Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 148 - 152: When in Doubt...

Chapter 148: Chapter 152: When in Doubt…

Duncan had not expected that a casual question would elicit such important intelligence about Homeloss from the lips of A-dog—despite having heard this Abyssal Hound describe Homeloss’s formidable reputation in the Mysterious Deep Sea before, who could have imagined that such a reputation was hammered out in such a crude and violent manner?

A Ghost Ship continuously oscillating between subspace and the real dimension, like a shell darting back and forth between the roof and the foundation, shook through the “floors” of the Spirit Realm and the Mysterious Deep Sea with each oscillation, leaving no blade of grass in its wake. Everything it touched was dragged into subspace… and it sounded like this had been going on for quite a while!

No wonder a Profound Demon like A-dog had such deep-seated fear of Homeloss—how could anyone not have their legs turn to jelly if a natural disaster that had been randomly wreaking havoc suddenly stopped and its captain cheerfully came to greet you? Even if A-dog didn’t have any muscles in its legs, they would have to twist!

After all, although the ship was now stationary in the real dimension, what if… some Ghost Ship captain wanted to pop back to subspace for a visit?

However, more than the havoc Homeloss had once wreaked, Duncan was concerned about the state of the ship itself and what the real Captain Duncan was like at that time.

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Was the “oscillation” deliberately caused by the real Captain Duncan, or was it some kind of uncontrolled drifting? Did Goat-head know the situation at that time? If it was intentional, what was the purpose of “Captain Duncan” and Goat-head doing so? If it was all due to loss of control…

That would be even more intriguing.

Could Homeloss lose control again?

Homeloss had always been Duncan’s biggest backing and where his true body resided. The safety of the ship was equivalent to his own safety. He explored and controlled the ship to further ensure this safety, but if the entire ship posed a risk of loss of control, even suddenly “crashing” back into subspace from the real dimension… then what was the use of his current control over Homeloss?

Could he pull back a Ghost Ship that was madly charging towards subspace?

The current stable sailing of Homeloss on the Endless Sea might only be a temporary state of balance. Its true state of being might actually be “out of control”—this possibility uncontrollably spread in his heart, causing Duncan to feel an involuntary annoyance.

And what annoyed him even more was the door at the bottom of Homeloss leading to subspace and Goat-head’s tense reaction upon learning that the door had opened a crack, which seemed to tacitly confirm his worries—

Homeloss was unstable, and subspace’s call for the ship had never ceased for a moment.

Duncan inhaled softly, subtly calming his mood.

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No matter how much he thought, he currently lacked the power to get involved with matters related to subspace—his understanding of the mystic domain was still too limited.

If he wanted to accumulate knowledge related to subspace, engaging more with transcendent events was one way to go, especially this church right in front of him, this… church that might have been invaded by subspace.

“Let’s pay more attention to this place,” Duncan shook his head, “If it’s true that something from subspace has invaded the Underground Sanctuary, then the events from eleven years ago might be more complex than anyone imagined…”

He looked up at the once-sealed door.

“The nuns struggled against the door before they were killed in battle, probably to prevent the thing inside the sanctuary from escaping outside. But can a door really hold back an invader from subspace?”

“Invasions from subspace also depend on the situation,” said A-dog thoughtfully, “In most cases, the real world is under effective protection from the gods… well, although I’m not very fond of Them, the real world really is well-protected, making it difficult for subspace to directly influence reality. What manages to cross over is usually not the original entity, but rather projections, corruption, or even illusions cast by the human mind…”

A-dog suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence, nervously looking at Duncan.

In his eyes, the vortex of light and shadow within this human body was chaotically active, with the madness enough to drive demons insane continuously emerging.

This Ghost Ship captain returned from subspace… Goddamn it, he’s the biggest subspace invader in this place!

“Go on, then what? What about the subspace invasion?”

The “embodiment of a subspace invasion” lowered its head, curiously asking about the affairs of the subspace invasion.

“I… I mean, under normal circumstances, the sacred installations in the church can block a subspace invasion… and since the invaders are not their original selves, cutting off the invasion pathway will quickly dissipate their presence in the real world…” A-dog swallowed hard, struggling to explain the matters of subspace invasion to the subspace invader himself, “Of course, what horrific price must be paid in that process is another matter altogether…”

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“So that’s what happened,” Duncan nodded in understanding, then looked at the nun lying on the ground with even more admiration, “She must have given her all in an attempt to prevent that disaster.”

