Deep Sea Embers

For a long time, Lawrence has been trapped in a "lucid dream"-he knows what happened to him and his mental illness better than anyone else.

He knew that Martha was no longer there, and that the figure that was with him day and night was actually just an illusion. He knew all of this—whether it was on the subconscious level or the subjective level, he was very clear-headed.

However, compared with other captains of similar age and similar experience, his mental state is already considered good. In the vast sea, the most indispensable thing is the captains with twisted minds and damaged minds. Shared by the ship priest, this profession that challenges the sea is also destined to suffer far more mental pollution than ordinary crew members. Every captain has completed ocean voyages time and time again in the confrontation with his own deteriorating mind, so that the captains often Describe your career in one sentence -

"We are not sailing on the edge of an abyss, our lives sail straight to that abyss."

But it is precisely because of the perennial mental distress that Lawrence has a particularly keen perception of "Martha". At this moment, he has keenly realized that the figure in front of him is by no means the same as the illusion he has seen in the past. "thing".

He couldn't help but recall the "Martha" who had appeared on the white oak deck before. Gus, the first mate at the time, had seen the figure of "Martha"--when did the change begin?

Has all this finally crossed a certain tipping point? The thing in my fantasy...has finally come to reality? Or some kind of indescribable force read his mind and created this actual "individual" before his eyes? Is this a malicious gift? Or a trap full of sarcasm?

"Martha..." Lawrence finally opened his mouth. He felt that his throat was a little dry, and even his voice became hoarse. "You are in front of me?"

"As you can see," the female adventurer laughed, "you want to touch me? I even have body temperature."

"...you are a real individual," Lawrence took a light breath, restraining his urge to take a step forward, "but...why is that? Could it be that the illusion in my mind has been transformed into something here? A kind of entity? Is this... the power of this sea area?"

"At least partly right," Martha shook her head lightly, "It is true that this 'sea' shaped me and the Black Oak, but I am not from an illusion in your mind - I have been wandering here for many years , Lawrence - I have been here with this ship for many years, wandering blindly as part of a vast number of 'fakes'."

Lawrence was slightly taken aback: "Fake?"

"Fakes - some kind of powerful force in the deep sea caused all this, I don't know what it is, but it has been here for many, many years, creating countless fakes, remember just being wiped out by you Is that the 'Haiyan'? And that Dagger Island..."

"They are all 'fakes'?!" Lawrence's eyes widened, and he suddenly realized that the vortex he was sinking in seemed to be more treacherous and terrifying than he imagined, "Wait, what about the Frost City State we encountered before?" ..."

"It's the same, everything here is," Martha said calmly, "That force has already infiltrated the entire sea area, and all things that linger in this sea area for enough time cannot escape its 'copying' ’, there are countless blind, empty replicas that linger in the depths of the ocean—and what you have encountered is only a fraction of them.”

Lawrence seemed to have fallen into a daze. After a long time, he suddenly woke up and looked at his "wife" in disbelief: "But...you look different, you can even talk to me , this ship was fighting side by side with the White Oak just now..."

Martha didn't speak, but watched Lawrence quietly with a calm and meaningful smile.

The latter stopped talking and gradually came to his senses. He lowered his head and looked at his still ghost-like illusory and transparent body and the quiet green flame burning quietly on his body.

The appearance of the Black Oak came after the White Oak completed its "transformation" in the fire of the spirit body.

"You realize, Lawrence," Martha said softly, "the only thing that can compete with mighty power is another stronger kind of mighty power. Even in this sea area, you can't get your hands on the spoils of the lost fleet—you and me, All are spoils of 'His'."

Lawrence listened blankly, feeling a little dazed, and then his expression changed slightly, and he realized the incongruity of the last few words the other party said just now—it wasn't that he said goodbye to him decades ago Things "Martha" should know!

Why did she know about the Homeless? Why do you know that the White Oak is Captain Duncan's "trophy"?

"You read my consciousness!" Lawrence's eyes widened suddenly, and his muscles tensed subconsciously, "You are not the real Martha!"

However, the figure standing not far away just smiled, as if he didn't care about Lawrence's reaction at all. This calmness was the same as decades ago: "If what you want is a 100% accurate and 'pure' Martha, I'm sorry, Lawrence, I'm not really her - but 'she' is a part of me, Martha's soul is inside me, and another part of me comes from your consciousness and memory... This sea is like a mirror, It is constantly reflecting all that floats past its surface, including consciousness and memory.

"I didn't read your consciousness, it was your consciousness that was naturally reflected as a part of me - can't you accept this?"

Lawrence opened his mouth, and after several times of expression changes, he finally twitched the corners of his mouth bitterly, and spread his hands: "I don't know, I never even thought about how to deal with you after actually facing you, I ...I don't know how to accept this...'form' of you, I haven't even figured out what kind of existence you are."

He raised his head, and the old captain who had faced countless treacherous horrors in the boundless sea and never wavered seemed a little at a loss at this moment.

He never showed himself weak in front of anyone—except in front of his own wife.

Martha quietly looked at Lawrence, who was no longer young. After a long time, she smiled helplessly: "You are still the same as before. At critical moments, you always need my help."

She walked over, raised her hands, and put them on Lawrence's shoulders with the warmth of a living person.

"You need a firm ego, and a clear judgment..."

Lawrence frowned slightly, a little puzzled.

"Mr. Sailor, can you please leave for a while?" Martha turned her head again, looking at the anomaly 077 who had been quite honest since just now, "The owner of the Lost Fleet will be satisfied with your cooperation."

The mummy wearing a sailor's blouse was shocked, and turned and left the bridge without saying a word.

Lawrence seemed to have realized something suddenly, and said hastily: "Wait..."

But the bridge gates are closed.

Anomaly 077 quickly ran to the corridor outside the door, he only vaguely heard Captain Lawrence's last shout from inside:

"Martha—I'm over sixty this year!"

He couldn't bear to listen to the movement behind him.

After a while, there was a creaking sound of door hinges turning. Anomaly 077 shrank his neck, turned his head cautiously, and saw the female adventurer standing in front of the door with a relaxed and happy smile on her face.

Immediately afterwards, Lawrence also came out grinning. After seeing the anomaly 077 at the door, he immediately cast a warning look—then he quickly covered his head and grinned even more.

Anomaly 077 immediately withdrew his gaze, trying to reduce his sense of existence like a real corpse.

Apparently, he was beaten hard.

"Is it acceptable now?" Martha turned her head and said to Lawrence with a smile.

Lawrence held the swollen place on his head. He didn't know why he was still beaten up by Martha in his current form, which was almost a spirit body. He only knew that such details were no longer important: "I can accept it, I can accept..."

Drifting in the boundless sea still requires a mentality of being able to think about everything.

After all, now it seems that if I can't think about it, Martha will help me "open it"-the female adventurer's bold temper is the same as it was many years ago, but she is already an old man over fifty years old...

"Then next, we should think about the business," Martha said with a smile on her face, leaning on the door with her arms folded. "It's not an option to be stuck here all the time."

Hearing this, Lawrence immediately suppressed the complicated thoughts in his heart, and his face became serious: "Martha, I wanted to ask you just now, what is the state of this sea area? Do you know the reason for leaving here? method?"

"...I really want to answer you, but I'm sorry," Martha said apologetically after being silent for two seconds, "Although I've been wandering here for many years, in the final analysis, this ship and I are nothing more than It's just one of the many fakes trapped here, but one thing is certain... the entire sea area is centered on that 'Frost City-State', if there really is a gap that intersects with the real world , it must be Frost."