"What's wrong?"
Seeing Fors suddenly wearing a shocked expression, Xio came closer and asked curiously.
"It's nothing. I just suddenly thought of something important."
"What is it?"
"How did Miss Audrey and Mr. Hastur suddenly make progress so quickly?"
"I'm curious about that too."
"Woof!" Susie walked over and naturally joined the topic they were discussing.
"Susie, are you saying this has something to do with you?"
"Woof."
"Wow, Susie, you're amazing." After praising Susie, Fors mischievously added, "Susie, can you help Xio find a suitable partner too?"
"Fors! You!" Xio hurriedly rose slightly onto her toes and reached out to cover Fors' mouth, grumbling, "Don't put bad ideas into Susie's head!"
Susie merely looked Xio up and down before silently shaking her head and returning to lie down by the cabin entrance.
"…"
Xio was rendered speechless by Susie's reaction. What was that supposed to mean?
Fors, meanwhile, covered her mouth and snickered from the side, even secretly giving Susie a thumbs-up.
"Fors! You're definitely the one who taught Susie bad things!" Xio could only vent her frustration and anger on Fors.
Watching Fors and Xio already fooling around, Susie secretly glanced at them before once again silently shaking her head and sighing.
…
After spending several days together, Klein smoothly integrated into life aboard the Hope. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would go to the stern and use a telescope to observe nearby creatures. Sometimes, he would even take out paper and a pen to make notes.
If he didn't know Klein's true identity, even Hastur might have thought that he really was a natural biologist.
The reason he had been able to easily see through Klein's Faceless disguise this time was entirely because of Arrodes.
When it mentioned the Hope, it had secretly taken a peek. Hastur noticed this and followed the clues, quickly locking onto Klein.
"When will we be able to see the mermaids?"
"Once we pass through this stretch of sea, we'll reach the outer region of the Sea of Ruins. Mermaids usually live a little farther inside."
Hastur explained some of the relevant details to Klein. As the two chatted, two ships traveling at extremely high speed appeared on the distant sea.
The ships weren't heading toward the Hope. They were fleeing from pursuers behind them.
The pirate crew of the Undying King, Agalito.
After clearly seeing the flags flying from the ships, Klein subconsciously frowned, but soon relaxed again.
Mr. Hastur had accepted 1,000 pounds as payment from him. There was no need for Klein to worry about this problem.
"Don't bother with them."Hastur's unconcerned tone made Klein curiously ask, "That's the Undying King's pirate crew. Don't we need to make some preparations in advance?"
"Mr. Wilson, the ones who need to prepare in advance are them."
Klein soon understood what Hastur meant.
The Death Knell, which had only just appeared on the distant sea, seemed to sense some danger and swiftly turned around, leaving the area.
Beyonders of the Devil pathway were exceptionally sharp and sensitive when it came to sensing danger.
Agalito, aboard the Death Knell, had merely glanced from afar at the approaching Hope when immense terror welled up within his heart.
Moreover, he still remembered the Hope even to this day.
Back during the Full Moon Massacre in the waters near Roselle's island, it had been this very ship that attracted the attention of those enormous black tentacles and ultimately escaped safely amid the chaotic battle.
The aura emanating from the mysterious powerhouse standing at the bow was enough to easily crush a minor character like him to death.
The reason he was known as the Undying King was precisely because he never did things that would send him courting death.
Following the voice deep within his heart was the secret to his longevity.
Two days later, the Hope arrived at the outskirts of the Sea of Ruins.
The ocean rippling with golden light and the surrounding deep azure sea formed two distinctly separate worlds.
That place seemed filled with divinity and light, while a vast, epic feeling emanated from the black ruins protruding from the surface of the sea.
However, before they could reach that golden world, they still had to overcome one final natural barrier.
In the waters ahead, the azure sea was severed by a massive fissure. Endless seawater poured downward like a waterfall, plunging vertically into a dark world whose depths could not be seen.
"Everyone, be careful. Hold tightly onto something sturdy nearby so you don't accidentally get thrown overboard later."
Standing at the bow, Hastur gave a warning and had Audrey and the others enter the cabin first, telling them to come back out after they had crossed this stretch of sea.
Crash!
Affected by the seawater rapidly surging forward, the Hope's speed became several times faster than before.
The entire Hope began trembling slightly. Audrey looked at Hastur, who was still outside, and only had enough time to call out, "Mr. Hastur, be careful!"
