Deep Sea Embers

On the very edge of the chaotic expanse, where the rules and nature of information were distorted, Duncan spent a full minute in deep contemplation before deciding to stop trying to solve the problem.

At that moment, there was a silver lining—Ray Nora had not been expelled from the Vanished, nor had she been crushed beneath the ship. Unfortunately, she had been violently rammed by the ship itself and was now slightly dazed.

This situation gave Duncan a vivid image, reminding him of a renowned global artwork back from Earth: Dog lodged in the front bumper as a car sped down the highway.

Duncan cleared his throat twice, dismissing the unsettling image, and walked a few steps with Alice. His expression was a mix of apology and concern. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention while we were driving the ship… Are you alright?”

Lost in thought, Alice paused before suddenly tapping Duncan on the arm. “Captain, I recall it was the Vanished that collided with the White Oak, and then I boarded your ship. Now it’s the Frost Queen’s turn—is this a pattern?”

Duncan shot her a sharp look. “’Pattern’ isn’t quite the right term here!”

At that moment, Ray Nora began to regain her composure, massaging her throbbing head as she slowly rose from the bedside. “I’m okay, just a huge shock—I didn’t anticipate such a… ‘shocking’ arrival.”

While speaking, Ray Nora’s gaze lingered on Alice, observing the girl who bore a striking resemblance to her with a mixture of curiosity and complexity. Alice met her gaze with a serious, inquisitive expression.

After a significant pause, Ray Nora smiled and extended her hand to Alice. “Hello.”

“It’s incredible,” Ray Nora murmured to herself, noting the firmness of Alice’s handshake. She then turned to Duncan, “I never thought my first encounter with Alice in this dimension would be under such supernatural circumstances… though it’s hard to say if this place is the ‘real dimension.'”

With those words, she gently withdrew her hand and walked across the room, gesturing toward a wall.

Instantly, the wall disintegrated, transforming into a transparent curtain. Beyond it lay an infinite expanse of void and swirling clouds of chaos.

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“I’ve been waiting here for quite some time,” Ray Nora began as she gazed into the chaotic void beyond the transparent curtain. She explained, “During this period, I attempted to navigate the edge of this dense fog but found nothing—just this endless, chaotic whiteness. Initially, I couldn’t even see the fog; I only sensed something ‘there.’ It was only after our last meeting that I started to actually see these mists, but that’s all I can do.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve tried venturing deeper into the ‘fog,'” Duncan said, his face showing a mix of curiosity and concern. “That would be incredibly reckless.”

“Don’t worry, I’m eager to explore, but I haven’t lost my senses,” Ray Nora replied with a smile, shaking her head reassuringly. “The dangers lurking deeper are unimaginable, and even with the ‘Drifting House’ for protection, I likely wouldn’t survive a return.”

“Your caution is commendable,” Duncan responded, visibly relieved. “That’s a completely uncharted and unknown ‘primitive data sea.’ Any entity entering would be instantly reset to the same undefined state—it’s a different concept from this ‘border’ state here.”

Ray Nora nodded slightly, then redirected her curiosity to Duncan: “Now that you’re here, what do you plan to do next?”

“First, I need to validate my theories, then conduct some research and experiments to see if I can develop some ‘samples’ in this primitive data sea,” Duncan answered promptly, his determination evident. He then turned his focus back to Ray Nora with another question, “But now I’m more curious about something else… can you leave this room?”

“Leave this place?” Ray Nora paused, her eyes shifting to the door-shaped gap that had appeared when Duncan and Alice had entered the room—the softly glowing “passageway” still clearly stable.

“You mean…” she slowly realized, “to accompany you to the Vanished?”

“That’s a stable passage door, though its method of opening might seem odd now,” Duncan nodded. “It appears to support free movement, but I’m unsure if you, as an entity, can leave this room.”

“…It should be feasible,” Ray Nora frowned slightly, considering the possibility for a moment. “I’ve reached through the door before, retrieving ‘intangible things’ from the sea of ashes, and I’ve left this room to enter your palace floating in the endless void. Although I’m tied to this ‘Drifting House,’ it seems there are no issues as long as I don’t stray too far.”

