came from the rune carvings he saw everywhere inside the building, and from the many closed doors along the halls.

The runes were part of the safety measures of this building. They were designed to resist supernatural forces from outside and keep unwelcome Visitors from entering. Behind each closed door lay a deep passage. At the end of such a passage might be the sealing room of some anomaly, or a warehouse of dangerous samples, or researchers who had fallen into a temporary madness, or ancient documents that were forbidden to touch yet could not be destroyed.

Walking inside this building felt like wandering in the crack between the Mortal Realm and a mad abyss. It felt like standing on some invisible front line, looking out at another treacherous world. Even an ordinary person with no supernatural power or gift of Spiritual Insight might feel their nerves tighten and the hair on their arms stand on end.

“…Are the safety measures here really enough to make sure ‘that thing’ does not cause trouble?”

General Belazov followed a military scholar who led the way. As they passed a black alloy gate, he could not help asking.

“The Chamber is the most secure building on Dagger Island. Every room here has its own security and supernatural barrier. Under every item with a danger level above three there is a direct shaft down to the Crucible. And even if we ignore all the supernatural barriers, this building alone, by its sheer structural strength, could withstand a full-force attack from a Saint-level enemy,” the scholar who led the way said with pride. “Unless some Elder Gods stretch their power into this place, it is absolutely safe.”

He paused, then went on: “And besides, even though ‘that thing’ feels strange in every way, it is much more ‘stable’ than we first thought. You could even say well-behaved.”

“Stable? Well-behaved?” General Belazov frowned and spoke without thinking.

“Yes, though it is not very strict to say it that way,” the scholar nodded. “That thing has been hanging in the center of the Chamber for many days. Usually, objects that strange show some sign of being ‘alive’. They affect their surroundings in one way or another. But it has never shown anything like that. It has not released any substance or leaked any power. It shows no traits beyond the dimension of the Mortal Realm. Even though the samples scraped from it have some odd physical traits, those traits are limited to the physical. Compared with most dangerous objects of the same level, it is as quiet as a rock.”

“…That is an interesting case. I will report it to the city-state’s governor.” General Belazov said it in passing.

A researcher in a blue coat came walking quickly from the other side and hurried past them. As he passed the general, he nodded to him in respect, but his steps did not slow.

From inside that blue coat came the faint sound of some soft-bodied creature squirming its limbs.

“Everyone here is in a hurry,” General Belazov said casually.

“Yes, the Chamber is like this every day—we do more than just analyze that diving bell,” the scholar guiding him said with a shrug. “We also have to monitor other things in the facility. Please do not mind everyone’s lack of manners.”

“It is fine. I do not care much about such rules,” the general said, then frowned slightly. “Is it just me? There seems to be a strange smell in here. I have smelled it since I came in. It is like the smell from some… aquatic creature.”

“This is Dagger Island’s bay—the ventilation system of the building is directly connected to the outside. It is normal to have a smell like that. Add to that the smell from disinfectant and the settling pools, and it is normal for you to smell all kinds of strange things,” the scholar said, then sighed. “We have always wanted to apply for funds to repair the vents, but the answer from above is always, ‘As long as it works.’”

The general made no comment on that. He only lifted his head and looked toward the end of the corridor.

Professor Merson was already standing at the doorway.

…

Tyrian took one last look at his coat and hair in the dressing mirror. Then he stepped away and walked over to a nearby shelf, where a few items lay.

He hesitated for a long time over what to take with him.

Should he bring his sword? His pistol? His amulet?

Weapons would likely be useless. He could not count on a single sword or pistol to keep him safe on the Vanished. Besides, he was going there as a guest. Bringing weapons would not only show bad faith, it might even anger his father.

The amulet did not have any real effect, but bringing it might offer some comfort. However, he did not know what his father’s attitude toward the Gods was now. Did his father hate them? Or just look down on them?

The greatest pirate lord on the Frost Sea was, for the first time, struggling this much over the simple act of “going out.”

He was going to the Vanished—he was going back to the Vanished.

That was where he had spent his childhood. Most of the warm memories in his life were there. The parts he did not want to recall or face were also there. After staying away for a full century, he now suddenly found that he could not even imagine what he would look like when he set foot on that ship again.

Just then, the voice of his first mate, Aiden, came from outside the door and cut off Tyrian’s thoughts: “Captain, are you ready?”

Tyrian frowned and shouted toward the door: “Almost. Don’t rush me.”

“I mean, you really should hurry,” Aiden’s voice came again, this time with clear tension in it. “For Her Majesty the Queen’s sake… the envoy is already here!”

The envoy was already here.

Tyrian froze, and only then noticed what was odd in Aiden’s tone. He hurried to the door and pulled it open.

Aiden’s voice was still going: “Captain, if you don’t open the door, I’ll… ah, thank the heavens, you finally opened it!”

Tyrian stared at the scene in the doorway.

His loyal first mate stood there with every muscle stiff. On top of Aiden’s smooth bald head stood a terrifying skeletal roc wrapped in green flames. The roc’s whole body threw off fire. Flecks of spirit form flame kept falling from it, now and then landing on Aiden.

In the bird’s chest, a brass spirit compass floated in midair. It was his father’s property.

Anomaly-022, Spirit Realm spirit compass.

“Captain, could you please stop staring and first let this bird get off my head…” Aiden’s voice shook. “These flames keep falling on me…”

The skeletal roc tilted its head, as if studying Tyrian carefully. Then it suddenly opened its beak and spoke in a strange female voice: “To Chenghua Avenue, across Twin Immortals Bridge… get on! Plenty of seats, big seats! Everyone move back a bit… peanuts, drinks, mineral water!”

Tyrian almost jumped at that string of calls. The first thought in his mind was:

[How could Father’s envoy sound like this?]

Then he began to wonder what those strange phrases were supposed to mean—but no matter how he thought about it, he could not figure it out.

He did notice that Aiden was about to faint.

“Let’s go,” Tyrian said, shaking his head. He forced all the random thoughts out of his mind and stopped thinking about how he should face his father once he reached the Vanished. Instead, he decided to leave everything to his ability to adapt on the spot. He looked at the eerie skeletal roc. “How are we—”

Before he could finish, the huge bird stomped on Aiden’s skull and sprang into the air. Then it dove down from above. With a rush of cold green flame filling his sight, Tyrian heard a strange shout right beside his ear: “Your dad’s here!”

The next second, he felt the world spin. It was as if every sense in his body was being taken apart and put back together. Right after that, he felt himself suddenly thrown up into some great height. He rushed through darkness and cold. Time seemed to pass for a very long while, or maybe only for an instant, and then the strange dizziness and feeling of being peeled apart vanished without a trace.

The solid feel of ground under his feet returned. The darkness and weightlessness were gone. sunlight shone through thin mist and fell on his body. As his familiar five senses came back, the view before his eyes steadied and slowly became clear.

A tall figure stood right in front of him.

But it was not his father. Compared with his father, this figure was too slim. It looked more like a woman.

She looked a bit familiar.

Tyrian blinked hard and finally focused his vision, seeing the face before him clearly.

White hair fell over her shoulders. A scar marked her left eye. She was tall, strong, and beautiful.

Vanna looked at the pirate lord with a strange expression, then awkwardly turned her head to glance at a few people nearby who were obviously waiting to watch a scene.

At last she sighed and said to Tyrian: “Captain Tyrian, I know you have many ques—”

Before Vanna could finish, Tyrian suddenly stepped back half a pace and stared, wide-eyed, at the lady inquisitor in front of him.

“He shot Pland down?!”

The greatest pirate lord on the Frost Sea was deeply shocked.