Chapter 810: Chapter 807: Ashen Isle

Homeloss and Brilliant Starship’s massive silhouettes passed through the dense fog at the world’s end and entered a tranquil sea area that materialized into existence, with their destination clearly visible ahead–it was right there, a barren, ash-covered land floating on the ocean.

Apart from that desolate piece of land, no other landmark objects were visible across the sea area, only many clusters of floating ash on the mirror-like water surface. Under the chaotic Sky Light, those clusters of ash floating on the water resembled… fallen clouds.

Homeloss navigated through a narrow channel made up of ash clusters, slowly heading towards the barren isolated island in the distance. The sea’s reflection on the ship’s hull, combined with its mirror-like quality, made Duncan feel for a moment as if the ship were sailing through a pristine and clear sky–clouds of mist and ash gathered around the two ships, and the deeper colored ash looked like islands floating in the sky. Homeloss’s passage didn’t cause any ripples on the water’s surface, only slightly disturbing the nearby ash clusters and fog, causing them to fracture and reassemble around.

Sherry leaned on the ship’s railing, watching the scene on the sea surface with amazement, along with Ah Gou. Even though she had already witnessed many incredible sights with Homeloss, she still found herself involuntarily attracted by these unbelievable scenes every time they reached a waypoint on their journey.

“Ah Gou… I’ve started to feel lately that having an insufficient vocabulary is indeed troublesome,” Sherry muttered softly, her voice so low as if she feared being overheard by the captain, yet she didn’t use the symbiotic bond’s mental connection, as if she still hoped someone would hear her mutter, “Right now, I can only think of ‘damn’, but it’s actually quite beautiful here…”

“Should I add two more books for you?” Ah Gou gently shook his head, “Why don’t you finish those books you’ve hidden under your bed first?”

Upon hearing this, Sherry was taken aback and hurriedly pressed Ah Gou’s head: “Shh–”

Duncan heard Sherry and Ah Gou’s murmur, but he didn’t pay much attention to these matters; his focus was completely on the land that was getting closer–As the distance closed, he could now see many details on the island.

Flat, barren, not a blade of grass, it was a not-so-large isolated island, the final resting place for a “deity”. It wasn’t as grand as the Queen Leviathan’s temple, nor as magnificent as the Crystal Cluster Cemetery of Navigation II. There wasn’t even something that could be called a building on the isolated island; all that could be seen was ash and dust, along with some rising smoke.

With an inexplicable mood, Duncan instructed Homeloss to anchor near the island’s coast, and then they boarded the island by a small boat.

This was a fire node, but it was apparent that the remnants of fire were retreating from this land–now, only warm ash was visible everywhere, and dark red scorch marks stretched out amidst the ashes, seemingly fading away every second.

A soft, loose sensation of ash underfoot, along with its warm temperature greeted them as Duncan and his companions landed on an open beach at the edge of the barren island, cautiously advancing towards the island’s interior.

There were no paths on the island, only fine ash that covered everything. Everyone walked extra carefully to avoid tripping over stones or other objects hidden under the ash–no one wanted to fall into the ash, especially when it was uncertain whether these “ashes” possessed any abnormal traits.

“I feel like ash has gotten into my shoes… Ahhh, and it’s all over my skirt too…” Sherry hadn’t walked far before she couldn’t help but start to complain, “I need to take a good bath when I get back. There’s ash everywhere!”

“…This place must have been covered in intense fire; only after flames have burned out would such a scene remain,” Lucrecia’s voice came from behind the group. The witch lady walked elegantly through the ashes, holding in her hand a fancy parasol that had appeared mysteriously, and a breeze encircled below the parasol, preventing any of the ash from staining her. She gazed into the distance, “Smoke columns are still visible in the far distance; the fire there hasn’t completely died yet, but for the entire island… those are just a few sparks.”

Nina glanced at the witch lady who still maintained her grace even in such a place and couldn’t help but voice her envy: “Magic is so convenient…”

“Envious? Earned by staying up all night every day for a century,” Lucrecia looked at Nina with a smile, then turned to Duncan, and slightly raised her parasol, “Do you need one? I have a spare parasol–it can keep you clean and your breathing smooth.”

Duncan looked at the ash that clung to him and then up at Lucrecia’s fairy tale-like lavender lady’s parasol; his eyes twitched: “No need.”

“I can swap it for a black one,” Lucrecia said earnestly, “If you wish, the handle can even have a skull pattern.”

Before Duncan could speak, the image of the captain walking with a dark gothic-style parasol flashed through Sherry’s mind, almost frightening her.

