Deep Sea Embers.

Chapter 747 The phantom that passes by

The meteor that flew upside down gradually went away and was finally out of sight.

On the broad coast, only Tirian, Aiden and Agatha were left.

The "lost star" from ancient times is still floating quietly on the beach. The clouds are moving slowly on the surface, and it is constantly making a whistling sound like a soft whimper. But a dozen meters away, it is calm. The sea - the sea water is like a slowly undulating mirror under the light of the pale golden sunshine, and the fine waves are much calmer than before.

In this long dusk, Tirian finally broke the silence: "Ms. Gatekeeper, do you think that if the sun really disintegrates completely, the power of the church will still be enough to maintain order among city-states?"

Agatha did not speak. She was quiet for a long time in front of this too pointed question - but if it was her a year ago, she would have given an affirmative answer without hesitation.

Agatha knew that she was no longer as pious and firm as before. That kind of unconditional piety had a crack in the frost mirror disaster, and thoughts took advantage of it.

But after hesitating, she nodded slightly: "I believe that my brothers and sisters will do their best... and they will too."

"The answer after thinking about it is not as decisive as the answer of the believer, but in this situation, it is more reassuring." Tirian slowly exhaled, a smile appeared on his face, "No matter what, we They will do their best, and I think other city-states will do the same."

Agatha didn't speak, just nodded silently, then she turned around, her figure melting into a swirling pale wind, and disappeared with the wind.

Aiden had been watching quietly, and then he hesitated and said: "...What are your plans next?"

"First, let the city hall make all preparations as much as possible before sunset. I want everyone in the city-state to spend the next long night safely; second, order the fleet to prepare, I want every ship The battleships are all in top condition. No matter how long the next night lasts, they must be in a state of being able to fight at all times; thirdly..."

Tirian paused for a few seconds and glanced down at the bag in his hand.

"Third, tell everyone that it's time to eat, to sleep, and to live well - the city builders 10,000 years ago built the city-state in the dark ages after the collapse of the ancient kingdom, and we must be able to survive this time The hard times...the end has not come yet.”

"Yes, Captain!"

The flames streaked across the setting sun, leaving a flash of light between the clouds, and then fell on the slope in front of the cemetery. The spiritual flames gradually dissipated, and Duncan's figure condensed and took shape from the flames.

Alice has returned to the Lost Home, and Duncan returned to the cemetery alone - he slowly walked up the ramp that he had walked many times, and in the sloping and dim sunset, his shadow was stretched far. Long, swaying on the old stone road.

The surroundings were very quiet. Most people in the city should have returned home at this moment. There were almost no vehicles on the avenue in the distance. Only a few steam walkers could be seen strolling through the streets. The people sent by the city hall Staff were checking street lights and gas pipes, while guards in black holding lanterns were checking the status of various "night shelters" and seemed busy.

Duncan retracted his gaze from the distance and continued to walk upward slowly.

He stopped at the cemetery gate.

An unexpected but familiar figure was standing outside the gate - a girl of thirteen or fourteen years old, wearing a thick light gray winter coat, a furry woolen hat and gloves, wrapped like a soft She stood at the door with a huge ball of yarn, stamping her feet from time to time, walking around the door, and then looking in the direction of the ramp.

It's Anne. She looks like she's been waiting here for a long time.

Duncan frowned and walked quickly towards the cemetery gate - Anne also saw him, and the little girl suddenly showed a happy look on her face and ran quickly towards the ramp.

"Uncle Caretaker!" Anne greeted happily and stopped at the edge of the open space at the entrance of the cemetery. "I just came over and saw no one in the caretaker's hut. The guard in black said you were out..."

"The curfew is about to start, and the city hall is telling all residents to go home. Why are you still here?" Duncan frowned, and his voice was deep under the bandage, sounding more or less serious and scary, "It's not safe outside."

"I know, I'm getting ready to go home," Anne nodded immediately. She was not afraid of Duncan's gloomy and serious look, dressed in black, covered with bandages. Instead, she reached into her arms and took out a small bag. Something was put into Duncan's hand, "This is herbal tea... just take it, and then... I probably won't be here for a long time."

Duncan looked at the paper bag that Annie stuffed with some surprise. He was silent for a few seconds before he slowed down and said, "Do you know what's going to happen?"

"...The sun isn't quite right, is it?" Anne raised her head and looked at Duncan's gloomy sunken eyes, "The sunset has been going on for a long time and it hasn't completely set yet... I heard from a nun. I said, if the sun goes down this time, it may take a long, long time for it to rise again... Mom said that the temperature may keep dropping, or it may drop to half and stop. The worst situation is on the farm..."

