Chapter 693 Everything the Keeper Saw

Ted Riel, wrapped in a thick blanket, sat in the research station's cabin. Someone handed him a cup of still-hot tea. He held the cup and looked up to thank them, "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Alice responded earnestly, then began to curiously size up this "Keeper" who had just been fished out of the sea. After a long while, she turned her head to Duncan beside her and said, "Captain, Mr. Ted doesn't seem to be in a very good mood!"

"I fell into the sea—twice!" Ted looked up at Duncan, who was standing beside him, and subconsciously shivered halfway through his sentence—the physical cold wasn't a problem for a Saint; his shiver seemed more like he was immersed in the chill of fate. "The first time, I fell out of the sub-space, and the second time, I was thrown out by a pigeon!"

He shivered again, turning his head to glare resentfully at the plump white pigeon pacing proudly on the floor. The latter rubbed its beak on the floor, cocked its head, and looked at the scenery outside the window with one eye, and at Ted with the other, flapping its wings: "What are you looking at?"

"You must have offended A-Yi," Duncan's voice came, with a calmness and composure, "It usually doesn't throw passengers into the sea."

"Couldn't it just be that your pigeon is inherently cruel?" Ted glared, looking quite indignant. "It was mocking me when it threw me down. Everyone here heard it…"

"That's absolutely impossible. A-Yi is a dove of peace," Duncan waved his hand immediately, pointing to A-Yi, who was wandering around. "Look, it's white."

Ted was stunned by this, completely unable to keep up with Duncan's rhythm—he had never even heard of what a dove of peace meant…

However, Duncan was used to the fact that no one could understand the jokes he casually made. He just waved his hand indifferently, "I guess you weren't very cooperative when A-Yi brought you over."

"... Okay, I admit it," Ted thought for a moment, sighing helplessly, "But you can't blame me—I don't even know your pigeon. Even if that flame looked familiar, when a skeletal, strange bird suddenly flew out and dragged me into a dark and bizarre space, my first reaction was naturally to feel threatened, and some resistance was inevitable…"

Lucrezia, who hadn't spoken all along, suddenly chimed in, "And then you couldn't beat the pigeon and were thrown into the sea by it."

Ted Riel: "... Can we please not talk about the pigeon?"

"That makes sense," Duncan nodded, taking the opportunity to sit down in the chair next to Ted. "Then the pigeon topic ends here. Next, let's discuss sub-space."

"Uh…" Ted muttered in his throat, a strange expression on his face, but perhaps the series of bizarre experiences had greatly tempered his nerves, and he quickly calmed down and took a breath, looking around.

The academy staff stationed here disappeared from the room almost in a flash and closed the door tightly—within a few seconds, only Duncan, Alice, and Lucrezia remained besides him.

"I've already told Captain Lawrence everything I can remember," Ted Riel said, slightly relieved after all irrelevant personnel had left, while recalling, "Sub-space has left a long-lasting chaotic shadow in my mind, and some memories have become blurred as a result. I can only remember those disconnected fragments, such as the silent, massive, and bizarre 'things' I once witnessed. You should already know about this part…"

"Yes, Lawrence reported the situation to me, but some things must be communicated in person to be clearer," Duncan said casually, "For example, the specific forms of those things you witnessed… Lawrence's retelling is ultimately not as good as hearing it from you in person…"

As he spoke, he casually pulled a drawing from the table next to him.

It was some sketches that Duncan had personally drawn after receiving Lawrence's report and before A-Yi brought Ted Riel back.

Ted Riel curiously took the paper that Duncan handed over, and his eyes widened slightly the moment he saw what was depicted on it.

What was drawn on the paper was not some terrifying or bizarre thing—it was just the outlines of some doors and windows, some elegantly intricate pillars, and some curved ironwork patterns.

However, the "style" and "feeling" they presented were no less than witnessing those terrifying and bizarre behemoths in the sub-space again for Ted Riel.

He hesitantly raised his head, seeing Duncan looking calmly into his eyes.

"Is it this style?" Duncan asked softly.

Ted Riel opened his mouth, then lowered his head and stared at the series of architectural details depicted on the paper. After a long while, he said in a deep voice, "... Yes, it's a huge building in the darkness, like a palace, or a mansion that's too complex and massive. It hangs upside down above my head, its spires reminiscent of those gloomy black towers in the northern city-states. Its doors and windows are slender and towering, and every window is covered and blocked by dark matter that looks like thorns…"

He paused, recalling and organizing his thoughts for a moment, then continued, "The entire building maintains silence in the darkness, like a giant beast that has been dead for many years, but in some moments… I see a hazy flash of light appear in some of its windows, as if someone is still active inside it. At that time, the entire building seems to come alive…"

Duncan listened silently to Ted Riel's description, looking solemnly at the windows, pillars, and decorative patterns he had drawn on the paper.

That was something from the Alice Manor—although what Ted Riel saw was only the exterior structure of the building, the two were obviously unified in style.

What Ted Riel saw was indeed the Alice Manor.

The Alice Manor located in the sub-space.

Riel finally realized something from Duncan's attitude, and he hesitated slightly: "What I saw was… just this part. Is there something wrong?"

Duncan was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly took a step forward, pointing to the pattern on the paper with his finger: "I'm not sure… but theoretically, what you've drawn may only be a third of its structure!"