Lucretia recognized it. It was her Brilliant Star—but the Brilliant Star from another timeline.

It was the Brilliant Star from decades ago, the one that had accidentally crossed the six-sea-mile boundary during one of her reckless border voyages and become “lost”—at this very moment, decades ago, she was standing on that ship, fruitlessly searching for a way back to the boundless sea.

The sailor gripped the helm, breaking into a cold sweat upon realizing what the ship in the distance was (if he still had sweat glands). He instinctively cried out, "Madam! That's an entity from another timeline—don't make contact! We must have been disrupted by it, causing us to exit the 'passage' prematurely. Rash contact could trap us!"

The sailor's shout made the others on deck react. They realized that this situation was completely different from when the Vanishing Line had encountered the Sea Song in the "passage"—

The Sea Song was a ship that had no "connection" to either the Vanishing Line or the Brilliant Star. Its sudden appearance at the time could only be regarded as a wisp of residual image in the temporal turbulence. However, the ship appearing at the end of the dense fog now was the "Brilliant Star" from another timeline, the "alternate-spacetime counterpart" of the ship beneath their feet—what would happen if two such entities came into contact in the time stream?

No scholar had yet conducted research in this area (including those from the Academy of Truth with the best physical fitness and combat scores), but there was no doubt that nothing good would come of it.

However, Lucretia seemed not to have heard the sailor's loud warning. She simply looked at the "Brilliant Star" gradually approaching in the dense fog with a strange look in her eyes. Then, as if she had suddenly thought of something, she abruptly turned around and scanned her surroundings.

The illusion of the Vanishing Line covered the ship. Ghostly spirit-fire floated on the surface of the dark, wooden deck, and semi-transparent spirit sails hung high on the mast—everything was as vivid in her memory as that scene.

In this final voyage to the end of the world, she finally understood the long-standing mystery that even her "father" couldn't figure out.

It was she herself who had guided her own path...

"Don't worry," she finally said softly, her voice not loud, but enough to silence the deck. "We won't encounter that ship—we'll just pass each other. Maintain the current course, pass it on the side, and don't make any communication."

"Okay... Just make sure that the...'you' on that ship don't suddenly come over," the sailor muttered. He didn't question the "captain's" judgment at this moment, but followed the order and slowly steered the ship, which was practically a "hybrid," past the side of the "Brilliant Star."

Everyone tensed up at this moment. They watched the Brilliant Star from another timeline approaching from the dense fog, getting closer and closer until they could distinguish many details of its hull. They saw that the ship was different from what they remembered, seemingly because it was a "version" from decades ago. They watched the ship briefly slow down and adjust its posture, as if it had been momentarily panicked and shaken by the sudden approach of the Vanishing Line, but in the end, the two ships passed each other peacefully.

Lucretia breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then, within seconds of the two ships completely passing each other, the "Brilliant Star" from another timeline quickly dissipated, disappearing into the dense fog like a phantom.

The intersection of the time streams had ended.

And this was exactly what Lucretia was waiting for—she immediately ordered, "Turn the ship around and follow the trajectory of that ship's last disappearance. That's the direction back to the boundless sea."

The sailor was stunned, but his hands unhesitatingly carried out the captain's order. After the ship beneath his feet began to slowly adjust its course, he turned to look at the "Sea Witch," "Madam, are you..."

"This is something that happened before. Decades ago, the Brilliant Star encountered the 'phantom' of the Vanishing Line outside the six-sea-mile boundary. I still remember the details," Lucretia nodded. "Don't think too much about it. First, find a way to get out of this place."

"It's impossible to think too much; my head's about to explode," Shirley scratched her hair. After quickly going through the events in her head, she was obviously a little dazed. "So, decades ago, when you got lost at the border, the guiding phantom you encountered was actually yourself from decades later, but yourself from decades later was also lost—neither ship knew the way back, and in the end, they both found the right direction... What is going on?"

"Cause and effect, luck, time and space, everything here is a mess," Morris said, with his unlit pipe in his mouth, his voice sounding a little muffled. "Don't use too much reason to think in the border seas. The human mind has its limits when it comes to bearing 'irrationality.' Don't let those irrational things drive you crazy."

As the old gentleman's voice fell, Aga mumbled, "Shirley is fine. She doesn't think much usually; her brain is as good as new."

Shirley punched Aga on the head, making a "clang" sound.

Lucretia didn't pay attention to the commotion beside her, and neither did the sailor at the helm—they were still staring intently ahead on the course, in the direction the Brilliant Star's bow was pointing, where the dense fog seemed to be undergoing some changes.

