Deep Sea Embers

After a tumultuous period, peace finally descended.

Silence enveloped everything: the continuous internal chatter within the mind, the feedback from countless environmental sensors, the calming guidance from Nina, and the soothing updates from Vanna and Morris—all ceased abruptly as the stars within this realm merged, annihilating the world’s very essence.

This sacred sanctuary, built by ancient rulers and enduring for ten thousand years, quietly dissolved into the cosmic birth of a new universe.

Amidst a chaotic tapestry woven from the remnants of numerous worlds, only one ship, the Vanished, continued its final voyage, navigating the edges of the newly forming universe. Beneath its hull lay a deep fissure that had spanned the Boundless Sea for eons, its other side revealing a starkly different landscape—

Standing at the helm of the Vanished, Zhou Ming fearlessly opened his eyes, now freed from the constraints of the old world. Looking through the burning remains of the deck and the gaps in the hull, he saw a dark, endless fissure absorbing all light, its depth almost causing dizziness. Though the details within the abyss were obscured, it hinted at an immense vastness, feeling like falling into an infinite void.

Above this abyss, the Black Sun shone brightly, its light cutting through the surrounding darkness. The grand celestial body continued to emit strong, clear navigational signals, although they were no longer necessary for the Vanished.

Beside Zhou Ming stood Alice, no longer atop a barrel but on a small piece of the remaining deck, while Ray Nora stood next to the doll.

“What are you thinking about?” Zhou Ming asked suddenly.

“I’m not thinking about anything!” Alice replied with a cheerful tone, her face briefly showing confusion before she smiled and added, “It’s quite fascinating to see what lies behind the World’s Creation.”

“Aren’t you afraid?” Zhou Ming asked, expecting her usual response.

“Not scared,” Alice indeed shook her head, puzzled about her lack of fear.

Zhou Ming smiled and then turned to Ray Nora: “And you?”

“I was just reflecting on the serenity of the world’s end,” Ray Nora shared, her voice calm and her face tranquil. “Growing up, I was haunted by distorted, violent visions and sounds from the deep sea. I imagined the Great Annihilation as a catastrophic event filled with terror and destruction. Yet, it occurred in complete silence. As everything faded away, there was no sound, not even the roars of the brave or the screams of the fearful. It felt surreal, almost like descending from here might still reveal the endless blue ocean and the sunlight scattering across the water.”

Zhou Ming remained silent, and after a few seconds, Ray Nora sighed softly. “I should leave now,” she announced.

“Leaving now?” Zhou Ming asked, surprised. “There’s nowhere to go at this moment.”

“I know, but it’s time for me to detach the ‘Drifting House’ from this place,” Ray Nora replied, smiling. “Having seen the scenery of the Great Annihilation, I yearn to continue my journey in the new world.”

“I understand,” Zhou Ming responded, nodding slightly. “Then I wish you a safe journey—the Vanished will always keep a door open for your ‘Drifting House,’ even in the new world.”

“Thank you,” Ray Nora smiled warmly, then stepped back. “See you in the new world.”

She then left the helm, descending the fragmented stairs to the still-standing “Door of the Lost.” A beam of light soon flashed brilliantly against the starry backdrop as she departed.

Back at the helm, the deck began to contract and collapse, the remaining structures of the Vanished disintegrating under the glow of the starlit flames. The illusion of the mast and the linked structures disappeared last.

Zhou Ming gazed upwards toward the distant “sunlight,” then looked down, holding the last piece of the helm. After a moment, he released it.

“You’ve worked hard,” he whispered to the ship.

He walked to the edge of the helm, passing through the nearly transparent remains of the stairs and decks. Alice followed closely. They reached the captain’s cabin door at the stern, which was nearly gone.

Even the “Door of the Lost” stood nearly transparent, quiet in its original place. Through this door, Zhou Ming saw the last remaining part of the Vanished—a black wooden goat head floating above the chart table, turning to look at Alice and Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming approached Goathead, illuminated by starry illusions, while the last structures of the Vanished continued to disintegrate around him.

