Deep Sea Embers

Bishop Valentine put away the piece of paper depicting the strange emblem.

"None of us recognize this pattern. It probably comes from a very old age, or from a secret organization that has never been exposed to the public," the old bishop said while putting away the paper, "the corresponding one may be found in the archives." For the record, in addition, I will contact some friends in the academic world to see if they know this thing."

Fanna's eyes returned to Tirian, and she looked at the "pirate captain" in front of her curiously: "Is there anything unusual about your father before he talked with those strange 'ascetics' in secret? For example Suddenly obtained a mysterious tome, or explored some secret realm?"

"It's hard to say," Tirian shook his head, "You should know that a century ago, he was one of the most outstanding explorers in the world, and dealing with all kinds of weird relics or secret places is his specialty. Daily work - he was exposed to the things you just mentioned almost all day long, and Lucrezia and I were just starting to help my father share some things at that time, and didn't have much opportunity to learn more about his 'collection' ,and……"

Tyrian paused at this, then sighed softly.

"And at that time, Lucrezia and I didn't even think about what would happen later. Although those weird 'visitors' were a bit weird, my father often received all kinds of strange 'guests', and when we noticed that my father When the situation is getting worse and worse, it has been nearly a year since that 'secret talk', and there is nothing to find out if we go back and investigate."

Fan Na nodded lightly, and at this moment, a loud bell and siren sounded suddenly from outside the window, interrupting the conversation in the living room.

"The evening bell is ringing," Bishop Valentine looked up out of the window, and saw that the sun bound by double runes had gradually sunk into the sea level, and the phantom of the creation of the world could be vaguely seen in the sky, " Let's get here today."

Then he looked away and nodded to Tirian: "If you don't mind, you can rest in the cathedral tonight. We have prepared dinner and undisturbed guest rooms for our guests."

"Thank you very much," Tirian readily agreed, and then said, "I plan to stay in this city-state for a few more days-I lived here briefly a hundred years ago, and I still don't understand its changes now. Very interested."

"Of course," Valentine smiled, "The Seamist is Prand's friend, and we are always ready for friends—you can stay here as long as you want."

Fanna got up from the sofa and nodded to Tirian: "I'll take you to the guest room."

After this special meeting ended, Tirian left the living room with Vanna, and joined several accompanying sailors who were resting in a nearby room, and the group walked towards the depths of the cathedral.

"I didn't expect His Excellency the Judge to lead the way in person," Tirian said casually on the way to the guest room. "For a 'pirate', this is no small honor."

"Is it just a 'pirate'?" Fanna turned her head slightly, with a smile on her face, "Your Excellency's identity is not so ordinary—the son of Duncan, the general of the Frost Queen, and the commander of the Sea Mist Fleet. If all the pirates in the world are like this... then we don't need any city-state authorities."

"...'Pirate' is just a convenient identity, it is very convenient for me to trouble some people in the cold sea, and they also like my identity, which allows them to issue more arrest warrants to pretend that they are still useful " Tirian said lightly, "But what you just mentioned is also a thing of the past, Your Excellency the Inquisitor."

After a brief silence, Tirian continued: "I have never disclosed so many things about 'him' to outsiders. I hope you can understand this."

"Of course." Fan Na nodded slightly, "If I were in your position, I wouldn't be willing to reveal my family's...'curse' to outsiders. Sorry, I can't think of other words."

"It doesn't matter, this is indeed a curse," Tirian sighed, "If it wasn't for such a weird and bizarre situation in Prand, you just mentioned the abnormal situation of 'him', there are some things I really don't want to recall. "

As he was talking, his gaze inadvertently swept over Fanna's eyes, and the next second, he involuntarily lowered his gaze.

The palpable pressure was there again, and it was more pronounced than it had been on the pier.

Reminiscent of the young judge's experience of communicating with "that person" several times recently, Tirian even had some terrible guesses about the indescribable pressure in his heart.

Fan Na noticed the strangeness of the other party.

"You look reserved, Captain Tirian," she asked bluntly. "Am I making you nervous?"

"No, Your Excellency the Inquisitor," Tirian shook his head, then said with some hesitation, "I just suddenly thought of what you just mentioned, you said that you communicated with my father several times... that apart from the communication, Did he give you something... something else, say, power?"

Fan Na's footsteps suddenly stopped.

