On the barren plain, Charles walked forward blindly. All his crew members disappeared, leaving him alone.
He himself didn't know how long he had been walking, nor how long he would have to walk, but some force was pushing him forward.
Suddenly, a red security door with an upside-down blessing sign on it appeared in front of him. It was the door of his home.
Charles's numb face showed excitement, and he rushed over excitedly, "I'm going back! I found it!"
The door opened, but there was nothing inside, not even pure darkness, only endless nothingness.
Charles' body shook violently and he woke up from his nightmare.
He found a book in front of him, and his hand was holding a pen, writing something on it.
"Dude, you're having a nightmare again. Wait for me. I'll give you my body once I finish writing the end of this chapter."
When the body returned to Charles's hands, he opened the door and walked onto the deck. There was still nothing on the dark sea, and they were still on their way to the bright land.
Charles sighed. He could understand why he had this dream. He had never been afraid of such dangers before, but as he was about to go home, he actually felt a little scared.
What if there is no exit at the location marked on the chart? What if there is another world outside the exit? All kinds of thoughts kept flashing in Charles' mind, making him feel upset.
"Shtunggli grah"""nn fhhui Y!!"
Suddenly, a whispering sound rang in his ear, causing Charles' eardrum to feel a sharp pain. "Fuck!"
Charles, with veins bulging on his face, raised his prosthetic limb and smashed it against his forehead, trying to use the pain to offset the irritation in his heart.
After two consecutive hits, the skin on Charles' head was broken and began to bleed. Just when he was about to hit it for the third time, an iron hand next to him reached out and blocked it.
That was the doctor's prosthetic limb, and he handed over a cup of dark green potion.
Charles said nothing, and drank it. The extreme bitterness made Charles' facial features almost wrinkled together. However, the potion was effective, and the murmur in Charles' ears became much quieter.
"Thank you." Charles handed over the cup.
"Remind you, this is the last dose of medicine I can prepare. Your spirit is collapsing. Although I am a doctor, I can no longer understand your condition, and I don't know how long you can hold on."
"The voyage will soon be over. There are only three days left at most. After three days, I will never go to sea again."
"Humph." The doctor's face was full of disbelief. "Whether you go out to sea or not, the others on the ship have already started to show mild symptoms of scurvy. If you find that damn place without an island to replenish supplies, everyone on the ship will die. Don't forget that you are the captain, and you must be responsible for the lives of all the crew members."
Without waiting for Charles to speak, the doctor limped into the cabin.
Charles suppressed his anxiety and began to patrol the Narwhal as usual.
The crew members could also sense their captain's emotions, and everyone tried their best to do their tasks well, fearing that they would offend him at this time.
Three days, two days, one day, as the distance got closer and closer, the sea was still pitch black, and Charles became more and more anxious.
When the last day came, Charles sat in the cabin and painted the landscape, but the more he painted, the uglier it seemed.
"Bang!" Charles threw the drawing board against the wall, and the various colors of paint on the palette were scattered everywhere.
Charles, with a distorted expression on his face, broke the paintbrush into two pieces with his hands and threw it directly on the ground.
He stood up with a frown on his face, loaded his gun, and prepared to start a new round of patrol, but someone stopped him.
Charles and Kede have never been friends. Their relationship is just mutual benefit. But if there is anyone who can best understand Charles' feelings, it is only the old man in front of him.
"Okay." Charles reached out and took the bottle of wine from Kede.
The two stood on the deck, drinking and chatting.
"Charles, you know what? I haven't slept at all these days, and I'm really upset."
"I can tell."
"Charles, you said that the land of light must exist, right?" There was a hint of hesitation in Kede's bloodshot eyes.
"Why do you ask that? This is not something a devout believer would ask."
Ke De opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to be frightened by his own words. He paused for a long time before speaking in a low voice.
"What if there is no bright place? What if there is nothing there? Maybe the chart is a fake?"
"It does exist. I've been there. In fact, I'm from that place."
Kede stared at Charles for a long time, and suddenly burst into laughter. "Charles, I believe you, go for it!"
Charles tilted his head back and took a big gulp of alcohol, and the chaotic thoughts in his mind were relieved a lot.
You and I took a sip, and half of the wine in the bottle was gone. I don't know if he was really drunk or just pretending to be drunk, but Ke De came over with a drunken face and patted Charles' prosthesis with his hands.
"Charles, I have a secret. I'm telling you now. Don't tell anyone else."
"you say."
Ke De put his drunken mouth close to Charles' ear and said, "Actually, thirty years ago, when the blessing ceremony of the God of Light was held in the Church of Light, I saw so many people died. I was afraid, so I tried to sneak away and did not accept the blessing ceremony."
Charles didn't respond, took a sip of his wine, and waited for him to continue.
"Just think about it. They could drive three steel nails that thick into people's heads. How painful it must have been. I still can't forget the screams of those people. Tell me, only fools would do that. I'm a smart person. Do you know how easy it is for a smart person to get along with a bunch of fools? Why should I be a fool?"
Charles tapped his bottle with the wine bottle. "You don't need to tell me. I saw it a long time ago."
"Impossible!" The dizzy Kede swung the bottle and almost hit Charles.
"I... I have kept this secret hidden for so many years, how could you possibly find out... hiccup...?"
"I've known you for so long, how many times have you lied to me? I've been suspicious of you since the first time you lied to me in Sodom."
Charles saw a wriggling black shadow on the sea in the distance, and he naturally moved away from sight.
Kede's body slid along the edge of the boat and sat on the deck. Sitting on the deck, he shouted like a drunkard, and his voice echoed far away in the open sea.
"No matter how pious those fools are, what's the point of holding those disgusting rituals? In the end, it was an ordinary person like me who didn't receive any blessings who found the land of light!"
"When I get back, I will open the eyelids of those stubborn old guys and let them take a closer look!! Who!! Is the most devout believer of the God of Light!!"
(End of this chapter)