Chapter 498

Chapter 498: Necessary Procedure.

Duncan knew that the arrangements he made today were destined to throw the Boundless Sea into turmoil. This “warning” would shake everyone, not only because of what it warned about, but also because of where it came from.

The civilized world was about to feel a small “Vanished shock”.

“This is a big matter,” Tyrian broke the silence. “We don’t have to worry about the Church. When it comes to supernatural crises, they have always been sharp and professional. They will definitely treat this with enough seriousness. But the city-states are complicated. I really doubt that all of them can build an effective warning system.”

“Before that, think first about how many people will treat this ‘warning’ properly,” Lucretia’s voice came from the scrying crystal. “In this world, there are more ‘Doomsday’ warnings than anyone can count, and most of them come from mad cultists. Now the Vanished suddenly starts warning the entire world. To be honest… many people’s first reaction will probably be the same as when they run into those doomsday cultists, maybe even worse…”

On the other side of the table, Shirley muttered quietly: “Well, the reputation is what it is…”

“That’s their problem,” Duncan glanced at Shirley with a blank face and shook his head. “The Vanished’s ‘reputation’ is a good thing. Even if some people don’t believe the content of the warning, they will at least take the ‘warning’ itself seriously. Even if it’s only because they fear the Vanished, they will be cautious. That’s enough.”

“I will contact the Church as soon as possible,” Agatha nodded. Her hoarse yet gentle voice sounded. “I believe the Death Sanctuary will absolutely treat this warning from the Vanished with the highest priority.”

“Once Death, the Deep Sea, and Truth Academy receive the news, Flamebearer will definitely hear of it as well,” Vanna also nodded and added: “I will confirm this directly with His Holiness.”

“I haven’t written to Academy Ark in a long time. This is a good chance to catch up with some old friends,” Morris took off his blessed monocle and wiped it. “But I need to prepare some extra ointments and herbal powders for the ritual. It’s not easy to contact Academy Ark from the Boundless Sea.”

Hearing Morris’s words, Duncan suddenly thought of something.

“How is the matter I asked you to investigate last time?” He looked at the Grand Scholar. “That mark carried by the Ender, those Shattered Cross marks. Have you found where they came from?”

“I’m very sorry, there is no progress yet,” Morris looked a bit ashamed. “I’ve already written many letters to scholars I know well and contacted several universities we have good ties with, but none of them have any record related to those Shattered Cross marks. At the moment, we can only say they ‘might’ have appeared on some ruins from the ancient kingdom of Critt…”

“I see…” Duncan sounded a little disappointed, but he knew that, with so little information, investigating a mysterious symbol was like looking for a needle in the sea. He did not cling to it. He simply said: “Then keep an eye on it. If there is any progress, tell me right away.”

Morris lowered his head at once: “Yes, Captain.”

Duncan grunted in response, then paused to think, making sure he had not missed anything. After that, he let out a quiet breath and stood up from the long table, letting his gaze sweep over everyone present.

“Then that’s it for today’s gathering. We’ve settled the general course of action. If you have any questions later, you can ask me at any time.”

At the far end of the long table, Lawrence subconsciously let out a breath of relief.

The gathering was not as dark and frightening as he had imagined. It was not full of strange rituals or strict, bloody rules. Even so, just the fact that he was here “under Captain Duncan’s constant attention” made him feel a lot of pressure. As the “new recruit” here, he had been tense from head to toe. Now he could finally relax.

But he had only relaxed halfway when he noticed that the others around the table had no intention of getting up to leave. Instead, including the respected Grand Scholar Morris, most of them looked as if they were expecting the next part.

The gathering still had a process?

The thought had just crossed Lawrence’s mind when he heard Nina’s voice from across the table: “Ah, finally done talking. Time to eat, time to eat, I’m starving.”

“Big dinner today! Big dinner!” Shirley shouted happily. “It’s gathering day. We get good food!”

“The soup is still simmering in the pot. The timing is perfect,” Alice said as she stood up. “I’ll go push the serving cart over~”

Lawrence watched this scene in a daze, unable to figure out what was about to happen. He turned to look at Agatha, who sat closest to him, but saw the same puzzled look on her face.

Just then, Duncan’s voice came from the head of the long table, clearing up Lawrence and Agatha’s confusion: “We’re done with business, so we share a meal. That’s the rule on this ship.”

Done with business… share a meal?

