Free Web NovelChapter 40: Chapter 40 "Landing
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Fenna awoke from a grotesque and chaotic dreamscape to find the night outside still deep—the cold, pale glow of the Creation of the World illuminated the window sill engraved with Deep Sea runes, casting a peaceful and quiet air.
Yet the scene from that bizarre dreamscape remained vividly etched in her mind—
A ship, a large vessel ablaze with green ghostly flames, emerged from the horizon where the sea met the sky, rolling over the Plunder City-State like an overwhelming mountain, the ghostly flames filled with countless cries and desolate chants roaring in unison, as though eager to overturn the entire world.
And as that mighty ship descended, she also saw a blazing sun rising from the depths of the Plunder City-State—not the sun known to mankind, bound by ancient runes, but a celestial body burning ferociously like the "Ancient Sun" described by sun believers, rising from deep within the city, its flames melting the earth, people flowing and dripping through the streets like melting wax figures.
The cathedral of the Deep Sea Church stood silently in the center of this inferno city. She prayed to the cathedral in her dreams, hoping for guidance from the Storm Goddess, but the cathedral only returned raucous and meaningless bell tolls without any direction...
Fenna sat up in bed, entered in her nightgown to the window, and glanced at the still peaceful city and skies under the "Creation of the World." Yet her inner irritation began to simmer more intensely. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Moments later, the young Judge withdrew her gaze from the city and approached the vanity near her bed, casually opening a drawer—
Inside the vanity drawer lay a dagger, a curved ritual dagger with runes symbolizing the Deep Sea Church sparkling at its blade base, as though resonating with some mysterious power.
Fenna’s gaze lingered on those twinkling runes for several seconds, then she drew the blade across her palm, slicing open a wound. As blood seeped out, she placed her hand across her chest, whispering the name of the Storm Goddess to try and seek divine guidance.
Yet, for some reason, all she heard were the illusory roars of ocean waves, and the "Spiritual Energy Induction" state that she usually entered effortlessly was nowhere to be discerned today.
It was as if an invisible curtain had suddenly enshrouded her, severing the connection between her and the Storm Goddess Gomona.
Fenna’s brows knit together ever so slightly.
It was exceedingly rare for a connection between a Believer and a deity to be disturbed, but it was not unthinkable—The complex mapping relationship between Subspace and the real world was too profound for mortal wisdom to comprehend, and even the powers of gods could be temporarily weakened by the layered influences of Subspace, the Mysterious Deep Sea, and the Spirit Realm. On top of that, the eternal, unceasing conflicts between gods, and those between gods and the ancient ones, meant that it was possible for certain Believers to suddenly find themselves unable to hear their deity’s voice.
But the Storm Goddess Gomona... shouldn’t be like this.
The Endless Sea surrounded all of human civilization; the power of the Storm Goddess penetrated all dimensions and influenced the entire reality. All deities might occasionally lose contact with the real world, even the god of death might occasionally leave gaps like the "Revived," but the Storm Goddess alone... it was impossible.
This was also one of the reasons the Deep Sea Church had become the most powerful church on the Endless Sea.
Could the problem lie with herself?
Naturally, Fenna began to doubt her own state, but as she looked at her palm, she saw the wound she had just made was already quickly healing.
The blessings of the Goddess were still present, taking effect without any delay.
Fenna’s mind once again revisited that noisy and peculiar nightmare, as well as the ominous signs she had seen over many past days.
There must be a correlation between all these things.
The Ghost Ship burning with green flames... Ghost Ship...
Fenna rapidly recalled and compared the mystic knowledge she possessed, and then her expression suddenly turned serious.
She was not an expert in the field of nautical, nor had she often dealt with those fantastical tales circulated among superstitious sailors, but even in the orthodox texts of the church, there was a Ghost Ship that held a special place.
That was an ominous ship that had returned from Subspace, its captain was the terrible captain Duncan, who, a century ago, had caused the collapse of thirteen islands of Verceland.
