Chapter 509

Chapter 509: Banster’s Thoughts

Banster’s reply was simple, direct, and honest.

For a moment, Rune did not even react.

“Then why say so much?” the short, plump Rune could not help but mutter. “With all that doubt, I almost thought you were going to go back today and seal up your Cathedral ark…”

“I am only stressing the risks behind this matter.” Banster’s expression did not change at all. His thin, bloodless face looked extremely solemn. “We all know what happened back then at the Viseran Thirteen Isles. ‘The Sinking of the Isles’ is only a mild, compromise term. In essence, the whole thing was a large?scale connection between our Mortal Realm and Subspace. That sea region is still not stable even now, and those Leviathans…”

“They are safe, Banster,” Rune calmly cut in. His blue eyes seemed soaked with a cool, wise light. “I am not some mad scholar who would, on a whim, drag a Frontier Relic into the civilized world. The ‘corpses’ of those Leviathans first went through ten full years of study and testing in the test waters of the Truth Institute. Only after we ruled out all unstable factors did I decide to turn them into Cathedral arks.”

Banster fell silent for a moment. After more than ten seconds, Frem finally broke the quiet in a deep voice: “No matter what, under the conditions at the time we had to build the Pilgrimage arks. Rune did take some risks, but without those arks, we would probably have already lost contact with the Four Gods.”

In the chaotic darkness, the four figures fell silent together.

“…Sometimes I really cannot help but think that the four ‘Leviathans’ that appeared at the eastern frontier were some kind of gift from fate,” Rune shook his head and muttered softly. “Without them, the Truth Institute would never have been able to build Pilgrimage arks large enough to serve as a ‘worldly Divine Realm,’ and the other plans we had at the time all had a slim chance of success. My friends, I admit I did hide many details about those Leviathans, but I hope you understand. It was a Border Collapse, after all. When I delivered the arks back then, I told you not to be curious about their origin. Just treat them as sacred miracles.”

“A gift from fate…” Banster spoke slowly. “If I had a choice, I would rather not hear that phrase. To me, it feels like a bloody sacrificial rite, offering the countless living beings of the Viseran Thirteen Isles to that ship in exchange for the four Pilgrimage arks we have today.”

“You cannot put it like that. There is no evidence that the appearance of the Leviathans was the work of the Vanished. It is just that all things in the world are connected, and some events happen to become linked with others,” Rune said, trying to soothe him. “Besides, that ship now sails on the Boundless Sea. Whether you want to admit it or not, its master has already regained his humanity. The warnings from the Vanished are like the warnings Captain Duncan gave a century ago, when he first discovered the phenomenon of Border Collapse. They are something we must face and take seriously. As I always say…”

“Truth does not change with people’s attitudes, for it exists on its own forever.” Banster waved a hand. “I know. I have heard you repeat that so often that my ears have grown calluses.”

Helena looked up at Rune, then at Banster, and spoke after a moment’s hesitation: “Banster, if you still feel uneasy, why not try speaking directly with this ‘Captain Duncan’? See what his attitude is now, and maybe… confirm the truth of what happened at the Viseran Thirteen Isles back then. Even though he has publicly said that his memories are damaged, if you meet him in person…”

Before she could finish, Banster had already waved his hand sharply.

“Helena, among all your outrageous ideas, this one is especially over the top.”

“All right, I was only making a suggestion.”

“At this stage, we really must still be cautious in how we communicate with the Vanished,” Rune added at the right moment. “Our current level of contact is already quite bold. Any further… and we must consider the influence of Subspace. We cannot allow even the slightest chance of the Pilgrimage arks being corrupted.”

Frem, as steady as a stone giant, slowly shifted his gaze at those words, letting his eyes pass over the three Popes who were talking.

“Yet the three of you still let your Saints get lured onto that ship…”

Helena and Rune spoke at the same time: “They were not lured onto the ship!”

After the other two finished, Banster added unhurriedly, “My Saint is still in the Cathedral. It is only a shadow that boarded the ship.”

In the next second, the chaotic darkness fell silent once more, as if an awkward, subtle mood was now hanging between the four.

In the end, Rune was the first to break the silence. “In any case, none of you have told your Saints the truth about the ‘Leviathans’ under the Cathedral arks, have you?”

“No,” Helena was the first to shake her head. “When I heard Vanna mention the shocking structure beneath the city, I did immediately think of the Leviathans, but I did not reveal anything to her.”

