In the endless wilderness composed entirely of black, white and gray, the disorderly and cold wind blew through the land all the time, the grass waves rolled, the black and white strange plants swayed lifeless limbs in the wind, and tiny particles of light rose from the grass from time to time, floating above the wilderness, like lost souls, adrift in this forgotten land of the dead.

And the whole kingdom was shrouded in a kind of dim sky that was almost night, and the sky was neither foggy nor cloudy, except for a swirling patch of cloudy color.

The strange scene of the Lost and the Bright Star quietly "gliding" through the endless wilderness is inexplicable - Lucrecia sends two tin men out of the ship to inspect the "land" outside, confirming that the undulating grass is indeed solid ground, but the two ships are still sailing on the land, and the hull below the waterline is as if it were sailing in the water, as if the concepts ......of "sea" and "wilderness" are strangely merged here.

At Duncan's orders, the two ships slowed down and sailed with the utmost caution in the eternal night, and Shirley climbed the lookout at the top of the mast, but saw nothing but wilderness and wilderness, and nothing but slightly undulating ground could be seen, and there were no buildings or conspicuous signs, not even a slightly higher knoll.

After another fruitless voyage, the two ships finally came to a halt – as if "stranded" in the endless wilderness.

Duncan summoned his followers to the deck.

"In view of the strange situation we have encountered on that 'Island of Ashes' before, we need to be cautious this time," Duncan said with a serious expression as he looked at the crew gathered in front of him, "Everyone should not leave the ship rashly, the most important thing at the moment is to find a way to figure out what the 'rules' of this 'Dead Wilderness' are." ”

"I'll have to ask the professionals about this," said Morris at once, "Lady Agatha should know something about the kingdom of the god of death......

As soon as the old scholar finished speaking, a hazy shadow appeared on the deck, and Agatha's voice came from the shadow, sounding a strange and ethereal trill: "I'm trying to figure it out—but the situation may be a little complicated right now. ”

She paused as she spoke, patiently explaining as she organized the knowledge in her memory: "According to the sacred texts, when outsiders arrive in the wilderness of death, they will embark on a 'path of no return' through the wilderness, which has no end and can only go in one direction, and the deceased will continue on this path, and gradually forget the memories of the world in the process, and then they will meet the messenger in the path, that is, the 'gatekeeper' on the side of the world of the dead.

"The gatekeeper will lead the dead through the invisible junctions on the path, and in an instant across the wilderness, and reach the heart of the kingdom of the dead, where a huge door stands, and the dead will see the shadow of Bartók in front of the gate, and under the gaze of that shadow, he will fade away all the dirt that has been stained in the earthly world, and enter the door with a pure posture, ushering in eternal sleep......"

Agatha speaks of the doctrine of the Church of Death, in which there is no familiar concept of "reincarnation" with Duncan, and that the end of death is clearly eternal rest, not any form of return to the earth.

Shirley was a little curious when she heard this: "Then everyone will eventually go to sleep behind that door after they die?" What if there's a lot of sleep behind that door? There are always more and more dead people......"

Shirley's voice fell, and Alice, who had just come off the bridge next to her, also muttered, "That's so crowded...... Are they all sleeping on top of each other......"

"I think most of them may be sleeping upright, like a bamboo skewer in a cage," Shirley leaned over to Alice and muttered, "Stuff it vertically before stacking it horizontally, and then sleep vertically after it is full......, layer by layer, just like that."

"By the way, does sleeping underneath make you feel heavy?"

"No, I've heard that dead people have no weight......"

The two with the lowest level of knowledge on the ship suddenly opened a strange door and chatted on a strange topic, seeing that the atmosphere around him was getting stranger and stranger, Duncan finally couldn't help it: "Ahem...... It's a topic you can talk about in private. ”

Shirley quickly shrunk her neck and nodded repeatedly: "Oh oh......"

Duncan turned his gaze back to Agatha: "You just said that the situation is a bit complicated right now...... What is the meaning? ”

Agatha nodded: "To put it simply, if the records in the scriptures are correct, it takes a process of 'passage' and 'guidance' for outsiders to see the god of death, but now...... This bootstrap mechanism may have been suspended. ”

Duncan frowned, quickly thinking of something.

Lucretia and Morris next to her reacted almost immediately, Morris sipping his pipe and frowning: "The death mechanism of this world has disappeared......"