Instead, Duncan looked sternly at Lucrecia, silently igniting the flames on his body.

His body transformed into a Spiritual Body within the flames, floating and walking above the ash, his voice deep: “I have my own way.”

Lucrecia shrugged her shoulders and sneakily curled up the corners of her mouth at an angle her father didn’t notice, while Sherry seemingly suddenly realized something and slapped her palm: “Right, I think I also have my own way…”

Before her voice had completely faded, a series of loud crackling sounds of bones echoed from within her body. Immediately after, a cloud of pitch-black dust shrouded her entire figure. Gruesome and jagged bone fragments then spread and grew out from within her, transforming her into the towering form of a Profound Demon in the blink of an eye–she then propped up her body with the twelve skeletal limbs behind her, treading above the layer of ashes.

“This is much better, even the view,” Sherry’s relatively mature and husky voice came from above as she fiddled with a pile of ash on the ground using the tips of her long limbs, and unable to help herself, she muttered, “…I don’t know why, but I just dislike the ash here. It’s not that it’s dirty, it’s just that…it feels strange… uncomfortable when it gets on me.”

Upon hearing Sherry’s murmur, Nina, who was walking next to Duncan, also frowned and tugged at Duncan’s sleeve: “I feel the same, the ash feels terrible on my skin, it’s like…I can’t catch my breath and can hardly move, as if I’m entangled by something.”

Duncan immediately came to a halt, initially he had found Sherry’s actions amusing, but now his expression turned serious.

“Do you all feel the same?” He swiftly turned around to look at the other members of the team.

“Not really,” Alice was the first to shake her head. The doll-like miss even bent down to inspect her body, moving her joints around, “It’s just that the ash gets into the joints, it’s ticklish, I need a good bath when we return.”

“I have a similar feeling to Sherry and Nina,” Morris spoke gravely, “There’s something off about this environment… It’s different from the realms of the Storm Goddess and the God of Wisdom. It seems like there’s something ‘alive’ within the deep ash, exerting an influence on us.”

With that, he paused as if judging carefully, and then shook his head, “But I don’t feel any direct malice, it seems to be just a part of the ‘environment’ here.”

Upon hearing this, Duncan furrowed his brows and looked in another direction: “Fenna, what about you?”

No response.

There was just an endless expanse of ash, but Duncan was certain that just a moment ago, Fenna was standing in that place–he even thought he caught a fleeting glimpse of her phantom image, silently standing there until just now.

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent. Nina gazed astonished in the direction where there was nothing, and almost subconsciously, a question emerged in her mind: Who is Fenna?

But as this question was about to take shape, leaping flames once again appeared before her eyes, followed by a flood of information that rushed into her mind as if waking from numbness and ice, furiously overwhelming her–

The youngest Judge from Prandel… Possessing formidable power and unwavering conviction… Beautiful, long silver hair… Always meticulous when she first boarded the ship, but revealed her bright, optimistic, and friendly nature once familiar… A bit resentful about “remaining unmarried”… Quite tall…

Nina raised her head bewildered, the plethora of swirling information reassembling in her mind, momentarily crafting Fenna’s image before her eyes only to shatter into indistinct fragments a moment later. She saw invisible winds sweep across the lone isle, light ashes stirred by the breeze, with a tall silhouette faintly discernible within the wind–

That figure was heading towards the center of the isle, moving as if in a parallel dimension, never looking back, resembling a traveler who has forgotten all of the past, wandering on an endless journey.

Nina snapped back to her senses, suddenly pointing towards the figure that was quickly dissipating in the wind and ashes: “Over there! Fenna went that way! I just saw her go!”

Everyone seemed jolted awake, exchanging bewildered glances, the disjointed memories of Fenna and the phantasm that had just emerged in the wind making it difficult for everyone to discern if what surrounded them was real or illusion. It was at this moment the captain’s calm and authoritative voice suddenly broke through this “quagmire,” which seemed to be incessantly sinking, tangled between reality and perception–

“Everyone, back to the ship!”

Green flames burst forth, burning a stable area amidst this ash-covered ground. Morris looked up ahead to see a rotating door of fire opening beside Duncan, with Ai Yi’s figure hovering above the doorway.

“This ‘ash’ is history reduced to ashes,” Duncan spoke urgently, “Head back to the ship. Immediately.”

“What about you?” Nina paused briefly, asking instinctively.

“…I need to bring Fenna back,” Duncan said, looking up at the endless expanse of ash stretching into the distance, “and, by the way, find Tarrikin.”