Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 282: Chapter 286 Transformation

“This is your room from now on,” Duncan said. “It’s fully equipped with basic living essentials. If you need anything else, you can tell Alice, and she will arrange it for you if she doesn’t forget.

“Next door is a small storeroom which you are free to use for prayer or meditation. As a devout believer, you should need it.

“Do not go downstairs, and do not be curious about the locked cabins. Occasionally, strange creaking sounds or the noise of ropes scraping the floor will emanate from deep within the ship—no need to be alarmed, just ignore them. If something really is amiss, I will handle it personally.

“Remember the crew’s rules while you live on the ship.

“Is there anything else you want to ask?”

Fenna stood at the doorway of the room assigned to her, observing the simple and normal furniture arrangement inside, still feeling a bit dazed.

Ordinary bedding, ordinary tables and chairs, ordinary cabinets—everything was very clean, without suspicious shadows, no blood stains hidden in the corners of the room, nor any profane symbols written on the ceiling or the floor—if one didn’t consider that this was inside Homeloss, it would be just an ordinary cabin.

But if one must mention it, there were indeed unusual aspects here.

The ship had a special set of “crew’s rules,” there were forbidden “mysteries” deep within the ship cabins, and the whole ship was alive, even the ropes and buckets on deck often made unsettling noises—these unusual details somewhat matched her imagination of Homeloss.

But compared to her entire imagination, these slightly eerie aspects were already innocuous to the extreme.

“…I’ve got it,” slowly nodded Fenna, speaking to Duncan who had personally shown her to her room, “and I don’t have any more questions for now.”

“Good,” Duncan said indifferently. “Now, put away your luggage, dinner is about to start—you don’t have to join the barbecue on the deck after dinner if you’re not interested; it’s just Sherry and Nina fooling around. But you must attend the dinner, it’s a necessary process for new members.”

“Yes.”

Fenna quietly settled her luggage and after hesitating for a moment, also left the heavy two-handed sword temporarily in the room.

After all, bringing a two-handed sword to the dining hall was simply too bizarre.

While following Duncan to the dining hall, she remained silent the whole way.

But her heavy-hearted expression did not escape Duncan’s eyes.

“You can ask anything at any time,” Duncan slowed his pace, slightly turning his head to look at Fenna beside him, “There aren’t many strict rules on this ship, and the most taboo thing during ocean voyages is for crew members to keep secrets—the anxieties and confusions in your heart can be amplified by the Endless Sea, and who knows when they might turn into unwelcome guests.”

Fenna felt a chill in her heart and after hesitating, finally spoke, “It’s nothing really, just that the developments aren’t quite as I imagined, and I feel somewhat… at a loss right now.”

“Oh, I understand. I can even roughly guess what you might have imagined Homeloss to be like,” Duncan commented casually, “the first day being a lively welcome party instead of a dark, bloody sacrificial ceremony, quite unexpected, right?”

“It wasn’t… as exaggerated as a sacrificial ceremony, but the scene I initially imagined indeed wasn’t as peaceful as this,” Fenna seemed to smile a bit, yet now she felt a bit more relaxed.

“This is one of the reasons your Pope sent you to this ship,” Duncan said slowly, “She needs to know what Homeloss truly is like. And I… also need you as a bridge to rebuild the connection with the civilized world.”

They arrived at the dining hall.

Under the flickering light of the whale oil lamps, the long table was laden with dishes, with steaming fish soup placed in the most prominent part of the table. The crew members waited on both sides for their captain while a deep and gentle creaking noise emanated from deep within the ship, as if the ancient exploration ship was singing a song as night fell.

Fenna took her seat, looking at the table of delicacies glowing under the warm lamp light.

Alice stood up and ladled a bowl of steaming soup, placing it in front of the new crew member.

“Please have some.” The doll-lady said politely.

Fenna looked at the bowl of soup before her, having already understood the “truth” of this special food and the unique symbolic meaning of this dinner from her previous conversation with Morris. As she watched the slightly trembling pieces of fish in the dense soup, she felt a momentary daze, but it quickly dissipated.

“Is this my ‘destiny’?” she couldn’t help but mutter.

“No,” Alice shook her head, her face a picture of simple seriousness, “This is your fish soup.”

Fenna was dumbfounded, then a smile crept onto her lips.

It was quite delicious after all.

…

In the great cathedral of Plunder City-State, Helena stood quietly in front of the statue of the Storm Goddess, watching the candle flames burning at the statue’s feet.

