Chapter 674

Chapter 674: The Fifth Ark

In a boundless, chaotic darkness, the spirit projections of Helena, Rune, Banster, and Frem gathered together.

The four Popes had already finished all their discussions for the meeting, yet they still did not disperse. The final guidance sent down by the divine will left them uneasy and confused.

Just moments ago, when they were choosing the meeting place, the Four Gods had, in a rare move, sent down a strong sign at the same time. Even though that “sign” was still mixed with massive, chaotic noise, all four Pilgrimage Arks were clearly ruled out by the deities.

In the guidance They sent, Helena, Rune, and the others were asked to go to “the Fifth Ark”.

Helena lowered her head. In this dark space woven from Psychic Resonance, a mass of flame burned faintly in her field of vision. She used her gaze on that flame, and only after a long time did she speak carefully: “…the Fifth Ark… what does it make you think of?”

“What else could it be?” Rune shook his head. “The answer is obvious. Besides the four Cathedral Arks, there is only one ship here that could be called ‘the Fifth Ark’.”

“…To be honest, this is the first time in my life I’ve doubted the result of an oracle.” Banster hesitated for several seconds, then finally raised his head and said to the other three, “We did agree to invite that captain, but to hold this crucial gathering on ‘that ship’? That was never part of the plan. And the will the Lord sent down this time feels a bit… strange, don’t you think? We haven’t heard such a clear and forceful voice in many years…”

“They are urging us on, Banster,” Frem said in his deep, calm voice. “We all know that time is running out, and of course They know it too.”

Helena tilted her head slightly and glanced at Banster. “You’re not still hung up on what happened with the Ephemeral, are you?”

“Of course not.” Banster shook his head at once. “So many years have passed. I don’t really care about that ship anymore. I’m just being a bit cautious… Of course, that’s only my personal feeling. It can’t change the command we’ve received. The revelation about ‘the Fifth Ark’ has already been sent out with the divine will. In truth, we don’t have any other choice.”

In the dark space, the four Popes fell silent at the same time.

Helena lowered her head again and fixed her gaze on the illusory flame burning in her sight. She knew that deep down she shared the same caution, even the same doubts, as Banster. But she chose instead to trust the Storm Goddess’s guidance without question.

In that long, wordless gaze, she seemed to see the illusory flame in her sight slowly rise and spread in silence. The shifting fire turned into a gentle sea. The tide rose and fell before her eyes, and a vast, ancient vision slowly walked out of the waves toward her.

The image of the Storm Goddess rose out of the darkness. Behind the Goddess floated an even vaster, even more unspeakable “reality”. That overlapping, tangled presence reached out gently toward Helena. Helena felt more than one cold touch brush against her soul, coil around her mind, and whisper at her ear:

“While there is still time…”

The vision of the tide faded. The soft sound of waves vanished from her ears as well.

“Go and make preparations,” Helena said, raising her head and looking calmly at the others. “Tell the Bishops who are coming to the gathering. Tell the duty crews on the arks. Let them know about ‘the Fifth Ark’. Everyone needs time to adjust, but also tell them that the time for preparation is limited.”

“And don’t forget to teach them some basic facts about ‘that ship’,” Rune reminded them. “It’s not like the Cathedral ships everyone is used to. I don’t want anyone stepping onto ‘that ship’ and causing some embarrassing misunderstanding because they get spooked.”

“You won’t manage to cover everything. There are too many strange things on that ship. Even now, Vanna keeps telling me about new, unbelievable situations from time to time.” Helena waved her hand. “Just tell everyone coming to the gathering this: no matter what they see on that ship, even if they see someone boiling their own head in a pot, they are not to scream. Treat everything as a natural occurrence.”

“Before we talk any further, we should contact that captain first,” Frem added suddenly, after staying mostly quiet until now. “We went ahead and made his ship the meeting place all on our own, but we still haven’t asked the Master for his opinion.”

Rune nodded. “Of course. We also need to arrange the boarding process and how people will be transferred over. The meeting schedule might also need an urgent adjustment… With the venue set somewhere other than the four Pilgrimage Arks, a lot of things will no longer go according to plan.”

“So many things to do…” Helena sighed wearily. Before her voice even faded, she waved her hand and her figure slowly disappeared into the darkness. “I’ll contact my own Saint first…”

“I need to talk with my own student as well.” Rune spoke right after, and his figure faded as well.

Soon, only Banster and Frem were left in the dark space.

“See you again in the Mortal Realm.” Frem, who was like a giant of living stone, waved his hand, then turned and vanished into the depths of the darkness.