"Why do you ask about this?"

"I don't mean anything else," Tirian suddenly realized that his question just now might conflict with a devout and steadfast saint, and immediately explained, "I just want to remind that my father...he came from Asia. The power brought back from the space is very strange and difficult to get rid of, and like other chaotic erosions from the subspace, that power is extremely polluting, if you accidentally pollute it too deeply..."

"Thank you for reminding me." Fan Na took a deep breath and sincerely thanked her.

But in fact, what she thinks in her heart is that the other party's reminder may be a bit late-the influence of Captain Duncan is more serious than anyone imagined, and now she can only hope that the captain will really knock on the next time he comes to find her. door open...

Tirian didn't know what the judge was thinking, but felt that the atmosphere was a lot more awkward, but the embarrassment didn't last long—Vanna took the initiative to break the silence.

"I'm curious about one thing," she asked suddenly, "about the 'countdown' mentioned by your father before going crazy...do you know any more information? Did he mention any other details?"

When she asked this question, what Fan Na recalled in her heart was the previous communication with the goddess of storms, Gemona, and the incomprehensible words that the goddess conveyed to herself——

Time is limited, it will be critical.

This sentence, which she couldn't understand at the time, now sounds like it is inextricably linked to the "countdown" mentioned by Tirian!

Tirian met Vanna's gaze.

After a few seconds of silence, he said in a deep voice: "In the last days, he once said a word to Lucrezia suddenly, he said - 'Our world is just a bunch of fading Embers'."

The hallway comes to an end.

"Thank you for leading the way," Tirian nodded to Fanna, "Next, I want to stay with my subordinates for a while."

Fanna woke up from her thoughts, still resounding in her heart what Tirian had said just now, and subconsciously nodded, saying goodbye to the great pirate.

The door of the guest room was closed, and after the surroundings became quiet, Tirian was really relieved.

He recalled the last conversation he had with the young judge just now, and recalled the pressure he felt on the other party that seemed to be absent, and a kind of belated heart palpitations pervaded at this time.

In a daze, he recalled the last moment he made eye contact with the judge...

At that moment, he actually felt that he was standing under the eyes of "father"!

"Captain, are you okay?" A trusted sailor looked at his boss with a little worry, "You have been nervous since you went ashore."

"...I'm fine," Tirian collected himself, waved his hands to his subordinates, and walked towards the table not far away, "Bring the things."

A sailor immediately stepped forward and put a suitcase from the Seamist on the table. Tirian opened it with a key, revealing its contents.

It was a lens device with a complex structure, composed of many small lenses and curved connecting rods, and a large crystal ball was placed in the center.

"Keep an eye on the door and don't let anyone disturb you." Tirian instructed his subordinates.

After several sailors left, he turned his attention to the crystal ball, slightly moved the angle of one of the lenses, and called in a low voice: "Lucrecia."

After a long while, the lens group began to tremble slightly, and the crystal ball in the center also began to emit a faint light. With a burst of disturbing noise, Lucrezia's indistinct image appeared in the crystal ball. Figure: "I am here."

"Why so vague?" Tirian frowned. "Where are you now?"

"I... the border..." Lucrezia's voice came from the crystal ball, with crackling interference, but it was barely distinguishable, "Here... the environment... the interference has become stronger, I... Adjustment... is it alright now? Can you hear me clearly?"

The disturbing sound finally disappeared, and Lucrezia's figure gradually became clear.

"The environment here has changed a little bit, and the spiritual world has produced strange disturbances to the dimension of reality," the voice in the crystal ball explained, "What's the matter, brother? The Bright Star is passing through the unstable sea area, if nothing important of……"

"I'm in Purland now," Tirian said straight to the point. "The Seamist was severely damaged in the exchange of fire with the Lost Home, and the situation in this city-state doesn't seem quite right."

The figure opposite the crystal ball froze for a moment.

A few seconds later, Lucrezia's slightly nervous voice came: "Did you really meet the Lost Home? Are you okay now?"

"...Frankly speaking, he was beaten up, but he's doing well now," said Tirian in a low voice. "The problem is... something seems wrong with 'him'."

"What's wrong with 'him'?" Lucrezia frowned, "Did you see him up close?"

"Um."

"Then..." Lucrezia opened her mouth, seemingly hesitant, "Then what you saw this time was our 'father'?"

"……Not at all."