Chapter 158 A Mark

With a loud bang, the Annihilation cultist spat blood and flew ten meters away, finally stopping when he crashed into the trunk of a towering tree, sliding to the ground like a broken sack.

His last gaze was one of immense astonishment and bewilderment—perhaps he had imagined all sorts of powerful enemies and traps in his life, but he probably never thought that one day he would be smashed away by a dog.

Shirley, holding Aggie's leash, walked step by step towards the cultist, who couldn't even move a finger, stopping at a relatively safe distance.

The cultist was still alive—or rather, in this "dream," injuries that would be fatal in the real world didn't seem to be enough to kill him. Even though his head was almost smashed into his neck, and most of his joints were bent in strange and terrifying ways, he was still alive, just too weak to move, able only to stare with a gaze of resentment mixed with a hint of fear.

Shirley ignored his frightening gaze, raised the chain in her hand slightly, and Aggie stepped forward, approaching the cultist.

"Who exactly are you…" The Annihilation cultist struggled to speak, his voice coming from his throat. He watched the hideous and terrifying Netherhound approach him, and a trace of fear finally appeared in his eyes uncontrollably. In the distance, the "Harbinger Bird" that shared his life also struggled a few times, seemingly trying to resist, but quickly quieted down due to the extreme weakness of its host. This made his voice sound even more bluffing. "What do you want?!"

"This place is a dream. I can't catch you in the real world," Shirley said, a smile slowly appearing on her face. She raised the arm that was symbiotic with the chain, gently rubbing the black chain against her face, her expression still harmless. "And if I were to meet you unprepared, it would be dangerous if I didn't notice in time, so I have to leave a mark…"

"A mark…?"

The Annihilation cultist lying on the ground was stunned for a moment, and the next second, he saw the approaching Netherhound suddenly open its mouth wide, its ferocious and terrifying skeletal teeth biting down mercilessly—he only had time to let out a scream of terror before the terrible pain almost tore his consciousness apart, one of his arms already reduced to bloody fragments in the Netherhound's mouth.

"I remember your scent. We will catch you in the real world—" Aggie raised its head, its bloodshot eyes fixed on the wailing Annihilation cultist, a hoarse and deep voice coming from its skeleton-assembled chest. "Capture you alive, He will reward us…"

The wailing stopped abruptly. The cultist's eyes widened instantly as he stared at the hideous Netherhound in front of him. His mouth was wide open, unsure whether he was shocked that the Nether demon could speak human language, or whether he felt immense fear and danger from the last sentence he had heard—"He" will reward… What were the origins of this strange girl and this strange demon? Who was the "He" they mentioned?

The next second, the Annihilation cultist's figure suddenly began to fade and distort. In almost just one or two breaths, his figure disappeared from in front of Shirley and Aggie.

"He really got away," Aggie turned its head, shaking it left and right, a hint of helplessness in its tone. "Someone in this guy's gang in the real world must have sensed something and forcibly 'pulled' him away… We can't stop this kind of mental transfer."

"It's okay, didn't you remember his scent?" Shirley waved her hand, then confirmed seriously, "Can you really find him in the real world?"

"Don't be too far away—if that guy happens to be within my range of perception, I can definitely find him," Aggie said in a muffled voice. "Netherhounds are the best at tracking demons. He can't erase the traces I left behind."

"That's good," Shirley immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "It would be great if we could catch him alive. Even if it's worth two exam papers…"

Aggie ignored the second half of Shirley's muttering. It raised its head, hearing the chaotic sounds of the wind in the forest coming from all directions, seeing the trees in the distance becoming transparent and dim in patches. The signs of the dream collapsing were becoming increasingly obvious.

Clearly, something was influencing this dream—it was about to awaken.

…

There seemed to be some sounds coming from the darkness, sounding like the howling of chaotic winds, breaking the branches of trees as they blew through the forest, but upon closer listening, it seemed like just an illusion.

Duncan didn't have the extra energy to pay attention to those faint sounds coming from the darkness. His attention had been completely drawn by the incredible scene before him.

It was indeed the Vanishing Sea—after extending his perception deep into the vine, he saw the familiar "ghost ship" in the center of this darkness and mist.

But… why? Why would the Vanishing Sea's figure appear in this place?

