In a thick fog that had a substance like some viscous fluid, the white hull of the Sea Song moved like a ghost, as if it would disappear into the boundless fog at any moment.

At some point, the roar of the steam core became a strange, low whimper mixed with cascading echoes, and from time to time there was a sharp whistling in the pipes, and there was a whisper that seemed like a person in a dream mixed with those whistling sounds.

"The machine is starting to get evil...... Father Technocracy returned from the mechanical cabin and reported to the captain on the bridge, "the appeasement incense is getting less and less. ”

"Disconnect the power shaft of the differential, all the machines are switched to manual control, and the steam core is depressurized to the yellow zone - replace the boiling gold catalyst in two hours," the captain said calmly, "and the rotation of personnel in the mechanical room is shortened to every three hours. ”

"Yes, Captain." The Technopriest lowered his head, and for a brief moment, his voice suddenly became unusually hoarse and low, as if a large hole had been made in his chest, and uncontrolled air was blowing out of his lungs, but no one seemed to notice this—the priest left, and the grim-faced Captain's Lady stared at the other's back, then withdrew her gaze.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a patch of rust on the railing on the side of the captain's seat, and the traces of rust slowly expanded, as if time had flown by, and the years had melted.

But in the next second, the rust disappeared from sight like a phantom, and she was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, she heard a low, indistinct voice in her head, a kind but chilling voice, whispering to herself:

"Ah...... You're coming...... My little fish...... Swim and swim...... Back to the ...... of the water"

The soft sound of the waves echoed in her ears, and the cold touch of submersion in the sea roamed her skin, and the captain felt a trance, but suddenly, she woke up from this trance.

Someone shouted in the distance, it was the first mate on the ship: "Captain! There's something in the fog! ”

The captain came to his senses in an instant, and immediately turned his head to look at the side of the bridge, and her eyes looked through the wide cabin, and suddenly saw a faint green light gradually rising in the fog, like a huge giant beast slowly walking towards her, the outline of that light condensed little by little, and outlined the silhouette of another ship in her eyes.

A large ship of astonishing size, with a towering bow and translucent sails came from the fog, and it appeared from the side and rear, light as a gust of wind, easily catching up with the steam-core running at full strength, it was always shrouded in a vague "twisted feeling", so that it was impossible to see the details of the ship, but the captain of the Sea Song still instantly recognized the distinctive features of the large ship—

"It's the Lost Country!" The captain exclaimed, "Why is it here!?" ”

"The ship is coming!" "Lost Country!?" "Isn't it in Breeze?!" "It's close!"

There were several exclamations from the bridge, and then the first mate walked quickly to the captain's seat: "Captain, the ship is approaching us. ”

“…… Turn on the light signal and ask the other party for their intentions," the captain groaned slightly, and immediately ordered, "All on alert, the church boiler is pressurized - this is the border, don't believe anything you see, it may not be the 'Lost Country' that we know." ”

The first mate immediately took the order, and then the lights on the side of the Sea Song began to send out a series of signals, and the regular flickering strong light penetrated the thick fog, shouting silently in the unknown waters of the border.

Everyone on the bridge watched nervously at the figure of the great ship, which had approached in the fog and had suddenly become more and more ethereal after a certain distance, like a ghostly illusion, and after a while, the captain suddenly saw a dazzling flash of fire near the bow of the Lost Country—the light of fire flickering in the fog, repeating it regularly.

Did the ghost ship really respond to the light signal and send an exchange?

Many pairs of eyes fixed on the flickering fire, and the captain gradually frowned as the light signal grew, and after a few moments, the first mate walked briskly: "Captain, the Lost Country has signaled to salute us...... Nothing else. ”

The captain frowned, a little bewilderment on his grim countenance for the first time, but it was soon interrupted: out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the figure of the great ship in the fog was speeding away.

The Lost Homeland's spirit sails fluffed high, accelerating silently through the fog, and almost in the blink of an eye, it crossed the Sea Song and sped away towards the uncharted seas beyond, its massive shadow quickly disappearing into the flowing mist.

"That direction is ......" The first mate on the side suddenly reacted and immediately exclaimed softly, "Captain, the 'Lost Country' is going in the direction of 'him'!" ”

The captain didn't respond, she just looked fixedly ahead, as if at the moment when the "Lost Place" left, she suddenly saw a distant fate through the gap in the fog.

