Deep Sea Embers

It was getting dark on the streets.

After seeing Morris off and cleaning up the store on the first floor, Duncan finally had time to mention to Nina what her teacher said during this home visit.

After all, this was actually the main reason why Mr. Morris came to visit today - although the two of them later went off topic while chatting.

"Have you not had a good rest recently? Or are you not feeling well?" At the dining table on the second floor, Duncan asked with concern while spreading butter on the slices of bread. "I heard from your teacher that you have been in this situation for a long time. It’s been several days.”

Nina was obviously a little nervous. She probably guessed that the teacher would definitely mention these things when she came today, but until not long ago, she never thought that her Uncle Duncan would really start to pay attention to her situation in school - a long-lost feeling. The awkward feeling of being cared for but uneasy filled her heart: "I'm just a little... sleepy."

"Then it seems that what Mr. Morris said is true," Duncan observed Nina's expression carefully, "Is it a physical reason? Or is it because of something else? If you have anything on your mind, you can tell me."

After saying this, he paused and then added after careful consideration: "Of course, at this age, you may have some things that you don't want to tell an adult like me. This is also normal, because you are growing up and you have an independent personality and your own All ideas should be respected - but you still have to remember that there is no shame in asking for help when you encounter difficulties. If it is something I can help, you can say it and we can find a solution together. "

He tried his best to make his words sound reliable and kind. This was not easy because he had never had any blood relatives of this age to take care of before. However, he had more or less experience in dealing with students, so at this time, he was also dealing with adolescence. student experience to talk to Nina - he thought his attitude was gentle and reliable enough.

"I...I'm really fine, really!" Nina seemed a little uncomfortable with such a kind uncle, but deep down she didn't feel any resistance at all. She waved her hands vigorously and met Duncan's eyes, "I just feel like this lately. I feel sleepy, always wake up when sleeping, and sometimes have dreams.”

"Dream?" Duncan frowned, and suddenly thought of something, "Nightmare? Could it be that he dreamed about the fire when he was a child?"

Perhaps because he was paying attention to the sun fragments and the unsolved case eleven years ago, he suddenly subconsciously thought of this matter, but Nina shook her head: "No, it didn't happen when I was a child."

"what is that?"

"I always dream... I dream that I am standing on a very high place, like a tower in the city, and then the neighborhood below me is dark, full of ruins and ashes," Nina recalled. , said slowly, "The ruins and ashes are like a huge scar, extending along the center of the lower city to the cross block, and then to the edge of the upper city. It is as scary as if it is tearing the city apart. I am trapped in that It’s a very, very high place. I want to leave, but I’m blocked by an invisible wall..."

Nina recalled, and suddenly shook her head slightly: "It's always a scene like this in dreams. To say it's scary... Actually, nothing scary appeared, and there was no danger approaching. I just watched the city being crushed by something unknown. A scar was created, and then I was trapped in place unable to move. I was still very tired every time I woke up, and I started to feel sleepy in class the next day..."

Duncan listened carefully to the girl's description and slowly frowned.

What Nina described... was indeed not the fire she had experienced in her childhood, nor was it the scene remembered in Duncan's mind.

It was more like a static "display", showing her the scene of Plande in unknown time and space.

If it were on earth, Duncan would just think of this as a strange dream that kept appearing, but in this strange and abnormal world, he couldn't help but feel alert.

In the past, Nina somehow remembered a fire that only existed in her and Duncan's minds, and in the second, she had continuous strange dreams that seemed like "omens."

"When did you start having these dreams?" Duncan asked seriously.

"About a week or two ago? Maybe earlier... I can't remember clearly," Nina took a sip of vegetable soup, her voice a little unclear, "I didn't care at the time..."

After hearing this, Duncan wanted to say, "You should have said it earlier," but suddenly remembered that at that time, Nina's "uncle" was still a rotten person who was addicted to cult activities and alcohol, and she had no one to talk to. He was a reliable person, so he swallowed his words abruptly and said instead: "Have you consulted a professional? For example, a doctor?"

