The sunlight was very bright.
If that luminous object hanging high in the sky really was the sun, then its "sunlight"… was indeed very bright.
Duncan didn't know how long he had been staring at the sky until his eyes became sore and swollen to the point of being unbearable. Only then did he finally withdraw his gaze from the clouds. However, the "sun's" image remained deeply imprinted on his retina and deep in his mind; even if he closed his eyes, he could still vividly recall its appearance—the orb emitting faint golden light, the twisting streams of light drifting around the orb, and the concentric rings of the structure quietly revolving around it.
The sun wasn't like this; it shouldn't be like this—in the world he was familiar with, even under an alien sky, the star suspended high in the sky wouldn't look like this.
But now he had to accept reality.
He was in a foreign land, a more distant foreign land than he could have imagined.
Even the sun had become something he couldn't comprehend.
Duncan turned his head subconsciously to look at the door in front of the captain's quarters.
Pushing the door inward would allow him to return to the room he had lived in for many years, back to his bachelor's apartment.
But outside that room, the thick fog had long since obscured the entire world. In a sense, the only thing left of his familiar "hometown" was that last thirty-square-meter cabin.
What seemed like a "home" that one could return to by simply opening a door was in fact another vessel adrift in the solitary sea.
In the midst of this prolonged silence, the voice of the goat-headed creature suddenly entered Duncan's ears, "Captain, where are we headed next? Do you have any navigation plans?"
Navigation plans? How could Duncan have such a thing—although he too wished he could immediately come up with a thorough plan to explore this world and confirm the course ahead, he didn't even have a proper sea chart at hand, let alone know what lands existed in this world, what powers there were, or whether this Endless Sea had an end at all.
Just a few hours ago, he had learned how to steer the Homeloss.
But he still fell into contemplation and, after several minutes, spoke in his mind, "That ship that collided with the Homeloss earlier, where did it come from?"
"You want to go to those City-States?" The goat-headed creature's voice was somewhat surprised, and then it started to advise against it, "I suggest you better not approach the sea-lanes controlled by those City-States... at least not now. Although you are the great Captain Duncan, the Homeloss's current state... is ultimately not what it used to be, and the City-States' coastal navies and the church guards will definitely do everything in their power to resist your... attack."
Duncan was temporarily at a loss for words; suddenly, he really wanted to know what that "Captain Duncan" he had replaced had done in the past to warrant such resentment, as if just showing his face in the world could immediately provoke a raid for twenty-five players...
Also, by reading between the lines of what the goat-headed creature said, Duncan realized that both the Homeloss and he as the "captain" were not in as good of a condition as it routinely flattered—was it possible that the Ghost Ship captain and his vessel remained in the distant seas because they dared not return to the ports of the civilized world?
It was a forced exile by another name—an adventure to the ends of the world!
Duncan was somewhat troubled; he desperately needed to find a way to understand this world. He was obliged to figure out how to make contact with the "civilized society" of this world, whether to survive here for a long time or to solve the mystery and return to the "hometown" he was familiar with. He couldn't keep drifting aimlessly on this Endless Sea, but the problem was—
The "civilized society" of this world didn't seem to think so.
In the eyes of the locals, "Captain Duncan" was like a world boss wandering outside the main city, one that had to be met by forming a group of twenty-five as soon as he came into view...
Duncan sighed—if only there was a book on the Homeloss, he wouldn't be so passive. His only source of knowledge here was that prattling goat-headed creature, but he couldn't risk exposing too much of himself in front of it at this stage.
Then again... how was it possible that such a large ship didn't have even one book on board?
A solitary and long voyage at sea is an extremely stressful environment for those living at sea; one needs some way to relieve stress. Ordinary sailors may not have much time to read books for entertainment, but the prestigious "Captain Duncan"... surely couldn't be illiterate?
After all, "captain" was a technical profession that required a high level of knowledge. Even the roughest and most barbaric pirates needed a captain who could understand sea charts, know the stars, and calculate navigation routes.
With these doubts in mind, Duncan casually asked—his inquiry was very cautious, posed as if it were an offhand remark. The goat-headed creature replied without hesitation, "Books? Reading books at sea is a dangerous thing. The creatures from the profound depths and Subspace are always waiting for mortals' minds to show vulnerabilities, and the only safe reading material is the 'classics' published by the church. That stuff is safe, but reading it is so tedious it's worse than scrubbing the deck... Haven't you always been uninterested in the church's things?"
Duncan's eyebrows were raised immediately.
How could reading a book at sea be life-threatening? And only the church's "classics" were safe to read? What kind of serious illness did this boundless ocean have?
