Night Rambling

Theus sighed as he opened his eyes once more, feeling the darkness before him.

"Looks like I'm back. That seems to have been the fastest trip yet."

"It's not unexpected, but at least I have a lead now. Transcendence exists within the Deep Sea."

"Another Descent... wait?"

Theus felt a vague sense of unease. He rolled over instinctively, smelling the dampness of the tide brought in by the night breeze. His muddled mind gradually cleared, and after a few seconds, he bolted upright in bed.

"No! This is the island. I didn't die!?"

Theus felt his body. There were no missing limbs or wounds; he had been changed into loose pajamas. The room was pitch black, and no light filtered in from the balcony.

Was it night?

He examined the room carefully. It was indeed his bedroom. At the foot of the bed, a maid leaned against a chair, her head tilted to the side, fast asleep.

A metal desk calendar sat on a high stand nearby. Carefully polished, it was set to the third day of the Flowering Moon.

The third day... his memory stopped at the first day of the Flowering Moon, the day before the Descent. He had encountered the Swollen Monster at the docks on the second day, so...

"I was unconscious for an entire day?"

After a moment of thought, Theus shook his head. "The servants flip the calendar every morning during their rounds. Since it's late at night, I must have been unconscious for two days and one night."

"At least I haven't missed anything. The pirates aren't coming to negotiate until tomorrow."

Theus climbed nimbly out of bed and walked to the table to pour himself a glass of water.

The cool, sweet liquid flowed down his parched throat, and Theus felt his entire being come back to life. Just then, a few details caught his attention.

"...When did my eyesight get this good?"

The curtains were drawn, and the heavy velvet fabric was almost completely opaque—not to mention it was the middle of the night, and there were no lights on in the room.

There was indeed a kerosene lamp beside the maid's chair, but the flame had been turned to its lowest setting to prevent a fire. That flickering, bean-sized glow was the only source of light.

Theus looked down at the cup in his hand. It was made of sterling silver, mixed with some copper and a tiny amount of tin. The intricate patterns featured iris decorations, the symbol of the Cohen Family.

Copper and tin? He could tell at a glance that this silver cup contained copper and tin?

Theus swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

The so-called Symbiosis Ritual didn't seem to be a simple act of taking. He could actually see in the dark, and he could even sense the material composition of the silver cup!

This was wonderful. Being able to perceive material composition—what could be better for industrialization and technological advancement?

He would know if a smelted metal ingot had impurities the moment he touched it. He could directly perceive the synthesis of chemical substances. If he had this ability back on the Blue Star, he could single-handedly push material science forward by three generations.

He felt the strange sensation in his heart, a presence beyond his normal senses. Recalling the fleeting glimpse he had before losing consciousness, Theus closed his eyes and tried to invoke his newfound senses to perceive the world.

Have you ever tried to perceive the world without using your eyes?

Humans are highly adaptable creatures, especially in... certain aspects.

Retinal imaging is actually inverted, but the brain adapts to it. That's nothing new.

But someone once had a whimsical idea: what if, one day, the image stopped being inverted?

He designed a pair of special glasses. They had no other function than to flip the image seen through them.

Everyone who wore these glasses walked around stumbling, unable to distinguish up from down or left from right, and could not take care of themselves.

It seemed a conclusion could be drawn there regarding human physical defects and the limitations of natural evolution.

But... the experiment didn't end there.

He kept these people wearing the glasses—eating, living, and never taking them off for a single moment.

It didn't take long. After about ten days, all the subjects had completely adapted to the inverted world and could live normally.

The whole world is upside down in your eyes. You might feel absurd, terrified, or confused, but your body tells you: it's nothing, just adapt to it.

Human potential always exceeds one's own expectations.

Theus felt exactly like that now. He felt as if he were submerged in a warm current, with countless pieces of information washing over him like water.

To his shock, he discovered he could actually parse this information.

He didn't know when it started, but many changes had occurred within him.

Was this the Symbiosis Ritual? It truly was a "symbiosis." Not only did it share life force, but it also shared a portion of sensory capabilities.

Theus had a sudden realization. Could the days he spent unconscious have been for adapting to these extra senses?

Casually feeling his new perception, Theus discovered it seemed related to water. He could easily detect nearby bodies of water, and the larger the body of water, the clearer it felt.

Connecting this ability to the strange fish, it made perfect sense. Theus tried to sense the nearby water.

The easiest thing to perceive was the ocean.

Theus sensed the sea without any effort. It was only a few hundred meters beyond the balcony... no, even closer!

Beneath this manor, past the soil and stone, a warm ocean current flowed.

"Hmm?"

Theus raised an eyebrow and focused his attention.

As he probed carefully, the situation of the entire underground water system unfolded in his mind like a painting. It wasn't just directly under the manor; he could vaguely feel the slow-moving currents beneath the entire island.

And as he sensed, a familiar presence entered his field of vision.

That was...

"The Swollen Monster?"

Theus was startled. He had assumed the Swollen Monster had either been killed by the soldiers on the spot, fled far away, or perhaps used some means to become a guest of the manor. He hadn't expected it to be in the water veins beneath the estate.

Why was it still here? Was it waiting for him?

Come to think of it, beneath this manor...

Theus frowned and recalled carefully. He hadn't been here long as the Border Count, but who was the previous owner of this manor?

It seemed to be a merchant?

Of course, "merchant" was just a title for the public. The Empire did not recognize the Pirate King and his Black Sail Fleet here, so there were only illicit merchants.

The Storm Ocean, the only pearl on the eastern side of the Empire. The Empress's gaze was always fixed here, but unfortunately, the navy had only recently been established, and the Empire's territory ended at the sea.

Theus curled his lip at the thought. The fact that he, an illegitimate child, could be directly titled a Count showed, from one perspective, the Empress's longing and urgency regarding this sea area.

Theus walked quietly to the bedroom door and opened it carefully. He reached out to touch the wall while sensing the direction of the tide.

In the quiet night, Theus could hear his own heart pounding.

He wanted to see the Swollen Monster. This was his first contact with Transcendence. Swallowing hard, he stepped past the doorway and left the bedroom.