The night was getting darker, and the cold World Creation was already hanging high in the night sky. Under the pale glow, the entire city-state fell into silence.
On the second floor of the antique shop in Xiacheng District, Duncan stood in front of the small window at the end of the corridor, quietly looking out the window at the quiet streets, the undulating roofs under the cool light, and the pipes and pipes across the city on the roofs.
valve.
In another distant vision, he could see the Lost Home crossing the undulating boundless sea, heading north in the night voyage, chasing the direction of the Seamist.
And here, he was watching the entire city-state, using his ubiquitous "perception" to scan every corner of Puland.
He raised his gaze slightly and saw the invisible "mist" still floating over the city.
The "soul"-like "smoke" released by the Storm Cathedral stopped expanding after nightfall. Now it is large enough to cover three-quarters of Pland City. Now they are like a layer of
It floats slowly in the night sky like a veil, just like...
Take a stroll in the night sky.
Duncan retracted his gaze to the sky and focused on the huge shadow on the edge of the city-state.
That's where the Cathedral of Storms is anchored.
The huge pilgrim ark clung to the southeastern port of Pland like a dark cloud. In Duncan's perception, he could clearly feel the outline of this huge individual, but he could not penetrate his prying eyes deep into the interior of the cathedral.
.
The interior of that cathedral seemed to him like an empty, dark black hole.
Those ordinary ships docked at the port could not block his perception - nothing close enough to Plande could escape his "touch", but now this cathedral is obviously a
exception.
Is this due to the "protection" of the goddess Gemona? Or is it the special protection technology of the Deep Sea Church?
Duncan was a little curious about this, but did not take any drastic action. Although he did think about whether he could break through the protection of the Storm Cathedral by burning it directly with green fire, but he only thought about it for a moment - after all, there is no injustice or enmity.
Yes, there is no need to set fire to someone's house just to satisfy your own curiosity.
At this moment, Duncan suddenly felt something in his heart, and quickly withdrew his awareness of the Cathedral of Storms, and looked up in the direction of the upper city.
He looked thoughtfully at the hills that rose higher than the surrounding hills, and at the Pland Church standing in the night.
…
High up in the Prad Cathedral, a lounge was brightly lit. Pope Helena lit a ceremonial candle mixed with spices and placed the candlestick in front of a full-length mirror in the corner. Then she turned her head slightly and looked to her side.
Fanna, who has been waiting for a long time.
"I heard that the first time you saw 'him' in a dream, your first reaction was to do a life-threatening jump - what did you think at the time?"
Fanna had a slight embarrassment on her face: "At that time... I didn't think much about it."
"When you say 'not thinking much', it usually means 'not thinking about anything'," Helena laughed. "Actually, this is good. Excellent warriors usually act faster than they think. This is a good way to fight against heretics.
Very useful when we are evil - after all, 'thinking' itself can easily become our vulnerability."
"...But I'm just glad that my reckless actions at the time did not lead to any consequences," Vanna sighed helplessly. "In hindsight, it seems that he didn't care about my 'offense' at all."
"He doesn't care, they don't care," Helena sighed softly, "The superior beings care about broader and longer-term things... The good news is that the things they care about are more or less included in them.
our survival.”
Fanna didn't respond for a while, and Helena looked at the "Judge" who was no longer a judge with a half-smile: "Fanna, you should have many questions to ask."
"I want to know... your arrangements for me," Fanna hesitated for a moment, then said, "You secretly dismissed me from my position as judge and did not arrange a new city-state guardian. I am a little at a loss. I don't know.
How should I fulfill my responsibilities next?”
Helena listened calmly, without any surprise on her face. After Vana finished speaking, the seemingly young pope just smiled and turned to look out the window.
Through the window sash inlaid with iron patterns, you can see the peaceful and peaceful streets of the city illuminated by a large number of gas lamps.
"It's a very peaceful night, Vanna," the Pope said. "Do you think the night guards today will report several incidents related to supernatural pollution or evil invasion?"
Fanna was stunned for a moment, then spoke hesitantly: "...I'm not sure, the city-state is indeed relatively safe these days, and there are no reports of incidents, but..."
