Is it bad enough that there is a Lost Homeland in this world...

In the divination room illuminated by dim candlelight, Lucrecia sat quietly on a high-back chair covered with velvet cushions. She stared at the crystal ball on the table, but for some reason, her mind was once again filled with memories of something that happened a long time ago, that afternoon a century ago...

The figure, who was already a little blurry in her memory, stood on the deck, facing the sunlight that was gradually sinking to the horizon. His tall body seemed to have turned into a swaying, illusory flame in the sunset, and he told her in a low, suppressed tone that she had never heard before:

"Our world is just a dying ember..."

At this point, of course, she knew that her father had already gone mad at that time, and would completely abandon his humanity in the near future, choosing to actively embrace the "blessing" of the subspace. But she still thought from time to time, if she could talk to her father more that day, inquire about the meaning of that sentence, and ask her father what he saw at the border of the world, would things develop differently afterwards?

Perhaps her father was still doomed to madness, and perhaps the birth of the Lost Homeland was an "established fact" engraved in the long river of time that no one could reverse. But at least, she would know how it all happened and where she should go to find the truth - instead of just steering a cursed ship and wandering in vain in this borderland that even the Vatican inspectors were unwilling to enter...

"Lucretia, are you still listening?"

Tirian's voice suddenly came from the crystal ball, which suddenly woke up the young lady who was sitting at the table in a daze. Lucrecia shook her head and temporarily put aside the chaotic thoughts in her mind.

"Brother," she looked at Tyrian in the crystal ball, her tone becoming somewhat serious, "Do you remember what our father said before he sailed to the border for the last time? That time he didn't let us follow..."

"Of course I remember," Tirian nodded. "He said he found clues to the anomaly 000 and was going to find 'a cure for the world.' He not only refused the two of us, but also refused the follow-up of several other escort ships. After he and the Lost Homeland returned, he and the ship became different."

"Yes, all the crew members on the Lost Homeland stopped talking, as if they were cursed with silence. But my father was still able to communicate with us soberly. He said that he did not find the anomaly 000. Then he said that even if the anomaly 000 existed, it was not the origin of the distortion of the world. The so-called good medicine did not exist from the beginning. From then on, until the day he told us on the deck at sunset that 'the world is a group of embers', he never revealed anything about the border trip..."

Tirian in the crystal ball did not speak for a while. After an unknown amount of time, Lucrecia spoke again: "After that, I specifically contacted the Vatican fleet patrolling near the border, including the Firebringers, Deep Sea Priests, scholars from the Academy of Truth, and even the group of gloomy Death Cultists. I asked them about Anomaly 000, but they all said that it was impossible for anomaly or vision numbered zero to exist..."

"I have also inquired about it," Tirian said in a deep voice, "and the answer I got is the same as yours... There is no anomaly or anomaly numbered zero in the world. It's not that there is none at present, but there is no corresponding 'vacancy' at all -

"The list that was first leaked from the Tomb of the Unknown King already listed all the numbers. Undiscovered or unformed anomalies and phenomena all had their own vacancies to be filled. Even anomalies and phenomena that evolved in the course of history, such as the 'mycelium bottle' and the 'fungus island', were later found to have pre-planned positions. But at the beginning of the entire list, there was no position zero at all...

"That's why I said that my father might have been abnormal before he set out for the border. It's impossible for him not to know this information."

At this point, Tirian suddenly stopped, then looked up at Lucrecia in the crystal ball, his expression became extremely serious: "Why do you suddenly bring up this topic? We haven't talked about this for half a century. What are you going to do?"

"... Don't worry, I won't dive into that magnificent fog wall like my father did." Lucrecia rarely showed any expression on her face, but she smiled this time. "I am looking for clues left by my father, but I will never follow his old path."

Tirian was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly: "...That's good."

Lucrecia did not speak for a while. The siblings, who were separated by a long distance and had rarely met in the past century, each had their own concerns. It was not until the distant and vague whistle of the Sea Mist came from the crystal ball that Lucrecia suddenly broke the silence: "Are you really going to Plande? Because of the 'invitation' from the Archon?"