Fanna raised her head: "You mean the psychiatrist?"

"Yes, psychiatrist." Duncan thought for a moment and nodded immediately.

In this world, "psychiatrist" is an indispensable profession, because there are too many things in the night and the deep sea staring at the city-state, and ordinary people's spirits are very likely to suffer from large or small problems if their spirits are affected by these auras. Problems - nightmares, auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, cognitive shifts, and even personality disorders. These illnesses plague many people, so much so that the world's treatment technology in related fields has developed to an incredible level - the most brilliant psychiatrist He can even use extraordinary power to correct his distorted mind.

Nina's frequent strange dreams should also be among the "diseases" that these psychiatrists are concerned about.

"I haven't yet," Nina said in a sullen voice, "Their medical fees are very expensive... I just have weird dreams."

"But these strange dreams have begun to affect your life," Duncan said seriously. "Continuing to dream about such strange scenes may be a sign of danger. You should have learned this in school."

While saying this, he was also thinking quickly in his mind - there must be something wrong with Nina's continuous strange dreams. In any case, since he already lives in a strange and abnormal world, he must deal with these extraordinary realms. "Element" is wary, but he himself is a layman in terms of theory, so he must find some professionals for this matter.

It just so happened that he also wanted to find an opportunity to get in touch with "professionals" in civilized society to see how they dealt with events that might involve the supernatural.

Nina was obviously still hesitant, but in the face of Duncan's serious expression, she finally gave in: "Then... then we can go to the community church on the weekend and ask the Deep Sea Pastor there to do a soothing blessing. , it costs very little. If it doesn’t work, then see a specialized psychiatrist, okay?”

church? Deep Sea Priest? A priest who believes in the storm goddess Gemona?

Duncan's heart moved, and he suddenly felt that this was also very good - he was also very interested in the priests who served the gods.

"Okay, then it's settled," he nodded immediately, "You happen to be going to the museum on the weekend. When you come back, we will stop by the church."

"Um!"

After dinner, Nina went back to her room early as usual, and Duncan also returned to his room and saw Ai's lazy figure lying on the window sill.

The pigeon flew outside for a whole day and came back with no results.

Duncan closed the door and walked to the window. The pigeon saw its owner and lazily raised its wings to say hello, making a nagging sound: "Destroy it, hurry up, I'm tired..."

"You have indeed worked hard." Duncan saw that the bird was half-dead and knew that it was indeed very tired that day. He stepped forward and unhooked the "cultist sensor" from the pigeon's back and comforted him, "This is true. It’s not that easy. After all, they are hiding very deep, and the Deep Sea Church has been keeping a close eye on them recently, so they will definitely be more cautious..."

The pigeon rolled up its eyelids, shook its wings, and continued to lie motionless.

Duncan immediately became happy when he saw it: "Even so, I still have to do this in the future... Of course, flying for one day is indeed a bit too strenuous. I will arrange a better balance between work and rest for you."

He has decided to regard the search for cultists in the city as a long-term task at this stage. Although after doing today's "big business", he is no longer so urgent in terms of money and does not need to rely on "hunting" to supplement his family income. , but the trouble itself with those cultists is quite meaningful.

On the one hand, by doing this, you might be able to catch big fish from the cultists to satisfy your intelligence needs - higher-level priests must know more secrets about the "sun", and may also know about the sun eleven years ago. More information on the fragments, which is what Duncan is paying attention to.

On the other hand, there is a seemingly wild extraordinary dog ​​Loli operating in the city-state. She is also constantly causing trouble for the Sun Cultists, and she may also know some secrets of the extraordinary world. Duncan wants to try his luck and see if he can Talk to her about the Deep Sea and the Deep Demon - after talking to Maurice, he is now very curious about the "starry sky" above the Deep Sea.

Noticing the serious expression on Duncan's face and realizing that he would be forced to work overtime in the future, Ai sighed in a very humane manner.

"Alas..." The bird's tone was full of sorrow, "There is already a sad and thick barrier between us..."

Duncan: "...you have quite a rich vocabulary!"