Gun of Ashes

”Are you denying your God? If there’s nothing there, then your God doesn’t exist either.”

Plague Doctor retorted.

Zeus was at a loss for words; he didn’t know how to respond. But then Plague Doctor continued.

”If there’s nothing, then there’s no knowledge. What else can be done? We can’t just stop here, can we?”

”Afraid to face the truth, so you weave a ridiculous cage to imprison yourself. Living in lies and delusions only to ensure that your ’foundation’ of existence isn’t shaken.”

Plague Doctor mocked.

”Will you choose to face the truth, know everything, and then calmly die, or live muddleheadedly like a coward? What would you choose?”

He turned around, questioning Zeus on the wheelchair.

The Plague Doctor’s eyes were obstructed by heavy lenses, revealing only an unfathomable darkness. But Zeus clearly felt that there were gazes rising from the darkness, staring at him, not just one, but hundreds and thousands of gazes.

As if beneath those clothes was no longer a human body, but a hundred-eyed monster, he peered at Zeus, searching for his heart’s weakness, breaching his rational defenses.

”I...”

Zeus wanted to say something, but he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t make a decision. But soon Plague Doctor spoke again, making the decision for him.

”What else can we choose? When we entered the Silent Sea, only one path remained for us, didn’t it?”

A vague laughter echoed from beneath the beak mask, like the wailing of a vulture.

”Either die here.”

Plague Doctor pointed to the vast sea beneath them.

”Or die there.”

He raised his arm, pointing towards the distant horizon.

There lay Plague Doctor’s Promised Land. He didn’t care if there were any gods or any truth. As he had written in his notes on the ship, Plague Doctor had already found his own ”truth.” Now all he needed to do is confirm it. As for what happens after, it didn’t matter to Plague Doctor.

Whether it was death or something else, it didn’t matter anymore.

The conversation between the two fell into silence, staring into this gray-white world.

According to Plague Doctor’s estimation, they had been in the Silent Sea for some time. Traveling in this monotonous world, the sense of time blurred. Fortunately, Plague Doctor barely found a pattern: observing the grayscale of these clouds.

From the somewhat dim gray clouds, it seemed that night was approaching; it was now dusk.

Another arduous night awaited.

At that moment, the splashing sounds of water arose, not from the Iron Armor ship beneath them, nor from any ship behind them. This sound was so loud that it shouldn’t even be called a splash. Such a tremendous sound was as if a torrent surged over the sea surface.

In this silent sea area, the sound exploded like thunder, pounding the restless minds of the people.

”What... is that? When did it appear?”

Zeus looked to the other side, a hint of fear in his eyes, reflecting a colossal figure.

Everyone saw it, and in this silent sea area, it was hard not to notice it.

A ghastly figure emerged from the sea like a breaching whale, colossal and bringing with it torrents of water.

A gigantic ship broke the surface, seemingly rising from the deep sea, appearing suddenly at the flank of the fleet. After a brief shock, Plague Doctor saw its form, realizing that the ship had indeed risen from the sea.

This was an Iron Armor ship, its surface covered in rust. Most bizarre was the absence of any life on this sunken ship rising from the sea floor — no barnacles, no seaweed, nothing but cold rust.

It slowly sailed toward the fleet, and as it moved, the sea boiled turbulently, faintly echoing as if myriad voices were calling, singing in celebration.

”Nagilfah!”

Zeus shouted in terror.

”Nagilfah!”

The lead-gray clouds stirred up waves, turning ever darker, falling behind the massive ship like an iron curtain, wrapped in wind, rain, and thunder.

Zeus’s greatest fear was realized: this was Nagilfah, the giant ship laden with the enemies of the gods. They would crush him and then sail into the depths of the Silent Sea, bringing the twilight of destruction to the lofty gods.

He must stop them. Zeus couldn’t allow them to offend the sacred gods. This was what Zeus was passionate about, wanting to break free from his restraints and stand up, but his body remained rigid, sitting idly in the wheelchair.

W-why?

Why hasn’t he left the wheelchair, why hasn’t he broken free... why can’t he summon the strength?

Zeus questioned himself, yet no matter how much he shouted within, his body remained unmoving.

Fear, absolute fear dominated him.

These were the enemies bringing twilight, even the gods couldn’t stop them. He was merely a mortal; what could he do?

So... this is all it is, isn’t it? His zeal for the gods was just this.

An overwhelming despair enveloped Zeus. He couldn’t stand to defend his beliefs and his gods. Compared to death, this collapsing sense of shame tormented him even more.

”Don’t be nervous; the gods can’t make an Iron Armor ship.”

Plague Doctor faced the rusty giant ship without fear. Perhaps he had seen too many bizarre things in his life and had grown accustomed to it.

Because in Plague Doctor’s understanding, even if gods truly existed, they were nothing more than laughable constructs built from lies and delusions.

”Moreover, would something like this really be able to hunt gods?”

Plague Doctor watched the slowly approaching ship. It seemed to have no source of power, yet the seawater seemed to propel it, eerily moving over the sea. Alongside it advanced the iron curtain behind, the Thunder Group rolling within, carrying the power of annihilation.

These were storms formed and accumulated, casting a gray-black iron curtain over the sea surface, appearing slow but actually moving swiftly, like the whirling wind, effortlessly spanning long distances.

The still sea water was dragged by an unseen force, rising and falling, sending torrents skyward.

The giant ship silently sailed toward the fleet, like a sharp sword cleaving through the sea, driven by some force, aiming to strike down Plague Doctor’s fleet.

Everyone who witnessed this was stunned. Ever since entering the Silent Sea, their consciousness was constantly eroded, and now with the ship’s arrival, the intensity of erosion increased, suffocating them.

”What... sound?”

”Did you hear it?”

”Something is ringing...”

The whispers of the crew sounded, soon replaced by a sharper, more chaotic noise.

It was so noisy and disordered, as if countless blades were slicing through steel, emitting a piercing screech, tearing the solid iron into pieces. The sound intensified, as if more joined in the mad revelry.

”Ah... so this is the Silent Sea’s defense against intruders?”

Plague Doctor muttered to himself, not even looking toward the source of the sound. When he realized the erosion echoing over this sea, he had his suspicions.

About this sea, about the gods’ dwelling, about the gods...

He glanced at the rusty giant ship, noting the scars across its hull. It appeared to have endured a violent battle before sinking; even current cannons would struggle to cause such rips. It was hard to imagine what it once faced.

Upon the jagged surface, a line of blurry text appeared before Plague Doctor.

”It’s not Nagilfah. You needn’t worry about your gods, Zeus.”

Plague Doctor then read its name aloud, as if summoning a sleeping monster, the resonant sound of a steam whistle echoing across the world.

”Horned Whale.”

It was back, the giant ship that had sunk to the bottom, forgotten by all, now returned to the world with its unfulfilled wishes and secrets.

Swathed in the roaring sea waves and thunder, it sailed out from its dust-laden story.