Chapter 496: Under the Deep Sea
“The water flows down from the Sealine and raises the level below?” Tilly turned this over slowly. “So when the tide falls—does it flow backward?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it.” Thunder clenched his fists. “We stayed near the Sealine for two weeks and waited. In that time, we tried everything we could think of to understand it—but the most astonishing part was sailing on the Sealine itself. Do you know what that’s like from the outside? To any other ship watching, we would have looked as though we were plastered to the face of a cliff, our sails running parallel to the ocean’s surface, about to fall at any moment. But on the Courage, we felt nothing of the kind. It was like sailing a narrow river—a wall of sea on one side, open sky on the other. We had to wait for the current to slow considerably before attempting it, of course. At full speed, even the Magic Servant couldn’t have saved the hull.”
“None of this makes any sense,” said Tilly. Her mind was running in circles. If anyone other than Thunder were telling her this, she would have decided they were fabricating the whole thing. “I trust your eyes more than most people’s reason—but this is impossible by everything I understand about water.”
“I trust my eyes over common sense too.” He continued. “After two weeks, the tide began to fall—at precisely the same time as the tides rise and fall in the Shadow Islands. The seawater didn’t flow backward in any visible rush. It simply… receded. The wall climbed back from roughly a hundred meters to over two hundred, and the lower sea dropped away with it.”
“Then where did it go?” Tilly asked. “That enormous volume of water—it can’t vanish.”
“Maybe not vanish. Maybe flow somewhere.”
“Where?” She pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Tides are dramatic in the Shadow Islands, noticeably mild in the Fjord Islands, almost imperceptible on the coasts of the Four Kingdoms. If it’s going somewhere, I can’t see where.”
Thunder pointed at the floor.
She went quiet. Then she exhaled. “You said once that the sea level in the Shadow area drops very quickly during the ebb—as though something is pulling it down through a hole in the ocean floor. But even an enormous hole should fill within a few years.”
“I’m only guessing. No one has ever seen the ocean floor.” He paused. “But there’s one thing I keep coming back to.”
“What?”
“Why is this sea called the Swirling Sea?”
Her heart lurched. She followed his meaning and shook her head. “That’s insane. A cave expelling water upward to create a surface whirlpool—we would have noticed. And the name goes back hundreds of years. Who knows what our ancestors were thinking?”
“That’s just it.” He leaned forward. “I ran a simple test of the water currents. For any whirlpool to be visible at the surface, the water would need to be shallow enough. We don’t have the means to see the ocean floor.” He smiled. “But that doesn’t mean witches can’t. I never considered that before—but when you told me that witches ruled this land four hundred years ago, it occurred to me that this sea was probably named during their time.”
“I’m a witch,” said Tilly, “and not one on Sleeping Island can see through water.”
“I know who can.”
She waited.
“There’s a witch who lives in the Fjords—she’s had no contact with other people for a long time. She was once close to one of my crew’s oldest friends, but after her awakening she left the continent entirely. Now you only hear her when mist sits on the sea. You’ve probably heard the stories.”
“The mermaid who guides ships through the fog.” Tilly sat straighter. “You’re talking about the subject of that legend?”
“That’s right.” Thunder nodded. “I don’t know if she’ll agree to help, but it’s worth trying. I may need to call in a favor from Margaret.”
“You’d better move quickly, then.” Tilly’s expression darkened. “Merchants in the Fjords have been trying to capture mermaids. About a month ago, Sleeping Spell received several requests for it—Honey sent me word by pigeon. I refused all of them.”
Thunder’s ease vanished. “Her songs are a symbol of safety to every sailor in the Fjords. Anyone trying to hunt her is a fool and a criminal.” A pause. “Can you tell me who they are?”
“Sleeping Spell doesn’t reveal its clients.” Tilly looked at the wall for a moment, then drew a series of names in the air with one finger. “You didn’t hear that from me.”
Thunder looked at each name carefully, then smiled—quiet and cool. “They’ll get what they deserve.”