Fenna abruptly got up from behind the vanity, but then she remembered— it was the middle of the night, and the cathedral’s archives, like any other library, would not be open.
Moreover, from a safety standpoint, it was best for her not to discuss content related to the "Dreams of Premonition" in the few hours after the dreams had just ended—if the dream was indeed pointing to "Captain Duncan," then it was highly likely that he could sense the mortal discussions about him through the connections established by the dream.
After all, he was a "ghost" that could return from the Subspace.
The safest course of action now was to patiently wait, to wait for the sun to once again reign supreme in the world, to wait for the connections established by the dream to gradually dissipate, before heading to the archive to consult relevant materials or to discuss these baleful premonitions with the Archbishop of the church.
Regardless, if these dreams of premonition truly pointed to Captain Duncan and really were warning her that the legendary Homeloss was eyeing Plunder City-State with covetous intent, then as a Guardian of the City-State, she must stop the terrifying ghost captain from coming ashore at all costs...
...
A tall, thin shadow swiftly crossed the deserted streets of the Lower City District, its slender figure casting a fleeting silhouette under the gas lamp’s light.
A completely unfamiliar city, completely unfamiliar buildings, memories in the mind were indistinct and contradictory, and the residential area during curfew hours seemed desolate and eerie.
Yet as Duncan walked through such shabby alleys, his mood was exceptionally cheerful.
He had succeeded—not only had he successfully completed his second spirit walk, but he had also successfully taken control of a body to come to the surface, to Plunder City-State.
He was touching the civilization of this world, observing the architecture of this era, the technology of this era.
Moreover, the body he was using was complete—not broad-minded, nor wildly imaginative. From the outside, this normal body would facilitate his subsequent actions.
To be honest, the health condition of this body was also not very good. Even though during a spirit walk one could ignore most of the body’s ailments, Duncan could clearly feel the sub-health state of this body, yet he had no complaints and even took it for granted.
After all, based on these two experiences, the bodies occupied during spirit walks were those of corpses within a certain time after death—could a lively and bouncing being be a corpse? ƒгeewebnovёl.com
A distant barking of a dog came from the end of the alley. Duncan cautiously slowed down and hid himself in the shadows between buildings.
He did not know whether it was a church Guardian’s patrol dog, but it was always good to err on the side of caution.
Above the nearby buildings, huge pipe structures spanned across the low houses. The light from the "Pale Scar" spread on those pipes stretched intermittent shadows. Occasionally, steam leaked out from some pipe valves, forming a hazy mist in the night.
The barking of the dog faded away.
Duncan emerged from his hiding place, looked around the street, and after casually soothing Ai Yi, the pigeon who was moving around on his shoulder, he headed towards the opposite side of the street, following his memories.
Between a row of low two- or three-story buildings, there was an old door with a dirty sign hanging above it and grey, neglected display windows on either side of the walls—indicating a shop that seemed to be quite large but noticeably lacking in maintenance and business.
This was the place Duncan was guided to by the fragments of memory in his mind.
He arrived at the ancient door, looked up at the sign, barely decipherable in the dark:
"Ron’s Antique Shop," Duncan muttered in a low voice, "quite a succinct name..."
Having said that, he began to search around the entrance, and due to the unclear memory in his mind, it took him a while to find the spare key hidden underneath a secret hook by the windowsill.
The body’s original owner had not carried the keys with him and had not brought any items to identify himself or to find this antique shop. This seemed to be the caution of a seasoned Heretic—but for a ghost captain capable of taking memories, such superficial caution was meaningless.
Duncan opened the door to Ron’s Antique Shop, slipped inside quickly, and closed the door behind him.
The wooden door made a ’bang’ sound, a noise that did not carry far into the night. The sign hanging above the door tilted slightly from the vibration, and the letters on the sign twisted in the pale, cold night, and in the blink of an eye, new text emerged on the wooden board—
"Duncan’s Antique Shop."