The candlesticks adorned with intricate, exquisite patterns burned silently, while their flames at the top gradually rose within Helena’s field of vision, then flickered, split, spread, and dispersed.

In the blink of an eye, the sanctuary vanished, the icons vanished, the candlesticks also vanished, and Helena’s view was left with countless flames – large and small, near and far, high and low. They filled her surroundings, burning and leaping in the boundless, dark chaotic space, like stars.

Each cluster of flames represented a saint, signifying the reliance that the Deep Sea Church had to this day.

Helena lifted her head, and the countless flames in her sight quickly moved. Many flames drifted far away, but a single bright candle flame approached her, silently burning in the darkness.

The pontiff stared at the cluster of flames, patiently waiting.

In her sight, the flame eventually began to tremble, with increasing intensity, until, at a certain moment, it burst into furious combustion, increasing several times in height, while a pale green radiance surged within the firelight.

The whole process lasted only two or three seconds.

The flame returned to calmness, emitting a faint green glow, brightly and silently burning in the darkness.

“…It has truly transformed completely,” Helena couldn’t help but mutter softly, then subconsciously raised her hand as if wanting to touch the quietly burning flame with her fingertips.

But she stopped at the last step.

In the darkness, the countless candle flames instantly receded, and the furnishings of the sanctuary were restored.

Helena raised her head and looked towards the statue of the veiled goddess quietly overlooking the sanctuary.

The surface of the statue had faint shadows fluttering, its rocky chiseled exterior seemingly gained elasticity like a living being, and a pale, ethereal aura slowly seeped from beneath the thick veil.

The statue lowered its head, semi-transparent, spiritual-body-like tendrils condensed from the pale, ethereal mist and unwound from the edges of the veil, slowly descending before Helena.

The tendrils coiled and contracted, waiting for Helena to speak.

“Your messenger has boarded the ship and was completely transformed two minutes ago. She is now part of the Homeloss,” Helena watched the tendrils, speaking calmly and respectfully, “But like before, she still retains her humanity and intellect, and maintains her spiritual energy connection to the Believer community.”

The tendrils slightly swayed, emitting a deep, strange rustling sound, interspersed with the soft sound of ocean waves.

“Yes, I will frequently monitor her condition,” Helena said, “but if her spirit really develops issues… for instance, showing signs of being corroded by the Subspace, then…”

Two ethereal tendrils moved more significantly, the peculiar rustling sound mixed with a series of murmurs impossible for humans to produce or recognize.

“I understand,” Helena sighed softly, lowering her head to say, “I will do my best to ‘pull’ her back, and if things truly cannot be salvaged, I will make sure she returns to Your realm in a manner that preserves her humanity.”

The tendrils gently swayed, emitting soothing whispers, then these ethereal limbs once again transformed into a pale thin mist, slowly rising into midair.

The mist returned beneath the goddess’s veil, and the statue slowly moved, restoring its previous calm demeanor overlooking the mortal world.

…

Night had fallen, and the chilly light of the Creation of the World already hung high in the night sky.

Icebergs occupied the sea, with lurking, menacing ice edges beneath the glittering waves, the steel warship with its towering bow cutting through the waves in a nighttime voyage across the boundless sea of icebergs.

The smaller pieces of ice, as if intimidated by the majesty of the steel warship, parted to the sides before the Sea Mist even approached, creating a path lit by the cold brilliance of the Creation of the World, with the steel behemoth traveling through this path.

Tirian stood at the bow, gazing at the distant dark, cold sea, his brow furrowed.

“We have entered the Chill Sea, Captain,” the voice of the first mate, Aiden, carried over the night wind, “We should be back at the mother port around this time tomorrow.”

Tirian didn’t turn around, “Is there any news from Frost?”

“The scout reports that the Frost authorities have moved that submersible to Dagger Island near the City-State, where there is an old marine observation station, now being used temporarily as the research facility for ‘Submersible Number Eight Three’,” Aiden replied, “It seems they haven’t opened the hatch of the submersible yet—possibly out of caution, or possibly awaiting higher orders.”

“Well, those fools at least have the basic sense of caution,” Tirian exhaled lightly, yet his brow did not relax, “Anything else, any new news?”

“Frost City itself is still very calm, the authorities seem to have sealed off news about the submersible—though sealing it off makes no difference, half a century ago’s Abyssal Plan, hardly anyone knows about it nowadays,” Aiden said, shaking his head, “Compared to that, another matter seems unrelated to the submersible but might be worth attention.”

“Another matter?”

“Yes, about… the rumors of the dead returning.”