Gun of Ashes

Not a wink of sleep, then eroded, followed by several doses of Florun Potion. Now, the potion’s effects are waning bit by bit, and the fatigue is gradually surfacing.

Bola’s eyes are filled with bloodshot veins, his mental state is awful. He needs rest, but the crisis hasn’t passed yet, and he can’t stop now.

”Erosion...”

He muttered, then glanced at the affected dashboard. The readings remained inaccurate, with the needle swinging back and forth, and the compass spinning wildly. No one could tell their current direction.

What unfolded before him seemed to trigger a memory in Bola, but he was too exhausted to recall his vague recollection at once.

It’s just... Bola felt this thing ought to be essential, extremely significant.

What was it?

Bola looked at the nautical chart on the table. Small red flags were placed along the Morning Glow Advance’s route, starting from Ingwig, delving deep into the Viking countries, and then turning around at Ice Bay.

”Where should we go after shaking them off, Bola?”

Notar asked as he steered, gazing into the hazy world, unsure where to head.

There was no sun, no stars, only monotonous gray. At times, it seemed they had stepped into the realm of the dead, roaming the ocean of the departed, never seeing an end.

”Afterward...”

Bola picked up a small red flag, attempting to pin it on the nautical chart. He observed the position of Ice Bay, then analyzed the location of Morning Glow Advance.

”Cliffs...”

His voice bore a dreamlike quality. Bola recalled that Morning Glow Advance had circled a wide lap around Ice Bay, with the cliffs behind it, then accelerated to escape the pursuit...

Thinking this, Bola’s fingers slid along the chart tracing the analysis in his mind until they touched a blank space.

There were no markings, nothing had been drawn on it, just monotonous emptiness.

It was too mysterious, and only Froki roughly knew its scope. Therefore, on most nautical charts, its position wasn’t clear, but it’s certain that it’s in the north, farther north, beyond Ice Bay.

The drowsiness and confusion in Bola’s eyes vanished, replaced by tightly constricted pupils filled with fear and panic. At that moment, he could distinctly feel his heart pounding more fiercely, sending hot blood throughout his body, dispelling the chilling cold.

”Notar, don’t you think these Geiger Counters have been screaming too long?” Bola murmured.

”That’s normal, we were just attacked by demons, there’s bound to be residual erosion.”

Notar was still under the influence, naturally correcting his perception to explain the twisted reality, distorting reality to make sense of it logically.

”No... erosions vary in intensity, don’t you find the frequency of these alert sounds too consistent? Morning Glow Advance is so large, there should be parts with lesser impact, how can it be so uniform?”

Listening to Bola’s words, the illusion before Notar’s eyes gradually faded, to which he responded.

”Unless there’s a massive source of pollution, enveloping us all entirely.”

”I should have remembered it, I should not have forgotten.”

Bola said, looking regretfully at the blank area on the chart. He was too exhausted, these complex factors led to his oversight.

”We’ve arrived.”

Bola’s words were cut off as the door to the command room burst open, and Lorenzo rushed in with a look of anxiety, yelling at Bola and Notar.

”Silent Sea! This is the Silent Sea!”

In front of this silent ocean, Morning Glow Advance seemed so tiny. It moved forward slowly, facing the gray, deathly silent world, with no way to return.