Captain – Chapter 552 – Return

Night was fading, dispersing.

And so the girl, who had been wrapped in warmth and deep in dreams, once again felt the cold.

The difference was that what chilled her body and soul this time was no longer the black mist filling the sky, but the sudden, sharp rain striking her face and the pain that suddenly surged in her heart.

The pain of losing a treasure, heartbreak.

At the same time, a voice seemed to echo constantly in her ears.

Telling her that if she continued to slumber, all the efforts along the way would be wasted, and those who loved her and whom she loved would sink to the lightless seabed.

Never to return to the present world.

So wake up, even if it’s difficult, even if only sorrow awaits you.

After this, Roy suddenly regained consciousness.

She struggled to open her eyes and found herself surrounded by darkness and intense pressure, as if truly at the bottom of the sea, being carried by currents toward deeper depths.

She couldn’t make a sound, but she could exert force.

Therefore, she began reaching toward the source of the whisper with both hands, forcefully pushing aside the surging, water-like darkness, swimming desperately toward the “surface.”

During this process, the concept of time became blurred.

Roy had no idea how long she had been swimming or how much longer she needed to swim. She eventually became almost numb, but just when she was exhausted and about to give up…

From somewhere unknown, sounds suddenly came.

Arriving without reason, quickly fading, exactly like a passing ribbon that couldn’t be grasped.

Following this came equally fleeting images that, after revealing blurred light and shadow, quickly fell into darkness. The girl felt as if she was constantly traveling between dream and reality, struggling to open her eyes only to helplessly close them again.

First to reach her ears were omnipresent sounds of water and collapse.

Roy struggled to lift her eyelids and vaguely saw an apocalyptic scene.

Starlight flowed across the earth, climbed strange rocks and peaks, covered the false sky, then everything began to collapse.

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Ink-like seawater poured in from “cracks in heaven,” crystal fragments fell like meteors, mountains tilted and earth split. The entire world was wailing and destroying, and amidst this grand spectacle…

Faint sounds of flapping wings arose—the roar of those unwilling to sleep eternally against doomsday and death.

But in the end, all sounds disappeared, leaving only deathly silence.

They ultimately failed to escape “judgment day.”

Before the girl could react or even feel sad, the sounds and scenes changed again.

This time, she heard cannon fire, roars, and the muffled sounds of decks and hulls being mercilessly torn apart.

After brief darkness, vision returned.

Roy saw the mountain-like serpent and the warship struggling desperately under its assault, saw the constantly perishing water ghosts and two figures standing in shadow.

Before being swallowed by darkness, she saw the spectral creature slowly turn its head toward that young man and woman.

At this point, sounds and light faded, and the whisper sounded again.

Faster, faster still, there’s no time left…

Gradually, Roy could only hear her own heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat. She no longer cared about the soreness from her body and swam upward frantically.

Perhaps because this behavior kept her body in an overloaded state for too long, the girl felt her perception drifting away, her movements becoming slower and slower.

Finally, darkness still lay before her eyes, and all she could do was reach forward with one hand.

Then it fell powerlessly, looking rather pathetic.

But.

Just when Roy had no strength left to do anything and seemed about to sink to the “seabed” as at the beginning, the darkness covering her front suddenly rippled slightly.

Like gauze moved by wind, as if this dark curtain was truly only that thin.

“Pierce through it.”

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Just as the girl half-closed her eyes and stared blankly at that spot, a command suddenly sounded from the other side of the dark curtain—lazy, indifferent, yet impossible to disobey.

Just as that person had always appeared.

Great Captain…

Calling that person’s name in her heart, the girl’s somewhat scattered pupils solidified again. Though the emotions within were somewhat complex and conflicted, her body still instinctively followed that command, even though she should no longer be able to move even a finger.

As if that person’s words possessed strange magic that could make the world dance for him.

“Pop.”

A light sound—the dark curtain was broken through.

In an instant, the dark currents around her dispersed silently, and heavenly light once again entered the girl’s eyes.

