Chapter 578

Chapter 578: Agatha’s Information.

Duncan knew Goathead had no reason to lie to him. Or rather, even if it wanted to, it would not use such clumsy acting.

That one stray sentence was the only memory the First Mate had brought back from Subspace. It really seemed not to know what had happened, or what came before and after that line.

Duncan braced both hands on the table and sat back down in the chair behind the chart table. He looked closely into Goathead’s eyes, as if he wanted to dig more secrets out of those obsidian-carved pupils: “So, a very long time ago, there were people who were very important to you. You tried desperately to remember them. Back then, you already knew you would one day forget many things, so ‘remember them’ became a strong thought in your mind… It was so strong, yet it still could not stop what happened. Now, all you remember is this one sentence.”

“Maybe… that was it,” Goathead said, a bit unsure. “But I do not feel regret. I just feel confused sometimes…”

It muttered as it spoke, then suddenly stopped and looked up at Duncan: “Captain, what exactly happened? What kind of thing could still be related to me?”

Duncan sat in the chair, lost in thought. He curled his fingers and tapped lightly on the table. The flame of his spirit form turned into ripples like water and spread out with each tap.

“…The Nameless One’s dream grew in influence and last night spread into the Mortal Realm. I touched one of the ‘roots’ that extended from that dream into the Mortal Realm. If my guess is right… what I reached was one of the world’s foundations in the original faith of the Elves, Atlantis.”

A sharp crack came from beneath Goathead’s neck. Its whole head froze on the pedestal.

Duncan glanced at it and said calmly: “You snapped too early.”

“Ah… huh?”

“After I touched Atlantis, I entered a dimension that was neither dream nor the Mortal Realm. Another Vanished was sailing in that dimension. And on that Vanished… there was another you.”

Goathead’s neck gave another loud crack at once.

Duncan ignored the eerie noises coming from his eerie First Mate. He calmly told Goathead about his experience last night, especially the changes in the Gate of the Lost Ones on that strange ghost ship, and the odd reactions of that other Goathead who felt both familiar and strange.

As he spoke, he kept watching the Goathead in front of him, studying its expression and movements.

Its reaction did not seem suspicious. It was shock, and nothing but shock. Even with that stiff wooden face, the stunned look was clear at a glance.

“You look very surprised,” Duncan finally finished telling the whole story and nodded to the First Mate on the table. “Now you know why I am taking this so seriously.”

“I… yes, now I fully understand your reaction,” Goathead said hesitantly. “But I do not know… I do not remember…”

“I should have mentioned this to you. In Subspace, I also saw a Vanished. That ship was badly damaged, like a shadow of the Vanished after even longer ages of decay and rot. But the only strange thing about that ship was the ship itself. You were not on it,” Duncan said slowly. “And now I have seen a third Vanished. It sails in darkness and fog, and there is another you on board. What about the future? Will there be a fourth ship, a fifth? In the end, what state is this ship in right now? Do you have no clue at all?”

Goathead hesitated. This time it stayed silent for a long while, as if it was trying to find a “safe” way to face this topic. After who knew how long, it finally spoke: “I do not know if you will run into a fourth or fifth Vanished. I do not know into how many strange ‘states’ this ship can split or appear. But there is one thing that may help your thinking… this ship has not always looked like this.”

“Not always like this?” Duncan frowned. “I guess… you are not talking about the change that happened when the Vanished fell into Subspace?”

“No. The change was much greater than that, much more complete,” Goathead slowly shook its head. “In my broken and messy memories, it once took many forms: huge blocks of iron, swelling and writhing flesh, dark and icy rock, abstract and terrifying Shadows. In the deepest part of Subspace, it could look different at any moment. This state lasted for…”

Goathead suddenly stopped.

Duncan heard a low creak and a disturbing, muffled echo coming from deep in the ship. The floor under his feet trembled slightly. A tense, uneasy feeling slowly spread through the whole ship, as if the entire vessel was shivering and losing its stability.

“Let us stop here. I can picture the state you are describing,” Duncan said softly.

Goathead nodded carefully.

The tension and trembling that filled the ship slowly faded. In the Mortal Realm, the ship returned to a stable state again.

