Chapter 49 – The Line Between Worlds
William woke up standing on the prow of the ship, drenched in sweat and shivering uncontrollably. He stumbled, his legs giving out beneath him, and fell to the deck with a thud. Trembling, his breath shallow and rapid, he shouted, "Angel! What the hell just happened? Show me what I've missed!"
Angel's calm, robotic voice responded, "No abnormalities detected. Initiating memory playback."
A translucent screen appeared in front of William, showing a video log from the past hours. It began with him lying on his bed, seemingly trying to sleep. But after a few minutes, he rose—stiff, mechanical, expressionless. His face looked like a lifeless mask, like a puppet with glass eyes.
The video showed him walking slowly toward the prow, moving like a wind-up toy. Once there, he simply stood. Not blinking. Not twitching. For an entire hour.
None of the sailors dared approach. They only watched from a distance, murmuring among themselves.
"That's not me," William muttered, shaken. "That thing... that thing wasn't me..."
Angel confirmed: "The recording duration: 63 minutes and 21 seconds. No discrepancies in physical or neurological activity were detected. Memory comparison complete. Consistency: 100%."
William's voice was a whisper now. "But it felt like I was in that other world for a whole day..."
He rubbed his face and turned to head back to his cabin. As he shoved his hands into his pockets, his fingers brushed something hard and smooth. Pulling it out, he found a small porcelain figurine—delicate and beautifully made.
"I... picked this up there," he whispered, his voice cracking.
He remembered clearly finding it inside that eerie mansion. He had slipped it into his pocket, intending to gift it to Little Star.