"This will be your room from now on. The basic daily necessities are all available. If you need anything else, you can tell Alice and she will help you arrange it without forgetting it.
"There is a small utility room next door, which you can use freely for prayer or meditation. You are a devout believer, so you should have needs in this area.
"Don't go to the lower level, don't be curious about those locked cabins. Occasionally there will be strange creaking sounds or the sound of ropes rubbing against the floor from deep in this ship. Don't make a fuss, just leave it alone. If something is really wrong, I will
Will handle it personally.
“Keep the Crew Code in mind when living on board.
"Anything else you want to ask?"
Fanna stood at the door of the room assigned to her, looking at the simple and normal furniture in the cabin, still feeling a little dazed.
Ordinary beds, ordinary tables and chairs, ordinary cabinets, everything is clean, there are no suspicious shadows, no blood stains hidden in the corners of the room, and no writing on the ceiling or floor.
Blasphemous symbol - If you don't consider that this is inside the Lost Home, then this is just an ordinary cabin.
But if I have to say it, there is indeed something unusual here.
There is a special set of "crew rules" on the ship. There is a "secret realm" deep in the cabin that is forbidden to enter. The entire ship is alive, and even the ropes and buckets on the deck often make disturbing noises——
These unusual details more or less fit her imagination of the Lost Home.
But compared to all her imagination, these strange things were actually so mild that they were harmless to humans and animals.
"...I have remembered it all," Vanna nodded slowly and said to Duncan, who personally escorted her to the room, "There are no more questions for the time being."
"Very good," Duncan said calmly, "Put your luggage now, dinner is about to begin - if you are not interested in the deck barbecue after dinner, you don't have to participate. It's just Shirley and Nina's nonsense, but for dinner you
To participate, this is a necessary process for new members to join.”
"yes."
Fanna silently put away her luggage, and after a moment's hesitation, she temporarily left the heavy, huge two-handed sword in the room.
Anyway, it would be too weird to bring a two-handed giant sword to a restaurant.
As she followed Duncan to the restaurant, she was silent all the way.
But her worried look couldn't be hidden from Duncan's eyes.
"If you have anything you want to ask, you can always ask." Duncan slowed down and looked slightly sideways at Fanna who was following him. "There are actually not many rules on this ship, and the most taboo thing when sailing on an ocean voyage is for the crew to hide their secrets."
Matters of mind - the uneasiness and confusion in your heart will be amplified by the boundless sea, and you never know when it will become an uninvited guest."
Fanna's heart trembled. She hesitated and finally said: "Actually, it's nothing. It's just that the development of things is different from what I imagined. I feel a little... at a loss at the moment."
"Oh, it's understandable. I can even roughly guess what you imagined the Homeless Ship to be like before," Duncan said casually. "The first day was a lively welcome party instead of a dark and bloody sacrifice ceremony. It's very
Unbelievable, right?”
"It's not... as exaggerated as the sacrificial ceremony, but the scene I imagined at the beginning is indeed not as peaceful as it is now." Fanna seemed to smile. In any case, she has relaxed a little now.
"This is exactly one of the reasons why your Pope asked you to come to this ship," Duncan said slowly. "She needs to know what the real Homeless Ship looks like, and I... also need you as a bridge to rebuild and
Connections between civilized worlds.”
The restaurant has arrived.
Under the light of the swaying whale oil lamp, the long table was filled with dishes, and the steaming fish soup was placed in the most eye-catching place on the entire table. The crew members were waiting for their captain on both sides of the long table, while the low and gentle words
Creaking sounds came from the depths of the cabin, like a song sung by this ancient exploration ship as night fell.
Fanna came to her empty seat and looked at the table of delicacies in front of her that exuded bursts of aroma under the warm light.
Alice stood up, filled a bowl of steaming soup, and placed it in front of the new crew member.
"Please drink." Miss Doll said politely.
Vanna looked at the soup bowl in front of her. In her previous conversation with Morris, she already knew the "truth" of this special food and the unique symbolic meaning of this dinner. At this moment, she looked at the soup swaying slightly.
She felt a slight trance before her eyes, but the trance dissipated in an instant.
"Is this my destiny?" she couldn't help but mutter.
"No," Alice shook her head, with a simple and serious expression on her face, "This is your fish soup."
Fanna was speechless, then a smile appeared on her lips.
It's quite fragrant.
…
In the Cathedral of the city-state of Purnd, Helena was standing quietly in front of the icon of the Storm Goddess, staring at the burning candles at the foot of the icon.