Banster also shook his head. “Rather than adding to the confusion of the priests under me, I prefer to first come to you, old man, and figure out what is really going on—though it seems now that you only know so much yourself.”

Frem was the third to shake his head. “My Saint was not lured onto the ship…”

The other three finally shouted in unison: “Will you ever let that go?!”

“…I will keep quiet now.”

“Keeping it from them for now is the right choice,” Rune said, giving Frem, solid as a stone giant, a rather helpless look before turning back to nod at Helena and Banster. “We have too little information right now. First we need to find a way to confirm what is actually beneath the cities and whether the intelligence from the Vanished is accurate before we decide on the next steps.”

He paused, then added, “When conditions are right, we can contact ‘that ship’ again through our Saints. For now… let us first discuss the rest of the warning from the Vanished.”

All their expressions grew grave at his words.

“I will share my view first,” Banster spoke up. “I think we need to build a ‘monitoring’ system in response to the warning from the Vanished, one that stretches across the Church, the city?states, and the ocean?going fleets. Its coverage must be wide and its reach complete, because if the warning is true and the Elder Gods really dwell in all things, then any blind spot left outside this net could become the Primordial Blast Point that leads to the next ‘Frostholm Crisis.’

“On top of that, the patrol fleets of the major Churches must also make matching changes, just as… we once did when we kept watch for ‘Border Collapse.’”

Helena gave Banster a slightly surprised look.

“It seems Rune’s worries just now were unnecessary. You are taking the warning from the Vanished seriously enough. I thought you would question every piece of intelligence from that ship because of the Viseran Thirteen Isles incident.”

“It is precisely because of the Viseran Thirteen Isles and the recent ‘Frostholm Crisis,’” Banster said with special gravity, his tone low and serious, “that I am sure of one thing: anything related to that ship cannot be a small matter. So I will keep a close watch on everything connected to that ship—closer than anyone else.”

…

The pitch?black sea surface quickly returned to normal. The chaotic shadows that had filled the sky were slowly replaced by sunlight. The sky and the sea once more showed bright colors, warm and calm. The pale green flames that had spread over the whole ship also died down and drew back as the vessel left the Spirit Realm.

The spirit form flames on Duncan’s body gradually faded as well. He let go of the wheel and felt the surging power slowly calm.

The wheel began to adjust itself, and creaks came from deep within the hull—Goathead had taken over the control of the ship. The Vanished’s speed dropped again and slowly returned to its usual cruising pace.

Just as Duncan left the helm, Alice ran over in high spirits: “Captain! Captain! Have we reached the south?”

“How could we?” Duncan gave the Doll a helpless look. “Do you know how far it is from Frostholm to Lightwind Harbor?”

Alice scratched her hair. “Oh. I saw you slow down, and the Vanished left its Spirit Realm state, so I thought we had arrived…”

“We only surfaced into the Mortal Realm to ‘get some fresh air,’” Duncan said casually. “Staying in deep Spirit Realm cruise for too long is bad for body and mind, and there are quite a few normal humans on this ship…”

He suddenly stopped halfway through his words, then shook his head.

“Coming back to the Mortal Realm, feeling the sea breeze and basking in the Sun eases the pressure of long voyages. And the Vanished itself needs a rest as well.”

“That makes sense,” Alice nodded slightly, a happy smile on her face. “They really were all tense. Once we came back under the sunlight, they relaxed a lot.”

Duncan knew that the “they” in this Doll’s mouth actually referred to the buckets, ropes, and pots and pans on the ship. He had no idea when she had grown so close with the living things aboard this vessel that she could even see the “moods” of those noisy little objects…

But all of this was a good thing.

“Goathead will handle the helm for a while. I will go rest,” Duncan said to Alice. “For dinner today, we’ll have baked flatbread, fish fillets, and vegetable soup.”

“Aye!” Alice answered at once, delighted.

Then the Doll girl lifted her head and glanced at the sky.

The Sun was already sinking toward the horizon. The outer ring of the double rune rings had begun to slip below the sea’s surface.

“Then I’ll go cook!”

With a shout, Alice turned and ran toward the galley.

Duncan watched her with a smile until her figure vanished through the cabin door at the end of the deck.

Then he let out a soft breath and turned toward the door of the captain’s cabin at the stern.

The Door of the Lost Ones.

Duncan’s gaze swept over the line of letters on the door. He placed his hand on the handle and pushed the door open.