Squinting to adapt to the light, Roy struggled to lift her gradually sinking eyelids and looked around, discovering she was still falling but had escaped that black mist.

She had returned to the present world.

Cold rain struck her face, yet couldn’t suppress the tide-like drowsiness.

No, it shouldn’t be called drowsiness—it should be said she was about to faint from weakness.

Smiling self-mockingly, the girl’s mood had not yet lightened from escaping the dreamscape when it became much heavier due to something she suddenly discovered.

She found that the night that had originally surrounded her, protecting her…

Was gone.

Recalling the words she had heard before entering the dream, Roy felt intense unease surge in her heart. She struggled to turn her face toward the dark, gloomy sea below.

The feeling of weakness grew stronger and stronger as she struggled to search.

Perhaps it was fate’s favor, or perhaps that goddess played a joke on her.

Before losing consciousness, Roy saw the black lotus that bound the giant serpent tightly.

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She also saw that fire.

Warm fire.

But she had no chance to hear that earth-shattering roar, see the suddenly dispersing night, the towering sea of fire, and the spectral creature wailing mournfully as it sank into the sea.

Only darkness met her eyes, and her ears heard nothing more…

Oh no, in the moment before she fainted, she seemed to vaguely hear her beloved pet’s call.

“Captain.”

Strangely, this call did not disappear with her loss of consciousness but echoed in her ears again and again, only with added sadness.

It was very gentle, but as time passed, it became increasingly clear and anxious.

“Captain.”

Finally, the call reached her ears, close at hand.

Roy suddenly opened her eyes, breathing rapidly like a drowning person who had just escaped.

“Captain!”

The calling voice was still “haunting,” but one could hear that this time it was full of surprise.

Perception and memory flooded back like a tide. Roy gradually calmed her breathing and looked somewhat bewildered at the familiar wooden ceiling, feeling the soft bed beneath her.

This is… my captain’s cabin?

Supporting herself on the bed and covering her somewhat aching head as she sat up, the girl looked around the room, feeling as if she were in another world.

If her will weren’t strong enough, she might even have been immersed in doubt about “whether this is another dream.”

During Roy’s interval of calming her mind, the raven that had been beside the bed constantly calling to her had already flown toward the wooden door, excitedly calling out loudly.

“The captain’s awake! The captain’s awake…”

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Almost as the raven’s first call ended, the wooden door was heavily pushed open.

The former power figures of the Ghost Scythe, accompanied by several of Roy’s confidants, walked in quickly with excited expressions, though they still couldn’t hide the gloom beneath.

The pirates who came upon hearing the news gathered heavily outside the door. Though fear still remained on their faces, hope shone in all their eyes.

Although everyone in the room, including Roy, had many things to say and many questions to ask, because of this, they fell into silence instead.

Knowing they were waiting for her to speak first, the girl moved her aching body and sat on the edge of the bed. Her gaze swept over everyone, and she quickly made some judgments.

It seems the Ghost Scythe really did sink…

Thinking of the scene she saw before fainting, Roy’s heart couldn’t help but sink. But what truly made her feel panicked was that among the crowd before her…

The two people she most wanted to see were absent.

What did this mean?

Though her mood was quite heavy, the girl showed nothing on her face and only spoke expressionlessly, though she discovered her voice was terribly hoarse.

Taking the water Daniel handed her and moistening her throat slightly, Roy continued her questioning.

She didn’t ask what had happened during her absence, didn’t ask how the situation had changed dramatically, but only asked two simple words that left everyone speechless as they looked at each other.

“Where’s Caine?”

No one answered, but that didn’t mean there was no answer.

Without waiting too long, Roy withdrew her gaze from Ben, Lance, and the others, turning slightly to look at Wyatt, who was stern but obviously much more haggard.

“What about Enzo?”

That first mate’s dry lips trembled, opening slightly, but in the end he still said nothing—or rather, closed them before he could speak, but had already revealed the truth.

Seeing this, the captain lowered her eyelids slightly and said nothing more, only suddenly feeling somewhat lonely.

The captain’s cabin returned to silence, which remained unbroken for a long time.