Deep Sea Embers

The dove tilted its head, probably feeling that Duncan hadn’t heard her clearly. Then quickly repeated the name again in a louder voice than before: “Ai!”

Duncan finally understood what the bird meant: “You mean your name is Ai?”

The dove nodded proudly and paced around the desk: “Googoo!”

Duncan couldn’t help but rub his forehead over how strange it was communicating with this dove. It’s even more awkward than speaking with the goat head in his opinion. “Do you know how you were born? Or rather… how did you end up here?”

The dove thought for a moment before both of them looked in different directions: “Aiya, the page you’re looking for is missing, try refreshing it?”

Duncan: “…”

It’s nearly impossible to comprehend what was happening in the bird’s head. But one thing’s certain, the bird was sentient in its own way and communicated seriously. The problem was, did they both have the same understanding of what “communication” actually meant?

Duncan continued his effort to talk with this dove called “Ai”. Throughout their conversation, the bird gave a relevant answer to his questions on occasion. However, most replies were incoherent messes that didn’t relate.

In the end, little progress was made, leaving the captain frowning: “What kind of messed up thing is this….”

Unfazed by the displeasure from the human, the dove crouched down on the table and started roosting while occasionally nagging for V50.

Duncan didn’t care about the bird’s chanting, instead curled his fingers and rubbed them gently. As he watched the glowing green flame on his fingertip, the guy was sure of one thing – the compass and dove were essentially an “anomaly item” that he could control.

Putting it to the test, he raised the size of the flame’s intensity. Sure enough, the flame around Ai blew up with the pointer inside the compass beginning to slow down like it wanted to point in some direction.

Ai didn’t react the whole time though despite being engulfed in fire, merely just bathing itself in the ghost fire and awaiting orders.

Then before the brass compass could be fully activated, Duncan took the initiative to disperse the flames.

Silently summing up his findings:

“First, the compass can still be used… It’s just that there is an extra weird ‘medium’ now. For the time being, it is not certain what effect this dove will bring, nor should I go on another soul journey until I’m fully prepared.”

“Secondly, there is definitely a connection between the dove and me, and this connection will become more pronounced in the case of the fire. To some extent, I can also control the dove… perhaps even go further than just control….”

“‘Ai’ clearly has its own will and will act according to its own thoughts. Therefore, my orders are not absolute for her, which is different from the other items on the Vanished.”

“Can speak, has a certain ability to think, can judge problems independently… Compared with the ordinary anomalies, this dove’s nature seems closer to that of the goat head…”

Duncan summed up some of the information now known to him and finally shifted his attention to that cursed obsidian black dagger.

After a little thought, Duncan reached out and picked up the item, which the priest in that underground sewer used. The cold, hard touch at contact told him it was real.

After confirming its not another illusion, Duncan unleashed a little more of his ghost fire, causing the flames to wrap around the blade’s body. Judging from the empty feedback, the extraordinary power contained within this ritual blade had indeed dissipated.

As he had previously judged at the sacrificial sight, this thing was not really an “anomaly” item but an extension of some extraordinary power or a temporary vessel “infused” with energy artificially.

Although Duncan did not know what kind of system the “anomalies” used, he could take a close guess that this blade shouldn’t be a rare item… more like some mass-produced product.

“This is what you brought back?” He lifted his head and faced Ai, “And it’s for me?”

The dove stared straight into Duncan’s eyes with those reddish bean irises without replying.

Duncan: “…?”

He asked again, and the dove still didn’t move, as if it had suddenly become a lifeless sculpture.

The sudden abnormal change made Duncan frown slightly, but just as he was about to stimulate Ai with the ghost flame to see if he could forcibly wake it up, the bird suddenly “came alive”. Jumping twice in place and shouting, “Take this solar tomahawk, take this solar tomahawk, take this…”

“Okay, I get it. You don’t have to answer every question I ask,” Duncan quickly waved his hand to force the dove to quiet down. Organizing his language first, “Then do you know how you brought this dagger here? Or rather, you can carry ‘physical objects’ through the space tunnel, right?”

The dove pondered for a moment before pecking Duncan’s finger: “The whole place is full, and the chicken pieces are free of charge.”

Duncan: “I… I’ll pretend to understand.”

He sighed, thinking he had reached the limit of communication with this bird.

Then he got up from his desk and turned to face the door leading to the mapping room. He could still hear the exchanging conversation of the goat head and Alice outside, which was going on rather well with the former going over the seventeenth recipe for kelp stew.

At this moment, Duncan felt compelled to save his only (and most normal) crew member.

On the other hand, he had been in the bed chamber for far too long. It’s time he showed his face to reassure the goat head.

But before leaving, he hesitantly glanced at Ai, who was running around the table again.

Do I want to take this dove out too? How do I explain it to them when I do?

Duncan hesitated for only two seconds before decisively grabbing the dove and placing it on his shoulder.

If he’s going to be active on the Vanished for the foreseeable future, he would need to be more open about certain secrets. Also, hiding a speaking, walking bird on the ship would never end well. What would the other crew members think of his image if they suddenly came across Ai one day?

So, he might as well graciously take the dove out and say it was his new “booty”—he didn’t need to explain anything to the goat head in the first place. After all, the first mate of this ship would fill in the details on his own regardless.

As for the strange stories that this dove pops up from time to time (the locals in this world would find it incomprehensible anyway) that doesn’t need to be explained either.

Let the goat head and Alice find a way to make up for it.

With the fat dove on his shoulder, Duncan freely straightened his posture and calmly walked out of the bed chamber.

“Authentic good herbal tea, authentic good voice, welcome to watch…” The dove proudly straightened its chest as well and shouted as if announcing its entry.