Shrouded Seascape

The exchange of words seemed to assuage Past Weister's fear of his impending death; as he chatted with Present Bandages, Past Weister's ostentatious personality seemed to resurface.

Although Present Bandages offered only a few words in his response to him, Past Weister's enthusiasm did not seem to dampen. Past Weister even started talking about his happy childhood days on Shadow Island.

"Our family used to live in this big house in the city center of Shadow Island. We never really had to worry about food or clothing. Those were the best days of my life.

"If I had to nitpick something, it would be the fact that my father was mostly away at sea. He'd be out at sea for a long time whenever he had a shipment to make.

"No one knew where my father was sourcing his goods, but he had the best quality sapphires throughout the entire Shadow Island. I'm sure his source is from a different sea region; otherwise, the quality couldn't possibly be so good.

"Thanks to my father's thriving jewelry business, my childhood was pretty fun and carefree. I had my own room, and I even had a pet dog. We could also afford to eat roasted suckling pigs every day.

"I would even play with my father's gems as if they were toys."

Past Weister started smiling as he recounted, and he felt as if he had returned to those carefree days on Shadow Island. However, his expression became gloomy once again as he said, "But one day, my father didn't return.

"His merchant ship went missing as well. No one had any idea whether pirates attacked him or he was dragged away by something in the water. Regardless of his fate, it isn't exactly strange as such incidents are common at sea."

"Sometimes, I would thinkhow great would it be to see my father again? I have so many things to say to him, and I want to show him that his son has become a real man, capable of supporting his family with his salary!"

Present Bandages' eyes widened ever so slightly upon noticing something from Past Weister's words.

"Your father what is his name?"

"Kevin Carl! His name is Kevin Carl."

Present Bandages stared deeply at Past Weister for a long time before saying, "You'll meet your father again."

Past Weister was startled, and he turned to stare at Present Bandages. "First Mate, sir. Is there something that you know? Have you seen my father?"

Present Bandages didn't reply; he seemed to blank out as scenes flashed past his mindscenes of when the Captain had rescued a man from a distressed fishing boat on their way to Skywater Island.

The fishing boat had turned out to be transporting slaves, and the man whom the Captain had rescued sprawled out on the ground in tears to recount his story. He had also eaten the food in the mess hall with relish and had talked extensively to the crew about just how good and smart his children were.

Unfortunately, the man collapsed in despair upon inadvertently hearing news of Shadow Island's sinking. He couldn't withstand the despair and snatched a flintlock from a crew before shooting himself in the forehead.

The corners of Present Bandages' lips quivered as he said, "By then you won't recognize him anymore."

Past Weister's eyes filled with desperation as he cried out, "There's no way I won't recognize him! I'll definitely recognize him once I see him!"

Present Bandages abruptly came to a halt. He spread his arms and embraced Past Weister. Startled, Past Weister flinched before deciding to embrace Present Bandages as well.

Past Weister's face revealed a tinge of happiness as he said, "Thank you for comforting me, Future First Mate, sir. My death compensation will support my mother and siblings until they're old, and I'll still get to see my father in the future, so I'm not scared anymorereally."

Present Bandages raised his trembling right hand and patted Past Weister's back. "Sorry."

The members of the present group looked on with complicated expressions.

"What's wrong, First Mate, sir? Why are you apologizing to me?" Past Weister asked as Present Bandages' actions left him at a loss for words.

"It's nothing. Let's go the Captain is waiting for us," Present Bandages said with his head lowered as he picked up the pace and walked toward where Charles would be.

Past Weister followed suit and continued his enthusiastic chatter to Present Bandages. Present Bandages was making an effort to respond, but clearly, he was finding it difficult to change his manner of speech.

Regardless, Present Bandages still responded to Past Weister's words at a rate of once every ten sentences.

"Are they really the same person?" Dipp whispered to Feuerbach.

"I think so. I have no idea what Weister had to go through that he became Bandages," Feuerbach said while casting a complex expression at Present Bandages and Past Weister.

Even the longest road had an end, so the two groupsthe present and past groupseventually reunited at the entrance of Containment Site V4.

While the two Charles were talking to each other, Present Bandages stood quietly beneath a nearby tree. Past Weister noticed Present Bandages and waved at him, prompting Present Bandages to stare at Past Weister.

Past Weister was Present Bandages' past self, and Present Bandages knew that his past self would eventually fade away. All of a sudden, Present Bandages suddenly became estranged with himself. He knew he was Weister, but he realized just then that he knew little of this young sailor named Weister.

However, Present Bandages didn't find it strange. In fact, the realization ignited a burning curiosity in himthe burning curiosity to know more about his own past.

"Wait, answer me first. What is 010? 003 is God Fhtagn, so 010 must be incredibly powerful. Did 010 create that temporal chaos bubble we saw prior to getting onto the island?" Past Charles asked.

"You'll know it once you go down. There are some dangers inside, but you just have to keep exploring, and you'll eventually safely come out to become me right now," Present Charles replied. Then, he turned around and left with his crew.

It was over; the present group could finally go home. The present group started their journey back to their ship, and to avoid bumping into other versions of himself, Charles decided to bring his group to the coast first before circling the island along the coast to return to where they landed on the island.

The atmosphere of the group on their way back had become relaxed, and the crew even cheered at the Pope's announcement that everyone would receive ample cash rewards upon returning to Hope Island.

"You did a great job, Charles. Our hard work has finally borne fruit, and we've finally found the exit to the surface world. Let me know if you want anything, I need to give you a reward, after all," the Pope said, grinning at Charles.

"Revive Lily," Charles replied.

The Pope's expression turned awkward as he said, "As I told you, we have to wait until the Light God has broken from His restraints."

"You don't have to reward me, then. You should think about how we can open that colossal door. It's as big as this entire island, so it's definitely going to be difficult to open," Charles said while staring at the pitch-black dome overhead.

"No need to worry over such a trivial matter. The foundations of our Divine Light Order are much deeper than you can ever imagine. Anyway, just stay on your island and wait for my good news. A mere door is no obstacle to us," the Pope said as his joy became evident on his face.

The group laughed and chattered leisurely as they walked along the coast. The group eventually arrived at the beach where they had landed, but the relaxed air about the group vanished instantly as everyone froze in shock.

"Where's our ship? Where are our ships?" Charles asked, but no one answered him.

The Divine Light Order's massive ship and the Narwhale were supposed to be waiting for them just outside the temporal chaos bubble, but the two ships had vanished into thin air.

There wasn't even a trace left, and it seemed as though those two ships had never been here in the first place. The group couldn't see anything else other than the endless surging waves of the pitch-black sea.

Without a ship, the group was considered marooned on this bizarre island.