Deep Sea Embers

The "smoke" that briefly touched him dissipated.

However, more smoke is still escaping from the Storm Cathedral, floating, gathering and dispersing, like a dark cloud, gathering invisibly over Plande, and its coverage area is getting larger and larger, gradually spreading all over half of the city-state.

There was still a bit of cold touch on Duncan's fingertips. He frowned slightly and looked at the sky above the city, filled with doubts.

The gray-white fog gave him a feeling as if a huge creature had lost its body, and its soul rose up in the real dimension, turning into this appearance without restraint. It also seemed like a creature behind the real dimension. Things are gradually releasing their own perceptions, using fog as tentacles to "feel" the outline of the real world.

The second feeling was especially obvious when he touched the smoke.

"Uncle Duncan?" Nina's voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Duncan's random thoughts, "What are you doing with your hands?"

"...Nothing." Duncan blinked and said softly.

Obviously, Nina couldn't see the smoke - neither could Shirley and Alice next to her, nor could the ordinary people gathered inside and outside the pier.

But can people on the Storm Cathedral see it? Can she see the female pope who sits in the cathedral and is regarded as the spokesperson of "Gmorna, the goddess of storms" in the world?

Duncan quietly stared at the magnificent "Ark" that was almost as huge as the entire port area, watching it slow down at the edge of Plane, watching its side mechanism slowly deforming, as if it had grown some kind of limbs that were specially extended. A long mechanical bridge was built and connected with the trestle on the port.

After an unknown amount of time, Fanna finally reacted first. She took a deep breath: "My faith..."

The lift door opens.

Vanna and Bishop Valentin stepped onto the mechanical bridge leading to the Cathedral of Storms - this majestic cathedral was getting closer and closer in her sight, and at the same time it also exuded more and more breathtaking charm, which even made people feel sad. People can feel the majestic aura of breathlessness.

And as she took steps, the slight explosion when the flame was lit suddenly broke the noise in this dim space.

"This is indeed directly above the Cathedral of Storms, but in terms of the tolerant structure, it is separated from the main body of the cathedral." Valentine showed a smile. Under the reflection of several fire pots, his smile seemed to be hidden. With some deep meaning, "We are standing at the lowest level of the Pilgrimage Ark, in the belly of the giant beast."

Vanna thought the elevator would take her somewhere on the upper level of the church ark, but she felt the entire car sinking all the way inside.

She seemed to be speaking to the nothingness in the darkness: Vanna raised her head in surprise, and then subconsciously looked at Bishop Valentine, only to see the latter also looking confused.

Under the leadership of a team of guardian knights, Vanna and Valentine crossed the long bridge, walked through the connecting deck that was almost as narrow as the dock square, and were taken into a huge elevator.

Fanna took a deep breath - standing in such a solemn scene, even as a judge, she couldn't help but feel a little...

"Very well, Saint Valentine, I am moved by your determination - you should continue to perform your duties as the protector of the city-state of Pland until the end.

The expression on Fanna's face instantly stiffened.

"His Majesty the Pope," Vanna quickly calmed down her doubts, straightened her expression, and saluted with Bishop Valentine. After the ceremony, she slightly raised her gaze and spoke cautiously, "You summoned us here because..."

"Here under the watchful eye of the Lord of Storms, and at the same time closest to the deep sea, the Lord's blessing and the Lord's judgment coexist here."

He could only vaguely see a figure in rich clothes standing in the middle of the extremely dark room.

Bishop Valentine on the side noticed the hesitation in Vanna's steps. The old man shook his head gently: "Relax, this is not the first time you have seen His Majesty the Pope."

After a while, she saw some colorful flags appearing on the edge of the church ark, and then, there was a team of

Guardian knights wearing special armor appeared on the long mechanical bridge. They rode a steam walker and walked along the mechanical bridge to the pier. One of them stepped out and came to a group of senior priests.

"This decision takes effect immediately."

An unbearable depressive atmosphere filled this vast and dark space.

The car's sinking process lasted for a long time, so long that Vanna couldn't help but begin to believe that the elevator was going to go straight to the sea, and the creaking sound of the steel cables in her ears suddenly stopped.

Just by getting closer to it, Fanna felt her heart pounding.

Duncan didn't feel any hostility from the fog, nor did he perceive any danger, so he took no action for the time being.

"Priests and city-state officials, please wait for a moment - you can also go aside and take a rest," the Guardian Knight Commander looked at Dante and others again, nodded slightly and said, "Please bear with me, we won't wait too long."