It felt like he had gained a bit more knowledge about this world, but with it came new doubts. Duncan had no choice but to forcibly suppress these new questions and walked to the end of the ship's rail, looking out over the horizon at the endless sea and sky.
The golden "sun" cast down beams of light, reflecting off the water's surface in shimmering waves that looked like crumpled gold leaf—if one didn't consider the sun's overly strange appearance, it really was a beautiful scene.
"I'd like to hear your suggestion," after carefully considering, Duncan finally cautiously said to the goat-headed creature, "I'm growing weary of this aimless sailing, perhaps..."
He had only spoken halfway when a strange "feeling" suddenly arose from within. This feeling stemmed from the connection between him and the Homeloss. It was as if some "foreign object" had suddenly made contact with the ship. Immediately after, he heard a "thud" from the direction of the stern, as though something heavy had collided with the deck.
Duncan frowned and immediately drew the primed flintlock pistol from his waist and the Longsword from his other hand, then swiftly ran towards the direction of the sound.
After a moment, he arrived at the stern deck, and the sight of an object lying there quietly left him stunned.
It was that elegantly crafted wooden box, similar to a coffin.
It was that eerie doll.
An alarmingly sinister feeling surged through Duncan's heart as he stared fixedly at the still-damp surface of the box; it was as if it might suddenly open of its own accord the next second. Then he noticed that the nails around the lid of the box had vanished without a trace.
They were the nails he had hammered in before throwing the box into the sea, which should have been extremely secure.
After standing vigilantly beside the box for several minutes, Duncan finally made up his mind. He gripped the flintlock pistol tightly in one hand and probed the gap in the lid with the Longsword in his other hand, then forcefully pried it open.
The ornate lid creaked open, and the lifeless Gothic doll still lay quietly within, surrounded by the red velvet lining, resembling a princess in slumber.
Duncan stared at the doll for several seconds before speaking in a grave tone, exerting as much authority as he believed he had at the moment, "If you are alive, then get up and talk to me."
After repeating himself twice, the doll remained motionless.
Watching her with a stern expression, Duncan finally said indifferently, "Very well, then I have no choice but to send you back again."
Having said that, he hesitated no longer, reclosed the lid firmly, and then took tools to crisscross the coffin with more nails. After nailing it shut, he also found a chain and, using the existing hooks on the box, secured the lid tightly.
After all this was done, Duncan stood up, contentedly dusted off his hands, and nodded slightly at the 'coffin' he had bound with lashings and an extra circle of coffin nails, "This time, you shouldn't be able to rise from your coffin."
Having spoken, he kicked the box back into the sea without any hesitation.
As Duncan watched the box hit the water and then watched it bob with the current, drifting gradually farther away, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, then turned and walked away from the stern.
But after only having walked halfway, he suddenly turned back to look in the direction where the box had drifted.
The box was still floating on the ocean's surface.
Duncan nodded to himself, turned to continue walking away, and then suddenly looked back again.
The box was still on the surface, and by now, it had drifted very far away.
"Perhaps I should have put a cannonball or something inside so it would sink…"
Duncan muttered to himself before truly turning and slowly heading toward the captain's quarters.
"You're being quite harsh on that lady," the voice of the goat head came in his mind.
"Shut up—you call a cursed doll a 'lady'?"
"Well, it does seem to be a cursed doll… but what curse in the Endless Sea could surpass the Homeloss and the great Captain Duncan? Captain, actually, that lady appears rather mild and harmless…"
Duncan: "…"
Why did this goat head sound so proud when speaking of the curse and the ill fame of the Homeloss and Captain Duncan?
Perhaps sensing the foul mood within Duncan's silence, the goat head swiftly transitioned the topic, "Captain, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to hear my suggestions, specifically…"
"We'll talk about it later, I need to rest for a bit—I expended my energy sailing the Homeloss through the Spirit Realm earlier. Keep quiet for now."
"Yes, Captain."
The goat head fell silent, and Duncan returned to his cabin. He approached the navigation table and casually scanned the nautical chart.
The next second, his gaze sharply fixated.
There seemed to be a slight, subtle change in the chart—the grayish-white blotches that looked as if they were alive and covering the entire map seemed to have dissipated slightly, clearing up the seas surrounding the Homeloss!
This thing… could it be updating the information about the surrounding sea areas in real time as the Homeloss sails?
Duncan immediately went to the navigation table, intently focusing on the subtle changes on the chart.
However, his intense concentration was soon interrupted.
Deep within his spirit, the Homeloss sent a signal of "contact with an anomaly," and immediately afterward, Duncan heard a "thud" from the deck toward the rear side of the captain's quarters.