“That’s reassuring,” Duncan said with a smile, extending an invitation to Ray Nora, “Would you like to visit the Vanished?”

The Frost Queen responded with a smile and a slight bow: “It would be an honor.”

Passing through the cool curtain once more, Duncan and Alice experienced the familiar slight dizziness and sensory misalignment as they returned to the deck of the Vanished.

Duncan turned back to confirm, and indeed, Ray Nora had successfully passed through the door—she stood in front of the “Door of the Lost,” her expression still slightly puzzled.

Ray Nora widened her eyes. Despite her preparations, the actual moment of passing through that door was still unavoidably perplexing.

She now found herself on the solid deck of the Vanished, surrounded by a vast “world.” Everything around her was vivid and strikingly “spacious.”

She had finally stepped out of her confinement.

“I…” Ray Nora’s lips moved several times, and after a lengthy pause, she finally spoke, “I actually walked out of the room…”

“Welcome to my ship. Before we explore this vast sea of ashes, let me show you around,” Duncan said, smiling as he opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. “It’s quite empty now, might seem a bit quiet, but it used to be very lively.”

Ray Nora listened, her mind gradually adjusting to her new environment. With a faint smile, she stretched vigorously, finally free from her confinement.

“Feels good to be out,” she said softly, then turned her head to look back towards the direction she had come from.

The Door of the Lost, which had been pushed open from the hinge side, stood silently in her view.

Duncan noticed Ray Nora’s contemplative silence and casually asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“…I’m thinking…”

Duncan suddenly coughed twice. Adopting a serious and professional demeanor, he quickly explained, “I know what you’re likely thinking. This door is indeed quite magical. It can rebuild ‘passages’ in a disordered time-space relationship through different ways of opening. But you only need to know two ways to open it—pulling it open from the doorknob normally leads to my captain’s quarters, pushing it open from the hinge connects to your Drifting House.”

Ray Nora blinked, her curiosity piqued. “What’s the principle behind it’s function?”

Duncan thought for a moment before responding with a straight face, “Because it’s very magical.”

Ray Nora decided not to press further.

Duncan then stepped forward, closed the “Door of the Lost” in the usual manner, restoring its normal state before pulling its handle again, opening the door to the captain’s quarters.

He turned and made an inviting gesture towards Ray Nora.

Inside the captain’s quarters, the black wooden goat head mounted on the sea chart table heard the noise and immediately turned its neck with a squeak and a creak. It was the first to notice the Frost Queen walking side by side with Alice.

The figure on the table visibly paused, then exclaimed in surprise: “Whoa! I guess this definitely isn’t two Miss Alices—Captain, you’ve brought an incredible guest.”

“This is my first mate,” Duncan raised his hand to introduce the talking object, “Its name is Saslokha, but you can just call it Goathead.”

He then pointed towards Ray Nora, informing Goathead: “This is the Frost Queen, probably no need for much introduction. Don’t worry about the middle principles and processes; for now, she’s on board as a guest.”

“Hello, Mr. First Mate, you can just call me Ray Nora,” Ray Nora responded politely, but then she paused, seemingly realizing something. “Wait… Saslokha? I think I’ve…”

“It’s all from when I was younger,” Goathead interrupted, suddenly acting shy and shaking its head as if reflecting on a long life. “Back then, I was still complete, had a body below my head… but now, I’m just this ship’s first mate, Captain Duncan’s most loyal first mate.”

As it spoke, Goathead stretched its neck to the side, using its chin to point towards another “Goathead” (Skull of Dreams) positioned on the other side of the sea chart table. “This one is also Saslokha, my other head, but this head has some problems, now it can’t communicate. Normally it’s just me talking to it one-sidedly—it’s a good listener, silent and patient. The captain always complains that I talk too much and tells me to shut up, but this head won’t. And let me tell you, I always feel this head actually responds when I talk to it a lot, sometimes it even moves a bit, but the captain always says that’s my delusion…”

“Quiet.”

“Okay, captain.”

Ray Nora observed this bizarre scene with a somewhat stunned expression, struggling to grasp what had just unfolded. It felt as if a wave of sound had suddenly washed over her, leaving her bewildered and speechless…

The last time she had experienced such an overwhelming sensation was just a few minutes ago when the Vanished had rolled over her…