"Zero," interrupted the Pope, "Tonight's events are zero, just like yesterday and the day before yesterday, and they will be the same tomorrow."
Fanna opened her mouth.
"You have obviously noticed this, but you haven't dared to draw a conclusion yet, right?" Helena laughed, "A city that is no longer dangerous at night, even in the temporary darkness after the gas lamps go out, is no longer dangerous.
Shadows grow, and the brightest pearl on the boundless sea is now worthy of its name."
Fanna finally came to her senses: "What do you mean..."
"Vision-Pulande," Helena nodded slightly, "Inside this large-scale anomaly, it seems that there will be no extraordinary 'pollution' phenomena other than the 'Vision-Plande' itself."
"Is this your observation?"
"Do you think I came here just to accept the 'paying respect' of the citizens on the street and the greetings of the priests and officials in the cathedral?" Helena looked at Vanna with a half-smile, "I have my
Use your own way to observe and judge the changes that have taken place in this city-state."
Fanna opened her mouth. She seemed to have countless things to say, but suddenly she didn't know where to start. Her head was filled with messy thoughts. She felt that what was happening now was once again beyond her worldview.
So much so that she couldn't find a way to continue the topic using the previous logic. After an unknown amount of time, she finally said: "So...Plande doesn't need a judge now?"
"I'm not sure," Helena's answer surprised Vanna. The pope shook his head, obviously a little unsure, "because this kind of thing has never happened, but at least one thing is certain.
As long as the nature of Vision-Plande remains unchanged, then you no longer need to work as before, and the responsibilities of the city-state defenders will also change greatly."
Having said this, Helena paused for a moment, and then added while thinking: "But even so, the city-state still needs the protection of the defenders - I can only confirm now that the 'state of nature' will not occur inside Vision-Pland.
"Extraordinary pollution phenomena under the sun", but the threats we have to fight are not only natural phenomena, heretics, ancient descendants, evil creations, and those fanatics who actively want to destroy the order of civilization will not remain content just because Plande turned into a vision.
.
"But one thing is generally true: Plante has become safer."
Helena stopped, she looked calmly into Vanna's eyes, and after a few seconds, she continued in a soft voice: "Fanna, we are walking on a very new road, there is no city-state, no city-state, no
No church has ever faced such a situation.
"On the other hand, our world... seems to be undergoing some disturbing changes. Whether it is the 'malfunction' of Vision 001 or the activities of the Lost Home, they are breaking the fragility that has maintained the city-states in the past thousands of years.
Balance, in this case, the goddess only sent down a very limited revelation... I can only take action under this limited revelation.
"Fanna, you have great talent, and this talent should be sent to... a more valuable place. Plande is in the safest state now, but I think you are not a person who is addicted to comfort.
?”
After hearing the Pope's words, Vanna immediately straightened her body subconsciously: "I am always ready to sacrifice everything for faith and justice!"
"Sacrifice everything?"
"Of course, sacrifice everything!"
"Whatever you do without hesitation?"
"As long as it's the goddess's will!"
"Including going to the Lost Home?"
"Including going to..."
Fanna spoke loudly subconsciously, but as soon as she said a few words, she was stuck on the spot. She almost couldn't hold her breath. After two seconds, she looked at His Majesty the Pope in front of her in stunned silence: "What did you just say...
?”
"I just said that our world is undergoing many disturbing changes, and among these many changes, at least the Lost Home is the only one that has shown the possibility of communication and a tendency of goodwill," Helena said seriously,
"We need to establish a stable communication channel with the owner of the Lost Home, and it is best to have a certain official nature. You can think of yourself as a special envoy, or you can think of yourself as a 'hostage' - of course my personal suggestion
You use the first statement, but it’s up to you how you think about it.”
Fanna listened dumbfounded, and it was not until the Pope finished speaking that she finally found the opportunity to speak: "But...but...but is this reasonable? Going to the Lost Home...is that the concept I understand? Is this possible?!
"
Helena looked at the somewhat bewildered young "Judge" quietly, anticipating this reaction. After a long time, she said with a smile: "It's reasonable."