Embers of the Deep

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: The Public Vision

After lunch, Duncan watched as Nina cleaned up the dining table. He had initially wanted to help with the dishes, but she insisted he shouldn’t, citing the doctor’s advice about his poor health and the need to avoid contact with cold water. Thus, he simply leaned near the staircase entrance, reading the morning newspaper while watching the girl bustling about in the kitchen.

This scene, which seemed to belong to an ordinary household, strangely stirred his emotions.

Just then, Nina’s voice came from the kitchen, "Uncle Duncan, is there any news in the newspaper?"

Duncan looked down at the paper and first noticed the date, "City-State Times, August 14th of the year 1900." The next headline was about the Judges leading a team to arrest dozens of heretics: it was probably the most significant front-page news in the entire paper.

"The paper says a Judge led a team and caught dozens of Sun Heretics," he casually mentioned, "It also mentions that this is the biggest heretical assembly the church has successfully uncovered in the last four years. There are some reminders for the citizens to be cautious at night and to watch out for heretical beliefs among people around them."

"Oh, I heard about it on my way here!" Nina efficiently placed the clean dishes into the cabinet. "It’s terrifying. I remember my teacher once mentioned that those who worship the Sun God might even sacrifice living people... Who could be so cruel to believe in such a sect?"

Duncan suddenly didn’t know what to say, because anything he might say felt too delicate—should he mention that he recently had an immersive experience on that sacrificial altar, or should he reveal that her uncle was such a cruel heretic?

However, one thing was clear from Nina’s reaction; she obviously didn’t know that her "uncle" was a Sun Heretic. She had the conventional morals of an ordinary person, thinking that sacrificing living beings to the Sun God was a horrifying act.

In her eyes, her "uncle" was just a temp... someone ill-tempered and occasionally drunk, with some "weird friends."

This body he inhabited might have once been a despicable man drenched in blood, but at least he had raised Nina to this day and had kept her shielded from the faith of the Sun God.

Perhaps one day, a heretic named "Ron" might fall to his lowest and drag his last kin into the endless Abyss. But at least until today, that had not happened.

And it would not happen in the future.

"Uncle? Why have you suddenly stopped talking?" Nina curiously inquired about the silence behind her, turning her head with concern in her eyes, "Feeling unwell again?"

"No, just got a bit distracted," Duncan recovered and shook his head, "You’re right, it’s indeed a cruel thing... The newspaper also mentioned that citizens should be cautious, report heretical activities promptly and that you should try to avoid wandering outside school or home these days."

Nina nodded, but then she let out an "ah" sound, her face showing hesitation, "But... I’ve arranged to meet classmates in two days to visit a museum..."

"A museum?" Duncan asked casually, "Which museum?"

"The one near our school, close to the edge of the Upper City District—the Marine Museum," Nina explained, "I heard they recently have a new exhibit on minerals from the nearby sea... Can I go?"

"Go ahead if you want to," Duncan thought it over and nodded, "There are patrols from the church guardians and City-State law enforcement everywhere. Those heretics wouldn’t dare make a bold move these days."

Nina happily nodded: "Okay!"

"Do you still have classes this afternoon?" Duncan continued.

"Yes, there’s history class. I wouldn’t want to miss Mr. Morris’s class," Nina nodded, "He’s quite a renowned expert in history... But it’s strange, such a famous professor, why doesn’t he teach at the universities in the Upper City District, but instead at our public school in the Lower City District? Most of my classmates don’t even like history, and they sleep through his lessons..."

Duncan shrugged nonchalantly: "How would I know?"

What a joke, not to mention the history teacher Mr. Morris, he barely knew Nina—figuring out which public school she attended in the Lower City District would take him hours to recall...

Moreover, even the original owner of this body probably didn’t know much more about his niece’s recent circumstances—by the time Duncan took over his life, he had already been too deeply and too long entrenched in the beliefs of the Sun Heretics.

Nina had classes in the afternoon, so after lunch, she didn’t stay long in the antique shop. After quickly packing up her stuff, including a textbook she had left at home, the girl rushed out of the house— it was nearly an hour’s journey from the antique shop to her public school in the Lower City District. She couldn’t waste a minute if she wanted to avoid being late for Mr. Morris’s class.

Of course, the City-State had public transportation, even in the less developed Lower City District, where steam-driven trams and buses traversed the streets, but these required a fare of four to six pesos.

Nina, smiling, told Duncan that running more often was good for his health.

If she had a bicycle, her commute to school would be much easier—Duncan had seen people riding this type of transportation in the streets of the Lower City District.

In a society that had developed steam machinery, bicycles, an industrial product, were not so expensive as to be unaffordable to ordinary people, but for residents of the Lower City District, they definitely weren’t cheap; a most basic bicycle might cost a family of three half to a whole month’s living expenses... it was quite a burden.

Duncan didn’t know where his current identity would lead him in the future, but as he watched Nina jogging away and disappearing around the street corner, he always felt... if he could afford it, he should probably treat this girl better.

Even if it was for the vegetable soup and salty pancakes from before.

Moreover, she was a diligent and studious pupil.

Perhaps he should seriously consider ways to make money in this "Civilized City-State."

With various thoughts swirling in his mind, he put down the newspaper in his hand, slowly walked to the end of the second-floor corridor, opened the narrow window there, and stared somewhat abstractedly at the sunlit city streets.

In this world, "anomalies" and "phenomena" had long been intertwined with the course of civilization; both the authorities and the church had not concealed matters of the Transcendent realm from the people. Even a schoolgirl like Nina could learn directly from her textbooks about anomalies and phenomena.

She even knew the classification standards for anomalies and phenomena that the Ancient Crete Kingdom had left behind and were still in use today, and knew some of the publicly listed numbers and names of explored anomalies and phenomena.

Yes, this knowledge was even open to all of society—though not entirely.

Both the authorities and churches of various City-States recognized a list, on which those most famous or dangerous anomalies and phenomena had their own special numbers. These numbers were not permanently fixed and could be transferred or left unassigned under special circumstances, due to various reasons related to the disappearance or transformation of anomalies and phenomena, but regardless of how they changed, one thing was certain:

An anomaly or phenomenon with its own unique number and name certainly possessed its own special danger or strength.

The authorities disclosed a part of the names and details of certain anomalies and phenomena in order to ensure that every citizen was aware of these specific dangers, to equip everyone with basic self-protection knowledge, and, on the other hand... some anomalies and phenomena were just too close to people’s lives.

These entities had even permeated every corner of ordinary life and every aspect of societal operations. People could see them at any time; there was no need to hide them, nor was there any possibility of doing so.

Duncan lifted his head and silently gazed at the sky.

Phenomenon 001, Sun.

The massive luminary traversing the sky, a great phenomenon that had dominated the skies during the Endless Sea era, arose the morning after the collapse of the Ancient Crete Kingdom.

Coverage—worldwide, scope—unlimited, self-operating and moving, unable to be interfered with by human effort, fitting the definition of a phenomenon. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Historical records show that on the day of the kingdom’s collapse, the seas stormed, the City-State shattered, and the initial dynasty’s members died generously in darkness, their blood saturating the ocean. From then on, Phenomenon 001 rose from the sea, and thereafter, daylight calmed the Endless Sea.

The Ancient Crete Kingdom, the first civilized City-State established by survivors following the start of the Deep Sea era, lasted a mere century but left countless legacies that continue to bless the present day.

"Crete" in ancient language meant "eternal night."

It was a night that lasted a century.

All this was written in Nina’s history textbook.