Lawrence listened in shock, wondering if he had heard wrong. But then he saw the living Doll actually pushing a large serving cart back into the cabin. The slightly worn cart creaked as it moved. Many containers on it were filled with steaming… food.

Lawrence stared, wide-eyed, as Alice carried the dishes to the table. He watched Shirley and Nina run back and forth, helping to set out plates and knives and forks. He smelled the aroma of food—fresh bread, vegetables and fruits, and meat.

It all seemed normal. These were foods he knew. Food Humans could eat.

But among all the aromas, the richest came from a pot of soup at the end of the long table.

It was a delicious fish soup. Inside, tender pieces of meat curled slightly, no longer recognizable as any particular species. Steam rose from the surface. On that gently trembling broth, those curled pieces of meat seemed to retain a trace of life. In the drifting steam, they trembled and twitched.

But when he looked closely, that trembling and twitching seemed like an illusion that had never happened.

Without realizing it, Lawrence stood up. His gaze fixed on the pot of fish soup. He could not tell what kind of fish it was, nor could he sense anything strange about this “food”. Yet a strong instinct still pounded in his chest. It was something built up over decades of roaming the Boundless Sea, something that let even an “ordinary person” without the gift of Spiritual Insight sense certain supernatural things—

This had once been extremely dangerous. The kind of horror that could kill people and send an ocean-going ship to its grave in the Deep Sea. It was…

“It’s fresh fish,” Duncan said with a smile, speaking to Lawrence and Agatha, who were attending the gathering for the first time. “I caught it today. I had to sail quite a way out from Frostholm’s main island to find it.”

Fish? “Fish” caught far from safe routes, far from the shelter of islands?

Lawrence’s mind went blank for a moment. A chilling guess flashed through his head. Not far away, Morris gave him a friendly nod and said: “It’s just what you’re thinking, Captain Lawrence. But relax. This is a necessary step in joining us. And you don’t have to worry. It’s harmless now. On this ship, it truly is food.”

Lawrence listened in a daze. By the time he came back to his senses, Alice had already set a bowl of steaming fish soup on the table in front of him.

But when she reached Agatha, Alice stopped, looking a bit confused.

“I can’t eat,” Agatha said, looking a little embarrassed. “This body is already a dead shell. I can’t enjoy food anymore.”

“It’s fine,” Duncan said generously, waving his hand. “We call it a ship rule, but really it’s no different from an ordinary get-together. If you can eat, eat a bit. If you can’t, just chat. That still helps people grow closer.”

As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at the scrying crystal placed in front of Tyrian: “Lucy, don’t forget your dinner either.”

“I’m eating, I’m eating,” Lucretia answered at once. “Lunie brought me roasted apple pie and bacon pie!”

Duncan nodded, then smiled as he looked down both sides of the long table. He picked up the wineglass by his hand and, as the Master, raised it high:

“Then, to the days when we can gather like this—”

…

The faint dizziness slowly faded. The ghostly green flame at the edge of his vision dispersed into the air. Cool, fresh sea wind swept across the deck and brought a moment of sharp clarity to his mind.

The experience of attending the gathering aboard the Vanished still felt like a dream, a little unreal, lingering in his thoughts.

Lawrence shook his head to clear it further, then walked to the edge of the deck and looked out at the sea, already sinking into the veil of night.

The shadow of the Vanished, faintly glowing, still floated on the sea not far from the White Oak.

“…It really was like a dream.”

He had gathered on a mysterious ghost ship, spoken with all kinds of “people”, including a living Doll, a shard of the Sun, and demons from the Abyssal Deep. He had discussed secrets of Elder Gods and Doomsday in the depths of the Spirit Realm. Then, under the gaze and witness of Subspace Shadows, they had shared the flesh of a Spawn from the Deep Sea.

When the gathering ended, when wind from the Mortal Realm world once again brushed his face, when the tension and numbness in his mind slowly faded and his thoughts could work again with Human reason, when those light and strange impressions from the gathering scattered, Lawrence finally began to understand the true “nature” of what had just happened.

A realization came to him late, yet all at once. He could not even say what he felt in his heart.

A normal person should be frightened afterwards. He should feel afraid. At the very least, when he remembered the “fish” he had eaten, he should feel horror.

But he felt nothing.

Only a strange calm and sense of belonging soothed his restless heart.

[The fish… was really good…]