After confirming from the goat head that the Vanished had left the dangerous sea and could sail on its own, Duncan took his hand off the dark and heavy wheel and turned to examine himself. His body had regained its flesh, and the deck restored to its original state without the green flame.
But in a mysterious and inexorably way, he felt that many things were different now.
He could feel that something had changed the moment he grasped the helmsman of the Vanished, that the green flame had connected him to the ship and even to the sea itself. Take the floorboards beneath his feet for example – it's become a part of him, an extension of his feet.
Closing his eyes slowly, Duncan taps into his newfound extensions for a swing: he could still hear the creepy murmurs of nothingness coming from the Vanished, the newly lit white embers of flame in the captain's quarter, and the battering waves against the ship's hull. However, he discovered one thing that wasn't there before – a sense of being watched by some dark shadows. When he tried to locate where this was coming from, the other side immediately backed away and disappeared….
Opening his eyes again, he heaves a soft sigh and summons up the ghostly sails on the mast. From this point forwards, he's truly become the ship's captain. There's no turning back after he made the decision to helm the wheel.
"Captain, we are floating up from the edge of the spirit world and will soon return to the real world." The voice of the goat head came from the side, but it was not through the copper pipe used for communication on the ship but directly inside Duncan's mind. Thankfully the goat stopped being so annoying when talking about serious businesses, "Our luck is quite good. The deepest we went was at the bottom of the spirit world so the ship isn't affected in any way."
The real world, the spiritual sea, the deep sea, and the subspace that seems to be even deeper than the previous three… Duncan didn't know what these strange words were exactly, nor did he know their true meaning, only that it's popping up in his head and an indication of what was happening in this world.
Nevertheless, one thing's certain in Duncan's mind. Whenever the goat head called himself "Captain," the attitude from the gargoyle figurine changed. Though subtle, but changed. In fact, Duncan was so certain that if he revealed himself to be "Zhou Ming" right now, a man from another world, the goat head would still obey his orders regardless of the truth.
But after a little hesitation, he backed down and didn't want to test this theory, nor did he ask the goat about the spirit world, deep sea, and subspace. Sure, a few days ago, he was anxious and uneasy about being here, but the situation no longer made him insecure and worried.
For one thing, there are other "people" in this world, other ships, and other civilizations. This gave him hope and a vague idea for his future plans.
"That ship was mechanically powered… and the Vanished is more like an old-styled sail galleon warship from the previous era…." Duncan muttered to himself and began brainstorming, "But not entirely mechanical either. There are some cabins of unknown significance on that ship, and the cabins were arranged as if they were some kind of sacrificial site with many strange patterns and symbols etched along the walls…."
"Goat Head," Duncan said suddenly inside his brain. He did not know the goat head's name, so he called this out subconsciously, "When I was 'passing' through that ship just now, the man who looked like a captain shouted at me. What did he say?"
The goat's head seemed indifferent to being addressed in such a manner and gladly accepted the name: "The wind and waves are too big to hear clearly."
"You didn't hear either?" Duncan frowned, "… I get the feeling from his expression that he's ready to die a tragic death with me or something. It must've been really important for him to call out to me at that moment."
"It's normal for humans to react in that manner before you, Captain. This is especially true for sailors so it's no surprise. Don't worry, Captain, a tree need not heed the cries of a grasshopper…."
The goat head replied as if it were a matter of course, but Duncan almost tripped over from the news. "Wanting to die with me is a normal reaction for humans?"
He immediately regretted the sentence after uttering it aloud. It's inappropriate and would expose the flaw in his identity as the "captain." However, the same couldn't be said for the goat head, which continued to act oblivious to the oddity in Duncan's behavior.
"It is normal that they fear you," the tone of the goat head now sounded proud, "anyone who sails on the Boundless Sea should fear you, just as they fear the gods of old and the shadows of subspace. Speaking of shadows, did you know a brilliant engineer… or it could've also been an agronomist or a foodie, the person once said something…"
Duncan sensibly did not take up the topic because he was worried that he would not be able to continue the topic (of course, the most important reason remains to be the goat head's endless battering. If he caters to his talk, the annoyance will rise exponentially)
"... What is this thing?" Duncan smartly changed the topic and asked with amazement. There's something outside the captain's quarter.
It was a wooden box more than a man's length. The artistry looks to be very well-made with riveted and gold-plated reinforcement. There are also intricate patterns etched along the surface like some sort of hieroglyphic symbols. For sure, this box definitely wasn't on the Vanished before!
The voice of the goat head went silent for a moment before sounding again: "… I don't know, but it should be some sort of booty…"
"Booty?!" Duncan didn't know how to react for a moment and walked around the box twice, "This thing looks like a coffin, but it's much more exquisite than an ordinary coffin… Wait, booty, you mean this thing was 'taken' from that ship?!"
"A successful hunt, Captain," the goat head said in a serious yet complimenting voice, "it is expected that the Vanished return with some booty after a voyage."
Duncan subconsciously dropped his jaws in shock. What success? He had no intention of taking anything from the other ship to begin with!
But thinking about it, saying what he thought wouldn't conform to his "captain" image, and more importantly, the mechanical ship had disappeared into the thick of the fog. Then recalling the white-bearded captain's death glare and the stuff about dying with him, Duncan understood he much rather take his chances with this box.
Coming closer to this suspicious coffin, he finally noticed the lid – it's loosened by something and opened beforehand.
Though hesitant, he placed his hand on the wooden box – at least, he needed to figure out how that spirit world ship placed this item here.
Stronger than he had imagined, his hand easily lifted the lid off after a little shove. There, lying inside, shocked him.
"A person?"
In the wooden box, quietly lay a beautiful young woman – long silver-white hair spread like liquid mercury in the box. Her appearance could only be described as exquisite and flawless, and she was faintly carrying a certain noble and detached temperament with that gorgeous purplish-black court dress.
A sleeping doll….
"No wait, this is really a doll!"
On closer inspection, Duncan suddenly noticed the inhuman joint structure of the other party.