Deep Sea Embers - Chapter 838

[Chapter 819: The Stagnant Country of the Dead]

In the endless wilderness completely made of black, white and gray, the disorderly and cold wind blows across the ground all the time, the grass waves roll, and the weird black and white plants sway lifeless limbs in the wind, and there are tiny microscopic Light particles rise from the grass from time to time, floating and wandering above the wilderness, like lost souls, wandering in this forgotten kingdom of the dead.

And the entire country was shrouded in a dim sky that was almost nighttime. There was neither thick fog nor clouds in the sky, only a swirling turbid color block that swirled endlessly.

The Lost Home and the Brilliant Star “glided” silently in the endless wilderness. This strange scene could not be explained. So Crecia sent two tin men to leave the ship to check the “land” outside and confirmed that it was There is indeed solid land under the undulating grass waves, but the two ships are still sailing on this land. The hulls below the waterline submerge into the earth as if they are sailing in the water, as if… “the sea” The concept of “wilderness” merges eerily together here.

Under Duncan’s order, the two ships reduced their speed and sailed extremely cautiously under the eternal night. Shirley climbed to the observation deck on the top of the mast. After looking far into the distance, she saw nothing – except for the wilderness around her. It is still wilderness, and all that can be seen is the slightly undulating ground. In addition, there are no buildings or eye-catching landmarks, not even slightly higher hills.

After continuing a fruitless voyage for another period of time, the two ships finally came to a stop – as if “stranded” in this endless wilderness.

Duncan summoned his followers to the deck.

“In view of the strange situation we encountered on the ‘Island of Ashes’ before, we have to proceed with caution this time,” Duncan said with a serious expression, looking at the crew members gathered in front of him, “Everyone, please do not leave the ship hastily. At present, The most important thing is to find a way to figure out what the rules of this ‘death wilderness’ are. “

“You have to ask professionals about this,” Moss said immediately. “Ms. Agatha should be familiar with the kingdom of the god of death. Some understanding…

As soon as the old scholar finished speaking, a hazy shadow appeared on the deck, and Agatha’s voice came from the shadow, with a strange and ethereal sound: “I I’m trying to figure it out – but things may be a bit complicated right now. “

She paused after saying this, and patiently explained while organizing the knowledge in her memory: “According to the records in the sacred scriptures, outsiders will embark on a ‘path of no return’ through the wilderness after arriving in the wilderness of death. The road has no end and can only go in one direction. The deceased will keep walking on this road. In the process, he will gradually forget the memories of the world. Later, he will meet the guiding messenger on the path, which is the person who is located at the deceased’s doorstep. ‘Gatekeepers’ on one side of the world.

“The gatekeeper will lead the dead through the invisible intersection on the path, across the entire wilderness in an instant, and arrive at the center of the kingdom of the dead – where there stands a huge door. The dead will see Baator in front of the door. Under the gaze of that shadow, all the filth stained in the world faded away, and she walked into the door with a pure attitude, ushering in eternal sleep…

Agatha told the teachings of the Church of Death – -In this teaching, there is no concept of “reincarnation” that Duncan is familiar with. The end of death is obviously eternal sleep, rather than returning to the world in any form.

Shirley was really curious when she heard this: “Then everyone. After you die, you will eventually go to sleep behind that door? What if there are too many people sleeping behind that door? There will always be more and more dead people…

Shirley finished her words, and next to her, Ali, who had just come down from the bridge, Si also murmured: “It’s so crowded… Do they all sleep on top of each other…

” I think most of them sleep upright, like the bamboo in a cage. The signs are the same,” Shirley muttered as she came to Alice’s side. “When it’s full, stack it vertically and then stack it horizontally. After it’s full, lay it vertically. One layer horizontally and one vertically, just go up. Base…

“Speaking of which, will those who sleep below feel heavy?”

“No, I heard that dead people have no weight…

The two with the lowest level of knowledge on the ship are these. Suddenly a strange door opened and they started chatting on a weird topic. Seeing that the atmosphere around him was getting weirder and weirder, Duncan finally couldn’t help it anymore: “Ahem… you can talk about this kind of topic in private. “

Shirley quickly shrank her neck and nodded repeatedly: “Oh…

Duncan turned his attention to Agatha again: “You just said that the situation is a bit complicated now… What is it?” What do you mean?”

Agatha nodded: “To put it simply, if the records in the classics are correct, outsiders need a process of ‘passage’ and ‘guidance’ to see the God of Death, but now… . .This boot mechanism may have stopped. “

Duncan frowned and thought of something quickly.