Those candlesticks with complicated and exquisite decorative patterns were burning quietly, but the flames on their tops gradually rose in Helena's field of vision, and then swayed, split, spread, and spread.
In the blink of an eye, the church disappeared, the icon disappeared, the candlestick disappeared, and there were only countless flames left in Helena's field of vision - candles big or small, far or near, high or low.
Fire filled her surroundings, jumping and burning in a dark and chaotic boundless space, like stars.
Each cluster of flames represents a saint and the reliance on which the Deep Sea Church has flourished to this day.
Helena raised her head, and the countless flames in her field of vision moved quickly. A large number of flames floated into the distance. Only a cluster of bright candles came in front of her, burning quietly in the darkness.
The Pope stared at the flames and waited patiently.
In her sight, the flame finally began to tremble, and the amplitude of the trembling became larger and larger. Then at a certain moment, it suddenly burned violently, the flames increased several times, and a faint green brilliance was in the firelight.
skyrocketing.
The whole process only lasted two or three seconds.
The flame returned to calm, exuding a faint green color, burning brightly and silently in the darkness.
"...Really completely transformed." Helena couldn't help but mutter softly, and then subconsciously raised her hand, as if she wanted to touch the quietly burning flame with her fingertips.
But she stopped at the last step.
The countless candlelights in the darkness faded away instantly, and the scenery in the church returned to its original state.
Helena raised her head and looked at the goddess statue covered with a veil, quietly overlooking the church.
There is light and shadow floating slightly on the surface of the icon, and the hard shell carved from rock has gained elasticity like a living thing. Under the thick veil, a pale and illusory aura escapes little by little.
The icon lowered its head, and translucent, spirit-like tentacles condensed from the pale and illusory smoke, and snaked out from the edge of the veil, slowly falling in front of Helena.
The tentacles curled and contracted, waiting for Helena to speak.
"Your messenger has boarded the ship and was completely transformed two minutes ago. Now she is part of the Lost Home," Helena looked at the tentacles and said calmly and respectfully, "But just like before, she
Still retaining humanity and reason, and maintaining spiritual connections with the community of believers."
The tentacles swayed slightly, and a low and strange rustling sound was heard, mixed with the sound of gentle waves.
"Yes, I will always pay attention to her condition," Helena said, "but if she really has a mental problem...for example, shows signs of being eroded by subspace, then..."
There are two illusory tentacles swinging more widely, and the weird rustling sound is mixed with a series of grunts that are impossible for humans to make and recognize.
"I understand," Helena breathed out softly, lowered her head and said, "I will try my best to 'pull' her back, and if things are really irreversible, I will try my best to let her return to the world in a manner that retains her humanity.
Return to your country."
The tentacles swayed gently, uttering soothing whispers, and then these illusory limbs turned into pale and thin mist again, rising into the air little by little.
The mist returned under the goddess's veil, and the icon moved a little bit, returning to its previous appearance of calmly overlooking the world.
…
The night falls, and the cool brilliance of the Creation of the World already hangs high in the night sky.
Ice floes occupy the sea surface, and dangerous sharp ice fronts lurk in the sparkling waves. The steel battleship with a towering bow splits the waves during the night voyage, and heads forward in the boundless sea of ice floes.
The large and small broken ice seemed to capture the majesty of this steel battleship. Before the Sea Fog approached, it actively retreated to both sides. Under the cold light of the World Creation, a path seemed to be opened on the sea surface, and the giant steel ship
The beasts walked through the paths.
Tirian stood on the bow of the ship, looking at the dark and cold sea in the distance, frowning tightly.
"We have entered the cold sea, Captain," First Mate Aiden's voice came in the night wind, "We will probably be able to return to our home port by this time tomorrow."
Tirian did not look back: "Is there any new news from Frostbite?"
"The spies reported that the Frost Administration moved the submersible to Dagger Island near the city-state. There is an old ocean observatory there, which is now temporarily used as a research facility for the 'Eighth No. 3 Submersible'," Aiden
He replied, "It seems they haven't opened the submersible's hatch yet—perhaps out of caution, or perhaps waiting for orders from a higher level."
"Well, those losers at least have the most basic caution," Tirian breathed out softly, but his brows did not relax at all, "Besides, is there any new news?"
"Frost City is still calm for the time being. The authorities seem to have blocked the news about the submersible - in fact, it doesn't matter whether it is blocked or not. Few people know about the abyss submersible plan half a century ago," Aiden said,
He shook his head and said, "Compared to this, there is another thing that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the submersible, but it seems worthy of attention."
"another thing?"
"Yes, there are rumors about...the return of the dead."