And this amorphous and invisible smoke has significantly expanded in the process.

Fanna followed Valentine out of the elevator in a daze. She heard the fence door in front of her slam shut with a friction sound. Then the two of them looked forward, and what they saw was a place almost completely shrouded in darkness. in the place.

Even with the illumination of several fire pots, the nearby space was still shrouded in darkness. Vanna couldn't see where the end of this "room" was. She could only see the gray-white, slightly smooth ground in front of her. It continues to extend all the way to the end of the darkness, and on the edge of the light of the brazier, some huge "pillars" can be vaguely seen, and there are many criss-crossing shadows connected between these pillars, looking... like a church ark The ductwork at the bottom may also be the support structure.

The bell towers on the city-state and church arks rang at the same time.

Why did the Pope receive himself and Bishop Valentine here?

The same goes for Valentine next to him. The Pope spoke slowly, and she finished speaking before Vanna and Valentin could react. Fanna next to her also reacted immediately and lowered her head to show her obedience to the order.

The two saints at the scene looked at each other. Is this part of the ceremony?

"This is a temporary arrangement by the Pope," seeing the confusion of the two high-ranking priests in front of him, the Guardian Knight Commander explained, "I have something I want to ask you about."

Fanna: "...?"

"She didn't ask about your faith," Valentine shook his head. "She asked, after the faith is shaken, whether it becomes easier for us to continue to perform our duties than before."

"The glory of the Storm Lord is with you." Vanna lowered her head and said together with Bishop Valentine next to her.

The voice of the Guardian Knight came from the side: "Please move forward - His Majesty the Pope is waiting for you in front."

Vanna was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't realize the profound meaning of the Pope's words. However, Bishop Valentine next to her suddenly realized after a brief moment of astonishment. The old bishop immediately spoke: "I perform my duties as always, protecting the city and guiding the believers. Come from the heart

Valentin did not wait for Vanna to finish speaking, but suddenly asked a somewhat inexplicable question: "Do you know where that place is?"

Fanna hesitated for a moment and took a step forward. "Bishop Valentine, Judge Vanna, the glory of the Storm Lord is with you."

"His Majesty the Pope invites you two to board the ark," the commander of the Guardian Knights said amid the hiss of air currents. "Others, please wait a moment."

Following the ceremonial requirements, after firing salutes and playing vocal music at Helena Port to show welcome, the Cathedral of the Storm released a long mechanical bridge to complete the connection between the Pilgrimage Ark and the city-state. Subsequently, the message came from the Ark. There was a second burst of melodious and solemn whistle sound.

The huge steam valve rotated open, and the pressure relief pipes and whistle devices in various parts of the Pilgrimage Ark were activated at the same time. Streams of white air spurted out from the walls and spires of the church, and went straight into the sky amidst the sound of the whistle.

"…Yes, I know."

Fanna had doubts in her mind for a moment, but before he could speak, she heard a serious and majestic voice.

The voice came from the front: "You are here - Saint Valentine, and Saint Vanna. Welcome to the Ark."

Valentine: "?"

Is this the bottom of the Pilgrimage Ark?

"Saint Fanna, I can see your confusion. In view of your actual situation, I have to announce the temporary suspension of your duties as the judge of Plande.

She raised her head and her eyes slowly wandered between Vanna and Valentine.

"Your Majesty has arranged it." Bishop Valentine immediately calmed down the confusion in his expression, bowed his head and said respectfully.

"Isn't this the Cathedral of Storms?" Valentine raised his head and blinked in confusion, "The bottom of the Cathedral of Storms?"

The Commander of the Guardian Knights lowered his head - his whole body was covered with armor made of white alloy. The structures of pressurized pipes and steam valves could be seen on his breastplate and arm guards, which were covered by a thick steel mask. Uncovering the knight's true face, Vanna could only see a faint red light in his goggles and listened.

There was a hiss of air in his voice.

Valentine's eyes stopped, but he neither looked at Vanna nor the Pope.

Steam is the breath of God, and steel is the bridge between man and God. Under the visor, the air flow in the words carries the sanctity of preaching.

Bang bang bang, with several continuous slight explosions, several braziers were lit one after another. The fire suddenly dispelled the darkness of the elevator, allowing Vanna to see clearly the Pope standing not far away, and at the same time, it also made Vanna see clearly. She was shocked to find that the scale of this space was far wider than she imagined——

“Is it easy to continue with your duties after your faith has been shaken?”