Chapter 46 The State of the Gods

The captain's cabin was very quiet. The faint sound of waves from outside the window was soft and gentle, only serving to highlight the tranquility of the room. After a long while, the goat head finally let out a sigh: "Ah, that sounds good."

"I thought you'd ask a few more questions," Duncan raised his eyebrows when he heard this. "Aren't you curious about where I took Xilantis, curious about my many secrets?"

"Curious," the goat head said bluntly, "but reason and intuition tell me that it's best not to inquire too much about things called 'secrets,' especially not what happened after you left this ship. You are the captain of the Vanishing, and I know that's enough. As for the rest... the less I know, the better."

"...Intuition?" Duncan said thoughtfully, looking at the dark wooden goat head in front of him. He suddenly asked, "Did your intuition tell you what would happen if I were no longer the captain of the Vanishing, or if you knew too many of my 'secrets'?"

The goat head fell silent for a moment, breaking the silence after nearly a minute: "I only know that whenever I have the idea of 'crossing the line,' I see an endless starry sky—and under the light of the stars, the Vanishing no longer exists."

Duncan frowned slowly. After a brief moment of contemplation, he shook his head, putting aside his complicated thoughts for the time being: "Xilantis... is now in a special state, kept in a safe place. You don't need to worry."

"That's good," the goat head said softly, without asking anything more.

"Now there's another problem—what should I call you?" Duncan suddenly asked after a few seconds of silence. "Saslozka? Goat head? Or First Mate?"

"...Just use the old titles," the goat head thought for a moment, its tone sounding a little awkward. "First Mate or goat head is fine. The name Saslozka... is a little unfamiliar. Now that I recall it, it feels so distant, not like my own name."

Duncan was a little surprised: "Then why did you agree so quickly when I called you that at first?"

The goat head's tone became even stranger: "...The atmosphere was right at the time. It wouldn't have been appropriate to disagree..."

Duncan: "..."

He looked at the black wood carving on the table with a strange expression for a moment, and finally couldn't help but ask curiously: "I'm very curious about what state you're in now, or... what's your perception of yourself? At the moment of the 'world collision,' you could feel your changes. At that time, you seemed to have completely returned to the state of the 'King of Dreams,' but that only lasted for a while."

Noticing the serious expression on the captain's face, the goat head finally began to think seriously. After a long while, it shook its head uncertainly: "Actually, I'm still a little confused even now. I can feel that the part of the memory that belongs to 'Saslozka' has awakened in my mind, but I can also clearly feel that... He is not completely me, and I am not completely Him.

"But as you said, when I saw the 'little sapling'... I had some changes. Perhaps it was the influence of the mythical form, or perhaps the little sapling left too deep a mark in my memory. I... 'returned' to the state in my memory. For a brief moment, I even thought... time had really reversed."

It paused, as if quietly recalling the wonderful feeling of that moment, recalling the process of something gradually recovering in the depths of its memory, of another "personality" awakening in its consciousness, but in the end, it slowly shook its head.

"But that only lasted for a short time, and as the sun rose and the dream ended, I returned to this state. It seems that the symbiosis with the Vanishing has permanently changed some of my essence—and to be honest, I prefer it this way."

"Is that so?" Duncan said thoughtfully. "In other words, you are now both Saslozka and not completely Him. That sounds more like a completely new individual reorganized from the fragments of an ancient god... But if you think it's good this way, then it's nothing."

"There's nothing wrong with it," the goat head said freely. "Some things... are really hard to get back once they're gone. We always have to look forward. No matter how much the Great Annihilation took away, the fact is that we are now living in the Deep Sea Era—let Saslozka remain in legend."

"...You have changed after all. It would have been difficult for you to say something so reasonable so decisively in the past," Duncan gave the goat head a subtle look, then stroked his chin. "But you reminded me, I happen to have a question I want to ask you."

As soon as the goat head heard this, its tone immediately became serious again: "Ask away."

"Saslozka is dead, long ago—do you remember this sentence?"

"...I remember," the goat head thought for a moment, giving a definite answer. "When some memories were restored and reorganized, this sentence kept echoing in my consciousness. This seems to be a very strong... 'self-cognition.'"

"That's right, Saslozka 'died' when the Great Annihilation happened. This is a 'fact' deeply imprinted in your memory, even in the subconscious of the elven race," Duncan nodded, then changed the subject. "But according to the records in *The Book of Blasphemy*, during the Second Long Night after the Great Annihilation, the 'King of Dreams' tried to create the world again, and was 'torn apart' due to the failure of the genesis—the keel of the Vanishing, the 'Skull of Dreams' in the hands of the Annihilation Cultists, and yourself are all evidence of this record.

