Chapter 53: Chapter 53 “Descendants
During her “departure” from the Homeloss, Alice’s activity on the ship was slightly beyond Duncan’s… expectations.
He had always thought the Gothic doll was a depiction of an elegant and proper young lady—though she did headbang, surf, and trash talk, she was indeed graceful and quiet under normal circumstances. Careful about what she did on the ship, honest and dutiful in unfamiliar environments, and even just lying quietly like an ordinary doll in her box when she had nothing to do, projecting an image of being utterly harmless.
But now, it seemed that she was only quiet when he was around?
The suddenly somber atmosphere in the room made Alice feel a bit nervous, and she cautiously glanced at the expressionless Duncan, “Captain, you’re not mad, are you? I can explain…”
“I know you were trying to help, just unsuccessfully,” Duncan glanced at the doll and spoke with a hint of helplessness in his voice, “but since you also know that many things on this ship are ‘alive,’ could you check with me or my first mate next time you want to do something?”
Alice immediately nodded vigorously, loudly promising, “Of course, Captain, no problem, Captain!”
Then she quickly turned toward the goat head, muttering quietly, “Is there such a thing as attempted helpfulness?”
The goat head, unusually concise, replied, “There is now.”
“Alright, if you really want to help, go check on the fish drying on the deck, or organize the storeroom in the kitchen, make some space. We might have a chance to replenish the food on the Homeloss in the future,” Duncan sighed, then said to Alice, “Don’t deal with the cannons below decks and the ammunition storage—they don’t have complete intelligence like the goat head, those dangerous things just react instinctively to external stimuli, and if the ammunition storage thinks it’s been damaged or invaded, I can only use a broom and dustpan to save you.”
Upon hearing this, Alice instantly shrank her neck and quickly agreed, turning to leave the captain’s quarters.
However, watching the doll leave, Duncan couldn’t help but break into a faint smile.
She was indeed a fascinating fellow—the slight chaos was inconsequential, and this lifeless Ghost Ship had really become lively thanks to her ups and downs.
“Seems like you’re in a good mood, Captain,” came the voice of the goat head nearby, “Ah, you’re holding something in your hand… what’s that? Is it your gain from your travel to the Spirit Realm this time? Like that dagger from last time?”
Duncan glanced at the Sun Emblem in his hand—he had left the strong liquor in his room and casually took the emblem with him, planning to study it when he was bored.
“It’s a trophy,” he nodded, “Just like the ceremonial dagger from last time.”
“Oh! Worthy of the great Captain Duncan! You always come back full, and what’s more, with such extraordinary items that clearly possess magical powers… wait, isn’t that a Sun Amulet?”
“You recognize this thing?” Duncan raised an eyebrow, “Correct, a Sun Amulet. A few audacious heretics handed it to me—it was hard to refuse.”
“I… do know a bit…” The goat head seemed to be observing the emblem carefully, sounding a little hesitant, “Those madmen who follow the ancient True Sun consider this object a Sacred Relic. They believe that by casting it in metal in the image of the True Sun and quenching it with human blood, they can infuse the Sun’s power into the emblem, and through this method mass-produce Transcendent objects with modest power… Such amulets are symbols of status among the higher-ranked Sun followers, and tools they use to recognize their brethren, distinguish believers from heretics…”
“Distinguishing believers from heretics, huh… it does have that function,” Duncan realized, “Although I personally feel it’s not very useful.”
“What happened to those reckless heretics afterward?” The goat head hesitated as it spoke, “They are often paranoid and ignorant lunatics. Even the most contemptible pirates are unwilling to deal with these fanatics chasing after ancient artifacts. If they dared to offend…”
“They are no longer in this world,” Duncan watched the change in tone of the goat head while controlling his own expression, “Looks like you don’t have much liking for these self-titled ‘Scions of the Sun’ either?”
After dealing with the mountain goat head for so long, Duncan had roughly figured out the odd “first mate.” He was fairly certain that as long as he, “Captain Duncan,” managed the ship well, the mountain goat head wouldn’t cause any uncontrollable incidents. On this basis, his courage when speaking with the other party had been gradually growing.
