Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1420 My Anchor

Have we arrived at our destination?
Christina was taken aback, only then realizing that while she and Dorothy were locked in the sealed cabin, the unmanned ghost ship was still traveling at an unexpected high speed, and had delivered her to her destination in just half an hour.

But even Tina herself didn't know where the destination was. Only the genie sealed inside the "Wishing Lamp" knew all seven sealing locations. Moreover, each time he would only tell the sisters the next location, luring them from the familiar city of Tingen to the metropolis of Backlund, and then throwing them onto the beach near Bayam through the magical "Door of Anywhere". Now, he had them boarded this ghost ship.

Tina hadn't even had a chance to ask the genie where the fourth destination was yet, so how could this materialized Miss Adele possibly know about the ghost ship?
With this question in mind, Tina and Dorothy were lifted up by an invisible force and brought closer to the dark, hard ceiling. The steel barrier then opened, revealing the blue sky above with a hint of leaden gray.

The salty sea breeze and the deafening roar of the waves instantly enveloped Tina. She squinted to adjust to the sudden brightness and looked around, surprised to find herself back on the spacious deck, with the ironclad ship beneath her docked in a huge harbor.

Compared to the somewhat primitive but bustling and chaotic docks of Bayam, this port operates in a more orderly manner. Long, narrow piers extend like tentacles into the deep water, and huge cranes, powered by steam, lift heavy cargo onto waiting cargo ships. Passengers either walk directly onto the piers or board ocean liners via gangways using shuttle boats. Ships leaving the port sail out of the breakwater protection area with the help of guide ships and enter the deep blue-black sea.

Of all the ports Tina had ever seen, only Prydz Port, located near Backlund and responsible for half of the Kingdom of Loen's maritime trade, was of this size. However, its facilities were outdated and its atmosphere was stagnant, clearly not as vibrant as the port in front of her.

"Where is this..."

She muttered to herself.

The sound of footsteps echoed behind her. Adele, with her black hair and white dress, stood by the railing at the edge of the deck, her head slightly raised. Her gaze swept across the entire harbor like that of a lion surveying its territory. She said:
"This is the largest port in the Southern Continent, located in the northern part of the Pass River Valley, known as 'Liberation Port.' More than a decade ago, before the colonists from the Northern Continent were driven out, it was called 'Kaiser Port.' It handled more than half of the ocean transport to the Northern Continent, carrying countless spices, ores, timber, and even slaves northward, bringing cheap goods and labor to the colonists and leaving deep wounds on this land."

Tina had learned about this in history class and knew how much disaster the Southern Continent had suffered since Emperor Roselle explored sea routes and started the colonial era. But as she looked out into the distance, behind the port stretched a continuous urban area, chimneys spewing thick smoke, and railways extending in all directions. She just couldn't connect the poor and backward Southern Continent described in the book with the bustling city in front of her.

"It's called Liberation Port because the colonists were driven out of here, leading to the liberation of the entire continent?"

Dorothy, who was standing nearby, asked.

“That’s right. The last group of colonial troops from Intis left from here.” Adele nodded slightly and replied, “This is also your destination. Of course, it may be some distance from the correct location, but I and this ship cannot go any further.”

"We'll have to ask the genie to find out, because I don't know where the next destination is either..." Tina muttered to herself, just as she was about to ask the genie to return the "wishing lamp" to her, when she saw a golden lamp appear in Adele's hand.

Slightly surprised, Tina accepted the sealed artifact. She first mentally called upon the genie, but after finding no response, she smiled apologetically and said:

"Thank you, Miss Adele."

Having recovered the treasure, her last bit of wariness towards this "Ghost Ship Lady" completely vanished, replaced by unease stemming from her suspicions.

Fortunately, Adele didn't seem to mind. She blinked her golden eyes and said:
"I just brought you here on my way. I also had a close look at this sealed artifact and learned about its current state... I still want to warn you not to completely trust the genie inside. Think it over before making a decision when it comes to the 'final step'."

"Also, Adele was my original name, and I am now called Anne Gustave."

Gustav… is that the surname of Emperor Roselle Gustav the Great, who once ruled Intis, opened up the sea route to the southern continent, and ushered in the colonial era? Tina immediately thought of this great figure whose fame far surpassed that of any king or emperor, and wondered why a ghost ship would be renamed with such a name.

Dorothy, however, had a guess and asked carefully:

"Could this ship be the famous Anne of the Seas...?"

"The Queen Anne's Revenge." Adele, no, Anne, didn't hide anything and continued, then waved her hand, "You can leave now."