"And we can basically be sure that the 'King of Dreams' recorded in *The Book of Blasphemy* is Saslozka, who had already died during the Great Annihilation.

"How could an ancient god who had already died when the Great Annihilation happened 'create the world' during the Second Long Night?

"Another similar contradictory record is that of Tariejin, the 'Eternal Burning Fire' worshiped by the Firestarters."

Duncan paused here, picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip, then adjusted his position on the chair and continued with a more serious expression:

"Tariejin is another 'god' who died when the Great Annihilation happened. He is the patron saint of the Senkin people, and according to Vanna's report and the records on that 'Chronicle Pillar,' his death, or 'fall,' is also an undeniable fact, but if he really died when the Great Annihilation happened... then what about the 'Tariejin' worshiped by the Firestarters on the Boundless Sea now? Who exactly is the 'Eternal Burning Fire,' one of the Four Gods?"

The goat head's neck and base made a slight creaking sound. It shook its head from side to side, and after a long while, it sighed: "That sounds a little horrifying."

Duncan stared silently at the goat head. "Don't say it like it's none of your business. You are one of the 'gods' involved."

"I don't remember," the goat head said with particular frankness. "I told you, I only remember some general memory fragments, and they're all concentrated before the Great Annihilation. As for what happened after that... I really don't know."

Duncan frowned deeply: "You have no impression at all of the Second Long Night, and the experience of creating the world in the Long Night?"

The goat head tried very hard to think about it, shaking its head helplessly: "If I could remember even a little bit, I wouldn't be completely clueless..."

Duncan didn't care about the other party's nonsense. He just frowned and continued to think, and after a long time, he slowly opened his mouth: "If that's the case, I have some guesses."

"You have guesses?"

"I think... we shouldn't apply the simple state of life and death of 'mortals' to gods," Duncan thought for a moment, and said with a serious face, "Let's use you as an example—do you think you're alive now?"

The goat head was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it, it hesitated and said: "I think... I'm considered alive, aren't I living a good life?"

"Is 'living a good life' what you call having your spine soaked in the subspace, a head falling into the hands of the Annihilation Cultists, and more heads possibly still floating in the cracks of the world?"

The goat head's neck made a "snap" sound, and then it cried out: "Don't say it so terribly! It's giving me the creeps..."

"But that's exactly your current state—not only are you already dead, but you can even say... you're not dying peacefully," Duncan also felt that this topic seemed a bit strange, but he had already said it, so he could only try to keep a straight face and continue in a serious tone, "And I guess the state of the other 'gods'... is probably not much different from yours."

The goat head didn't say anything, as if it was in a state of horror.

After organizing his words slightly, Duncan continued: "The Crawling King, the Abyssal Lord, according to *The Book of Blasphemy*, is the creator of the Third Long Night. His current state is 'having lost his sanity, being stuck in the crack between the Abyssal Deep Sea and the subspace, constantly creating countless Abyssal demons in an immobile state, and constantly devouring the Abyssal demons.'

"In the scriptures of the Firestarters, Tariejin is described as a giant guarding the original flame, and this giant himself is also burning with an inextinguishable flame, permanently scorching his body.

"The Black Sun, I have seen Him. He is burned by his own corona, his spirit has long collapsed, and now he only seeks to be extinguished...

"The Storm Goddess and the God of Wisdom... I don't know their specific state, but I guess the situation is similar.

"Stripped of all the mythical halos, judging only from my personal 'common sense' and 'subjective impression,' none of these situations are normal."

Speaking of this, Duncan spread out his hands and made a final conclusion.

"The gods are dead—however, their 'death' may be very long, or very unique. They will not 'operate' according to the 'life and death' understood by mortals. Some 'state' or 'remnant' after their death can still affect this world, or... affect this 'ember' that was burned to ashes after the Great Annihilation.

"This is the true appearance of the Deep Sea Era."

When Duncan's voice fell, the captain's cabin was silent.

After an unknown amount of time, the goat head's voice finally broke the silence: "...Your description... is disturbing. I'm really getting the creeps this time."

Duncan thought for a moment and sighed softly: "...I probably should have changed to a gentler way of describing it. It does sound a bit strange to say it like this."

"No, I mean, my neck is really itchy now... Scratch it for me."

Duncan: "..."

(End of this chapter)