“But she didn’t succeed, did she?” Sherry’s voice suddenly came from beside him. Since the matters Duncan and A-Dog were discussing were either too high-level or too frightening, she had not found an opportunity to interject, “The fire still broke out eleven years ago…”

“The fire eleven years ago was caused by a Sun Shard, but we have found traces of what seems like Subspace in this church. How the two are connected is still unclear,” Duncan shook his head, then, as if suddenly struck by a thought, slowly approached the statue of the goddess in the center of the Underground Sanctuary, a thoughtful expression on his face, “However… I am suddenly curious about something.”

He tilted his head back to look at the statue of the goddess—slightly different from the Gomona statue in the church above ground—that stood in the dim light without any sign of damage.

“What are you curious about?” Sherry followed and cautiously glanced at the statue, whispering.

“What is the Storm Goddess doing?” Duncan raised his hand, pointing at the statue, “The church has been invaded, the clergy died in battle, and outside there’s only a phantom praying incessantly like a lingering soul. Why is there no reaction from the goddess here? At the very least… shouldn’t she give some warning to the believers in other churches, so they could come to aid?”

“I don’t understand much about matters related to the gods, but this does seem suspicious,” A-Dog said, grumbling in agreement, “Although the gods don’t have a close relationship with the mortal world, they do pay close attention to their ‘sanctuaries.’ These buildings where believers gather serve as ‘anchors’ between the gods and the mortal world. Now that one of these anchors has been silently removed, and eleven years have passed… yet no signal has been sent out, something’s off.”

Thinking it through, Duncan suddenly raised his right hand, and at his fingertips, a small flame materialized out of thin air, its pale green glow illuminating the statue’s surroundings.

Chains rattled and A-Dog immediately stepped back two paces, “What… what are you going to do?”

“When in doubt, use a little fire,” Duncan said with a smile, “Maybe it’ll reveal something hidden.”

A-Dog was taken aback, about to remind him that they were in an Underground Sanctuary, and that they might attract the attention of Gomona herself, but before the words could escape, he held them back—this place had already been turned upside-down, never mind its remaining holiness, and now this big shot was about to do his job of ‘Subspace invasion.’ Why bother saying anything?

Still, it stealthily backed away a few steps and also pulled Sherry a little further away.

If divine punishment or something of the sort were to strike down, the big shot might not fear it, but A-Dog and Sherry wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Duncan noticed A-Dog’s actions but didn’t pay them any mind.

Of course, he didn’t want to draw the Storm Goddess’s attention onto himself, but in the main hall of the church above, he had already ascertained that this “sanctuary” had been utterly corroded, with Subspace powers lingering even on the statue. Considering the anomalies here had remained hidden for eleven years without detection, the connection between the deity and this place had clearly been severed long ago.

Now, this once holy place was devoid of sanctity, leaving only shadows behind.

The Spiritual Fire burned silently, falling onto the ground like droplets of water, its faint and illusory flame quickly rippling throughout the Underground Sanctuary, soon enveloping the entire room.

Then, the flames that had spread to the edges silently flickered out.

Sherry and A-Dog exchanged glances. After a long while, Sherry ventured cautiously, “Did you… find anything?”

Duncan looked at the little flame still dancing on his fingertip with some surprise, then back at the empty Underground Sanctuary, where nothing had happened.

Could it be that there really is nothing here? Or is the power of the fire insufficient to pry open the “veil” that covers this place?

He frowned, and just at that moment, a very faint whisper, almost like an illusion, reached his ears—

“Who’s there?”

Startled, Duncan abruptly looked toward the direction of the sound.

The statue of Gomona stood silently in the darkness.

(Book recommendation time! This time I am recommending “The Young Priest in the Containment of Divine Anomalies” by Xueyu Xinfeng. The story takes a mysterious path, featuring elements of gaming, otherworlds, foundation lore, and D&D. The author is actually one of my readers, so I wanted to give them a shoutout. You can support their work if you have time~

Also, during the double rewards period, I’m eagerly asking for monthly votes =.=)

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