“That’s what I came to tell you,” he said after a moment. “But I also came to ask a favor.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ve heard that Crescent Moon Bay has a new type of vessel—no sails, significantly faster than anything currently sailing. My sources say it comes from Border Town.” He produced an envelope and set it on the table. “If I’m going to continue exploring the Sealine, I’ll need a much larger and faster ship, one that can hold against those currents under heavy wind. Money isn’t a concern. Can you pass this order to Roland Wimbledon?”
Tilly understood at once. “You don’t want Lightning to know.”
Thunder’s composure slipped, just slightly. “If she finds out, she’ll insist on coming. The Sealine still has too many unknowns—I can’t take her into that.”
She’s already a remarkable explorer, Tilly thought. She found the stone tower ruins in the Misty Forest on her own. But she looked at Thunder’s face and nodded. “I understand. I’ll serve as messenger between you and Roland Wimbledon.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
After Thunder left, Tilly sat for a long time with her thoughts. Then she drew out the ancient books recovered from the Shadow Islands ruins and spread them across the table, hoping to find any reference to the Sealine or the mechanisms of the tide.
Following the method Agatha had taught her, she shaped her magic to the letters’ contours and let their meaning rise into her mind—not reading, exactly, but being spoken to. Some of the books recorded experiences in the Barbarian Land. Others were sailors’ logs. A few touched on significant plans of the old Witch Union. The more she read, the more disoriented she became. These texts had no obvious connection to one another—not the same author, not the same era, not even the same subject. None of them mentioned the Sealine, the stone spire beneath the sea, the telescope, or the Giant Stone Gates. Nothing she had expected to find.
She sat back. Looked at them.
Piece together.
Something clicked behind her eyes. She spread three of the sailors’ logs side by side and studied them carefully. Their dates were decades apart. Their routes ranged from coastal mainland waters to open Fjords. The handwriting was completely different, the concerns of each writer entirely separate.
Someone had gathered them from different sources—different times, different places—and deposited them all in the same ruin.
Who would do that?
A chill moved up her spine and didn’t stop.
Chapter 496: Under the Deep Sea
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
“The water from the Sealine flows downward to cause the lower level water to rise? How is this possible?”
Tilly pondered for a while. “So when the tide falls, will the water flow backwards?”
“Good question.” Thunder clenched his fists excitedly. “Afterwards, my fleet stayed near the Sealine for two weeks, until the tide fell. During that time, we tried all kinds of ways to break through the Sealine, and the most amazing part was sailing on the Sealine itself—do you know what kind of feeling that is? To outsiders, it seemed as if we were stuck to the face of a cliff, with our sails completely paralleling to the ocean, as if we could fall down at any second. But we couldn’t feel this on the boat at all, and it was like the Courage was sailing in a narrow river, with the vast wall of seawater on one side, and the expansive sky on the other. Of course, we had to wait for the water to slow down to do this, otherwise even the Magic Servant couldn’t protect the boat.”
“This… makes no sense.” Tilly felt her brain sink into total confusion. If some other explorer other than Thunder was telling her this, she would have immediately thought they were making it all up.
“I think so too, but I trust my own eyes more than common sense.” He continued, “After two weeks, the tide began to fall—it happened at exactly the same time as the tides rose and fell in the Shadow Islands. The seawater did not regorge and simply backed off slowly, and the Sealine raised from about 100 meters to over 200 meters once again.”
“Do you mean that all this seawater just disappeared into thin air?”
“Maybe, but it might have also flowed to somewhere else.”
“Where could it flow to?” Tilly said, rubbing her forehead. “The tides are drastic in the Shadow Islands, much calmer in the Fjord Islands, basically nonexistent at the shores of the Four Kingdoms—if this isn’t vanishing into thin air, what is it?”
Thunder pointed at the ground.
She sighed. “I remember that you once said the sea level in the Shadow area dropped very quickly as if there was a giant hole sucking it in at the bottom of the ocean. However, no matter how big the hole is, it should still be filled up after a few years.”
“I’m only guessing. No one has actually seen what the ocean floor looks like… but I’m very curious about one thing.”
“What?”
“Why is the ocean we’re in called the Swirling Sea?”
