The jump ended. Lost Homeland and Brilliant Star emerged from that uniform gray-white "background," and with a faint rocking and trembling, the two ships sailed onto waters as still as a mirror.
After such a long pilgrimage to the end of the world, the two ships had finally returned to where it had all begun—to the point where they had first arrived, the resting place of the Queen Leviathan.
Compared to when they had departed, nothing here seemed to have changed. The sea was still calm, and the dark islands floating upon the endless waters remained hidden in thin mist. Deep within that fog, the largest island revealed its shadowy outline, carrying a dreamlike quality.
It was simply much quieter than before—so quiet that even the faintest ripple had vanished from the surface, while the low murmurs that had always seemed to linger in the mist had now dispersed. Even when the wind passed over the deck, its sound seemed blurred and distant.
Everyone came out onto the deck. They gathered near the railing at the bow, gazing at the long-unseen islands and sea in the distance. After a long while, Nina was the first to break the silence. "Before we knew it... we've been sailing at the end of the world for so long..."
"Yes, so long that I had nearly forgotten this journey had an end," Morris said quietly beside Nina. The ruby lenses set in his eyes adjusted their focus. "...I think I will remember everything I saw and heard along the way forever."
Vana glanced back at the old gentleman. "Then I'm sure it will become another series of great discoveries and academic papers capable of shocking the world."
Morris fell silent for two or three seconds. "No one writes or reads papers anymore—the world has