When the Hope reached the fissure in the sea, gravity caused the ship to plunge straight downward.
Just as everything inside the cabin was about to overturn, a gentle force lifted the Hope, restoring the vertically falling ship to a stable forward-moving posture.
Under the astonished gazes of Audrey and the others, the entire Hope became like an airship, flying across the fractured rift, soaring over the bottomless abyss, and reaching the golden waters ahead.
The ship landed steadily. Aside from the liquid splashing out of cups and other vessels, everything else remained quietly in its original place.
After sensing that the Hope was sailing normally again, Audrey and the others finally emerged from the cabin and came to the bow, embracing the world of this golden sea.
There were no clouds here, nor was there a sun in the sky, yet sunlight spilled out from everywhere, dyeing the entire world before their eyes golden.
"It's so beautiful, as if a golden sun had been crushed to pieces and scattered throughout this place."
Standing beside Hastur and admiring the scenery before her, Audrey sighed sincerely.
"Miss Audrey's description is really fitting. How come I can never think of such wonderful words of praise? All I can say is, 'Pretty, really pretty…'" Xio muttered from the side.
"I keep telling you to read more books, but you never listen," Fors habitually retorted.
"Hmph. You read so many books, but I haven't seen you write anything particularly gorgeous either."
"…" Fors immediately fell silent.
After admiring the scenery for a while, Klein said with a worried expression, "The more beautiful the scenery at sea, the more likely it is to conceal unknown dangers."
"Mr. Wilson, do you know anything about this Sea of Ruins?" Xio asked.
"I've only heard some terrifying legends about this place from other people."
Klein naturally shared what he had heard. At the same time, he was also reminding Hastur that this place was extremely dangerous and that they needed to be particularly careful.
Then, he pointed toward the ruins ahead.
Most of the main body of the ruins was submerged beneath the seawater. What rose above sea level consisted of gray stones and pillars piled into peaks, with dome-like circular structures at their tops supporting a sizable space.
As for the lower half of the ruins, it extended deep into the seawater, with no end visible at a glance.
"Be careful of the murmurs here. Don't become too absorbed in listening to them," Hastur simply warned.
The Sea of Ruins was indeed extremely dangerous, but Hastur had already visited it once before. Aside from those murmuring voices, everything else was merely a novel experience for the people aboard the Hope.
The Hope steadily sailed past the ruins ahead. Despite passing quite close to them, no one suggested entering the ruins to search for treasure.
Just as they were preparing to eat lunch, the originally golden sky suddenly dimmed, and the surroundings plunged into complete darkness. Night descended silently just like that.
This was because the two greatest forces influencing this place came respectively from the Ancient Sun God and the Evernight Goddess.
Golden daytime occupied most of the time, but night would occasionally descend as well.
The sudden reversal of day and night caused Fors and the others to cry out in surprise.
But very quickly, the Hope became enveloped in a hazy layer of starlight, illuminating the entire ship.
The power of the Stars?
Seeing this, Klein's heart stirred, and he pretended to casually glance at Hastur.
Only now did he gain a slight understanding of Mr. Hastur's background. It turned out that he was actually a believer of the Stars.
"It's late at night. Everyone should return to their rooms and sleep, then wait to wake up naturally tomorrow."
Hastur's voice accurately reached everyone's ears.
Xio curiously asked, "What happens if we don't sleep?"
"When we wake up, we'll discover that you've disappeared, and we'll never be able to find you again."
Xio shuddered in fright and hurriedly pulled Fors back to their room to rest. On such a mysterious night, having someone accompany her would make it easier to fall asleep.
Klein also followed the arrangement and returned to his room to rest.
"Mr. Hastur, have you been here before?"
Once only the two of them remained, Audrey became much more direct with her questions.
"I've been here once."
Seeing that Audrey seemed hesitant to say something, Hastur thought for a moment before leaning close to Audrey's ear and whispering something.
"I-I wasn't looking forward to it that much."
Audrey stammered out those words before leading Susie back to her room.
Late at night, while everyone was dreaming, an uninvited guest passed through the world of darkness and arrived on the deck at the bow of the Hope.
The stupid snake Will spoke of, the Angel of Fate, Ouroboros.
Back then, He had been tricked by the Vessel of Stars into returning from Backlund to the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
Now, He had once again sensed the familiar aura of the Vessel of Stars.