The next second, Tina, who had just put the wishing lamp into her bag, and Dorothy, who had carefully put away the Mirror of Arodes, found themselves stepping onto a concrete pier, leaving behind the massive warship that had transported them from the Rosed Isles to the port of the Southern Continent in an instant.

Fortunately, she—no, He—didn't make us come down the gangway, otherwise it would have attracted a lot of attention, making our subsequent actions incredibly difficult… But isn't it a bit too much of a coincidence that this ship is the flagship of the "Golden Queen" who made a name for herself in Bayam… Tina muttered to herself, half relieved and half wistful, as she watched the "Queen Anne's Revenge" leave the harbor with its sharp whistle and quickly head towards the deep sea.

The girl in the white dress sat sideways atop a massive naval cannon, waving towards the port as if bidding them farewell. Her petite and delicate figure contrasted sharply with the enormous warship that represented the most powerful art of warfare.

Tina also raised her hand and waved at the other person for a while until she could no longer see Annie's face. Then she lowered her arm, let out a long sigh with some emotion, and then immediately inhaled.

She gave Dorothy's finger, which was poking her waist, a reproachful look, and the latter asked with a smile:

"How does it feel to ride on your idol's flagship?"

“It’s completely different from what the book says. Shouldn’t sea voyages involve a bunch of sailors pushing a turntable to raise the sails, and the captain giving orders while turning the rudder to make the huge three-masted sailing ship move forward against the wind and waves?” Tina pouted as she replied. “We were locked in the cabin just now and didn’t even know how it sailed before we reached our destination.”

Dorothy pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said:
“I don’t know what happened either. Normally, it would take more than a week for a sailboat to get from the Roseside Islands to the Southern Continent, and three or four days for a steamship, but we only took less than half an hour.”

She glanced at Tina's handbag, the meaning clear: perhaps it's your genie providing "help" again, like the steam train speeding from Tingen to Backlund.

Oh right, I was having so much fun chatting with Miss Anne that I almost forgot about the genie… Tina stuck out her tongue in her mind, made a face, and then cautiously called out:
"The genie?"

"Hmph, I didn't expect you to still remember me."

A majestic and authoritative voice, yet tinged with resentment, rang in both her and Dorothy's ears at the same time.

"You're the one who sent us to the dock, you're the one who told us to board that ship, how can you blame me for this? Are you the kind of person who always tries to find someone to take the blame for everything?"

Tina unceremoniously touched the "Door of Anywhere," taking Dorothy directly to Bayam and returning the words of reprimand she received from the genie. She overwhelmed the genie with her aura, causing the genie inside the sealed artifact to fall into a long silence.

After a long pause, when the genie spoke again, he no longer possessed the same imposing presence as before.

“That ship was originally just a Sequence 2 ‘Balancer,’ but with the help of a powerful craftsman, it incorporated an additional Sequence 1 ‘Prince Killer’ trait, essentially making it equivalent to a Sequence 1 Archangel.” He explained in a weaker, almost whispering tone, “Therefore, after being isolated by Him, I was unable to contact you until the ship arrived at port and you were disembarked.”

Simply put, you can't beat Miss Anne... Tina immediately understood what the other party meant. She stopped trying to provoke the genie's weak mind and instead descended into the cabin. After seeing Anne, she recounted her entire conversation with her, including Anne's introduction to the "0-05" sealed artifact. Then, she asked cautiously, "You really killed every owner, and even caused the fall of a god?"

"In terms of results, that's true, but most of them brought it upon themselves, not because I 'killed' them." The genie frankly admitted the tragic fate of each of its owners. "The wishing lamp that sealed me was created by a Miracle Worker with the Sequence 2 'Fool' pathway. It inherently possesses the ability to grant the holder's wishes, but the downside is that the wishes are fulfilled in various distorted and bizarre forms. My existence can give it even greater power, but it also increases the danger of the negative effects accordingly. This causes most holders to die when they fulfill their third wish. And how could they possibly resist making a wish once they possess this sealed object?"

"Even gods are like this?"

Dorothy was skeptical and quickly countered with a question.

"If you're referring to 'The Judge' Trensost, he was corrupted by some power after failing to destroy the Wishing Lamp to release me, ultimately perishing in the war against the Four Emperors. This was merely a contributing factor, not the direct cause of his death," the genie replied with a sigh. "But rest assured, that power has vanished. I am merely a pitiful soul yearning to return to the vast starry sky and hoping for your help."

Anne told us not to completely trust Him… Tina, recalling the warning the ghost ship gave before it departed, snorted softly:

“But you’re too restless. Arodes is a living, communicative sealed object, just like you, but he won’t harm his owner; instead, he will protect her.”