A low, gentle murmur echoed in her ears—

"Little fish...... You're all doing well, now it's time to rest, don't be afraid...... Every tired soul has a home, and if you can't go back, this is your new home......"

A tranquility that seemed to spring up from the soul came, and in a slight flutter of the heart, the captain slowly closed his eyes: "...... Please testify to ......"

She opened her eyes suddenly, and a constant storm seemed to be reflected in her blindfolded death-gray eyeballs: "...... Witness my return – my mission is not over yet. ”

Fragmented memories suddenly came back to her mind, and the journey lost in the dislocation of the time stream came back to her, the long time since she crossed the border, all the trials and the darkness, the lost sea at the end of the fog, the island that had been stagnant in the eternal time, the great temple, the graveyard of the behemoths, the dead gods in the temple—and her own homeland that was shrouded in night.

“…… You will cross that border...... Crossing the threshold of six nautical miles...... They are calling to the world to find Them...... Bring our greetings and bring back their news......"

Helena's admonition still rings in her ears, but it seems like it was centuries ago, and now only vague impressions remain.

The captain shook his head and slowly walked in the direction of the helm's seat, the captain's uniform on his body had somehow weathered into messy rags, the once neat and bright bridge had been reduced to decaying ruins by the sea breeze and the erosion of time, all the lights had been extinguished, and a viscous fog had penetrated through the broken portholes and overflowed on the bridge.

It was empty, there was no crew in sight, and everyone seemed to have left long ago—they had all remained with the Lord, in that eternal and peaceful place.

The captain staggered over the empty spot on a ship that seemed to have been adrift for centuries, but suddenly, she noticed what seemed to be a figure shaking next to the bridge.

The figure heard the movement and turned its head slowly.

He was shriveled and ugly, like a corpse weathered in the sea breeze for a century, and his face had shrunk and distorted into a horrific appearance.

It was an ugly corpse—but the captain soon recognized it as his first mate.

The dry corpse spoke, his voice as hoarse as grit rubbing: "Captain, welcome back to this ship—it looks like your retirement hasn't come yet." ”

“…… You also stayed. The captain said—and only now did she realize that her voice had become just as hoarse and terrifying.

"Yes, I still have work to do," muttered the first mate, "everyone else is resting, but I had a dream in which a ghost ship with green fire came out and you asked me to give it a signal...... Well, I was awakened by the signal. I didn't like the ship, the Lost Land, it even broke the peace that God had given me...... Those damn green flames, now I can't rest anymore. ”

The captain didn't pay attention to the first mate's babbling - although she noticed that the first mate seemed to have changed a lot, but her drowsy mind made it difficult for her to concentrate on these small matters - she just struggled to the bridge and watched the first mate busy there: "Can this ship still be driven?" ”

"No," the first mate turned his head and grinned horribly, "the steam core has long since shut down, and the hull has eroded into a pile of ruins, and there is no power to speak of. ”

“…… So what are you doing? ”

"Let this ship move, Captain," the first mate said slowly, "hold its steering wheel and let yourself think like a ship...... It's going to move, Captain, and sooner or later we'll get through this endless fog and back to that damn expanse of the sea......"

The captain sat down slowly, and she listened to the first mate's chatter, and after a long time, she whispered as if to herself: "Then I should find something to do." ”

"Then I suggest you leave some records," said the first mate, "I don't know what will happen when I cross that border again, but there will certainly be changes, you may no longer be you, I may continue to be a different person, and we may not even remember who we are or what we have done - only sacred words can leave a valuable guiding ......"

Sacred Writing......

The captain blinked slowly, her mind cleared up a little again, and after a moment of hesitation, she finally reached out and felt something in the broken coat pocket.

It was her logbook - every captain had something like that.

It has also been baptized by time, but the divinely blessed paper has survived weathering and corrosion, and the words on it are still legible.

She lowered her head, took a pencil from another pocket, and slowly made a note on a new page—

"I'm Karani, the captain of the Sea Song, and that's the record I left on the way back......

"We have found 'Him' – about half a century after crossing the six-nautical-mile threshold."

(End of chapter)