Now, he could cautiously take the initiative to inquire about some information.
“Who would like those madmen who follow the ancient True Sun? The ‘light’ and ‘order’ they aspire to are no longer accepted in this world,” the mountain goat head answered Duncan’s questions as usual, “Even Homeloss bathes in the sunlight of this era, and even the evil spirits wandering in the Mysterious Deep Sea would not prefer the ‘sun’ from before the age of the deep sea—probably only those heretics would think the resurrection of the True Sun is a good thing…”
The mountain goat head paused here and then added with a hint of sentimentality, “But then again, ninety-nine percent of those heretics are just a bunch of brainwashed fools. They don’t even know what they’re following or worshipping. They regard the so-called ‘Scions of the Sun’ as prophets and saviors and pine for the ancient world described by these scions as if it were heaven. But in my view, the Scions of the Sun don’t even consider those fervent believers as their people… They are no different from the scions in the deep sea.”
Scions of the Sun? What does that mean? And it sounds like there are also deep-sea scions? What on earth is that?!
Duncan’s mind raced, a whole new unfamiliar term slapped across his face, bringing fresh confusion. He fiddled nonchalantly with the Sun Emblem in his hand as if asking offhandedly, “Scions of the Sun? I haven’t encountered them.”
“That’s normal; the Scions of the Sun dare not casually show their faces in the civilized world, not even if they disguise themselves as humans. The church’s hounds could sniff out the scent of heresy from their shadows in a minute—even in the end, being ‘scions’ of sorts, as remnants of ancient relics, they should rightly stay hidden in history’s gutters… Alas, among all types of ‘scions’, only they would stir up such trouble.”
Duncan suddenly realized the mountain goat head’s occasional babbling was actually quite beneficial—although nine thousand out of its ten thousand words a day were nonsense, it could still blurt out useful information if he was lucky!
Owing to not having fully grasped the mountain goat head’s background, Duncan’s “probing” also had to be indirect; he dared not ask too overtly, but even with such indirect questioning, he quickly grasped many clues he hadn’t been able to gather in Plunder City-State—
Scions appeared to be rather important intelligence; this world harbored creatures called “scions,” and without exception, they were unacceptable to the civilized world. The mountain goat head referred to them as “remnants of ancient relics”;
Although there was a large number of believers worshiping the True Sun God, it seemed that the vast majority were just insignificant pawns, ignorant, blindly following, and brainwashed “madmen.” Within their “church” hierarchy, there were members of a higher status, ruling class… the ones called “Scions of the Sun”;
These Scions of the Sun did not often show themselves in the civilized world. It seemed they had secret retreats unknown to the world and remotely influenced the Sun God’s sects, covertly collecting offerings and energy;
Lastly, and most importantly for the current Duncan,
The mountain goat head held utter disdain for those heretics and the “Scions of the Sun” behind them.
This indicated that Homeloss, or rather “the real Captain Duncan,” was not on the same side as those called “scions”—in fact, they were probably hostile factions.
It seemed telling the mountain goat head about his interactions with the “Sun’s heretics” during his journey through the Spirit Realm was the right decision—otherwise, who knows when he would have learned of this useful information.
Such overly secretive knowledge wouldn’t be found in Nina’s textbooks.
Duncan left the captain’s quarters, holding the Sun Amulet thoughtfully as he walked on the deck of Homeloss.
There were many types of scions, and based on the intelligence provided by the mountain goat head—that scions are remnants of ancient relics—along with the fact that the Sun Believers worship a True Sun from before the Great Obliteration, he had reasonable suspicion that these so-called scions might very well be products of the Great Obliteration, possibly dating back to the “Era of Order” before the Great Obliteration occurred.
There were “Scions of the Sun” above the sea level, and “Scions of the Deep Sea” within it.
Duncan found himself at the ship’s railing, his curiosity piqued as he peered out at the enigmatic deep blue sea.
In the sea… turns out, there’s more than just fish.