Tilly felt her heart skip a beat as she came to a realization and shook her head, saying, “That’s impossible and insane. If an underground cave expelled water to create a whirlpool, how could we not notice it? Also, this name has been around for hundreds of years, so who knows what our ancestors were thinking?”
“That’s right. I conducted a simple experiment and found that the water must be shallow enough for the whirlpool to show, but we don’t have the ability to see the ocean floor.” Thunder smiled. “Meanwhile, that doesn’t mean that witches can’t do it—I never thought of this before, but when you told me that witches ruled this land 400 years ago, I realized that this sea was probably named during that time.”
“I’m a witch,” said Tilly with a shrug, “and not a single witch on Sleeping Island can do it.”
“I know who can.”
“What?”
“The witch lives right on the Fjords but hasn’t had any human contact for a long time…” Thunder sighed. “She used to be a close friend of one of my crew’s best assistants, but after she awakened as a witch, she left the continent forever. Now, you can only hear her beautiful singing when mist sets on the sea. You’ve probably heard stories about her before.”
“The mermaid that guides the ships… Are you talking about the subject of this legend?”
“That’s right.” Thunder nodded. “Although I don’t know if she’ll help me, it’s still worth a try. I might need the help of my old friend Margaret.”
“I see. Then you must hurry,” said Tilly with a frown. “The merchants in the Fjords seem to want to hunt mermaids. A month ago, Sleeping Spell received several offers to capture mermaids. Honey sent me a carrier pigeon telling me the request, but I refused.”
“Her songs are the symbol of peace and safety to the sailors and explorers in the Fjords. Those merchants are insane.” Thunder asked quietly, “Can you tell me who they are?”
“Sleeping Spell shouldn’t reveal the identities of its customers, but…” Tilly wrote a few names in the air with her hand. “You didn’t hear it from me.” Since she was also a witch, Tilly could not sit by and do nothing as the leader of Sleeping Island.
“That’s right.” He smiled. “They’ll get what they deserve.”
The two smiled at each other, and Thunder said, “I came to tell you about my new adventures. Besides, I want to ask you a favor.”
“Go ahead.”
“I heard that Crescent Moon Bay has a new kind of boat that isn’t powered by wind and can sail much faster than sailboats. My sources told me that this kind of boat was produced in Border Town,” said Thunder. “If I want to keep
exploring the Sealine, I’ll need a much bigger and faster boat that can withstand the currents under strong winds.” He handed her an envelope. “Money isn’t an issue, as long as the boats are fast. Can you give him this order?”
Tilly understood his intentions. “You don’t want Lightning to know?”
Thunder said helplessly, “If she finds out, she’ll insist on going with me. There’re too many unknowns in the Sealine, so it’s too risky for me to take her.”
“But she’s already a great explorer. She was the one who found the stone tower ruins in the Misty Forest,” Tilly thought. However, she still nodded. “I understand. I’ll act as a temporary messenger between you and Roland Wimbledon.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
After Thunder left, Tilly pondered for a long time and took out the ancient books from the ruins in the Shadow Islands, hoping to find clues about the Sealine or tides. Following the method Agatha taught her, she twisted her magic power according to the shapes of the letters, and their meaning appeared in her mind. It was as if she wasn’t reading, but the books were telling her their contents.
Some of the books recorded the writers’ experiences in the Barbarian Land, some were sailors’ diaries, and others mentioned important plans of the Union. The more she read, the more confused she became. These books had nothing to do with each other, obviously not written by the same person. To her surprise, none of them mentioned anything about the Sealine, the spire under the sea, the telescope, or the Giant Stone Gates, totally different from what she expected. She thought that as long as she could read the Union’s words, she could uncover some of the ruins’ secrets, or even find the reason why the Shadow area’s sea level rose so quickly. But now, she felt like she was piecing together random scribbles.
“Wait… piece together?” An idea popped into Tilly’s head. She spread open three of the sailing diaries, placed them together, and checked them carefully.
Their dates were far apart, some even decades apart, and their routes varied from the seas near the mainland to the Fjords. It was like someone had gathered all these things from different sources and placed them into the ruins.
At this thought, she felt a chill creep up her spine.
Who would do such a thing?