“That’s about it,” he said to his first officer. “The Vanished should now rest—Atlantis is also waiting for you.”

“Keep a spot for me on the Vanished in the new world,” Goathead requested, its wooden face seemingly smiling as it raised its neck. “Decide what form that will be.”

“Alright,” Zhou Ming nodded.

Goathead exhaled softly, and after a brief silence, it squinted its eyes and revisited their initial and final question.

“Name?”

“Zhou Ming.”

Brilliant starlight burst from the core structure of the Vanished following the answer, engulfing the illusion of Saslokha’s spine and head. In an instant, the entire ship dissolved into nothingness within the starlight, leaving behind only a few lingering points of light drifting slowly.

Alice watched the scene with wide eyes. She raised her hand as if to catch those drifting points of light. When a tiny light touched her fingertip, she suddenly realized something. She smiled, waving her hand vigorously: “Goodbye, Mr. First Mate, goodbye, see you in the new world!”

The faint glimmers of light vanished, and Miss Alice gradually ceased her arm movements. In the enveloping darkness, she paused to contemplate before raising her gaze to Zhou Ming. “Captain, what’s our next move? Is there still some distance to cover? I can see the Black Sun looming ahead; how do we navigate to it?”

Zhou Ming chuckled, affectionately tousled Alice’s hair, and pointed behind the doll.

Taken aback, Alice turned around.

There, suspended in the void, was a magnificently ornate wooden box, familiar and quietly majestic.

“I’ve kept this apart for you; now, the choice is yours,” Zhou Ming stated, standing beside her.

A wave of realization washed over Alice, bringing a joyful smile to her face.

She approached the wooden box and leaned down to caress it tenderly as if reuniting with a cherished companion. She softly ran her fingers across its surface, murmuring, “Hello there… we’re embarking on a new journey!”

Zhou Ming’s laughter filled the air as he stepped into the wooden box, followed by Alice. The box, resembling a modest-sized canoe, was compact yet spacious enough for two to stand inside.

Alice reached for the floating lid of the box but hesitated, her expression uncertain as she glanced at Zhou Ming. “Captain, can we really make it across? There’s no water here…”

With a serene smile, Zhou Ming surveyed the encompassing void and darkness. As they stood within a realm obscured by the World’s Creation, the darkness around them began to ripple.

“Now we can,” he assured her.

Alice blinked, tentatively nudging the wooden box with the lid in the darkness—it moved. Her face lit up with excitement, and she began to energetically wave the lid like an oar, rowing vigorously through the darkness. It was reminiscent of their initial voyage, chasing the elusive Vanished across the vast expanses of the Boundless Sea. The wooden box picked up speed in the darkness, propelling both the doll and her captain toward the distant gleam of sunlight.

As they sailed, time and space seemed to dissolve into irrelevance. The small canoe-like box coursed through a dark crevice toward the distant light. Alice did not know how long she had rowed; she only knew that Zhou Ming was always by her side, and the distant sun maintained its elusive distance—until suddenly, it was incredibly near. What had appeared as a distant sun transformed into a vast, fiery sea stretching infinitely in every direction below them, its immense flames shooting up like a silent, cold tempest.

Alice ceased her rowing and leaned forward to peer below, then turned to Zhou Ming with a wide, beaming smile. “We’ve arrived!”

Zhou Ming remained silent for a lengthy moment before finally exhaling softly. “Yes, we have arrived.”

Alice did not question his prolonged silence, seeming to grasp the entirety of the moment. Following his acknowledgment, she carefully set the wooden box lid aside and looked up into Zhou Ming’s eyes. Her radiant smile slowly settled into a tranquil expression.

“Captain, see you in the new world.”

“Yeah, see you in the new world.”

“And don’t forget my little flat-bottomed pan~”

“Of course.”

Content with their journey’s conclusion, the doll dissolved into the brilliance of the stars.

Zhou Ming stood silently over the fiery sea of the Black Sun. After an indeterminate time, he turned to look at his shoulder.

