Chapter 141. Dawn
"Yes, yes, of course. You will succeed," Charles uttered a perfunctory agreement to Kord's crazed words.
Taking another swig from his bottle, Kord suddenly stood up in a hurry. With a crazed look in his eyes, he stared at Charles and asked, "What do you think... will the Light God abandon me since I’ve never gone through with the ritual? Will He forbid me from entering His kingdom?"
"Don't worry, your Light God isn't that petty. Especially toward a disciple as devout as you," Charles replied with a smirk.
"Yes... You're right. I prayed fervently daily and stuck to it for over thirty years. No one in the entire Order is as devout as me. He surely won't hold something so minor against me..." Kord reiterated Charles' words to reassure himself.
Charles turned toward Kord with a hint of inebriation in his gaze. "Do you want to know what the Land of Light looks like? Beg me, and I might share."
"You...burp! Tell me." Kord's face was already flushed red from the alcohol, and he could hardly stand steady on his feet.
Staring into the inky expanse of the sea, Charles started recounting his memories of the surface world. Getting into the mood. Charles even brought out his old drawings of his world and shared them with Kord.
"No... No... The Land of Light can't possibly look like this. This is completely different from the New Testament! You must be drunk!"
Seated on the deck, Kord shook his head and vehemently denied Charles' description of the surface world. He then threw his empty bottle aside and seized the bottle in Charles' hand.
He tilted his head back and gulped another mouthful before he began with an air of superiority.
"Allow I, the Sacred Acolyte of the Divine Light Order, to enlighten you on the appearance of the Land of Light, the very realm of our Light God. That's our Lord's holy kingdom, a purified land free from all taint and darkness. There, every desire will be fulfilled. Devout disciples will attain immortality as they bathe in His divine radiance. And—"
Kord stopped all of a sudden as though he had forgotten his lines.
Lounging on the ground with one leg crossed over the other, Charles erupted in chuckles. "Continue your story, won't you? Why did you stop?"
However, Kord started trembling as he lifted a finger and pointed toward the horizon.
"Am-am-am I seeing things? I-I-I-I think I just saw a glint over there," Kord stammered.
"What?!" Charles was instantly half-jolted out of his stupor. He sprang onto his feet and looked toward where Kord pointed.
A faint yellow hue glimmered at the edge of the horizon, just like breaking dawn.
As the Narwhale closed in, the yellow glow grew brighter.
"What...What's that? Charles, answer me. What's that?" Kord grabbed Charles' shoulders, shaking him fervently. His gaze was a mix of fear and anticipation as he stared at Charles for an answer.
Charles remained frozen to the spot, his eyes unwaveringly fixed on the yellow glow on the horizon. Apart from the thunderous rapid beating of his heart, he could hear nothing else.
Soon, the peculiar glow on the horizon caught the attention of the crew. They rushed to the deck as they pointed and speculated about the mysterious light.
Just as they were engaged in a fervent discussion, a pained cry echoed in the air.
The scream stirred Charles out of his stunned state. He turned around to see wisps of white smoke emanating from his vampire sailor.
"Mother of Vampires! AHHHH! My skin is melting! The pain!! AHHHHH!" Audric shrieked as he staggered into the ship's cabins to take shelter from the light.
Kord erupted into a maniacal laugh. "It's sunlight! That's the Land of Light. It's the Land of Light that repels all creatures of darkness, including vampires!! We've made it! We've arrived at the Land of Light!!"
Everyone on the deck heard Kord's words loud and clear. Expressions of wonder and shock painted the faces of the crew members. Kord hadn't been lying all this while. Seeking the Land of Light was the true mission all along.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Dipp kept slapping himself on the face, hoping to rouse himself from what he thought might be a dream.
"Big guy, I don't have enough strength. Hit me."
Standing next to him, James grinned and wrapped an arm around Dipp's neck before delivering a punch into the young sailor's face. In an instant, blood poured from Dipp's nose.
"Does it hurt?"
"Yes. I guess it's real then."
Various sights started occurring on the ships. Some began bawling, while some erupted into crazed laughter. However, most of them had the same reactions as Dipp, slapping themselves to check if they were dreaming.
As the fleet closed the distance, a dazzling beam of light pierced into the inky dark waters like a divine sword of light.
At the heart of the illumination was an island bathed in sunlight. It was covered in a green canopy and brimming with verdant life.
Soon, the detailed appearance of the island became visible. It was a tropical island with mountains in the distance. Judging from the landmass, it seemed to be larger than the Coral Archipelago by at least fifty percent.
Unlike other islands in the Subterranean Seascape, Charles immediately noticed the familiar flora. The trees on the island were familiar species of the surface world.
Charles stared at the majestic palm trees, the banana trees with their unmistakable broad leaves, and also the coconut trees heavy with their round, husky fruits. Their presence across the landscape evoked a sense of nostalgia in him.
In the face of the legendary land, all rationale fell away. The moment the ships anchored, everyone, consumed by their excitement, made a mad dash toward the pristine white beach.
The first thing they did was to lift their heads skyward and search for the light source. Even Charles was no exception.
The sunlight was blinding. Staring directly into the sun, tears streamed down Charles' eyes from the glaring rays. However, he couldn't bring himself to close them. He feared that the moment he closed his eyes, the radiant beam of hope would suddenly vanish.
Charles noticed that the source of light wasn't directly above the island. Rather, it was slightly off-center. The life-filled sun rays pierced through a crack in the vast expanse overhead.
He stared at the fissure in a daze, but all of a sudden, his mouth moved on its own accord.
"Bro, it's so high up there. How do we get up?" Richard asked aloud.
"Yeah, how do we get up?" Though it was posed as a question, Charles' voice contained apparent exhilaration as a broad smile surfaced on his visage.
Thud.
Beside him, Kord suddenly collapsed to the ground. Both his index fingers pointed to the white triangle on his forehead as tears streamed down his cheeks.
Charles lowered his chin to look at Kord. His vision was hazy and speckled with dark spots. However, he remained unflustered. He knew it was the aftermath of gazing directly into the sun for an extended duration, and the bright rays had left imprints on his retinas.
"Hey, Kord, stop staring at the light, or you will get cataracts," Charles approached the elderly man and lightly nudged the yellow-robed figure with his foot.
"I have never felt such peace in me... I feel... I feel that our Lord has come for me..." Kord murmured with his face streaked with tears.
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