"The invitation is not important. I don't care about the safety of that city-state. But the Archon said in his letter that the Lost Homeland has reappeared in the real world. I must go and see the situation," Tirian said seriously. "The ship has not appeared in the world for almost half a century. It is really suspicious that it appears again now."

Lucrecia thought for a moment and asked, "You encountered the Lost Homeland once half a century ago. I remember you were still in Frost at that time... Was it really the Lost Homeland you saw at that time?"

"...It is true. Although it is hard to believe, it is the Lost Homeland," Tirian said in a low voice. "I can remember the position of each mast and the layout of each cable correctly."

"So...was the person standing on the boat at that time really 'father'?"

Tirian lowered his head slightly, his face hidden in the shadows. "...It's him, although I would rather it wasn't him."

Lucrecia looked at her brother in the crystal ball and hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "Be careful. If that's really him, you'll be in danger."

"I know," Tirian sighed softly, "It is already a crazy ghost that has been completely twisted by the warp. I will not take it lightly..."

Lucrecia shook her head expressionlessly. "No, what I mean is, if that was really my father, he would be even more ruthless than he was half a century ago when he saw you transform the Sea Mist into a big iron lump."

Tirian was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened. "What do you mean? This is an effective modernization! What's wrong with steam boilers and rapid-fire cannons? And you dare to say that to me - at least I still kept a part of it. If there is even a piece of deck on your ship that is still as bright as it was back then..."

The crystal ball went out.

Lucrecia breathed a sigh of relief and stood up from her chair.

My brother is still very energetic. He can feel full of energy after a little stimulation. He also maintains a strong curiosity about modern things, which is good.

In the long eternal life, the most feared thing is the decline of spirit and decay of soul.

★Illustration 35★

A sound of light footsteps came from the darkness, accompanied by the friction sound of mechanical mechanisms and clockwork devices. Lucrecia looked in the direction of the sound and saw a clockwork puppet with a female appearance walking towards her. The puppet looked 60% similar to her, but its body was covered with obvious rivets and mechanical joints. The shell, which was mainly made of fine steel and ceramics, was made to look like a maid's skirt. In the dim light, it looked somewhat weird and terrifying.

The puppet walked along, the clockwork device behind it making slight clicking sounds. It came to Lucrecia and offered her the black tea in her hand. Its jointed mouth made a clicking sound, and it uttered a slightly stiff female voice: "Madam, please have some tea."

"Thank you," Lucrecia took the cup and asked casually, "Luni, where are we now?"

The clockwork puppet named Luni replied: "The Brilliant Star has just passed the Foghorn Island and is currently sailing at the edge of the Eternal Curtain. Do you want to enjoy the view outside the window?"

"...Open the dome," Lucrecia took a sip of black tea and put the cup back on the tray in Luni's hand, "It's dawn, I should get some sun."

"Yes, mistress."

Luni lowered her head slightly and stepped back.

As the clockwork puppet finished speaking, the entire "divination room" suddenly felt a slight vibration!

The creaking sounds of the mechanical devices continued to ring out, and the buzzing and creaking sounds of the giant clockwork and magic units working together seemed to form a concerto. Driven by countless gears and slides, the walls of the room began to retreat and expand in all directions. The originally dimly lit room was instantly illuminated by the sunlight - in the sunlight, the entire room slowly bloomed like a mechanical flower, and finally blossomed into a stage-like appearance.

This is the upper deck of the Brilliant Star. The room where the "Sea Witch" Lucrecia lives has blossomed into a towering stage at the front of the deck. Around this blooming mechanical flower, the entire Brilliant Star can be seen.

The ship was split in two.

The front part of the ship had been completely remodeled, with countless runes and magical creations all over the hull, making it look more like a huge magical machine than a ship. Various exotic materials collected from border areas or the sea were used to reconstruct the deck structure of the ship, making everything in sight faintly grotesque and psychedelic, as if there were endless magical rituals running between those dense magic arrays and crystals;

The rear part of the ship looked completely different. Half of the ship was translucent, like a ghost. A veil that seemed real and illusory covered the stern of the Brilliant Star. In the floating phantom light, one could vaguely see that part of the structure still retained the original appearance of the ship.

A sailing warship built a century ago, vaguely similar in style to the HMS Lost.