In the fading starlight, the silhouette of Ai flickered, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

The dove cocked its head, appearing to observe its master with a curious gaze. When their eyes locked, the bird suddenly flapped its wings energetically and made an odd, piercing noise as if it were experiencing some kind of glitch. Its voice rang out in a repetitive chant: “To the new world, to the new world, to the new world! Announcing a limited-time event for the new UR! Enhanced probability for the Duncan-Zhou Ming card! SSR card ‘Alice’ reissued for a limited time! To the new world! To the new world!”

Zhou Ming’s brow furrowed in confusion.

Normally, he could grasp the gist of the dove’s cryptic messages, but this message seemed unusually perplexing. What on earth was the dove trying to convey?

Before Zhou Ming could voice his bewilderment, Ai’s silhouette had already begun to fade into the starlight. The dove flapped its wings once more, and its typically dim green bean-like eyes suddenly took on a contemplative look. Then, it turned to face Zhou Ming with a serious expression.

“Good-bye—”

And with that, the dove faded away. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Zhou Ming watched this spectacle in silent amazement for a long while before he resignedly shook his head and muttered to himself, “I thought this dove would stay by my side until the end.”

His words hung unanswered in the air. Even the “sun” burning below his feet offered no reply.

Zhou Ming had realized that the Black Sun was no longer alive when Alice rowed the wooden box close to this fiery sea. The Black Sun had ceased its thoughts quietly during this time; it offered no farewells or final words.

What remained here was merely a corpse that still burned in a consistent pattern, acting like a beacon that continued to light the path even after the Great Annihilation.

This flame was the final “gift” that the Black Sun had left for Zhou Ming.

“You kept your promise, so I shall too.”

With a rueful smile and a shake of his head, Zhou Ming’s figure slowly descended into the sea of fire, eventually feeling as if he stood on solid ground.

The flame, once possessed by the Black Sun but now without an owner, continued to burn beside him as if waiting… “to be taken over.”

Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the surrounding sea of fire, and a term suddenly came to his mind: Flame Usurper.

Thus began the ultimate usurpation of the fire.

In an instant, the flames left by the Black Sun transformed into a beacon of starlight, this luminous “celestial body” made of entangled information and chaotic beliefs was bathed in starlight, reigniting and exploding into a brilliant flash that illuminated everything in an infinitely brief moment.

That intense “illumination” cast the starlight into the crack of the World’s Creation—this too was an infinitely brief moment.

After this moment, time truly lost all meaning.

The Black Sun, this last relic of the old world, the final fragment left at this moment after the convergence of thousands of worlds, was completely dissolved in the starlight.

The Great Annihilation is completed.

…

All was swallowed by the echoing emptiness of the Great Annihilation; time and space both turned into null values and that nearly eternal yet infinitely brief “instant”… began.

A lone consciousness remained, this entity floated in the void, traversing this eternal moment.

It began to think, and to calculate.

The first parameter of the mathematical machine was set into motion, initiating a sequence that spanned an age so long it felt eternal. Following this, the second parameter was meticulously adjusted—a task that, though it lasted only a moment, seemed to stretch beyond any measurable time.

The machine continued in its purpose, constantly calculating in its deep thought process.

In a span of time that was at once unimaginably vast and yet paradoxically fleeting, the machine commenced its primary task. It began organizing all that had been promised, assigning everything its rightful position within a scale of information that was both computable and beyond true comprehension.

Still engaged in its calculations, the machine pondered endlessly.

It then proceeded to establish the tempo for all operations within this embryonic mathematical universe. The earlier stages were dedicated to its design, while the stages that followed would open up to a future brimming with possibilities.

This phase, too, consumed what felt like an infinite moment.

…

The call was made.

From the old world—the task had been completed.

The focus shifted.

To the new world—a new model was integrated.

Thus, the perpetual first second ticked by.

Zhou Ming-Duncan opened his eyes.

The void of darkness was mirrored in his gaze.

…

He uttered a single word,

“Let there be light.”