Duncan froze in place, the lantern raised high, casting its eerie green glow upon the starkly engraved words on the wooden frame above the mysterious doorway:
"This door leads to the Vanished."
He stared at the inscription, eyes narrowing in cautious confusion. "This door leads to…the Vanished?" he repeated slowly, as if questioning the logic of the world itself.
Alice edged closer, peering at the strange doorway with a mixture of curiosity and dread. "Captain…what does this mean? Aren't we already aboard the Vanished?"
Duncan hesitated, contemplating her question carefully. In a certain sense, they were indeed aboard the ship; yet standing before this door, surrounded by fragmented decks and swirling, shadowy voids, he had an uneasy suspicion that the truth might not be quite so straightforward.
"We are aboard the Vanished," he said slowly, "but perhaps…not all of it. This lower hull, the fragmented space we're in now—maybe it's not entirely the ship we think we know."
Alice blinked rapidly, her expression growing anxious. "Captain, you're making less sense by the moment."
Duncan gave her a sidelong glance, his voice lowering thoughtfully. "Think about it: the entire ship is fractured here, broken into pieces that seem separated yet remain spatially continuous. What if we're not in the Vanished's physical hull at all? What if this is…some kind of metaphysical anchor point, or a border area linking multiple different spaces or dimensions?"
Alice's brow furrowed deeply as she struggled to grasp the concept. "So this door—"
"Leads to the actual, physical Vanished," Duncan finished quietly, a hint of realization dawning in his eyes. "The ship we've known until now might be the real ship, but this area below the waterline might exist in an entirely separate dimensional state."
Alice rubbed the side of her neck nervously, checking yet again that her head was firmly attached. "Captain, you're saying we might not even be on the real Vanished right now?"
"No, it's more complicated than that," Duncan clarified, stepping closer to the door. "We are aboard the Vanished—but not aboard its entirety. Perhaps this fractured chamber is something like…an intersection. The Vanished might simultaneously sail upon the Boundless Sea, drift through some other void, and anchor here, all at once."
Alice's eyes widened in sudden understanding—or at least, a desperate attempt at it. "And this door connects the intersection back to the true ship?"
"Precisely." Duncan nodded, though he was not nearly as certain as he pretended. Still, the explanation felt right. It fit what he had experienced and seen aboard this strange vessel. He was starting to realize that in a reality twisted by supernatural anomalies and dimensional breaches, logic often required a different perspective.
He cautiously extended his hand, fingertips brushing the door's worn, blackened surface. It felt surprisingly ordinary: solid, rough-hewn oak, as mundane as any storeroom or crew cabin door aboard an ordinary sailing ship.
Yet, beneath his fingers lingered an odd resonance—a subtle vibration, something deep and intangible, as though the door were a living boundary rather than mere wood.
"Captain…do we open it?" Alice asked anxiously, clearly hesitant. "Or do we go back upstairs?"
Duncan hesitated a long moment, carefully weighing his options. Yet he already knew the answer. He hadn't come this far to retreat. If the Vanished truly belonged to him now, as the ship's rightful captain, then every secret aboard her must eventually yield to his inquiry. Avoidance was no longer an option.
He gave a firm nod. "We open it."
Alice gulped nervously, but took a steadying breath, visibly bracing herself. "Alright, Captain. I'm right behind you."
Duncan tightened his grip on the lantern, his other hand resting firmly on the iron handle. Without further hesitation, he pushed the door inward, stepping boldly forward as it swung wide.
The moment the door opened, a gust of wind rushed past him—not cold, but oddly warm, carrying a distinct, salty scent unmistakably belonging to the sea. Light followed the breeze, spilling out from the doorway in a soft, welcoming glow. Beyond lay another chamber, a spacious cabin dimly lit by lanterns placed neatly along its walls.
Duncan stepped through cautiously, Alice right behind him, both of them ready for anything. Yet as they moved into the room, Duncan's muscles slowly relaxed, tension fading bit by bit.
This new space felt different, undeniably so. It felt solid, coherent, real—a marked contrast to the surreal brokenness they'd left behind. This was unmistakably part of the true, physical Vanished: wooden walls, solid beams overhead, neatly arranged crates and barrels lining one side, a table scattered with navigational instruments on another.
Duncan exhaled slowly, feeling a strange, comforting familiarity in the cabin's warm, wooden solidity. He turned around briefly, and the sight behind him only reinforced his suspicions: the door they'd just stepped through remained, set firmly into a proper wooden wall. Through its open frame, however, he could still see the eerie shattered dimension, floating wooden debris, and endless, pale void beyond.
He gently closed the door. With a quiet click, the surreal landscape vanished from view entirely. The door appeared normal once more, now entirely indistinguishable from countless other cabin doors aboard the ship.
Duncan stood in thoughtful silence, gazing thoughtfully at the closed door.
"Captain…" Alice whispered softly, her voice hesitant, "we're back?"
"We never left," Duncan murmured thoughtfully, "yet we did."
Alice tilted her head, looking even more confused than before. "Can you explain in simpler terms?"
Duncan glanced at her, giving a rare, faint smile. "We stepped briefly out of normal reality and back again. The Vanished appears to simultaneously exist across multiple dimensions or states of reality. I think that fractured chamber beneath the waterline is something like a dimensional anchor point—connecting different realities and enabling the ship to navigate or exist across them all."
Alice nodded slowly, as if finally comprehending. "Then this cabin is…?"
"Just a cabin," Duncan reassured her. "Or at least, as ordinary as any cabin aboard this ship could ever be. We're back aboard the normal hull now."
Alice let out a visible sigh of relief, shoulders sagging slightly as she finally relaxed. "Thank goodness…"
Duncan chuckled lightly at her response, though inwardly, he was far less relaxed than he let on. The presence of such a bizarre dimensional intersection aboard the Vanished was an extraordinary discovery, posing more questions than answers.
Just how much more was there to learn about this vessel? How many more secrets lay buried in its labyrinthine corridors, hidden in layers beneath the wood and iron?
A gentle creaking interrupted Duncan's thoughts, followed by the familiar rustle of rigging and distant crash of waves against the hull. The comforting sounds of a sailing ship at sea.
They truly were back in the familiar part of the Vanished. Yet now, Duncan knew, the ship he had considered familiar and knowable was far more mysterious and unknowable than he'd ever imagined.
He lifted the lantern, illuminating a small plaque attached to the wall near the cabin door, bearing the carved inscription:
"Navigation Supply Room."
He nodded once in recognition. "Navigation supplies…we're still below the waterline, but at least we're back in the ship proper. Come, Alice—let's head upward and return to familiar decks. I think we've explored enough of the unknown for tonight."
Alice smiled weakly, eager to agree. "Yes, Captain. Definitely enough unknown for now."
They exited the cabin, walking back into the familiar, warmly-lit corridor beyond. Behind them, the strange, dimension-crossing door sat silently shut, its ordinary appearance betraying nothing of the incredible realm that lay beyond.
Yet Duncan knew he would return here again, sooner or later. The Vanished had many more secrets waiting for him, hidden beneath the wood, woven into every seam and timber, floating silently in the endless depths beneath.
And as its captain, it was his duty—and now perhaps his destiny—to uncover them all.