Banster shrugged.

“I really don’t care about it anymore… Why does no one believe me…”

…

“What?! They’re coming onto this ship? Those Popes and Bishops?!”

In the captain’s cabin of the Vanished, Goathead, who had been busy chatting with his other head, clearly jumped in shock when he saw Duncan suddenly return and heard the news he brought. “Did they take the wrong medicine?”

“Don’t look at me. I’m surprised too,” Duncan said casually, giving Goathead a glance. “But the news has been confirmed. It’s even the will of the Four Gods. The four Pilgrimage Arks are all ruled out. The final meeting place has been chosen as ‘the Fifth Ark’.”

He paused, his expression a bit odd. “The Vanished is the ‘Fifth Ark’.”

“…Aha. Those Enders say the Vanished is the ‘Promised Ark’, and now the ones who worship the Four Gods have slapped another name on us, calling us the ‘Fifth Ark’. The mighty and fearsome Vanished has suddenly become a good place to be…” Goathead shook his head, his tone clearly mocking. “Keep this up and they’ll probably start saying you’re a good person too. Is that their way of insulting you now…”

Duncan: “…”

After holding it in for a couple of seconds, he finally couldn’t help himself. “I suggest you at least straighten out your worldview a little. You’ve recovered part of Saslokar’s ‘essence’, after all. Acting like this makes it really hard for me to connect you with the ‘Creator’ of the second Long Night.”

“It’s not like I actually made it happen,” Goathead muttered gloomily. “And the one who did isn’t doing any better. The ‘Holy Lord’ is still stuck in the passage between the Abyssal Deep Sea, and Subspace. From how Dog describes it, it sounds like someone stuck in a toilet drain…”

Duncan felt he really couldn’t keep talking with Goathead. Since when did this guy’s jokes start carrying so many hidden jabs?

“Don’t think I’m just being mean. I just feel something about this is strange,” Goathead added quickly, noticing the look on the captain’s face. “Those crazy Enders treating the Vanished as some kind of ‘Promised Ark’ is one thing. But now those Four Gods, whose own state is pretty suspicious, have suddenly sent ‘divine will’ and say the Vanished is the ‘Fifth Ark’ beyond the four Pilgrimage Arks… No matter how I hear it, it sounds wrong.”

Goathead muttered as he turned his head on its base, then looked at Duncan very seriously.

“‘Ark’ has a special meaning on the Boundless Sea. The world only recognizes four true arks. Aside from the four Cathedral ships, any vessel that dares call itself an ‘ark’ is a heresy. And now the Vanished has suddenly been given the title of ‘the Fifth Ark’. I can’t shake the feeling that someone is trying to push the Vanished into danger… Of course, we’ve pretty much been dealing with one crisis after another this whole time anyway…”

Duncan’s expression did not change as he listened to Goathead ramble on. When Goathead finally finished, Duncan casually asked, “When you say ‘they’, do you mean the four great Churches, or the Four Gods behind them?”

Goathead froze for a moment. “…Is there a difference? The four great Churches are just the executors of the Four Gods’ will. To put it plainly, they’re Their henchmen…”

“There is a difference,” Duncan said, shaking his head. “If you mean the four great Churches, they shouldn’t have the ability to push the Vanished into real danger yet. But if you mean the Four Gods behind the Churches, then I’m already very interested in Them. If this whole ‘Fifth Ark’ arrangement is something the Four Gods want to do, that’s perfect.”

Goathead: “…”

Instead, Duncan suddenly grew a little curious. He looked Goathead up and down. “You’re not interested? As the former ‘King of Dreams’, now that you’ve taken back part of Saslokar’s memories, you’re not even a little curious about your old ‘colleagues’?”

“Not interested at all,” Goathead said after thinking it over, shaking his head from side to side. “I haven’t recovered any memories from the time between the Great Annihilation and the Deep Sea era. So for me, the so-called ‘Elder Kings’ are just a completely foreign idea… Maybe that’s something to be regretted, but I don’t feel regret.”

Duncan gave Goathead a long, serious look, but in the end said nothing.

He walked over to the chart table and sat down on the chair there.

“I’ve already brought Nina and Morris back to the ship. As witnesses who saw the Great Annihilation with their own eyes, they will also attend this gathering.

“I have accepted the invitation from the Churches of the Four Gods. Right now this ship is heading to the agreed location near Lightwind Harbor. The Radiant Star will meet us there. Lucretia will bring a group of her servants aboard to help us prepare for the gathering.

“Speed up. We’re going to keep our appointment.”