Duncan approached a little, seeing that the "Vanishing Sea" seemed to be floating on a layer of black water. The darkness, as thick as ink, seemed to be swallowing the lower half of the ship, and on the towering deck, the entire ship was deathly silent, with no sound coming from it.

After hesitating for a moment, he "flew" onto the deck of the "Vanishing Sea."

In this darkness, he was operating as a pure "perspective," which brought him sufficient convenience.

The deck was empty, and as far as he could see, the scenes were old and familiar.

Following the route in his memory, Duncan slowly patrolled the various facilities on the deck, as well as the nearby cabins.

Everything was exactly the same.

But he knew that this was not the real Vanishing Sea, nor was it something like a projection of the Vanishing Sea—because he did not feel the close connection between "this ship" and himself, nor did he feel the feedback from the flame.

This ship was created by some other force.

The vague sounds of wind and noise came from the darkness again, and they were a little more obvious than before.

Duncan paid attention to the sounds coming from the depths of the darkness, then came to the stern deck area and stopped in front of the captain's cabin door.

His gaze moved up and suddenly froze.

On this door frame, a line of unfamiliar words was engraved—"May He Wander in Dreams."

Not the "Gate of the Lost Ones"?!"

Duncan felt a sense of astonishment, because he clearly remembered that the words engraved above the door of the captain's cabin were clearly "Gate of the Lost Ones," and this door was the only passage to his "bachelor apartment"… This "Vanishing Sea" that appeared in the depths of the dark fog was the same as he remembered in every way, so why were the words above this door different?

He withdrew his gaze from the door frame and looked at the door panel in front of him—the next second, the door opened silently, as if inviting him.

The familiar captain's cabin appeared before his eyes, illuminated by dim yellow light. Various furnishings and the goat's head on the edge of the navigation table appeared under the light.

Goat's head?

Duncan's heart suddenly stirred.

He remembered that when he accidentally entered the subspace, he had not seen the goat's head on the "damaged Vanishing Sea" on the side of the subspace, and in his bachelor apartment, there was no goat's head on the "model Vanishing Sea."

The presence or absence of the goat's head seemed to be a very subtle and key "point of divergence" between various different "versions" of the Vanishing Sea.

A series of guesses and memories flashed through his mind in an instant, and Duncan had already passed through the door of the captain's cabin. He cautiously came to the navigation table and looked at the black "wood carving" on the edge of the table.

The goat's head stayed quietly on its base, motionless like a real wood carving, without any reaction to the "captain's" approach.

Of course, this may also be because Duncan's presence here at this moment was just a pure "perspective," rather than a visible entity.

Duncan did not try to disturb the goat's head on the table, but continued to observe cautiously.

Soon, he discovered another strange thing.

The nautical chart on the table—it should have been a nautical chart, recording the trajectory of the Vanishing Sea, recording the known city-states and waterways on the boundless sea. However, now, it presented a scene that Duncan had never seen before—a completely unfamiliar "map"!

It looked like a forest viewed from the air. In the miniature holographic projection, one could see undulating mountain ridges, huge plant structures, and peculiar locations like building complexes distributed in various parts of the dense forest. The semi-transparent icon symbolizing the Vanishing Sea floated above the miniature projection, moving through the forest at an extremely slow speed.

With great astonishment, Duncan stared at the unfamiliar "nautical chart" for a long time.

Of course, he couldn't identify any valuable information from this completely unfamiliar map, but he recalled the other strange nautical chart he had seen on the "damaged Vanishing Sea" in the subspace.

On that Vanishing Sea sailing in the subspace, the nautical chart also presented a strange scene: in a chaotic and distorted unknown sea area, there were chaotic and bizarre navigation records everywhere.

Now, he saw another unexplainable "nautical chart" on this Vanishing Sea floating in the dark fog. This time… it even showed that the ship was sailing in a forest?!

This made an absurd thought uncontrollably emerge in his mind—

How many different "versions" of the Vanishing Sea are simultaneously sailing in different dimensions, recording different waterways?!

Just as this strange thought popped into Duncan's mind, a slight creaking sound suddenly came from the side, interrupting his wild thoughts.

He instantly turned his gaze to the direction from which the sound came.

The black goat's head on the edge of the navigation table was slowly turning its neck, turning its gaze towards this side.

A trace of consciousness seemed to gradually appear in the black obsidian-carved eyes.

The next second, Duncan heard a hoarse and deep voice enter his ears—

"Who's there…"

(End of this chapter)