Spirit World Walker

The door closed behind him, blocking the vacant gaze of Goat Head.

But Duncan could still clearly sense the Lost Homeland, sensing every subtle change on this ghost ship—in that empathy akin to a limb's extension, he "saw" the Lost Homeland's sails meticulously adjusting their angle in the sea breeze, while the black helm on the stern's bridge was slowly turning, further stabilizing the Lost Homeland amidst the waves.

Just as he expected, Goat Head had temporarily taken the helm, diligently fulfilling its duty as First Mate—but Duncan could still take personal control of the ship at any time.

Compared to when he steered himself, the Lost Homeland was somewhat weaker in both flexibility and speed, but Duncan's main objective now was to further disperse the fog on the sea chart. With no clear destination or route, he didn't mind this slight impact.

After confirming that Goat Head showed no unusual behavior and that the Gothic doll below deck was also staying obediently in its room, Duncan let out a soft sigh and glanced around the not-too-large room.

This was his private cabin as Captain, and the most comfortable and well-appointed room on the Lost Homeland. Besides a soft bed, against the wall directly opposite the room's door stood a classical wardrobe and a shelf holding many strange items. Opposite the bed was a dark brown desk, but there were no books on it, only a few decorative items and tools for writing and drawing.

Next to the desk was a window offering a direct view of the distant sea. On the wall beside the window were several hooks—the pirate sword Duncan was currently carrying and the flintlock pistol had previously hung on these hooks.

Duncan walked to the desk, placing the long sword and flintlock pistol in convenient spots. He then opened a desk drawer, checking the gunpowder and lead bullets stored in a wooden box.

A small brass compass lay next to the lead bullets and gunpowder pouch. Duncan picked up the compass and saw the needle under the glass cover still spinning erratically, as if constantly being pulled by an invisible force field. Engraved at the bottom of the compass was a line of small text—

"We are all lost souls."

Duncan casually played with the compass in his hand, watching the needle spin around like a drunken sailor.

Everything here was something he had already checked many times. He had discovered this room during his initial exploration, and the items within, including that message, were likely left behind by the original Captain Duncan.

After mentally reviewing the information he currently possessed, Duncan let out a breath, casually placed the compass on the table, and gently rubbed his fingertips together.

A small green flame ignited at his fingertips. Illuminated by the flame, half of Duncan's palm immediately took on a transparent, ethereal quality, like a spirit body—but under his conscious control, the flame didn't spread out as before. Instead, it hovered above his fingers like a candle flame.

Once the flame stabilized, Duncan brought his other hand close to feel it. He then picked up a feather pen from the side and touched the flame with its end.

It felt neither hot, nor did the feather pen ignite. Only a faint, yin green hue spread across the pen's shaft, making it glow faintly.

Duncan, however, felt no feedback from the feather pen, which was completely different from when he had touched the sea chart and the helm with the flame.

Duncan silently noted down new knowledge—this "Spirit Body Fire" had no temperature, nor did it ignite objects. It was highly likely that it only interacted with "anomalous" things on the Lost Homeland, providing no feedback for ordinary objects.

So, what if it was an "anomalous" object from outside the Lost Homeland… would this flame react?

Duncan pondered, and for a moment, the image of a certain Gothic doll suddenly appeared in his mind—Alice, wasn't she an "anomaly" from outside the Lost Homeland?

Would she be affected by this Spirit Body Fire?

But he only thought about it for a moment before discarding this wild notion.

Because even if Alice wasn't human, even if she was the cursed "Anomaly 099," she was also an independent individual who could talk, walk, and had her own thoughts. Moreover, she was now a "crew member" of the Lost Homeland, and Duncan had subconsciously begun to treat her as a "person."

He couldn't accept testing his flame on a living being—after all, he wasn't sure what profound effects this flame had on affected "anomalies," or if it was harmful.

Duncan then tested it a few more times, examining the nature of the flame while determining if various objects in the cabin possessed supernatural attributes.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the small brass compass with the "message."

The brass compass lay quietly on the table, its needle spinning erratically under the glass. But whether it was an illusion or not, as Duncan maintained the flame and cast a "malicious" gaze upon the needle, the needle seemed to suddenly freeze for a moment.

Then it resumed its random spinning as if nothing had happened.

Duncan: "..."

That thing definitely reacted to his gaze just now!

He had been somewhat wary of the compass before, as it bore the handwriting of the "original Captain Duncan." He was worried that the long-dead ghost captain might have left some power or a "trap" on this personal item to deter thieves, which was why he hadn't tested the compass with his flame. But after seeing the compass's reaction, he suddenly made up his mind.

Duncan reached out and picked up the compass. The cold touch transmitted to his fingertips. After glancing at the still erratically spinning needle, he directly placed it in his right hand, which he used to maintain the Spirit Body Fire, and slowly clenched his fist.

The ghostly green flame flowed instantly like burning oil, spreading between his fingers. A faint glow ignited on the compass's surface, within which countless illusions flickered and dissipated. In the next instant, the needle, which had been spinning wildly, suddenly stopped and pointed directly towards a certain direction on the vast sea.

Duncan's heart stirred. In that instant, he clearly felt the "feedback" from the compass and confirmed that this was indeed an "anomalous item" that could be controlled by the Spirit Body Fire. But before he could carefully perceive the details of the feedback, a sudden "gravity" struck him!

Duncan felt his body sway, and the next moment, his vision blurred. The furnishings in the captain's cabin had inexplicably turned into nothingness. Even the surrounding walls and ceiling vanished like snowflakes in the blink of an eye. Amidst the scattering light and shadow, boundless darkness filled his vision.

Duncan stood in the center of this darkness, stunned, his alarm bells ringing. His first instinct was to reach for the flintlock pistol and sword that were right beside him, but the next second, he found that only the brass compass remained beside him—it was still clutched in his hand.

Duncan blinked. In his sight, countless fine threads of light suddenly emanated from around the brass compass.

These threads spread and intertwined in the darkness, expanding infinitely like a woven net. Between the interlacing lights, countless specks of light emerged. Some of these lights scattered sparsely, while others converged like rivers. Against the backdrop of the interwoven light network, they were as brilliant as a galaxy.

Duncan looked at the strange phenomenon before him with confusion. He was wary and somewhat uneasy, but for some reason, he didn't feel any sense of danger. On the contrary…

Amidst this dim light network and starlight, he felt a long-lost sense of peace and comfort.

In the next second, a strange sensation suddenly came. Duncan's gaze was involuntarily drawn to a cluster of starlight within the interwoven light network. He looked at that cluster of starlight, feeling it was precarious, as if it were about to fall completely into darkness.

He subconsciously reached out towards that starlight.

A tremendous pulling force came at that moment—Duncan felt as if his soul had taken flight. He was involuntarily rushing towards that starlight that was about to fall into darkness, while the dense light network woven by the compass rapidly receded from his sight, and the galaxy formed by the starlight around him began to spin and warp violently!

As he flew rapidly, he subconsciously looked at his right hand, which was tightly gripping the compass, only to see that the compass had disappeared at some point. At the same time, just before he could touch that dim starlight, he caught a glimpse of a shadow condensing out of the darkness from the corner of his eye.

That shadow seemed to naturally emerge as if it had always been by his side, and it plunged towards that dim point of light along with him.

Duncan vaguely made out that the shadow seemed to be a bird with outstretched wings. Before he could see the details, his vision went black.

The heavy sensation from the real world transmitted from his limbs, along with a rotten, fishy smell of decaying flesh, and the grating sound of heavy chains dragging on the ground.

(Oh my god!)