"Yes, the mechanism of death is gone—and so is the corresponding 'gatekeeper' who guides outsiders in the wilderness of death," Agatha said in a deep voice, looking up at the endless wasteland beyond the side of the ship, "without the new dead, there would be no 'path of no return' and no 'gatekeepers,' all we can see is the wilderness itself...... Although theoretically the Gate and the Lord of Death should be at the center of this wilderness, it is a place that can never be 'reached' without the right means. ”

Nina listened with wide eyes and curiosity, she looked up at Duncan, and then at Agatha, and then couldn't help but speak: "Is there a need for such 'conditions' as passage and guidance?" Is there no alternative? Rituals and the like......"

"I'm afraid there is no way," Agatha shook her head slowly, "'Symbolism' is a very important part of the realm related to the gods, and its essence is to 'reproduce specific events with strict rules', and since the realm mastered by the god of death is extremely special, the 'rules' here can only be stricter than the other nodes...... Because the line between the living and the dead must be clear. ”

She stopped abruptly when she said this, and added with a somewhat complicated expression: "At least...... This was the case before the death mechanism disappeared in this world. ”

Vana hadn't spoken since just now, and then suddenly broke the silence: "In other words, if there is a 'dead person', it is possible to reactivate the guidance mechanism here and open the passage to Bartók's door?" ”

“…… That's how I understand it," said Agatha cautiously, "at least from the records of the sacred texts, but it may not be that simple, after all...... Everything in the texts corresponds to the days when the world was 'normal', and now many things have changed, even the gods themselves...... are all twisting into ways that they themselves cannot comprehend. ”

"It's at least a train of thought," said Vana with a serious count, "than to keep wandering around the wilderness." ”

"But there's a problem," said Morris, smoking his pipe, "where to find a dead man now—when there are no 'dead' in the whole world." ”

The old scholar's voice fell, and many eyes on the deck suddenly looked at each other, and the atmosphere quickly became a little weird.

A few eyes fell on Agatha, and the "gatekeeper" lady suddenly spread her hands: "Don't look at me, strictly speaking, I shouldn't be considered a 'dead man', I'm just a shadow that almost dissipated, judging from the birth process, I haven't even 'lived', and naturally I haven't 'died'." ”

Immediately after that, another gaze fell on Fanna, and Miss Inquisitor quickly waved her hand: "I can't be counted either, right?" I was dead back then, but I'm alive, and my survival is now 'solidified' by the captain, so I can't be considered a dead person no matter how I look at it......"

She hesitated for a moment, then added uncertainly, "At least not all, right?" ”

"I can't count it either—I'm a ghostly demon now, the kind that has been reborn," Shirley noticed that eyes were beginning to fall on her, and quickly waved her hand, "Even if I did die once, Bartók's 'gatekeeper' wouldn't be able to control me now......"

Duncan looked around, and suddenly touched his chin with a subtle expression: "So, how do I think there is not even a normal living person on the ship now?" There are no normal dead people's ...... either"

As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Morris, only to see that the old gentleman was holding an unlit pipe in his mouth, holding a cone in one hand, and adjusting the fastening screws near the back of his head......

Noticing the captain's gaze, the old gentleman put away the change cone, and the reed in his chest vibrate: "Sorry, there is a bit of noise in the skull, and a screw is loose." ”

Everyone on the deck looked at each other and fell silent.

Only Alice suddenly came back to her senses after a moment of wandering, leaned over and whispered to Shirley, "...... Is it possible to sleep hanging? It's like a 'sailor'......"

Shirley was taken aback: "Are you still thinking about this?!" The topic has changed by 800 ......"

She was stunned for a moment.

"Who did you just say?"

"Sailor—he just sleeps hanging, though he pretends to sleep."

Shirley blinked, reacted and slowly turned her head to look at the captain, "yes...... What about the dried corpse? Why didn't he come? ”

"He's supposed to be on the lower deck at this point, and he's probably lazy again," Duncan reacted, frowning slightly, "but then again...... Can Anomaly 077 be considered a normal 'dead'? How do I feel that he is not as 'dead' as you guys? ”

His gaze swept over Agatha, Vanna, and Shirley.

Shirley couldn't help but mutter, "Captain, your way of describing this is a little strange......"

Duncan's eyes widened: "The topic itself isn't strange enough?" ”

(End of chapter)