Deep Sea Embers.

Chapter 833 Homecoming, Far Away
Lucrecia and Vanna walked on the mobile platform under the lighthouse facility. They passed through the thick fog in the night, walking along those familiar roads and covered bridges. The dim lights in the fog looked like dim stars, and in that dim light, someone was walking near them.

A port guard with a face as pale as paper walked past Vanna. The guard was wearing a neat uniform and holding a still bright lantern in his hand. His expression was meticulous, but when two uninvited guests appeared in front of him, he ignored them.

Vanna watched the guard walk away in the fog with a complicated look. After the latter's figure gradually disappeared in the thick fog, she whispered to Lucrecia: "...He is not breathing."

"Yes, the one just now didn't either. Most of the people here are no longer breathing," Lucrecia said softly, with a shadow covering the witch's face. "Even the few who are still breathing have no reaction to our arrival."

"Everyone is in a state of..." Vanna began, but she suddenly got stuck in the middle of her words, as if it was difficult to find a suitable word to describe her feelings. After a long time, she continued, "A state of trance and 'ignorance'. They are still doing their daily work here, and even doing the handover of various positions meticulously, but they don't respond to us."

Lucrecia hummed lightly but said nothing more. Instead, she roughly judged the distribution of the surrounding facilities in the fog, and then walked towards the church at the base of the lighthouse.

The situation in the church was not much different from that outside, except that there were fewer people. Apart from three or five people who were resting and praying, there was only a priestess in a black nun's dress who was cleaning the main hall. She seemed to have some reaction to the appearance of Vanna and Lucrecia - but she only stopped and watched for a moment. When Vanna was about to open her mouth to talk to the nun, she walked away as if nothing had happened.

Lucrecia and Vanna walked straight through the main hall of the church and entered the tower connected to the lighthouse from the side door. They then went up the dimly lit spiral staircase. After searching several empty lounges and storage rooms, they found a half-open door.

There was a bright light and a soft humming sound coming from behind the door.

Fanna took a step forward and pushed open the half-open door. She saw a small room inside which was equipped with various equipment. The scent of incense surrounded the room. A small brass incense burner was hung on a steam pipe in the middle of the room, and it looked as if it had just been lit.

The two of them walked around the steam pipe, and almost at the same time, a figure suddenly stood up from the corner of the room and walked straight towards Lucrecia.

Lucrecia was startled by the figure who had been sitting in the corner. Then she saw clearly that it was a middle-aged man in a priest's robe. He had no breathing or heartbeat, and even no "breath" could be detected. When he sat there, he was like a simple "object", so much so that even Vanna did not notice that there was a person in the room!

Then, the middle-aged priest, who had no breath at all, walked around Lucrecia and Vanna expressionlessly. Under their stunned gazes, he sat down at a table at the end of the room. Like a machine with a timer moving to a specific position, he cleared his throat, pressed a button on the table, and brought a microphone from the side to his front.

"Calling the Lost Homeland, calling the Brilliant Star, this is the border lighthouse, the current time is December 1902, 12, we are waiting for you to return... I repeat, calling the voyageurs, this is the border lighthouse, the current time is... we are waiting for you to return..."

The middle-aged priest repeated it three times, then waited for a while and pressed the button again to repeat the above content - until several times later, he put the device into monitoring mode, stood up from the table, turned around and walked back to where he had been sitting before.

He walked past Lucrecia and Vanna without looking at them.

"This is the call we heard." Vanna stared at the scene in a daze. After a long time, she spoke softly. She looked at the "witch" beside her, only to see that the latter was also looking up at her.

"I've heard my father describe the current state of the Infinite Sea, but I never fully imagined what it would be like," Lucrecia said in a complicated tone, "It's more... more..." than I imagined.

She repeated it several times, but ultimately couldn't find the right words to describe her feelings.

"...The situation in the city-state shouldn't be that bad," Vanna shook her head after thinking for a moment. "This lighthouse is located in the deepest part of the border. Order is the first to disappear here, and it is also more susceptible to the 'corruption' of the gods. In the city-state..."

"Yes, the situation will get better, although it will probably get worse later," Lucrecia interrupted Vanna with a serious face, "Don't think too much about it now."

