Not long after this journey to the end of the world began, Duncan had made an agreement with the Black Sun—once he reached the frontier of order and confirmed the foundation of the New World, he would respond to its request for a place in the New World. In return, the Black Sun would show him a "clue" related to the New World.
Now that the Lost Homeland had arrived at this Sea of Ashes, the time had come to fulfill that agreement.
Deep within the Captain's Cabin, Alice sat obediently on the bed with her back to Duncan. The navigation key slid into the keyhole in the doll with a click, then turned on its own with a faint scraping sound. After the familiar slight dizziness and reset of perception, Duncan found himself in the vast, magnificent, yet exceptionally gloomy hall of Alice Manor.
The manor's dark-colored front door, covered in intricate patterns, stood quietly at the end of the carpet. Sunlight seemed to flicker faintly through its cracks. The Black Sun's projection should still have been waiting outside.
However, Duncan did not immediately go outside to keep the appointment. Instead, he turned and headed deeper into the manor. He found Alice in the navigation chamber, hugging her drawing board and staring blankly into space. Only then did he bring the doll back to the hall and stand before the door.
For some reason, he wanted the doll to witness with him everything he experienced next in this "place where all things came to an end."
Alice, on the other hand, did not think much about it. She was simply happy, as happy as she was every day. She seemed eager to meet that "big burning meatball." As a High-level Anomaly who had barely lived in human society, she