Chapter 702

Chapter 702: Spirit Realm Convergence

The Vanished set out at last.

Over these past days, many people had watched its every move, including the four Cathedral arks, as well as the observers appointed by the city-states. Under so many watching eyes, that vast and solemn ghost ship, wreathed in fire and thick smoke, sped away from Lightwind Harbor at a speed that common sense could never accept, and in the blink of an eye vanished into the crack between the Spirit Realm and the Mortal Realm.

It appeared like a phantom and vanished like a phantom. Everything happened just as the legends described.

“We’re o~ff~!”

Shirley clutched the railing at the ship’s side and stared at the endless dark sea, swaying her body back and forth. She looked very pleased with herself.

The Vanished had already entered its Spirit Realm sailing state. The sea beyond the railing had turned into a sheet of pitch black. A sky of mixed black, white, and gray clouded over the whole world with a heavy, chaotic gloom. Far away, there were no more lighthouses, ships, or islands. Only all kinds of strange, shifting Shadows floated between sea and sky, as if they leaned over the horizon and looked down on the whole world.

Dog lay a short distance back from the railing, stretching his neck as far as he could. The chain around his neck pulled tight on Shirley’s arm while he dug all four paws into the deck and shouted loudly: “Hey, stop swinging around! Careful you don’t fall!”

“Dog, since when did you get so timid?” Shirley simply sat down on the railing. While she tried to smooth her messy hair, she turned back with a grin and said: “You used to play by the edge of the deck all the time.”

“This is Spirit Realm depth!” Dog cried at once. “If you fall down here, you can’t get back up!”

Shirley ignored him. She just sat on the railing and kept grinning foolishly at the sea, until Duncan walked over, reached out, and gave her hair a rough rub: “You were never this excited when we set sail before. Why are you so happy to leave the city this time?”

“I got sick of Lightwind Harbor,” Shirley said, full of resentment. “There’s no good food in the city. The shops nearby are either bookstores or mechanical workshops. No good food, no fun places, and no good food…”

Duncan looked at her. It seemed Lightwind Harbor’s Elves cuisine had really left a shadow in her heart. He could not help reminding her: “There probably won’t be good food where we’re going either—in fact, we’ll be on the sea most of the time from now on.”

“That’s fine. The food on the ship is good, at least,” Shirley said happily. “And Nina won’t be dragging me around bookstores every single day. I’ll just treat it as getting some fresh air…”

“You get tired of the ship and want to go into the city, then you get tired of the city and want to go to sea…” Dog muttered, lying on the deck beside them. “All you think about is playing. Nina has almost gone through every bookstore in the whole city these days…”

Shirley waved her hand at once: “Ugh, Dog, don’t nag like some old aunt. My head hurts…”

Duncan did not answer. He only smiled and listened to Shirley and Dog bickering and complaining as always. Then, as if he sensed something, he suddenly raised his head and looked toward a certain spot on the nearby sea.

Almost at the same moment, a hazy Shadow rose up beside him. Agatha’s figure appeared within that Shadow and reported softly: “The Radiant Star has arrived. It is searching for an entrance in the Mortal Realm.”

Duncan nodded: “Mm. Go guide Lucy in.”

Agatha’s form faded away.

Only a moment later, Duncan saw large patches of Shadow suddenly spread above the dark sea near the Vanished.

The Shadows wove together like mist, rising and entwining. A huge, strange, and ornate ship slowly took shape within those shadows and thin fog. The Radiant Star sailed out from the mist. At first it was only a dim and blurry phantom, with only the stern looking solid and real. But as the Vanished drew closer, that hazy phantom suddenly became clear and solid in the blink of an eye, turning into an entity that could exist stably at this Spirit Realm depth.

The Radiant Star entered the Spirit Realm depth and began to sail side by side with the Vanished.

Shirley sat on the railing, craned her neck at the scene before her, and let out an exaggerated cry: “Woooow—”

Then she saw a small snow-white paper boat drifting up from the deck of the Radiant Star. The paper boat caught the wind, glided over the dark sea between the two ships, and finally landed steadily on the deck of the Vanished.

Lucretia, dressed in a black dress with black hair, stepped off the paper boat, bringing the clockwork Doll Lunie with her.

Alice, who was hanging strips of dried fish on the deck, noticed the movement at once. She happily ran over to welcome them: “Lunie! You’re here!”

The clockwork Doll walking beside Lucretia turned her head when she heard the voice. She also looked delighted and opened her arms as she stepped forward: “Alice!”

The two Dolls held hands and spun in circles on the deck. They had not really been apart for long, yet they were as happy as if they had been separated for years.

