Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 857: Compromise

Dipp and the others who had plunged into the gap between Hypnos' nails finally returned. However, they looked pale and were clutching their heads while gnashing their teeth in agony. They looked like they had just awakened from a nightmare, but at least they were still alive.

Dipp's webbed right hand was holding a skeletal hand, and it was the goal of this expedition.

Charles tossed the blood-red eye toward Hypnos. The blood-red eye fell on the seabed and rolled a few times before regaining its luster. Blood vessels sprouted from it, and it swam like a tadpole toward Hypnos before drilling into its colossal figure.

Having recovered one of its eyeballs, the eyes all over Hypnos closed slowly. After a few seconds, its exceptionally massive figure melted like foam into the seawater and eventually vanished from Charles' line of sight.

***

Eleven exploration ships abruptly appeared in the waters near Hope Island, startling the Hope Island Navy. Upon seeing that the ships were all from Hope Island, the members of the Navy heaved sighs of relief.

They still couldn't get quite used to the Governor's magical ability, and it would always startle them without fail. The islanders in the harbor district were even convinced that the esteemed Governor was a god.

The customs police arrived and cordoned off the bustling harbor district; the explorers of the eleven exploration ships disembarked and were escorted away in a low-key manner.

They had spent quite some time under the influence of a Divinity, and the experience had left them with varying degrees of psychological injury. If left untreated, they'd spend the rest of their lives in an asylum.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Hope Island didn't disembark the Narwhale. He stayed on the ship with the other crew members.

Cook Planck was the only one who returned to the island to purchase some fresh food, and of course, he returned promptly once he was done with his groceries.

The tables and chairs in the mess hall of the Narwhale were carried out onto the deck. To ensure that the rolling of the ship wouldn't send them tumbling across the hall, they were all nailed to the cabin, so it took the sailors quite a while to remove them from the mess hall.

Every crew member was present, and they were laughing as they took off their sweaty clothes and jumped into the seawater to wash themselves thoroughly.

After cleaning up, they changed into their newest clothes. They had no idea why they were still out at sea when they were so close to the docks, but the captain's orders were absolute, so they simply obeyed his orders.

Meanwhile, the Captain of the Narwhale was in the Captain's Quarters with his daughter Sparkle. There was a fountain pen in his hand as he wrote down every single detail that he had uncovered about Hypnos.

"The words of the Charles whom I had absorbed have allowed me to extrapolate that Hypnos is capable of traversing planes. I'm not sure whether it is a latent ability of all gods or if it is an ability exclusive to Hypnos."

"The Hypnos from other planes are willing to help each other out, and it is very likely that they are aware of each other's existence. I dare say that if I had killed that Hypnos, the Hypnos from other planes would have come out of those rifts.

"However, there are questions that confound me even to this day—why did Hypnos attack me and Sparkle? How come it was still unwilling to talk to me, even though it was on the brink of dying at my hands? And what exactly are the gods?"

"The combined efforts of myself, Sparkle, and Lily have allowed us to defeat it, but we still know too little about the gods."

Sparkle sat in front of the desk and propped her chin with her elbows on the desk as she stared at her father writing everything that had transpired down. "Daddy, can I tell Mommy about everything that had happened?"

Charles put the fountain pen back into the case. "Mmhm. By the way, thank you for bringing that eyeball. You saved us both from a tricky situation. If it hadn't been for your help, things would have gotten quite troublesome by now."

Sparkle smiled lightly and said, "Yeah, but Mommy was the one who allowed me to bring that eyeball over. I'm convinced that you're still in Mommy's heart. Otherwise, she wouldn't have sent me over with the eyeball without any hesitation."

Charles froze and shook his head slightly. "No, I know her far too well to know that Anna wouldn't give up Hypnos' eyeball so easily. Anyway, you were the one who brought the eyeball over, so I'm grateful for you. Don't shift my gratitude for you onto her."

"But—" Sparkle wanted to say something.

"Enough." Charles stopped her and said, "Let's not talk about her. Now that I've retrieved everything that I've lost in the Subterranean Sea, I finally have the right to make those three wishes from 005."

"I'll tell you the three wishes I plan to make, so you'll be mentally prepared," Charles said, glancing at the jar containing a white hand bone soaked in preservative liquid.

"Nice," Sparkle's eyes lit up. "I've always been curious about the wishes you're planning on making. How do you feel, Daddy? Are you excited to make those wishes?"

Unfortunately, Charles didn't look excited at all. He revealed a weary smile and brought his mouth close to Sparkle's ear, whispering softly into her ear.

Charles whispered for quite a while; his words containing shocking and complex information made Sparkle reveal a look of joy and shock. In the end, however, Sparkle's eyes reddened.

Once he was done, Charles sat upright, and his steel fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk.

Just then, Sparkle stood up abruptly and grabbed Charles' right hand with both hands.

Sparkle stared anxiously at him and shouted, "No! Dad, how can you make such a wish?! Can you give me some time? Once I've become strong enough, I should be able to—"

Charles shook his head, interrupting his daughter. He stared calmly at Sparkle before him and said, "Sparkle, you're all grown up now, and I'm sure you know the stakes that are involved here.

"It's a wish for the greater good, and it is the optimal solution. I'm also making that wish to protect you. I absolutely can't let myself become like that Charles from another plane. And I almost forgot—make sure not to tell your mother about this."

Sparkle revealed a conflicted look, and she was so shocked that she belatedly realized that Charles was patting her head. Charles proceeded to calmly explain to his daughter the reason for his wish.

Half an hour later, Sparkle finally calmed down, but she still looked sad.

Charles hugged Sparkle and patted her back gently, saying, "I know you can't accept it, but a compromise is necessary sometimes. I really hope you'll understand your father."

Charles could feel Sparkle's tears drenching his clothes. Sparkle was crying, and she was crying hard. She hadn't said anything, but Charles understood that his daughter had agreed with his plan.

"Captain!" Dipp's voice echoed from outside the door. "The cook says that dinner is ready."

"Come, spend my last day on the Narwhale with me," Charles said, letting go of Sparkle in his arms and walking toward the door.

Charles grabbed the doorknob and twisted it open when Sparkle's voice came from behind him. "Daddy, look, your shadow—your shadow has grown larger."

Charles frowned and turned to look at Sparkle. "What?"

"Daddy, I'm not seeing things. Your shadow has really grown larger and darker."

Charles took the oil lamp and walked to the mirror to gaze at his shadow in the mirror. Indeed, Sparkle wasn't jesting; his shadow had become so dark and large that it appeared bizarre.

Charles immediately thought of the Charles from another plane, whom he had just devoured. It seemed that the power of Edikth from within that Charles had been transferred over to him.

However, this wasn't a good thing at all. After all, the power belonged to Edikth rather than to him. Fortunately, he had a way to resolve this issue.

"It's fine. Let's go," Charles said. He put down the oil lamp and led his daughter toward the hectic deck of the Narwhale.