Cressia and Moss next to him almost reacted immediately. Moss held a pipe in his mouth and frowned: “The death mechanism of this world has disappeared… ..

“Yes, the death mechanism disappeared – so the corresponding “gatekeeper” who guided outsiders in the wilderness of death also disappeared,” Agatha said solemnly. She raised her head and looked beyond the side of the ship. In the endless wasteland, “Without the new dead, there will be no path to no return and the gatekeeper. All we can see is the wilderness itself… Although in theory, the gate and the Lord of Death should Right in the center of this wilderness, but it is a place that can never be reached without the right method.

Nina listened with wide eyes and curiosity. She looked up at Duncan and then at Agatha. At this time, I couldn’t help but say: “Is it necessary to have such ‘conditions’ as passage and guidance? Is there no other alternative? Ceremony or something like that…

“I’m afraid there is no way,” Agatha shook slowly Shaking his head, “‘Symbolism’ is a very important part of the field related to gods, and its essence is to ‘reproduce specific events with strict procedures, and because the field controlled by the God of Death is extremely special, here’ The rules can only be stricter than at other nodes… because the line between the living and the dead must be clear. “

She stopped suddenly when she said this, and added with a somewhat complicated expression: “At least… until the death mechanism disappears in this world. “

Fanna had not spoken since just now, and then she suddenly broke the silence: “In other words, if there is a ‘dead’, it is possible to restart the guidance mechanism here and open the way to Bartok’s door?”

“…I understand it this way,” Agatha said cautiously, “At least from the records in the sacred books, this is the case, but it may not be that simple. After all…the books Everything corresponds to the days when the world was still ‘normal’, but now many things have changed, and even the gods themselves… are distorted into things that they themselves cannot understand.”

“This is at least one “The idea,” Vanna said with a serious face, “is better than continuing to wander blindly in the wilderness.” “

But there is a problem,” Moss on the side was holding a pipe, “Where can I find a dead person now?” —When there are no more ‘dead people’ in the world. “

After the old scholar finished speaking, many eyes on the deck suddenly looked at each other, and the atmosphere quickly became a little weird.

Several eyes fell on Agatha. The “gatekeeper” lady immediately spread her hands: “Don’t look at me. Strictly speaking, I shouldn’t be considered a dead person. I’m just a shadow that almost disappeared. From the birth process Look, I haven’t even “lived”, and naturally I haven’t “died” either. “

Then another gaze fell on Fanna, and Miss Inquisitor quickly waved her hand: “I can’t count, can I? I died back then, but I have come back to life, and my survival is now supported by the captain. ‘Solid’, no matter how you look at it, it can’t be counted as the deceased…

She hesitated for a moment when she said this, and then added uncertainly: “At least it can’t be counted completely, right?”

“I can’t be counted as Hibiki – I’m a ghost demon now, the kind that has been reborn.” Shirley noticed that eyes began to fall on her, and quickly waved her hands, “Even if I really died once, Now Bartok’s gatekeeper can’t control me anymore…

Duncan looked around and suddenly touched his chin with a subtle expression: “That said, why do I feel that there is not even a normal person on the ship now?” There are no living people? There are no normal dead people…

As he said this, he glanced at Moss subconsciously, and saw that the old gentleman was holding an unlit pipe in his mouth and a screwdriver in one hand. He was adjusting the fastening screws near the back of his head…

Noticing the captain’s gaze, the old man put away the screwdriver and the reed in his chest vibrated: “Sorry, there is a little noise on the skull surface. The screw is loose.”

Everyone on the deck looked at each other and fell into silence.

Only Alice suddenly came back to her senses after wandering for a while. She leaned over and whispered to Shirley in a low voice: “…Is it possible that she fell asleep hanging? Just like the sailor…” …

Shirley was shocked: “Are you still thinking about this?! The topic has changed eight hundred times…

She was suddenly stunned.

“Who did you just talk about?”

“Sailor–he just hung up and slept, even though he was pretending to be asleep.”

Shirley blinked her eyes, and then slowly turned to look at the captain after reacting: “Yes… ….Where is the mummy? Why didn’t he come over?”

“He should be on the lower deck at this time, probably lazing around again,” Duncan also reacted and frowned slightly, “But then again… …Can Anomaly 077 be considered a normal ‘dead’? Why do I feel that he is less ‘dead’ than some of you?”

His eyes swept over Agatha, Vanna and Shirley in turn.

Shirley couldn’t help but murmured: “Captain, your way of describing it is a bit strange…”

Duncan’s eyes widened: “Isn’t the topic itself strange enough?”