Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 243 “Return”

Zhou Ming stood before the mirror, gazing silently at his reflection.

It appeared so vivid and lifelike that, if not for his hand reaching out to touch the cold, rigid surface, he might have questioned whether the person opposite was genuinely an “alternate self.”

After a considerable time, he finally averted his eyes from the mirror and peered into the expansive darkness that enveloped him.

How vast was this space? Could he walk endlessly if he proceeded outward? What was the essence of this shadowy expanse? Why had it materialized here, behind the Door of the Lost? What was the relationship between the Door of the Lost in subspace and the Door of the Lost in the real world? And, most crucially…

What was the text materializing in the darkness?

Zhou Ming stepped away from the mirror. As he did, the mirror quietly vanished, and the figure within it dissolved into the shadows. With each stride he took, more faint text appeared in the darkness, outlining everything related to him.

It resembled an in-depth personal record… documented in a vital database, the purpose of which remained a mystery.

Zhou Ming felt his imagination was insufficient. He attempted to rationalize everything he saw but acknowledged that, no matter how he contemplated, it all seemed like wild, unadulterated fantasy in the end.

He even started to believe in the existence of a “Doomsday Shelter Plan” and that he was someone who had unknowingly taken refuge within it. His solitary apartment served as his haven, and the text manifesting in this dark expanse was his registration file prior to entering the shelter.

In the darkness, his thoughts raced unrestrainedly. However, after an indeterminate amount of time, he abruptly collected his scattered thoughts.

“…I’ve wasted enough time.” He murmured softly.

No more clues could be found here, only illusions that could unsettle his mind. Regardless of whether this dark space genuinely concealed a monumental secret or if it was simply another ploy and enticement by the subspace, he should not squander any more time here.

Zhou Ming inhaled deeply, steadying his thoughts, and resolved to conduct one final examination and exploration of the dark space before departing.

He headed towards the distance, prudently and cautiously moving away from the door.

More text materialized beneath him—similar to what he had seen earlier but more precise and formal, resembling registration data used in official circumstances.

While quietly observing the text, Zhou Ming occasionally glanced back to verify the distance between him and the door, ensuring he hadn’t become disoriented in the darkness.

His caution increased with each step, and ultimately, he advanced only a few centimeters with every stride.

Suddenly, he realized that the text emerging beneath his feet had altered –

“?#% situation &… % whether @#?”

“[email protected]* approximately between 355 and *& potential presence of &… % % & …”

The text grew disordered, and the sentences became peculiar and incomprehensible to the point of being unreadable compared to the formerly fluid text.

Zhou Ming felt a stirring within him but did not cease advancing, only growing more vigilant. As he continued walking towards the fringes of the darkness, additional text surfaced in the shadows.

The strangeness and chaos escalated, and the frequency of disorder increased exponentially. At first, he could still discern a few meaningful words in each sentence, but soon it reached a point where not a single coherent character appeared across several sentences. Later on, he couldn’t even see the “garbled” text anymore.

What emerged from the darkness was no longer text and symbols but a series of contorted, leaping lines, restless points of light, and even quivering projections that appeared to defy geometric principles.

He pressed on, and the tumultuous light and shadows that emerged in the darkness transcended ordinary comprehension. It was as if indescribable reflections from the universe’s edge had transformed into a path extending beneath his feet.

Eventually, even the chaotic, leaping lines and points of light vanished, and nothing new materialized.

Zhou Ming promptly stopped.

He hadn’t lost his sanity, nor had he become fixated on continually exploring the unknown.

He glanced back, and the door he had entered through had been reduced to a faint point of light yet still stood silently in the darkness.

Zhou Ming resolutely turned around and headed back. No matter what lay hidden within the depths of the darkness, the moment the information emerging beneath his feet reached its conclusion, he knew he couldn’t proceed any further.

He returned at a swifter pace than before, rapidly traversing the void of darkness and arriving back at the “Door of the Lost” leading to the Vanished.

He placed his hand on the handle, and the solid sensation reassured Zhou Ming, who had been roaming and investigating the darkness for an extended period. Then, he took a deep breath and stepped through the door.

