Deep Sea Embers

The atmosphere in the room was momentarily filled with silence.

Zhou Ming chose not to break the quiet, feeling that any words spoken in this peculiar situation might only serve to make things more uncomfortable than they already were.

Similarly, the Frost Queen remained silent as well, continuing to lie on the floor, making no attempt to get up.

In this way, the two of them found themselves in a strange sort of standoff. The Frost Queen was busily engaged in chewing on the floor, while Zhou Ming, unable to tear his gaze away, found himself fixated on the back of her head. This unusual scene persisted for about thirty seconds until Zhou Ming felt compelled to intervene. It simply didn’t seem proper to watch silently as a lady gnawed at the floor.

Gently bending over, he cautiously broke the silence, asking, “…Do you need help getting up?”

Ray Nora experienced a sudden shift in her perception. The incessant buzzing, the cacophony that had filled her mind, abruptly clarified into coherent human speech, understandable without the need for focused effort. This unexpected clarity prompted her to react swiftly, propelling herself off the floor with force.

In the process, her head collided with Zhou Ming’s chin, a painful encounter that preempted any vocal reaction from her before she found herself once again in her initial position on the floor.

Zhou Ming, taken aback by her sudden movement, momentarily saw a burst of stars in his vision.

Quickly shaking off the disorientation, he ignored the lingering stars before his eyes and moved to assist the “Queen” who had stumbled once more, apologizing with a hint of awkwardness, “Sorry, I was standing in the wrong place… Are you okay?”

Despite the buzzing in her head, Ray Nora felt unprecedented clarity. She realized that her reasoning faculties had fully re-engaged, and a complex “understanding” had reassembled in her mind. This newfound clarity allowed her to perceive the surrounding chaos in a new light, revealing another aspect of this “nest.”

She observed the room’s floor, tables, chairs, and various other objects that seemed ordinary to humans, all suspended in a vast expanse of dimly lit darkness. This space seemed to be bordered by walls of illusion, perpetually expanding and contracting in her vision, creating an effect similar to a series of mimicked illusions.

This perception led her to feel as though some unnamed, non-human presence inhabited this space, expertly imitating human characteristics and surroundings.

She also noticed the “entity” that had spoken to her. Although it appeared as a bewildering array of stars, these stars now formed a vaguely human silhouette. While she couldn’t discern any facial features within the radiant starlight, she could see the “hands” that were supporting her arms, and she heard the starlight articulate in a human voice, conveying a sense of friendliness and kindness.

“I… am okay,” Ray Nora responded, her voice tinged with hesitation. Despite the wisdom and poise typically associated with the Frost Queen, she appeared somewhat bewildered by the series of unforeseen events. Seeking to engage with this “entity” that seemed to emulate human behavior, she apologized, “Sorry for disturbing your peace, I was merely… curious, and then this curiosity ensnared me in your ‘palace’…”

Zhou Ming’s brow furrowed slightly, sensing something peculiar in the manner in which the Frost Queen addressed him. However, he didn’t dwell on this feeling for long, as he was equally bewildered by the situation—the vision of stars swirling before his eyes hadn’t yet cleared, and he could only manage a vague gesture with his hand, saying, “It’s okay, I never imagined… you would be the first ‘human’ to visit this place.”

Driven by her escalating curiosity, Ray Nora gestured towards a spherical object hovering near what could be assumed to be the entity’s head, given the constellation of stars forming its semblance, and inquired, “…What is this?”

Zhou Ming glanced upwards, his face momentarily adopting a contemplative silence before he attempted to grasp the small celestial body, which was enveloped in a faint yellow hue, seemingly detached from his own essence. Upon his touch, the miniature planet silently merged back into him.

“This is Venus,” he explained, striving to maintain a neutral expression and tone, “a… star.”

Ray Nora observed this vision with wide-eyed wonder, spontaneously reacting with, “…Incredible.”

“I also find it incredible,” Zhou Ming admitted earnestly, “Before you collided with me, I could never have envisioned… such an event occurring.”

He then looked down at his hands, which appeared normal, but as he focused, imagining the cosmos, faint stars began to materialize before his eyes. His transformation seemed to deepen…

Puzzled by the “stellar entity’s” actions, Ray Nora was simply astonished that it exhibited human-like intelligence, marveling at the fact she was engaging in conversation with such a remarkable being at the world’s edge. Feeling reassured by the entity’s friendly demeanor, she ventured more boldly, “Have you… always resided here?”

Zhou Ming’s frown deepened as he suddenly identified the subtle oddity in Ray Nora’s way of speaking.

“You don’t recognize me?” he queried, his surprise evident.

“Recognize you?” Ray Nora responded, her gaze filled with confusion as she looked at the non-human figure, “Have we… met previously?”

