Deep Sea Embers

The uncle brought herbal wine to soothe the nerves. The power of the medicine and alcohol finally calmed down Vanna's slightly irritable mood. She opened the door to the balcony, stood on the balcony and blew in the wind, looking at the cathedral in the distance. direction.

Dante Wayne's voice came from behind her: "You will have nightmares every time you come back to live, and you always dream about things when you were a child."

"...As a judge, this is an undue sign of weakness," Vanna's voice was deep. She was more than a head taller than her uncle, but in front of the elder who had raised her up on each other, She always doesn't mind showing her true feelings, "I'm very distressed."

"...Have you talked to Heidi?"

"She recommended four brain surgeries and two nerve puncture treatments to me," Fanna sighed. "Considering the years of friendship, I didn't do it."

"...It's her style. She doesn't deal with normal people very much," Dante Wayne shook his head. "Actually, I didn't expect that you are still trapped by the nightmare of that night after so many years."

"I always thought that I had come out," Fanna rubbed her eyebrows, "Maybe it really has something to do with this big house. As long as I come back here, I will dream about the scene at that time... Maybe I should consider This house needs another exorcism ceremony, otherwise I always feel that the shadow of the disaster that year is sealed in this building..."

Uncle Dante thought for a moment, but did not raise any objections. He just asked thoughtfully: "Is there still that fire in your nightmare this time?"

Fanna nodded: "Yes, there were fires everywhere. You carried me and escaped from the fire. I even clearly remember that we escaped from the city on the pipes of the factory. There was a burning building nearby that was gradually collapsing in the fire. …”

At this point, she stopped and her eyes fell on her uncle: "...You don't remember this fire, right?"

"It's not just me who doesn't remember, everyone doesn't remember," the serious-looking city-state governor slowly shook his head, "I only remember the pipeline where the poison gas leaked and those crazy cultists... The people involved that night were There are many, but you seem to be the only one who has seen the blazing sea of ​​fire.”

Fanna didn't speak for a while, just thinking silently for an unknown amount of time before she suddenly spoke softly: "Except for the 'fire' incident, your memory and mine are consistent... I didn't understand anything at the time, but It is clear to me now that this must have been some supernatural influence, and this influence has not dissipated even after all these years and my promotion to a saint.”

"This shows that either this influence is of such a high level that it leaves a lifelong imprint on your soul, or the source of the influence did not disappear as the incident subsided, but has been hidden in the city-state. Somewhere - I've been looking into this for years, but unfortunately, there's been no progress so far."

Dante Wayne's tone had a hint of apology at the end. He was not only apologizing for being unable to solve his niece's troubles, but also regretting that as the governor of the city-state, he could never investigate an old case.

The "Great Chaos" eleven years ago left too long-lasting scars.

Fanna knew that this matter was not only her own, but also her uncle's. However, she was not good at comforting others. After thinking for a long time, she could only change the subject: "I remember that many cultists were arrested at that time. Judging from the aftermath, that incident was even larger than the 'Black Sun' incident four years ago."

“Yes, thousands of people have been arrested, so many that I doubt how so many cultists could hide in the city-state of Puland,” Dante Wayne sighed, “And there is more than one sect... …There are solar heretics who follow the Black Sun, there are Annihilation cultists who worship the Holy Lord of the Deep, and even the Evangelists of the End who worship the warp itself… All these maggots in the sewers came out that night, and they were everywhere in a state of confusion. destroy."

Fanna looked at Dante: "But according to the results of the subsequent interrogation, none of the thousands of saboteurs arrested by the authorities could be called the 'mastermind', and no one even knew why the chaos was caused that night. It was not so much the evil ones who The believers are organizing themselves to engage in destruction. Rather, it is better to say that they are just detonated into a deep spiritual madness at the same time and fall into a state of collective loss of control.”

Dante didn't speak for a while. He thought quietly, and then suddenly looked into Vanna's eyes: "The reason why you are irritable is probably not just because of that nightmare - the sudden mention of these things has nothing to do with the recent instability in the city. Is it related to the situation?”

Fanna did not avoid this question: "There is indeed a certain connection - the sun heretics are gathering in the city-state, they are looking for an 'anomaly' called a sun fragment, and the Homeless Ship also reappeared in the real world almost at the same time, and its' The heading is vaguely pointing to Plande. Although there is no clear connection between the two things, this turbulent atmosphere... always reminds me of the chaos eleven years ago. "

"...I have ordered all ports to strictly check the flow of people, and communicated with the governors of other city-states. Many solar heretics were caught on the ship, and their channels to flow into the city-state were basically cut off. As for those who have already Those who flow into Puland... mainly depend on the actions of the church, and the guards are professionals who find and lock down extraordinary crimes. "

Speaking of this, the middle-aged consul suddenly stopped. He seemed to be carefully considering whether some things should be brought up now, but after a moment of hesitation, he made up his mind: "As for the matter of the Lost Homeship, in the extraordinary realm, I can't be of much help, but on a secular level, I have an idea."

"Second aspects?" Fanna frowned. She was about to think about how the ghost ship of the Lost Home could be related to the "secular", but then she remembered a certain statement, "Wait, you mean... "

"Lucrecia Abnomar, the captain of the pioneering exploration ship Glorious Star, and Tyrian Abnomar, the pirate leader in the northern seas, the captain of the Sea Mist," Dante said unhurriedly Said, "It is true that the Lost Home is a ghost ship beyond the understanding of reality, but as long as it was a member of the real world, the real world will retain its 'anchor' of its existence... I don't know Captain Duncan How will a pair of children react to their 'father' appearing again?"

Fanna slowly opened her eyes. She was used to using simple and crude methods to directly deal with enemies, but she had never considered matters related to the Lost Home from this perspective. However, she soon frowned: "But I I heard that those two people have almost no dealings with city-state forces... They have their own forces in the boundless sea, and they maintain cold or even tense relations with all city-states."

"This is normal. After all, they are the children of the ghost captain. The Brilliant Star and the Sea Mist were the two escort ships of the Lost Home. Although they parted ways a hundred years ago, in the eyes of most city-states, Here, anyone who has a relationship with the ghost captain means curse and danger. Rather than saying that they are alienated from the city-state, it is better to say that the city-state is actively avoiding them. "

Vanna frowned and looked at her uncle: "Then do you expect them to help Plande fight against their father?"

"It's just an idea, but it's worth a try," Dante was actually serious. "After all, we all know that the Brilliant Star and the Sea Mist parted ways with the Lost Home more than a century ago, and Lucretia and Tirian They broke up with their father before the Thirteen Islands Incident in Wesselan. More than half a century ago, there were rumors that some ocean-going captains witnessed the Sea Mist fighting the phantom of the Lost Home in the northern waters - that By then, the Lost Home has become a legendary ghost ship, which may explain the attitude of the two captains when facing their 'fathers'."

"More than half a century ago... At that time, the Sea Mist was still the flagship of the Frost Queen. Captain Tirian might have just been ordered to protect the city-state," Vanna said slowly while thinking, "But you are right. , at least this is enough to prove that the Sea Mist does have a record of confrontation with the Lost Home."

But she still had some doubts, and after thinking for a few seconds, she expressed her doubts: "What if the Brilliant Star and the Sea Mist ignore Pland?"

"So this is just an attempt," Dante said quietly, "I will spread the news and find a way to send the situation of the Lost Home and sailing to Pland to the desks of the two captains - I just After doing so much, it depends on how the two captains will react."