"...Yes, don't think too much now." Fanna was stunned for a moment when she heard that, then she immediately reacted and sorted out her emotions. She suppressed the associations and worries in her heart, and then, she heard footsteps coming from outside the door again.

The two of them turned back subconsciously, and almost at the same time, the half-closed door was pushed open from the outside, and a man in a guard's uniform appeared at the door.

Perhaps he came to look for the middle-aged priest.

Vanna, who had gotten used to the "environment" here, thought so and stepped aside to make way. But just as she did so, the black-clad guard suddenly showed a look of surprise on his face - he seemed to have suddenly discovered the two ladies in the room, his body shook slightly, and then, excitement and surprise appeared in his eyes.

"Ms. Vanna, and Ms. Lucrecia!" the black-clad guard shouted excitedly, even rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "Is it really you? You're back?!"

Frankly speaking, Vanna was even more confused than the guard at that moment. She was visibly stunned for two seconds before her eyes suddenly widened: "You're still 'awake'?!"

"Awake?" The black-clad guard was stunned for a moment, but soon realized what this meant. He looked down at himself, then glanced at his compatriot who was resting in the corner of the room, and a complicated smile appeared on his face. "Yes, I'm awake, and there are other awake people too. Everyone should be happy to see you..."

"Are there any other people 'awake'?" Lucrecia was surprised. "We have come all the way here..."

"The number of awake people is very small. In order to take care of each other and confirm each other's status, everyone is concentrated in the inner living area below the lighthouse. We only come out to patrol various areas when necessary, replenish supplies, and check if there are other compatriots who have awakened and need help," the black-clad guard said calmly, "In addition... we just want to confirm whether you have returned."

He paused, then looked up at the middle-aged priest sitting in the corner of the room.

"The communication device is now occupied by 'them'. Forcibly disrupting their 'daily activities' will lead to a more intense reaction, sometimes even causing frenzy, so we will only send people up during a specific 'window period' every day to check the records of the monitoring antenna and go to the top of the lighthouse to confirm whether there are any ships returning from the deep fog on the sea. Today is my turn. But to be honest..."

The guard smiled bitterly with a complicated expression, but his eyes were filled with joy: "To be honest, I didn't even think I would actually see you show up.

“I look out at the thick fog every day, but there’s nothing but fog.

"Have all of you returned? What is the situation at the end of the world...?"

Vanna and Lucrecia exchanged a glance. The latter hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly: "The situation is very complicated now. This will take a long time to explain. Take us to your 'sanctuary' first."

“Of course,” the black guard nodded immediately, “but before entering the sanctuary, you will need to undergo a ritual inspection—I hope you understand that this is the border after all, and you have returned from a thick fog.

"After that, Her Majesty Helena's incarnation will personally receive you."

When Fanna heard this, she immediately showed a surprised expression: "The incarnation of His Holiness the Pope is here?"

"She was originally stationed at the mobile port at the junction of the Eternal Curtain and the Infinite Sea, but after the situation at the lighthouse deteriorated, she came here. The shelter also relied on her to maintain it - she has always been with us."

The black-clad guard said this, made an inviting gesture, turned around and walked out the door with Vanna and Lucrecia.

When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at the two sailors who had just returned from the end of the world.

The emotions of joy and excitement gradually settled in his eyes and finally turned into a smile.

"Although the situation at 'home' isn't very good right now..." he said solemnly, "but welcome home - you've had a hard time along the way."

Vanna smiled back: "Well, we are back."

……

They went home. Although there were some twists and turns along the way, the returnees finally arrived at the port safely.

Duncan finally felt relieved after receiving the news from Lucrecia again.

He and Alice were still staying on the "Temple Island" where Queen Leviathan was sleeping. They had been staying on this black island for several days.

Now, the island is burning in a starry, nebulous fire.

The "flame" that seemed to be a mist of light gushing out from a nebula permeated the entire black island. From every crevice in the stones, every brick and stone, every pillar and roof joint, the illusory flames permeated everything here, even spreading to the surrounding sea and to the corpses of the Leviathan monsters that looked like an archipelago.

Duncan sat on a large stone at the edge of the square in front of the black temple, watching the flames burn calmly and seeping into the "foundation" of this world.

The puppet Alice stood quietly behind him.

(End of this chapter)