Deep Sea Embers

The soothing murmur of the ocean had ceased, leaving Vanna in a stunned silence. As one of the Vanished’s crew and having undergone the transformation of subspace reshaping, her senses had been honed to exist in a realm where the whispers of the waves were a constant presence. The abrupt disappearance of this sound jolted her to immediate awareness. Without hesitation, she sprinted from her cabin to the deck, seeking the captain.

“Captain!” Vanna exclaimed, a rare look of confusion etched on her face as she approached Duncan. “The waves in my mind have disappeared. I fear something dire has befallen the Storm Goddess…”

Duncan nodded, his expression grave. “I am aware,” he acknowledged. “The decaying rot has escalated.”

Rooted to the spot, Vanna absorbed his unequivocal response. It took her a moment to shift her gaze towards the endless expanse of “grey-white” that stretched before the Vanished, her heart silently calling out to the goddess in a prayerful whisper, as she had done countless times before.

Yet, the comforting cadence of the sea remained elusive. Instead, faint whispers and chaotic murmurs, once dismissed as mere distractions during her prayers, now offered a strange solace to her unsettled spirit.

Out of the corner of her eye, Vanna noticed shadows beginning to form in the monotonous grey-white void that lay ahead of both the Vanished and the Bright Star. Suddenly, a seemingly endless layer of dark figures emerged, and a mirror-like expanse unfolded before them.

A voice, eerily reminiscent of Alice but heavily distorted, resonated through the minds of all on board: “Migration concluded… detaching from the passage.”

In the blink of an eye, the grey-white corridor encasing the Vanished and the Bright Star silently fractured, and the ships plummeted into a “nodal sea” composed of solid matter, skimming the mirror-like surface without creating so much as a ripple.

Duncan, with a solemn look, observed the view beyond the deck and then silently contemplated the sprawling shadows cast upon the “sea surface.”

As they came into clearer view, what appeared to be mountainous forms rising from the sea were, in reality, immense clusters of black crystals.

These gargantuan crystals stood like islands, their surfaces continuously fracturing and expanding, forming a forest of jagged crystal clusters. Illuminated by the chaotic light of the sky, their translucent edges blurred into the surreal landscape.

This was a realm far removed from the tranquil domain of the Storm Goddess.

Shirley, too, made her way to the deck, her eyes widening in awe at the sight of the crystal-laden sea, letting out a prolonged gasp of wonder.

“We’ve entered the nodal sea,” Duncan stated, regaining command of the Vanished. “Our next task is to locate Navigator Two, hidden somewhere within those crystal formations.”

Morris, also on deck, pointed confidently in a direction. “It’s that way. I can sense it,” he declared.

Under the scholar’s guidance, the Vanished and the Bright Star cautiously made their way deeper into the crystal sea.

Alice emerged on deck, her eyes wide with amazement at the sight of the massive, blade-like crystals retreating from the ship’s side, some pulsing with a vibrant glow. Despite her loss of memory regarding the New Hope, she instinctively felt that this alien landscape bore no resemblance to it, nor to the aftermath of the Great Annihilation that had reshaped her “Alice Mansion.”

Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind: “You’ve arrived…”

Startled, Alice turned towards Duncan, exclaiming, “Captain! Someone is speaking to me!”

The voice hesitated before revealing itself reluctantly: “I am Navigator Two…”

Duncan approached with a look of understanding, gently patting Alice on the head as if to reassure her. “Inform Navigator Two that we’re on our way to it.”

Alice, acknowledging with a nod, paused thoughtfully for a moment before looking back up at Duncan with a mix of confusion and concern. “It’s not responding to me anymore,” she admitted, troubled by the sudden silence from Navigator Two.

Duncan remained silent, his face devoid of emotion as he took control of the Vanished, skillfully navigating through a complex maze of crystal clusters that rose like peaks around them.

Time seemed to lose its meaning as they journeyed, until the world around the Vanished suddenly expanded. Emerging from a gate-like structure created by intersecting giant crystal columns, they were greeted by an unexpectedly vast expanse of sea. At the heart of this immense body of water, Navigator Two stood alone, silently awaiting their arrival.

Observing the orderly black array before him, Duncan softly instructed, “Switch to the small boat,” as they stopped a short distance from Navigator Two. The crew then transferred to a small boat, approaching the central mainframe with caution over the mirror-like surface of the sea.

From the direction of the Bright Star, a small white paper boat approached, carrying Lucretia at its bow, accompanied by Rabbi the rabbit and Luni the clockwork doll.

As the two boats met, approximately a hundred meters from the mainframe array, Lucretia turned and shared her observation, “Don’t you think… ‘It’ appears quite strange?”

Duncan, staring ahead with a grave demeanor, eventually responded, “Perhaps, appearing strange is the most normal state here.”

Reaching Navigator Two, they finally beheld the so-called “God of Wisdom” in its true form, revealed from within the mist. It was a collection of server structures of varying sizes, resembling steles, with a particularly large black rectangular core adorned with a red light that seemed to watch over its surroundings, reminiscent of the dark red “core” of the Nether Lord.

Surrounding the core were twenty-two smaller units, each several meters in height, their surfaces alive with flickering lights and a multitude of indicators blinking in an endless dance. From these structures emanated a deep, continuous hum.

The servers were interconnected by a network of what appeared to be nerves and blood vessels, creating a living, breathing entity. Flesh-like materials extended from each server, merging with the metallic exteriors and even transforming some parts into skin-like textures. At various convergence points, pulsating organs and brain-like tissues were visible, adding to the surreal fusion of technology and biology.

As they drew closer, a mass of flesh at the base of Navigator Two’s mainframe reacted, sending an eyeball on a stalk out to confront Alice, who, startled, slapped it away.

The eyeball quickly withdrew, and the entire network seemed to respond to this act of aggression.

A moment later, a synthetic voice questioned, “Navigator Three, why did you hit me?”

Alice paused, scratching her head a bit sheepishly: “Ah, I got a scare… and slapped without thinking much…”

Duncan, having observed the disturbingly altered server matrix, asked, “You didn’t originally look like this, did you?”

Upon Duncan’s inquiry, the central mainframe’s red light pulsated gently, and then a profound voice filled the space around him, offering insight into the peculiar state of their world’s technology. “No, I did not. My current state should help you grasp the reasoning behind the phenomenon of why machines could be ‘possessed’ in our world now.”

Duncan’s face subtly registered his alarm. He gazed intently at the fusion of organic and mechanical components within Navigator Two’s mainframe, noting the eerie appearance and disappearance of eyes within the network of blood vessels and nerve fibers. He made a concerted effort to maintain a composed demeanor despite the bizarre sights before him.

“When did this transformation begin?” he posed his question with a depth of curiosity.

The response came with the red light dimming and brightening slowly, “The change commenced with the first cry of a newborn echoing across the Boundless Sea. It was when Navigator One’s nanomachines completed their inaugural task of reshaping our world that we began to change. Given your encounter with Navigator One, you’re likely familiar with its altered state, so my current appearance shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

There was a brief pause as if the entity behind the voice was contemplating its next words. Then, with a tone that seemed to carry the weight of resigned acceptance, it continued, “Think of it as a form of ‘adaptive adjustment.’ My situation, while unsettling, is not unique – yet, it could be seen as less severe compared to others. After all, I am still capable of having this direct conversation with you.”

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