Alice pulled Lunie along and proudly showed her the freshly hung dried fish on the deck. Lunie clearly also had something she wanted to show off.

“Alice! Look at this, Mistress just made this for me…”

The clockwork Doll spoke happily as she reached up, cupped her own head, and then gently pulled upward. There was a soft popping sound.

Right in front of everyone on deck, she pulled her own head off.

Alice stared, dumbfounded. Because she usually did not think too deeply about things, she rarely looked this shocked. But she soon reacted and realized this was a new “function” her friend had mastered. A bright smile quickly appeared on her face: “Ah, you can do it too!”

As she spoke, she casually pulled her own head off her neck as well. The two Dolls each held their own heads and laughed together: “We… are… now… the same!”

Then the two Dolls started fooling around on the deck, giggling and playing.

Everyone else on the deck was completely stunned.

Duncan had been walking toward Lucretia, planning to ask about the Radiant Star’s condition after entering the Spirit Realm. But halfway there, he was stopped cold by the sight of Alice and Lunie. To be honest, even in Subspace it would be hard to see something this bizarre.

He froze for several seconds before he finally reacted. Then he turned his head toward Lucretia, who was walking toward them: “What is going on here?”

Lucretia looked a bit dazed as well. While she walked, she could not help glancing back at the two Dolls wandering around with their heads in their hands. Hearing Duncan’s question, her expression grew a little stiff: “I just did a small modification on Lunie… After that time when she pulled her head off and caused a malfunction, she kept bringing up how Alice’s head joint could come off… She talked about it every few days. I got tired of hearing it, so I changed her joint for her…”

She stopped, hesitated, and looked at the two Dolls strolling along the deck carrying their heads. At last her expression cracked: “But I didn’t expect this.”

“…Forget it, as long as they’re happy. Dolls… have their own ways of fun and social life,” Duncan said. It took effort for him to put his shaken worldview back together. The corners of his mouth twitched as he finally pulled his gaze away from Alice and Lunie (which was not easy, since those two head-carrying Dolls were very eye-catching). He forced himself to put his attention back on Lucretia and the Radiant Star: “…Was the crossing smooth?”

Lucretia was still looking toward Lunie and Alice. Only when Duncan repeated the question did she jolt, quickly raise a hand to tap her forehead, and sort out her thoughts: “It was all right, just a bit chaotic…”

She finally shifted all her attention back, lifted her head, and glanced at the Radiant Star, which was now sailing automatically beside the Vanished. Her thoughts flowed more clearly as she spoke.

“This is the first time the Radiant Star has dived to such a ‘deep’ depth to sail… Normally, only her stern sits in the Spirit Realm. Being fully ‘submerged’ like this is a completely new experience, for both me and the ship.”

“This way we can go faster,” Duncan said with a smile. “The Vanished is already used to traveling at Spirit Realm depth. The White Oak and the Black Oak have both sailed alongside as escort ships before. At this depth, we need less than two days to catch up with that ‘returning ship’. And we don’t have to worry about anyone tracking us.”

Lucretia did not answer. She only lifted her head and looked at Duncan.

Father stood there, green flames rising and falling around him. He wore a confident and proud smile, just like in her memories.

After a while, she shook her head and asked: “What about the Church?”

“There will be two small fleets joining us, one from the Deep Sea Church and one from the Church of Death,” Duncan said casually. “The flagship from the Deep Sea Church is the Tidal and its escort group. The Church of Death is sending the Rest and the No Rest, a pair of sister ships, with their escorts. They say all of them are heavily armed warships.

“But what I care about more are the ‘professionals’ they’re bringing. When we face those strange things in the border sea, a scholar’s knowledge is sometimes more useful than firepower.”

“But a scholar’s expertise can also easily draw in even greater dangers…” Lucretia could not help reminding him. “Near the border, those restless Shadows are more eager to come out than anywhere else.”

Duncan raised an eyebrow: “Isn’t that even better?”

Lucretia’s expression went blank: “…”

“Anyway, let’s not talk about that. How is that ‘Saint’?” Duncan waved his hand and changed the subject. “Did you bring it this time?”

“Yes,” Lucretia answered at once. A faint pleased smile appeared on her face. “It is locked in the lowest containment hold of the Radiant Star right now. Don’t worry, its condition is good. I restored as much of its vitality as I could, as long as I was sure this ‘Saint’ could not escape. If you need it, I can bring it out at any time.”

“Not yet,” Duncan shook his head and looked toward the distant end of the chaotic dark sea. “We will use that ‘Saint’ when we find the ‘holy ground’ of those Annihilators.”