"I haven't hurt you! Everything I've done is just to resolve this quickly so you can get home before dark, right?"

The genie answered somewhat aggrievedly.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After feigning a reprimand to the genie, Christina and Dorothy resumed their journey. Although they remained wary of the mysterious "Wishing Lamp," they believed that they should not give up halfway and that continuing to each location that weakened the genie's seal was the right thing to do.

The fourth "seal" is located in Kukva, south of the port of Liberation, about 200 kilometers away. Fortunately, a steam train is now in service. If the genie can use the same trick to sneak onto the train, he can once again use the power of "twisting" to shorten the journey to an acceptable level.

All Tina and Dorothy had to do was travel from the port to the steam train station.

But once they stepped onto the street, the two were stunned by the absurd sight and stood frozen in place.

Unlike the Ruen, which primarily uses public and private horse-drawn carriages and gradually develops bicycles and steam-powered vehicles, the Southern Continent, originally controlled by the Byron Empire and worshipping the "God of Death," believes that death is not the end. They love coffins, regarding them as objects that bring peace and tranquility. Therefore, they usually use coffins of various shapes instead of horse-drawn carriages for travel, with multiple power sources such as human labor to carry coffins and horses to pull them.

What was presented to the two sisters were rows of black or dark red coffins.

Of course, for young Tina, death was also something distant, unattainable, and shrouded in mystery. Therefore, after a brief moment of surprise, she said to Dorothy with some excitement:
"How about trying to ride in a coffin to the steam train station?"

Dorothy, who had already planned to take a hired carriage, remained noncommittal, only offering a reminder:
"When we go inside, the coffin will be tightly closed, and it will be very dark inside."

Tina's smile froze on her face.

"Then, how about we just forget about it?"

Seeing her like this, Dorothy smiled instead, went to a large coffin pulled by horses, quickly negotiated a price with the pallbearers, and then returned to Tina's side to comfort her:
"It's okay, I'll stay in the same coffin as you, then you won't be afraid."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and touched the head of her younger sister, who was taller than her, rubbing her soft, long hair.

This gesture effectively calmed Tina's emotions. She frowned as she looked at the coffin, which was inscribed with verses praising death in Idutan, and nodded after a moment.

The two entered the coffin together, which was covered with a thick red cloth and had a neck pillow. The coffin puller, with dark brown skin and curly, messy black hair, closed the lid from the outside, started the horses, and slowly drove the wheeled coffin with its wooden frame forward.

The coffin was designed to accommodate one or two people lying side by side, and it was quite spacious. However, as the outside light was cut off and everything was pitch black, Tina once again felt the cramped darkness surrounding her surging towards her like a tide. In the subtle sounds of her breathing and heartbeat, it was as if countless monsters hidden in the darkness were panting and drooling, waiting to pounce on her and enjoy a sumptuous dinner.

Without realizing it, she closed her eyes tightly again, hugged her shoulders, curled up her legs, and huddled into a ball.

I shouldn't have been tricked by Dorothy into sitting in this coffin. It feels like I'm already dead... she muttered silently.

Just then, a soft laugh reached her ears, and a warm, moist breeze brushed against her earlobe, tickling her like cotton wool against her face.

"Relax, I'm right here."

Dorothy spoke, her voice barely audible, as if she didn't want the people outside the coffin to hear. Her arm came around to her side, one hand supporting Tina's neck and the other around her waist, pressing their bodies tightly together.

She's right here... Hearing this and feeling her sister's body heat transfer to her, Tina's tense body and nerves relaxed.

She felt as if she had returned to the day when she was a child and had been locked in the basement by her mother with a cold face because she was too naughty and bullied other classmates at school; she felt as if she had returned to the day when Dorothy sneaked into the basement when her mother was not paying attention and hugged her, who was hiding in a corner crying alone because she was afraid of the dark.

Dorothy comforted her in the same way, so that she wouldn't be troubled by the fear of the dark.

For some reason, Tina thought of the knowledge about "faith" and "anchor" that she had just heard on the "Queen Anne's Revenge".

If everyone has their own "anchor," then mine must be Dorothy... Of course, there's also Mom and Dad, Uncle, Aunt and Auntie, Mr. Azik, and many, many other people... She suddenly laughed, turned around and hugged Dorothy, burying her face in Dorothy's chest amidst Dorothy's soft gasp, quietly wiping away a few tears from the corners of her eyes.

The bright red coffin swayed as it moved forward, attracting curious glances from passersby.

P.S.: Isn't the plot a bit dragging...?

(End of this chapter)