Chapter 411. Creatures
Within the Captain's Quarters of the Narwhale, the light swayed with the movement of the waves, casting a fluctuating play of light and shadow across the faces of Charles and Bandages.
The pen's tip whispered across the paper as Bandages quietly used Charles' pen to sketch on a sheet of white paper.
It didn't take long for an image, depicted by an unsettling series of curved lines, to appear before both Charles and Bandages. It was a humanoid figure that Bandages had drawn into Charles' shadow in the previous time-looping island. It was the same entity that had helped them escape 010.
"Bandages, how exactly can this entity be used?" Charles asked with a grim expression.
Although Charles was reluctant to acknowledge the fact that he was a monster, he recognized that it was a reality that he would eventually have to confront.
"I… I'm not sure…" Bandages answered as he recapped the pen and secured it between two books to keep it steady amid the ship's rocking.
"How can you not know? You drew this. Or have you forgotten when you learned this?"
Bandages lifted his gaze and looked into Charles' eyes before slowly shaking his head. "No, I haven't forgotten… On the previous island… the past me… he remembered… what I did… That's why… I remembered…everything… that happened to us on that island."
Despite the complexity of the explanation, Charles managed to grasp the essence of Bandages' message. They had been working together for years, after all.
What Bandages had done remained vivid in Weister's memory. Since Bandages and Weister were one and the same, then in the perspective of Bandages, that particular memory was both the past and the future.
As such, at that pivotal moment, Bandages recalled what would happen next and through his recollection, he saved himself in the present.
"So, you're saying you learned these drawings in the present, knowing only that they could aid you in difficult times, but you're unaware of their specific purpose?" Charles probed further for clarity.
"No, I know… its purpose… It's meant to unleash… your true self…"
"My true self?" Charles' eyes widened in surprise.
Bandages nodded before he picked up the pen and continued drawing.
Slowly, a grotesque creature took shape on the paper in front of Charles, its form barely recognizable as humanoid. The monster's torso was bloated like a bubble, with tendrils covered in thorns and eyes protruding from its chest. Its entire face had melted away, with eight eyes jostling for space where its facial features should have been.
Crab-like appendages sprouted out of its torso while fish-like, triangular eyes punctuated its skin.
Though Bandages' artistic skill was rather basic, his rudimentary sketches were enough to capture the monster's horrifying appearance vividly.
Noticing the distorted, oversized steel limb depicted on the creature, Charles furrowed his brows as he instinctively reached for his prosthetic arm. Memories of the events that unfolded within the spiral elevator came flooding back.
That version of himself was merciless and devoid of any empathy. He recognized that person to be himself, but he desperately wished not to become that emotionless being. He currently had feelings and emotions, and he was not willing to trade that for any promise of formidable power.
"You are… also him…" Bandages remarked as he pointed at Charles' shadow.
Perplexed, Charles turned around to stare at his own shadow, realizing that it appeared darker and more intense than that cast by the nearby table.
He then turned his gaze back onto the sketch in his hands and sank into deep contemplation. He had always felt like he was an outsider in this subterranean world, but now it felt like his life had unknowingly intertwined with this seascape even more than he had expected.
"It's… a lurking danger… You need to find a way… to resolve it… I feel that it's… not good news…especially… not for you… at this point…" Bandages commented.
"I know. Of course, I do. But apart from knowing that I have somehow become the Chosen One of a Divinity, I have zero clue."
Before Charles could continue the discussion further, he stood up abruptly as his senses picked up something. He dashed out of the cabin and motioned for Bandages to follow. "First Mate, keep up! Something's amiss!"
Upon reaching the deck, Charles spotted Dipp, who had arrived at the same time. The Deep Dweller was alerted by the same noise, and both approached the ship's port side and looked downward into the waters.
In the waters, a pair of black humanoid arms were balled up and pounding against the Narwhale's hull. This was the source of the mysterious sounds Charles had heard earlier.
"Captain, I'll go have a look!" Dipp declared and dived overboard without hesitation.
"Be careful! Signal if you run into danger! Don't try to take on more than what you can!"
With a resounding splash, Dipp entered the water, and the pounding ceased as the unidentified creature withdrew into the depths.
Before long, Dipp resurfaced. He gripped the rope that had been lowered for him and was hoisted back onto the deck.
In his right hand, he clutched a furry animal, looking somewhat like a dog but with a broad, flat tail.
It was a sea otter, a common marine creature, with a clam in its hands. Apparently, it had tried to use the Narwhal as a makeshift anvil to crack open the clamshell.
Charles looked into the otter's panicked, glossy black eyes, picked it up by the scruff, and gently released it back into the ocean.
"Scout the surrounding waters. It's unusual for a lone sea otter to be drifting out here in the open sea. It doesn't make sense; something else is at play."
"Aye!" Dipp plunged into the water once more without hesitation. This time, about an hour or so, had passed before his return. However, the wait was worth it as he brought back valuable information.
"Captain, there's an endless seaweed bed ahead of us. The sea otter is probably one of the creatures residing within," Dipp reported.
"A seaweed bed? How wide is it? Is it possible for us to navigate around it?" Charles asked.
"Not possible. I've tried to find the end to it, but it's just seaweed everywhere ahead. It seems like we've entered a sea of seaweed."
Charles returned to the ship's bridge and examined the nautical chart affixed to the wall. Roughly estimating the distance to their destination, he said, "We're quite near to our destination now. The island we're seeking might well be nestled within this expanse of seaweed. Let's proceed straight through."
Charles then turned to Dipp and Feuerbach standing next to him and instructed, "Both of you, dive into the water. One of you would need to prevent seaweed from clogging the propeller. The other, scout for any potential threats beneath the waves."
"Aye, Captain!"
"Got it!"
The situation was swiftly relayed to the crew; everyone rallied together with renewed determination to face the impending unknown obstacles.
It didn't take long before the seaweed bed was revealed by the illumination of the Narwhale's searchlight. Contrary to the typical green of ordinary seaweed, the seaweed before them was an unusual ink-blue.
The seaweed that the light couldn't illuminate resembled dark clumps of hair.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Suddenly, a series of knocking sounds echoed from all around the Narwhale.
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