After a brief pause, Zhou Ming had a realization—of course, Ray Nora had never actually seen him before.

She had encountered Duncan.

Thus, he opened his palm, summoning forth a flame for Ray Nora to see.

A greenish flame emerged amidst the stars, establishing a connection instantly—the flicker of flame that Ray Nora had previously encountered resonated with the one now before her.

“Do you remember now?” The constellation of stars vibrated as it communicated in human speech.

Ray Nora was momentarily paralyzed by the revelation, taking several seconds to regain her composure before looking at Zhou Ming in utter disbelief: “You are… the Captain?!”

“…That’s one aspect of my being,” Zhou Ming reflected, attempting to clarify for the “Queen” his multifaceted nature, “Or rather, one of my forms, a vessel.”

He paused for a moment, then felt compelled to share his thoughts: “You are the first ‘human’ to witness me in this form, now you’re privy to a secret unknown to others.”

A wave of profound realization surged through Ray Nora’s consciousness, akin to the overwhelming awe she experienced upon her first encounter with the enigmatic “cocoon” – a seismic shift in her understanding, revealing truths previously concealed!

Yet, perhaps due to her prior venture through the “crack” into this “cocoon” and enduring an initial awakening, the disorientation this time was fleeting. She swiftly regained her cognitive clarity and pieced everything together—

She had stumbled upon an enigmatic force at the edge of existence, a confluence of countless forms, an entity whose “tentacles” reached into the fabric of reality itself, manifesting in myriad ways yet stemming from a singular origin. This origin lay dormant at the end of all time, and now she, a daring explorer, had uncovered it.

“We haven’t seen each other for a long time,” Zhou Ming remarked with a smile, aware that the revelation would momentarily disorient Ray Nora, yet noting her prolonged daze, he felt compelled to engage her in conversation, “Don’t just stand there, come sit down. Tell me about your adventures after you ‘escaped,’ how you discovered my ‘little abode,’ and what those symbols you were tracing outside mean.”

With that, he made his way to the sofa.

“Don’t be put off by the simplicity here. After the apocalypse, resources are scarce, and this place can’t hold a candle to the grandeur of your former palace or your opulent bedroom now—and there’s little here for entertainment. But then, as a ghost now, you probably don’t have much use for food, do you?”

“Uh… no, no need.”

Ray Nora responded almost reflexively, still somewhat in a trance as she followed Zhou Ming to the sofa. Her steps were uncertain, as if the ground beneath her shifted and undulated, sparking Zhou Ming’s curiosity: “Feeling dizzy?”

Internally, Ray Nora lamented: everything in this realm hovered in a state of perpetual flux, hardly a stable environment for mortals, hence the dizziness was to be expected.

However, she hesitated to voice this complaint in front of the “stellar entity,” instead bravely admitting, “A bit, but it’s manageable.”

“…Oh, then please, take a seat quickly.”

Zhou Ming suggested, his tone reflecting a hint of concern as he touched his nose, musing over the fact—the “Queen” had indeed suffered a couple of harsh falls to the floor, quite forcefully at that… It appeared those impacts were not trivial.

Yet, he didn’t dwell on guilt—he too had been struck hard enough to see stars.

Once seated on the sofa, Ray Nora found her surroundings marginally more stable.

Though the “sofa” itself was shrouded in an enigmatic dark mist, its surface pulsating with a vibrant “hue” reminiscent of a living organism, at least seated, she was spared the disorienting sensation of traversing through chaos.

Zhou Ming took a seat on an adjacent sofa, his gaze filled with curiosity as he regarded the Frost Queen, long lost to time: “Alright, now share the tale of your journey.”

“…After I managed to escape from that confining space, I’ve been navigating through the intricacies of time and space,” Ray Nora began, succinctly capturing the essence of her adventures post her escape from what she referred to as “Alice’s mansion with her bedroom.” “The journey I undertook was nothing short of peculiar. As I mentioned earlier, it even involved traversing the disturbances within subspace—my ‘little house’ served as a sort of sanctuary, shielding me as I ventured through these chaotic, fragmented passageways that exist beyond the conventional dimensions of our reality…”

“My travels were laden with remarkable occurrences, tales of which I’m eager to share with you later. However, what might capture your interest at this moment is the manner in which I stumbled upon this location…”

“To summarize the experience, I was inadvertently drawn here by a sudden current. After enduring a prolonged period of entrapment, the beacon that initially directed me to your home was… a lamp.”

“…A lantern?!” Zhou Ming reacted, his eyes growing wide in astonishment.

“Indeed, a lantern, adrift in the mist,” Ray Nora affirmed with earnestness, “Specifically, a lantern of the type commonly used aboard vessels.”