"You know how to sail, right?"
Silas flipped through the manual sent by The Hanged Man while asking Anderson, who had just climbed aboard.
"A little bit, at least. After all, I need to make a living on the sea."
Anderson replied with low spirits.
He inspected the entire ship, including the condition of the masts and sails, as well as the sealing of the cabin walls.
During his inspection, he became increasingly certain that this ship couldn't be sailed with just two people.
"That works. I've got the theoretical knowledge here, and you've got practical experience. If we work together, getting this ship moving shouldn't be a problem."
Silas said with a smile.
"We don't have enough people."
Anderson glanced at him and couldn't help saying.
"How many are we short?"
"We need at least ten or so... Oh my God!"
Anderson had been seriously answering this academic question, but when he turned his head, he was so startled he nearly jumped out of his skin.
He saw that the self-proclaimed missionary, Alexander Gascoigne, was gripping his own left wrist with his right hand, then tearing off his entire arm!
"What are you doing?"
He said with alarm and uncertainty, ready to jump ship and flee at any moment.
As expected of someone from the Secrets Suppliant pathway. Even if he's not a true believer of the True Creator, he's still this insane!
"Preparing the crew."
Silas said calmly, tossing the arm in his hand.
"Thud, thud."
The bloody arm rolled to the middle of the deck and melted into a puddle of fresh blood. Then, ripples began to spread across the surface of the liquid.
Under Anderson's astonished gaze, a blood-red palm emerged from the pool of blood. Next came an arm, then a head.
A complete human body crawled out! Aside from being completely crimson, it looked roughly the same size as a normal human!
"..."
Anderson's expression became quite spectacular.
The blood didn't stop producing.
A second body appeared, then a third. Eventually, ten complete flesh puppets were created.
"See? Now we've got a full crew."
Silas said to him with a smile, his missing left arm slowly regenerating.
First, bones grew out, then muscles and blood vessels intertwined, and finally skin wrapped over everything. The sight was grotesque and terrifying.
"Y-yeah."
Anderson broke out in a cold sweat, forcing out a smile.
Although they had obtained a ship, Silas didn't set off immediately.
Instead, he first familiarized himself with operating the sailboat.
Led by Anderson (who was visibly very reluctant), along with the flesh puppets he had created, they tested sailing the ship.
The learning process took about an afternoon, and Silas had basically grasped the general operations.
For ordinary people, they would need much more time to practice further to handle the various emergencies that might occur at sea.
But Silas could make up for this with his Beyonder abilities, such as using the "Wind-blessed" power to directly blow the sails.
"That's about enough. Let's prepare to leave the island."
Silas said from the bow.
"Where to?"
Unease rose in Anderson's heart.
"Heading deeper in."
"Um, aren't you planning to leave these waters?"
Anderson asked tentatively.
To be honest, he was already scared and genuinely wanted to leave.
All his companions who had come here together were dead, and he didn't want to follow in their footsteps.
Unfortunately, the ship's owner didn't think the same way.
"It will only get more dangerous inside."
He tried to persuade him.
"I know."
Silas responded simply. "I came to these waters with my own purpose, and I won't leave until it's completed."
"Well, alright then."
Seeing this, Anderson was powerless to do anything. He could only nod while praying in his heart that he could return safely.
"Then let's..."
Before he could finish his sentence, darkness suddenly descended all around.
Night had fallen once again.
The nights here were extremely dangerous. Not sleeping here could be deadly!
The two men looked at each other, then walked into the cabin.
Silas lay down on his bed, casually placing Luna at the head of the bed. He closed his eyes, preparing to enter the dream.
To be honest, he felt a bit uneasy about entering the dream this time, not knowing how to explain things to the Mysterious Queen.
After all, she and the King of Black Throne had fought to the death over that key belonging to her father, but in the end, he had bound it to himself.
I hope she can forgive me.
Silas thought to himself, his emotions fluctuating, making it difficult to fall asleep.
Fortunately, he quickly adjusted his mindset, emptying his mind through meditation, and successfully fell asleep.
---
Silas returned to the black monastery in the dream realm, his eyes falling upon the library where the Queen had been before.
Only now, the library had completely changed.
Flames leaped and burned between the bookshelves.
The corpse of a dress-wearing rabbit was riddled with bullet holes, scattered across the floor along with a squad of toy soldiers torn to pieces.
The Queen still stood on the spiral staircase.
Across from her, Barros still sat in his wheelchair. Multiple fire-breathing vipers coiled around him, and behind him, phantom forms were slowly taking shape.
They had engaged in battle within the dream realm!
The moment Silas appeared, he caught the attention of both sides.
Before Barros could react, the Queen had already looked at him.
"Swoosh!"
Her eyes flashed with light, and a strange tremor occurred around Silas.
It was a dream teleportation!
Silas had been pulled over by her this way before, so he immediately understood.
The Queen was sending him away, far from Barros's influence!
He didn't resist, but allowed this force to carry him away from there.
"Boom!"
The fire serpent beside Barros immediately spewed flames, but it was a step too late.
The flames fell on the floor while Silas had already disappeared.
The surrounding scenery instantly became pitch black, almost making Silas think he had returned to the real nighttime.
But after observing briefly, he knew he hadn't woken up and was still in the dream realm.
So dark. Where has the Queen sent me?
"Boom!"
Silas opened his palm, creating a crimson fireball.
The firelight instantly illuminated the surroundings, and only then did he discover that he seemed to be in a prison.
Iron railings were arranged in layers, separating the cells from the corridor.
Through the gaps, he could see rows of similar single-occupant cells on the opposite side.
What kind of hellish place is this?
Silas muttered in his heart.
He guessed he was still inside the black monastery, just uncertain of his exact location or why the Queen had sent him here.
"Time to break out first and leave this place."
Silas thought to himself, walking to the iron railings.
"Swoosh!"
His palm instantly spewed lava, creating a long sword glowing with ghostly blue flames that cut through the bars.
"Hiss..."
The railings instantly vaporized, the cuts smooth, creating a huge gap.
Silas stepped out of the cell.
He planned to explore this place and figure out why the Queen had sent him here.
The ghostly blue flames reflected off the corridor, bringing a strange color to the already dark environment.
Silas advanced along the corridor and found that all the cells were empty, tightly locked and impossible to open.
However, among them, there was one cell that was in an open state. The room inside was messy, with a key still inserted in the keyhole.