Nina suddenly noticed that the Brilliant Star was gradually slowing down.

She looked up in surprise, "Huh? Miss Lucretia, why are we slowing down at this time?"

"...There's a 'critical change' in the fog ahead. That should be where we cross the six-sea-mile boundary. By passing through that boundary, we'll enter the relatively safe Veil Sea area," Lucretia said slowly, but then her tone sank, "But there's a problem."

Nina looked confused, while the sailor at the helm had obviously understood. He twitched the corner of his mouth, making a hoarse, unpleasant sound, "Once we 'cross the boundary' from that place, the date of our return to the boundless sea will be determined—but it won't necessarily be a day in 1902."

Nina was puzzled for less than a few seconds before her eyes slowly widened. Smart as she was, she instantly understood what the sailor's words meant.

"We exited the 'passage' prematurely. At the moment we left the route, the flow of time around us was probably chaotic," Lucretia said in a deep voice, "And the Brilliant Star from decades ago appearing in our sight, it may have been a shadow from another time stream mistakenly entering our route, but it may also be that we 'entered' the wrong time stream..."

This time, even Shirley understood, and she was immediately shocked, "In other words, if we go back now, we might return to decades ago?!"

The sailor sighed, "That's even the better situation—worse, the time stream is completely chaotic. After crossing the boundary, we might enter any point in time."

Shirley: "...Holy crap..."

"Should we contact the captain?" Vanna suddenly said, "This is already an unplanned situation. Perhaps the captain's power can..."

"No, I've already tried, but I can only vaguely sense Father's voice," Lucretia shook her head. "We're still in the turbulence of the border. The chaotic spacetime order here is causing interference, and Father's side..."

She paused and shook her head slightly.

The people on the deck looked at each other.

The Brilliant Star cruised at a very low speed in the mist near the "critical line," slowly cruising in a relatively "safe" position that wouldn't fall into the "deeper depths."

The way home was right in front of them, as if they could reach it with just a step—without any obstacles or hindrance.

However, what stood in front of the Brilliant Star was a barrier far more dangerous than any walls or trenches—time.

In the bridge, the Clockwork Puppet Luni was monitoring the complex and dazzling systems on the Brilliant Star's main body. The rabbit, Rabi, was huddled carefully in the corner, holding the little puppet, Nilu, not daring to breathe loudly. Agatha's figure was vaguely reflected on the porthole not far away, while the others were sitting around the captain's seat, and the atmosphere seemed quite depressing.

Morris grumbled, "If only there was a 'guiding anchor point' from the boundless sea, even a piece of wood floating over the veil."

"The probability of that isn't higher than us crossing the border directly and accurately arriving in 1902," Lucretia shook her head. "This is the border."

Shirley scratched her hair, muttering, "If we really get to a time node decades ago, or even centuries, millennia ago..."

She muttered a few words, but didn't continue.

Vanna repeated Shirley's words softly, "Centuries..."

"Then we'll have arrived too 'early'," Nina stuck out her tongue. "The good news is that we'll be able to see the 'sun' that's still normal at that time."

Vanna ignored Nina's words and suddenly looked up at Lucretia, her expression quite serious, "Madam Lucretia, how long can you live?"

The scene suddenly became quiet. Lucretia understood Vanna's meaning. After a brief moment of silence, she broke the silence, "I'm not sure how long this 'curse' can last, but at least... several centuries are no problem."

Morris shook his head, "My lifespan is limited. Even with the blessing of machinery and intelligence, this body will be damaged."

Agatha's voice came from the side, "I theoretically have no lifespan limit, but lacking a physical attachment, my existence is not stable..."

"The Abyss Demons can survive for a long time," Vanna suddenly looked at Shirley, "At least, I haven't heard of any Abyss Demons who 'died of old age' because their lifespan reached its limit, as long as you hide well and don't get discovered by the church guardians of the current era..."

Shirley listened blankly, gradually reacting, "Ah... No way..."

"We have to prepare for the worst," Vanna said with a serious face.

"Then let's think about an even worse situation," Lucretia suddenly shook her head, "What if we didn't arrive early, but 'late'? When Father needs us, we may not have arrived yet..."

Everyone fell silent.

Silence and depression once again enveloped the bridge.

But at this moment, a buzz suddenly came from the direction of the equipment console.

Then, the Clockwork Puppet Luni, who was monitoring the equipment, exclaimed:

"Mistress, there's a signal!"

(End of this chapter)