Duncan kept his brows knitted, deep in thought.

Just now, the ship had almost collapsed into some other form because of Goathead’s description. But under his own gaze as captain, it finally returned to a stable containment state.

So, had the brief change in the Vanished just now been showing him some kind of “essence” of the ship? Or… something even more?

After thinking in silence for a while, Duncan shook his head and let his gaze fall back on Goathead: “What do you think about the ‘other you’ on that ship?”

“I am sorry, Captain. I do not know.”

Goathead muttered in frustration. In this short time, these seemed to be the words it said the most, along with “I do not remember.”

Duncan was not surprised by this answer. He went on and asked another question: “Do you dream?”

“Dream?” Goathead was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook its head. This time it answered very smoothly: “I do not dream. Your loyal First Mate is always awake. After all, this ship still depends on me to keep an eye on everything at all times…”

Duncan ignored the boasting in the second half. After hearing Goathead’s answer, he only murmured thoughtfully: “You do not dream…”

Goathead spoke again, a bit uneasy: “Captain…”

Duncan looked at it: “Speak.”

Goathead looked a bit awkward and hesitated for a long time before speaking: “You just mentioned that on that eerie Vanished, the door to the captain’s cabin had the words ‘May He wander in the dream’ written on it. And the ‘me’ in that captain’s cabin also mentioned the name Atlantis to you. Are you suspecting…”

“Yes.” Duncan nodded calmly before it could finish.

Goathead suddenly did not know how to continue.

“But all I can do is suspect,” Duncan went on. “Unless one day you suddenly recover your memory and tell me with your own mouth that you have a name… and that name is ‘Saslokar’.”

Silence fell over the captain’s cabin.

After who knew how long, Goathead finally broke the silence, muttering: “Most of the Elves’ ancient tales are bizarre and full of contradictions. You cannot really take them as truth…”

“But the more bizarre and self-contradictory an ancient tale is, the more it is worth digging into once it suddenly links up with clues in the Mortal Realm,” Duncan said, calm and serious. “In the end, you do not know your own past either, do you?”

“Even so, this is still too strange,” Goathead grumbled. “I do not want to be tied to an ancient story of that level. And honestly, look at me now. I am just a piece of sculpture on the ship…”

Duncan neither agreed nor argued. He only shook his head and sighed, then rose from beside the chart table and walked slowly to the window. He looked out at the rail bathed in sunlight and mist, and at the rolling sea in the distance.

A light, glass-tapping sound suddenly reached his ears.

Duncan immediately looked toward the sound.

Agatha’s ghostly figure quietly appeared on the windowpane and raised a hand to point in a certain direction.

Duncan frowned slightly, then turned back to glance at Goathead, who was still muttering by the edge of the chart table.

After a brief pause, he walked over and said: “Do not think too much about it for now. No matter what, your first duty now is to be the Vanished’s First Mate. Help me watch over this ship. Leave the other matters to me.”

Goathead gave a little jolt, as if it suddenly woke up. It looked at its captain, who was lowering his head to look at it, seemed stunned for a moment, then hurriedly answered: “Ah, ah, yes, Captain, I… I understand.”

“Good,” Duncan nodded slightly, then walked toward the door in the back of the captain’s cabin. “I will go back to my room to rest for a while and sort out my thoughts.”

Goathead’s voice came from behind him at once: “Yes, Captain!”

Duncan did not look back. He waved a hand and walked into his own captain’s quarters. After closing the door behind him, he did not really go to rest. Instead he went to the mirror in the corner of the room.

After listening for a moment to make sure it was quiet outside, Duncan stepped forward and tapped on the mirror with a curled finger.

Shadows and smoke rose within the glass. Agatha’s figure appeared in the mirror. The former Gatekeeper, who now lived in the Vanished’s mirrors, nodded to Duncan in greeting.

“You have something to tell me, and you chose to say it here. Is it to avoid the First Mate?” Duncan’s face was serious. “What is going on?”

“I heard your talk with the First Mate, Captain. I have a situation to report,” Agatha nodded and said solemnly. “Last night, nothing was normal on the Vanished. Its ‘shadow’ disappeared for a time.”