Deep Sea Embers

Devotees often waver twice. The first time is when they question their faith, and the second time is when they question their faith but God still sends blessings.

Noises, superimposed in detail, far and near, vague but real noises, began to ring in Vanna's mind, like tinnitus. She recalled the goddess projection she saw in the illusion, and Those incomprehensible words that the goddess said to herself, she no longer accepted them without thinking as she once did, but began to think seriously about the meaning of these words, and even tried to guess Gemona's... intention.

And the more she thought about it, the more obvious the noise in her head became, making it difficult for her to concentrate.

But suddenly, all the noise disappeared again. She shook her head in a daze, but met the concerned gaze of Bishop Valentine.

"Are you okay?" the old man said worriedly.

"I...it's okay," Fanna tapped her forehead lightly, and then looked at the elder with some strangeness, "You also..."

"When the last bell rang, I was shaken... There is nothing to hide. After all, I do not have a flawless will like those saints who were enshrined in the temple," Valentine shook his head, He said to Vanna calmly, "I wonder why the contamination and infiltration of those final preachers can reach such an extent, why the shelter of the cathedral still cannot stop the sacrifices of those solar heretics - why the crisis has been spreading for more than ten years. , but the goddess never warned us once..."

He listened, turned around, and stared at the icon of Gemona quietly. The cold stone statue also looked down at him, silent as before.

"When I woke up again, I was extremely ashamed. I knew that I had made the biggest mistake in the "Original Code of Storms". I regarded the protection of the gods as a panacea, thus shaking my will. But even so, these doubts were still lingering. Down to the roots, until now.”

"...The enemy infiltrated from the inside and broke through the barrier. They have been planning for many years. This is a sneak attack that is difficult to resist." Fanna was silent for a moment and said calmly, "Heresy will always take advantage of the opportunity to sneak in. This is not It means that the goddess’s authority can be easily subverted.”

"I understand this truth," Valentine laughed, "so I said, even if there is some animation, I still care about it, because the goddess really protects our world, and this love is real. It's just...I have some extra thoughts."

"Thinking breeds heresy, Bishop Valentine," Vanna said with a serious face, but then she sighed, as if thinking to herself, "It's the same for me."

"Consider this a test," Valentine said softly, "for both of us."

Fanna didn't say anything else, she just came to the statue of the goddess, lowered her head slightly, and prayed silently as usual.

Not long after, the sound of footsteps suddenly broke the silence in the great church.

Fanna woke up from her prayers. She looked up in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged priest in clerical robes walking quickly. The priest first saluted the icon and then handed over a The document was handed to Valentine: "Archbishop, this is the report you want."

Valentin nodded his thanks, took the document, and after flipping through a few pages quickly, the expression on his face became visibly strange.

"What is that?" Fanna was immediately curious when she saw this, "What's written on it?"

"...It was the initial investigation of the current situation of the city-state after the disaster...it was sent from the city hall," Valentine frowned and seemed a little hesitant, but in the end he gave the document directly to Vanna, "You can read it yourself."

Fanna took the document doubtfully and knew what it was when she saw the beginning - a preliminary damage report, something she was very familiar with, including whether there were any defects or changes in various parts of the city-state after the disaster, whether anyone was missing or The number of people "increased" and whether there were areas with residual extraordinary power... The previous content was nothing. It basically showed that all parts of the city-state had been reset to the state before the disaster, but the following content made her instantly understand Valentine. What was the matter with the bishop's strange expression.

"...A merchant in the dock area reported that a large number of French fries mysteriously disappeared.

There is ketchup on the damage report..." The young inquisitor raised his head with a dull expression and looked at Valentine opposite with an equally dull expression, "...Seriously? "

"Why don't you personally lead the team to ask?" Valentine's mouth trembled, "Theoretically no one would dare to falsify such a report."

Fanna held up the report in her hand and said nothing for a long time.

After holding it in for a long time, she finally said: "Why does this kind of content appear in such a serious report..."

Valentine deadpanned: "There's a whole squadron of guards keeping an eye on the French fries at the pier - why do you think that's the case?"

Fanna: "..."

"...All in all, the "things" mentioned in the report are the only losses known to the city-state so far," Valentine sighed, then seemed to hesitate again, and then looked into Vanna's eyes, " Otherwise, you can ask directly when we meet next time.”

Fanna was stunned: "Ask? Who?"

"...What do you think?"

