Shrouded Seascape

Just as Lily finished her farewells with her three companions, a swarm of mice scurried out from the countless shadowy corners of the dock.

Their fur was still a vibrant array of color but they had started to wear hastily stitched together fabric as their clothes.

"Everyone, I'm so sorry, but I can't take you guys with me. I'm not from this world, but you are. Stay here and be good, alright?"

Hearing Lily's words, the mice gathered around her and squeaked continuously, and their voices were filled with apparent desperation.

"Don't be like this. You didn't do anything wrong. It's my fault. I'm your leader but I've been too reckless before and never thought about what's best for you.

"If you need anything from now on, go find Bandages. He'll help you. But remember, no bad behavior alright! We are good mice, aren't we?"

After bidding her final goodbye to the mice, Lily finally dragged her suitcase behind her and stepped onto the passenger ship's deck.

Standing at the dock, those who had come to send her off raised their hands and waved frantically.

Lily raised her right hand as well, and she waved until the ship entered the distant darkness.

When the ship disappeared from sight, Linda let out a wistful sigh. She turned to Nico standing next to her, saying, "Charles meant a lot to Lily. He's probably more than just someone she relied on."

"You're not wrong," Nico replied as a hint of envy flickered across his gaze. "But I think this is for the best. Lily deserves a beautiful life, not one where she has to spend it with someone like Captain."

Grace lifted her head to look at Nico and chimed in, "Perhaps Captain had the same thought and that's why he didn't want Lily to be on the island. He still cares for her."

Linda took a brief glance at Grace before turning to Nico once more. "What are your plans now?"

Nico pulled out a long, white cigarette with a filtered tip from his coat and placed it between his lips.

"Ah, what else can I do? Of course, I'm heading back to my Coral Archipelago. Those husbands of mine aren't exactly the best rulers. I certainly don't want the island that I've painstakingly explored to fall apart under their management. What about you?"

Linda thought for a brief moment before she replied, "I didn't have time before, but now that things have finally calmed down, I'm planning to get pregnant."

Nico was taken aback. "I thought vampires reproduced by biting people. You can have a child the normal way humans do?"

"In normal circumstances, of course not. But that doesn't mean that I can't perform a few experimental procedures on myself," Linda said, her hand gently resting on her abdomen.

***

The gentle crashing of waves against the shoreline was the only sound reverberating throughout the island.

The island showed no trace of the bloody horrors it once held.

Back inside the house where Dipp and the others had been in, the brown leather couch slowly rose from the center of the room. Following which, Charles' figure gradually materialized as well.

He sat on the couch with his eyes closed, his appearance similar to any ordinary man taking a break.

Just then, with a flash of white light, Sparkle's alluring figure appeared before him.

She bent her legs slightly and settled into the seat next to Charles on the couch.

"How's everything?" Charles asked with his eyes still closed.

"Nothing much. They've all safely arrived at Hope Island. Judging from their attitude, I doubt they'll bother you again."

"That's great then," Charles said. He opened his eyes, but there was only empty darkness within his eye sockets. Just like before, the current Charles was just an empty shell.

"Dad, it seems like they don't understand how much you've sacrificed for them," Sparkle remarked.

Charles slightly shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I never intended for them to understand. Sparkle, do you know what they look like in my eyes now?"

"Hmm?" Sparkle tilted her head in curiosity.

"All barriers and obstructions have ceased to exist before my eyes. Their entire being has been exposed to me. I can see every single bone, their organs, even down to the marrow within their skeletons. I can see blood coursing through their heart chambers with the valves of their heart opening and closing. Even when I look at Lily, I can clearly see the intricate structure of her eyeball.

"In a single moment, I can perceive so much information—thousands of times more than that of a human. The overwhelming information overload allows me to predict their every move. They have no secrets in front of me."

Charles paused briefly before he continued, "Now, I finally know why the gods avoided interacting with humans. Humans are just too simple, be it their physical structure or their thought processes. In fact, I even find it rather inefficient to be communicating with you through vocal vibrations."

Sparkle slightly raised a brow. "Dad… do you realize that the way you talk is a little… off? You sound kind of cold."

Charles nodded in agreement. With evident calmness and acceptance on his face, he admitted, "It's a given. The information that I am constantly receiving every single second is forcing me to evolve. And it's not just on the physical level; but my mind and character is being affected as well.

"Thus, the human part of me is fading away. I'm trying my best to slow down the process, but it's not working well.

"I'm losing my humanity, which is why my time is limited. I need to accomplish certain things before the final remnants of my humanity vanish. I'm not sure if I'll even still be 'me' once the final vestiges of my humanity is gone."

Sparkle moved closer and rested her head gently on Charles' shoulder.

"Dad, is this kind of sacrifice really worth it?" Sparkle asked softly.

"It is. Of course it is. I don't agree with the Foundation's methods, but I agree with their perspective. Some things in the Subterranean Sea are too dangerous. And there's no pattern or order to these threats for both the surface world and the Subterranean Sea. Existencees like us can easily wipe out everything with a single thought. For the sake of my family in the Subterranean Sea and the surface world, I have to create some kind of safeguard."

"And what if you fail?" Sparkle asked another question.

"If I fail? Then so be it. I've already made peace with that," Charles said with a calm expression. "Some things you just have to try, or you'll never be satisfied."

"Actually, from the moment I accepted 005's wish, I have prepared myself for the worst. I gambled everything on the one possible outcome," Charles admitted, "Fortunately, I won the gamble. That's why I can still continue on."

"What are you planning to do next?" Sparkle asked once again, her gaze never leaving her father.

"I'll continue to evolve. Fortunately, the path ahead isn't hard. The Foundation has already paved it for me."

With that, the ground beneath them split open, revealing a grotesque fissure of pulsating flesh. Accompanied by squirming and writhing tentacles, a deep abyss soon stretched out beneath them.

At the very bottom of the bloodied-flesh canyon lay a bizarre corpse riddled with black holes. It was the corpse of the fallen god, Pede.

Countless mouths manifested around it, and it gnawed feverishly at the corpse.

Charles was doing the exact same thing as Anna.

At the same time, eerie howls reverberated in the forest beyond outside; it was as though they had been affected by the appearance of Pede.

"Why are we even keeping them around?" Charles asked with a frustrated sigh. "Why don't we send them away? They're becoming a nuisance."

"It's more lively with them around. Else, it would be just too lonely with the two of us here," Sparkle replied, her gaze still fixated on Pede's corpse as it was being devoured.