Chapter 359. Eyes
Somewhere on a plain in Hope Island, the crew members of the Narwhale, clad in dark-colored attires, stood silently as a coffin was lowered into the ground. Every crew member, both new and old, wore somber expressions while holding a white flower.
Conor and Frey had not shown their faces to Charles for a long time now, but they were here with their heads lowered and faces full of grief. Despite their presence, there weren't many attendees, numbering no more than twenty people.
While Laesto was still alive, he had specifically told them that he didn't want irrelevant people at his funeral.
Feuerbach, dressed in a black formal attire, looked extremely solemn as he delivered the eulogy.
"During Dr. Laesto Hermann's time on our ship, he had dedicated himself to mending our psychological wounds, illnesses, and injuries, and relieving us from our pain. His tasks were always arduous and difficult, yet he had always managed to find ways to accomplish them.
"Dr. Laesto Hermann had never failed to show magnanimity and compassion despite the immense pressure. He has always been forgiving to anyone, though it was expressed in a more reserved manner; he was stern but merciful with steadfast beliefs and beautiful aspirations..."
Lily dyed in black hugged a white flower as she curled up in Charles' palm. She was crying so hard that her eyes turned bloodshot. In the end, her sobbing became muffled as she buried her tiny head in her paws and squeezed her eyes shut.
Charles listened to Feuerbach's eulogy with an expressionless face while biting his lips. Everything had happened so fast that he still couldn't quite grasp whether the scene before him was reality or if it was just a dream.
The eulogy made him feel that he knew too little about his crew members despite interacting with them day and night during voyages.
Soon, Feuerbach was about to deliver the final sentence of his eulogy.
"We are aware of his vast contributions to our voyages, and as his former companions, let us express our deepest gratitude to him..."
One by one, every single crew member quietly stepped forward and threw the fresh flower in their hand onto the coffin down below.
Soon, it was Charles' turn. He pushed away Dipp, who attempted to help him over to the coffin and strode over to the coffin by himself using his invisible tentacles as a cane. He hurled Lily's white flower and his own white flower onto the coffin.
Lily burst out into loud sobs with her mouth wide open as she cried her heart out.
James standing next to them signaled at Dipp with his eyes. The two exchanged glances before quietly taking a shovel and filling the pit with soil.
Hooonk!
The Narwhale's air horn blasted in the distance, and it lasted for quite a while.
The funeral soon ended, and the crew members dispersed in all directions with sorrowful looks.
Charles also returned to the Governor's Mansion. Pushing away the steward, Charles made a beeline for his bedroom. He then sat on his bed and started stroking Lily without saying a word.
As Charles stroked her gently, Lily looked up at Charles with tearful eyes.
"Mr. Charles, does everyone really die when they are old?" she asked.
Charles' voice trembled ever so slightly as he replied, "Yes, humans are like that. They die when they are old."
"I'm scared, Mr. Charles..."
Charles smiled wryly and was about to comfort Lily when he heard knocking on the door.
"Governor Charles, the Pope wants to meet you to discuss about your eyes."
"Must it really be at a time like this?" Charles took a deep breath. His emotions were at an all-time low. He put Lily down on a pillow next to him and walked over to the door.
Lily stared at Charles' departing figure. Once Charles had closed the door behind him, Lily jumped off Charles' bed and went underneath the bed frame to her tiny bed. She stared at some books next to the neon-colored miniature house.
Lily pulled out the topmost book and flipped it open with her tiny paws, revealing the information on the pages.
Species: Mouse
Possible Habitats: Sewers, toilets, kitchens, fields, tall grasses, eaves, etc...
Reproduction Rate: Can conceive as early as 40 days.
Common colors: Gray, white, and black.
Lily grabbed a bundle of black fur from her leg, and they easily fell off to expose the loose skin underneath. Tears slid down Lily's furry face as she read a certain line of words on the same page.
Lifespan: Average 1-3 years; some subspecies can live up to 4-6 years.
"I'm really scared, Mr. Charles..."
Meanwhile, Charles walked slowly while following the distinct footsteps ahead of him. The moment he caught a whiff of whale oil candles, Charles instantly knew that he had arrived at the cathedral.
"You're here?" the Pope's voice echoed up ahead, and he sounded indifferent.
"What method are you going to use to heal my eyes?" Charles asked. He looked around, even though he could not see. After becoming blind, Charles' remaining senses had sharpened considerably, so he could feel many gazes all over him.
"Don't ask any questions. Calm your heart down and feel it," the Pope said.
Moments later, Charles felt a sense of weightlessness, and then he found himself enveloped by something warm. The singing of children pierced his ears, and they sang praises for the Light God.
Charles started to feel hot, and it was getting hotter and hotter until he felt like he was soaking in boiling water.
"Are you sure this is going to work?!" Charles roared in pain, but he received no answer.
Instead of answering Charles, the Pope joined the choir, and his voice seemed like it carried some kind of spell as his participation melded the distinct singing voices into one.
Just as the pain became too excruciating for Charles to bear, he suddenly discovered that he could see once more. Charles turned and found that he was standing naked in a desert. There was a dazzling light sphere hanging overhead, and the light sphere seemed to be a sun bigger than the entire sky.
Charles suddenly found himself overwhelmed with emotions—he felt like the giant light sphere was more important than his own life.
His mouth fluttered open, about to sing praises to the Light God, but the light sphere abruptly emitted an extremely radiant light. The light was so bright that it engulfed everything in the world in no time.
The scenery peeled away, and Charles found himself lying on the icy cold ground with the Pope staring at him with solemn eyes.
"How is it? Can you see me?"
Charles stood up with one hand and immediately looked around in awe. The flickering candles, the massive wall murals, and the rows of children singing hymns—everything looked normal but different at the same time.
Charles soon found the difference; everything looked more saturated than normal.
Charles turned around and rushed out of the cathedral only to stare wide-eyed upon discovering strange, bizarre colors that seemed invisible to others. The bizarre colors were within the rays of sunlight coming from the holes in the canopies of Hope Island.
"Is that... ultraviolet light?" Charles muttered in surprise upon realizing that he was staring at the world with the same eyes that he had gouged out—the eyes that had transcended the limits of human color perception.
Thrilled, Charles decided to touch his eyelids, but his expression changed drastically immediately afterward. He turned to look at the Pope, who had followed him out and asked, "Where's my other eyeball?"
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