The refreshing sea breeze met his face, and the sudden bright daylight in his field of vision made Duncan feel slightly uneasy. The subtle swaying beneath his feet and the sound of waves crashing against the ship registered in his perception with minor delay – perhaps after spending too long in silence, the sudden crashing of waves seemed like thunder.

Duncan abruptly froze, looking around and taking in the familiar visage of the Vanished, the vast ocean, and the sun suspended in the sky, encircled by dual runes.

He had returned to the real dimension.

This unforeseen situation left him somewhat bewildered because, just a moment before stepping through the door in the darkness, he had been contemplating how to continue exploring the “damaged Vanished” to find a way back. He never imagined that simply passing through the door would transport him directly back to reality… what was the pattern here?

To return from the “damaged Vanished,” presumably in subspace, to the real dimension, all he needed was to use the Door of the Lost as a transfer point?

He thoughtfully glanced back and saw that he was standing in front of the captain’s cabin, and the Door of the Lost stood silently in the sunlight, with a few words on the doorframe shining brightly in the daylight.

Duncan’s thoughts immediately sprang into action.

There were numerous doors on the Vanished, but only three were unique. The first was the “Door of the Lost,” the second was the somber wooden door leading to the lower cabin that’s marked with the “Final Door” label, and the third was the floating door at the bottom of the ship connecting to subspace. The last one could perhaps be called the “Subspace Door.”

On the “damaged Vanished,” whether it was the “Final Door” leading to the lower cabin or the “Subspace Door,” the markings on their frames had vanished, while only the “Door of the Lost” in front of the captain’s cabin maintained a consistent appearance.

Looking back, it seemed that this “consistency” might have indicated the true “exit” from the beginning!

With a vague answer in mind, Duncan sighed with relief and then proceeded to push open the door to the captain’s cabin.

After stepping through, he confirmed that the opposite side was not darkness, but his own bachelor apartment – everything in the room appeared normal.

Then he returned to the ship, this time pulling open the door to the captain’s cabin.

The familiar chart room, the exquisite furnishings, the familiar table, and the familiar Goathead on the table all provided a sense of solidity for the first time in his life.

Upon hearing movement at the door, Goathead immediately turned his head, its neck producing a creaking sound from the friction of the wood: “Name?”

“Duncan Abnomar, it’s me, I’m back,” Duncan instantly replied, guessing that the other party would certainly ask for confirmation – this Goathead could sense whether he had left the Vanished and might even be able to detect some kind of “change” in him to a certain extent. Its “name confirmation” seemed somewhat random on the surface, but there appeared to be a pattern to it. “I’ve been to a distant place.”

“Ah, Captain! You’re finally back!” Goathead immediately let out an exaggerated and attentive voice that’s as boisterous as ever. “You suddenly vanished from the ship, and I was really shocked! At least when you travel to the spirit realm, you usually leave your body here! But just now, all your aura was gone… And you came back from the deck? Where have you been?”

“All my aura was gone? Completely left the ship?” Duncan’s eyes shifted subtly with that thought.

He had indeed entered the suspected subspace with his physical body, not the “conscious projection” he initially thought!

He met Goathead’s dark gaze, hesitated momentarily, and spoke: “Don’t be scared when I tell you this.”

“Ah, don’t worry, your first mate is not only loyal and brave but also courageous and loy…”

“I went to subspace.”

Goathead: “…?!”

It took a full half-minute before the creature suddenly made a crunching sound as if its neck was about to snap: “Ca…Ca…Captain?! You said you…”

“I went to subspace if I didn’t go the wrong way,” Duncan said as he walked into the captain’s cabin and picked up the lantern on the shelf next to him. “Wait for me for a moment.”

Without waiting for Goathead to respond, he left the captain’s cabin with the lantern and hurriedly traversed the deck and multiple cabins, heading straight for the lowest level of the Vanished.

He passed through the “Final Door” and arrived at the broken lower cabin.

Between the fractured hull of the lower cabin, it was still the same dim and chaotic scene, with limited visibility revealing few details. It only showed turbulent light, shadow streams, and occasional flashes dancing and flowing in darkness.

And the most dangerous “Subspace Door” stood silently in the cabin’s center.

The door was tightly closed, without a single gap.