Chapter 666: The Watchful Gaze

It's been some time since Duncan last visited subspace, but his memories of the area were still vivid. He particularly remembered exploring the "Broken Vanished," especially its captain's quarters, which notably lacked a goat head of its own—a peculiar and memorable detail he couldn't ignore.

Instead, this odd realm, the ship's navigation table usually held only a haunting map that charted paths resembling nightmares more than actual waterways.

This time, however, Duncan noticed a change. The dimly lit room now displayed a jet-black goat head on the navigation table. Positioned to seem as if its eyes followed him, the head added a sinister presence. Duncan felt watched by it, even perceiving it shifting its gaze subtly when the bedroom door moved.

Trying to keep calm, Duncan stepped out of the bedroom and approached the table. This Goathead seemed to intensely track his every movement. It startled him; it looked just like the real goat head and was placed in the center of the table instead of its usual position on the left edge where he had previously left the "Skull of Dreams."

Why was the Skull of Dreams now here in subspace?

Duncan approached the table cautiously. As he looked at Goathead, it seemed to lift its eyes to meet his. An intense, eerie silence enveloped them.

Breaking the silence, Duncan introduced himself with a tense voice, "Hello, I am Duncan."

To his shock, Goathead replied, "Hello, you are not Duncan."

Stunned by Goathead's ability to speak and its denial of his identity, Duncan calmly responded, "If I'm not Duncan, then who am I?"

"You are the captain," Goathead, also the Skull of Dreams in this version, answered.

The voice reminded Duncan of his familiar "First Mate," but carried a strange, somber tone. Puzzled, Duncan asked, "Isn't Duncan the captain of this ship?"

"You are the captain. You are not Duncan," Goathead insisted, its responses echoing with a scripted quality regardless of Duncan's questions.

After several attempts to learn more, Duncan paused, deep in thought.

In an identity twist, Duncan realized he was indeed the captain of the ship, but not truly Duncan. He was actually Zhou Ming, a soul without a permanent home, traveling through time and space. Duncan Abnomar, the explorer, was just a persona he had adopted. The real Captain Duncan had died a century ago, a secret Duncan had kept—or so he thought.

In the physical world, the First Mate—mirroring Goathead before him—knew the truth of Duncan's real identity but had always remained silent. Such truths were forbidden aboard the Vanished.

Now, in subspace, the entity Duncan believed to be the Skull of Dreams had openly acknowledged this secret.

As Duncan surveyed the deteriorating cabin and peered out through the hollow windows at the ship's frayed masts and distant hull, he realized this revelation hadn't altered the appearance of the Broken Vanished. He wondered if this was because they were in subspace, where the ship was merely a projection, or because the Skull of Dreams, not originally part of the ship, did not affect the ship's stability with its knowledge.

Turning back to the mysterious goat head on the table, Duncan pondered whether it was the true manifestation of the Skull of Dreams in subspace or merely a projection. Was the Skull of Dreams inherently split, with parts unearthed by cultists and others permanently in subspace?

After reflecting, Duncan asked, "Who are you?"

Initially, the Goathead was silent, leaving Duncan unsure if it would respond. Finally, it said, "I do not know."

Intrigued, Duncan asked, "What do you know, then?"

After a longer pause, the Goathead repeated, "I do not know."

Duncan noted the paradox, "You claim to know nothing, yet you recognize that I am the 'captain' here and not Duncan. Do you know this ship? Do you understand where you are?"

The Goathead then became unresponsive, resembling a simple wooden carving more than a sentient entity.

Duncan realized the consciousness within the Skull of Dreams was fragmented and disjointed. Unlike the First Mate in the real world, this subspace entity seemed to have only partial memories and a broken thought process, able to respond only to specific questions and otherwise remaining inactive.

However, it still held the knowledge that the person before it, referred to as the "captain," was not "Duncan."

Duncan's mind swirled with theories and questions about the deep mysteries around him.

This situation might relate to a century-old agreement made by the real Captain Duncan in subspace with Saslokha. In that ancient deal, the Vanished, nearly fully absorbed by subspace, was reconstructed by the "King of Dreams." Conversely, the fragmented and mostly disintegrated King of Dreams was given a chance to leave subspace, albeit in a diminished form, reduced to a spine and a skull fragment, largely stripped of its memories.

The Skull of Dreams before Duncan could be one of these remnants left in subspace, retaining some awareness of the real Captain Duncan's fate through fragmented recollections.

In fact, Duncan suspected that this Skull of Dreams knew more about Saslokha, the nature of subspace, and the history of the Vanished than the other one in the physical world, but its chaotic and fragmented consciousness struggled to form these memories into a coherent narrative.

While contemplating how to extract more information from the Skull of Dreams, Duncan was startled by an unusual disturbance. The Vanished began to shudder, accompanied by strange, almost otherworldly sounds from an undefined location. Something was approaching outside the ship's hull, rapidly drawing near.

Instinctively, Duncan raised his head from the table and turned his gaze toward a nearby window.

Outside, in the endless, dark void of subspace, a massive, shadowy figure emerged alongside what appeared to be a sprawling, pale landmass. This vast entity slowly moved, its surface marred by alarming cracks and adorned with intricate patterns that resembled skin textures.

Driven by a sudden insight, Duncan hurried to the window. As he approached, the scene outside began to change dramatically. A large crack opened across the pale land, revealing murky, amber-colored crystalline formations. Then, dominating the view, an immense eyeball structure came into focus.

A gigantic eye leisurely passed by the captain's quarters.

From his position at the window, Duncan watched as the large, cloudy eye moved across his field of vision. His view shifted, revealing more of the entity's vast, non-human face with a pale complexion.

His gaze expanded further, unveiling the colossal form of the being as it undulated through the darkness of subspace. The shattered landmass he had seen earlier seemed to be part of, or perhaps embedded within, this gargantuan entity.

This was the pale, one-eyed giant of subspace, carrying the fragmented land with it. Duncan remembered his first venture into subspace when he had briefly glimpsed this awe-inspiring figure. At that time, he had passed it by without discerning any significant details. Now, however, the Vanished was passing perilously close to the giant's face, offering Duncan an unprecedented chance to observe this remarkable being.

The surreal magnitude of the scene outside the window surpassed all of Duncan's previous encounters in subspace. Even as a seasoned explorer, he found himself momentarily breathless at the sight.

He remained focused on the slowly moving giant just beyond the glass, particularly drawn to its murky, solitary eye. This eye, appearing ancient and lifeless, seemed to keep a quiet vigil over its surroundings. It was an eerie and powerful moment—as the Vanished continued its journey, the giant's eye imperceptibly but unmistakably began to rotate, following their movement.

Startled, Duncan could only exclaim, "Huh...?!"

He blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. It was undeniable: as the Vanished shifted its position in the mysterious expanse of subspace, the giant's eye, murky and seemingly long dead, was indeed tracking its motion. The eye had noticed the Vanished; it wasn't merely existing passively but was actively observing. The realization that this colossal, otherworldly entity was aware of his presence and possibly watching him was both astounding and unsettling.