Fanna: "..."

After a while, the young judge finally couldn't help but rub his forehead: "I feel that my thoughts are a little discontinuous. Just to confirm, we should discuss some very serious matters here. Is that right?"

"I can't connect either." Valentine said with a straight face.

Fanna was speechless, but suddenly a strange thought came to her - if this was also the "influence" of the ghost captain, then he... was indeed scary in a sense.

At this moment, another burst of footsteps suddenly came from the door, once again interrupting Vanna and Valentine's thoughts - a priest quickly came to the icon.

"Archbishop, Inquisitor, there is news from the port area..."

The priest bowed and spoke quickly, but when he was halfway through, Vanna couldn't help but interrupt him when she heard the word "port area": ​​"Stop, we already know about the French fries. , no need to report twice!”

"...French fries?" The priest was a little surprised and looked at the normally calm and respectable judge in confusion, "What kind of fries?"

"Ah... you don't want to report about the French fries?" Fanna felt a little embarrassed when she saw the situation, and quickly coughed to cover it up, "I thought it was another report... Don't worry about it, just keep talking. What happened to the port area?”

As she spoke, she couldn't help but sigh in her mind: It would be nice if it wasn't French fries - at least I no longer have to be associated with that scary ghost captain.

The priest who came to report nodded with a serious look on his face: "There is news from the port area that the Sea Fog is applying to enter the port - Tirian Abnomar hopes to contact the cathedral as soon as possible. He has brought and Lost Homeland No. related news.”

Vanna suddenly broke out into an earth-shattering cough.

The priest was startled by the movement: "...Your Excellency, Judge?"

"I'm fine," Fanna finally stopped coughing after a lot of effort. She felt that ever since she wandered around the city-state in the grandeur of her lost homeland, this place seemed to be completely different. She couldn't tell. But it seemed that many things around her were changing - she even wanted to attribute the fifteen minutes late sun in the morning to that ghost ship, "Sea Mist? I know we did send it to its owner." I have received a letter, but I have never been able to wait for it..."

"The Sea Fog has indeed arrived, and it seems that it has arrived at the coast of Pland before the disaster," the priest immediately nodded and said, "It's just that according to the news from that ship, it was accidentally lost in the eastern waters. "Xiang" and a fierce battle broke out. Due to power damage, it had to be repaired. The sailing ability was restored last night. "

"A battle broke out with the Lost Home?!" Vanna finally looked serious and realized the importance of the matter. She turned to look at Valentine, "I have to go there myself."

"That's fine," Valentine nodded immediately, "The Sea Fog is a special ship. Although it belongs to our own people, the members on that ship are likely to cause nervousness and panic to ordinary people on the dock - you personally lead The team went to greet him, which should be able to calm the emotions of ordinary people.

Fanna agreed and quickly left the Great Holy Church.

The Sea Mist is here - although it is a little later than expected, this huge warship shrouded in the legendary halo and the legend of the terrifying curse has arrived at the city-state of Pland, which had sent a distress letter, as promised. Now this command ship The formidable steel battleship was slowly approaching the pier designed for large ships to berth under the instructions of the pier guide. Some people who had received the news gathered near the pier, nervously and curiously looking at the appearance of the steel behemoth.

Soon, people near the dock realized that this majestic steel battleship had only arrived at the port after a fierce battle.

It is riddled with scars. Three of the six main guns have disappeared. The frightening gaps left after something directly "gouged" a piece of the ship's side can be seen everywhere. One-third of the bridge has also been destroyed. It's horrifying. Human scars extended from the side of the bridge to the main armor belt, and several terrible holes could be seen even near the waterline on the side of the ship.

If these damages were placed on an ordinary warship, it would be enough to sink it several times.

But the Sea Mist still floats tenaciously on the sea. The holes in its belly seem to be alive. The soft and metallic substance has blocked the leakage, and seawater that has seeped into the bottom tank is constantly being discharged. Outside the ship - the water pump of the Sea Mist has been shut down, so the seawater seeps directly from the side of the hull, just like... a person is sweating.

This is an advanced steel battleship, and it is also a cursed ship with abnormalities in every aspect - everyone standing near the dock can clearly see the characteristics of a "living creature" displayed by the ship, so the onlookers His curiosity was even more frightening, and there were whispers everywhere.

It wasn't until several majestic steam walkers appeared on the pier that Fanna's tall figure made many people quiet down.

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