She paused, as if the knowledge after that was too complex for her, and it became difficult to understand and retell.

Duncan was silent for a while and bent down slightly: "Are you scared?" Anne shook her head, but then stopped and nodded hesitantly.

She actually didn't quite understand what was happening now, nor could she imagine how things would turn out in the future - compared to the simple and straightforward threat of the mud monsters spreading in the city, a slowly sinking sun was facing a For a thirteen-year-old, it was a disaster even more difficult to comprehend.

But she could feel the same tension and depression from the adults' reactions as the original "Mirror Disaster" - she had experienced it once.

"If the sun doesn't rise by then, will we need to carry lanterns and tattoo runes on our eyelids before we can go out?" Anne asked, "Just like those ascetics - they have been keeping watch Dark place…”

Duncan didn't know how to answer this question for a while. He thought about it, and after a long time he spoke softly: "...The sun will rise. If the sun doesn't rise, something else will light up the sky."

Anne didn't seem to understand, but she seemed to have thought of something, and her eyes widened in surprise: "Is it you? Can you light up the sky?"

"...Go home," Duncan laughed, even though his smile was covered by layers of bandages, only the corners of his eyes could be exposed. He reached out and patted away the dust that had been stained on Anne's clothes for some time, and raised his head at the same time. , glanced at the already dim glow on the rooftop in the distance, "It's getting dark soon - and, thank you for the herbal tea."

"Ok!"

It's getting dark - although it may be a while yet.

Outside the antique shop's display window, the remaining glory of the setting sun has dimmed a bit - but it still doesn't mean it will become completely dark.

Duncan withdrew his eyes from watching Anne leave from the cemetery ramp in the north, but his eyes passed through the old shop windows and looked at the streets of Pland in the evening.

The streets were already deserted, and even the noisiest children had been taken home by adults. The streets in Xiacheng District, which had always seemed overcrowded and lively, now seemed deserted, as if it had become an empty city.

But another steam walker broke the silence outside the window - accompanied by the clicking sound of the steam engine running, the huge spider machine slowly walked through the street, hissing steam emitted from the exhaust port at the tail of the walker, hanging on the The scripture tapes on both sides of its armor plate undulated in the wind. Two guards wearing Deep Sea Church uniforms stood on the back of the walker, announcing the "night notice" just issued by the cathedral - including the new curfew order. and the adjustment of urban functions during night time.

Even with the safe night after the Black Sun incident, there is still an atmosphere of tension lingering in the city-state of Pland.

Because no one knows whether the city's "safe night" will remain so safe after the nights are extended to dozens of days, and no one knows whether bacteria will breed in the dark sea in the long-term absence of sunlight. He found something else and climbed onto the beach at night to invade the city-state.

Even Purande has such an atmosphere, what will the other city-states on the Infinite Sea look like now?

In the increasingly dark sunset, Duncan's thoughts couldn't help but wander a little. Then he put down the newspaper in his hand and prepared to get up to turn on the light near the stairs.

And at this moment, a... figure suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye.

Just next to a shelf in the corner of the first floor of the antique shop, that figure suddenly appeared - as if he was a traveler with a stooped body. He had been walking for an unknown period of time during the long journey. He was wearing a shabby white robe that looked like it was originally, with his body leaning forward slightly, walking towards the counter step by step.

Duncan slowly stood up and looked steadily at the figure walking towards him.

However, the figure did not seem to see Duncan. He seemed to be walking in another parallel dimension of time and space, with his eyes focused on a distant and invisible place. He walked straight through the shelves, slowly walking forward like a ghost. go.

In the process, Duncan finally gradually saw the traveler's appearance clearly - he saw an old face, with deep wrinkles and almost withered skin, as if time had stagnated, but suddenly, that old face His face regained its youth and turned into that of a young man who had just embarked on a journey, and even his stooped figure became upright.

The next second, he turned into an old man again, and passed through the counter, about to pass by Duncan.

But suddenly, he stopped.

He seemed to see Duncan - or just saw an illusory figure. He stopped stiffly, his eyes widened, and he looked straight here.

Duncan found that he couldn't even see a real emotion from the trembling face - was it surprise? Is it fear? Is it despair? Or did you suddenly see hope?

It was as if all the emotions a person could have were compressed in this brief gaze - the dusty traveler just stared at him, and then the figure gradually disappeared.

(The book recommendation time comes from a group of friends’ masterpiece, the title of the book is "Tokyo Superpowers, Starting from the Tenant’s Wife’s Rent Arrears", the author is Wow - from the author's name to the title of the book, it feels like there are flaws...

Light novels, Tokyo style, supernatural powers, if you want to change your taste, you can support it. )

(End of this chapter)