No one understands the line between life and death better than Tirian and his undead sailors.
Bartok, the god of death, has a door that anchors the boundary between life and death. In short, as long as the soul of the living passes through that door, it will reach the world of the dead, and that door is one-way - in other words, as long as you don't pass through that door, then no matter it is a short-term corpse awakening or a continuous undead curse, it is not a true "resurrection from the dead".
"Many people in the world confuse the 'undead' with the 'dead', and even think that the former have taken advantage of the Death's Gate," Tirian turned around and looked at the noisy sailors in the square, and said calmly, "But in fact, they were rejected by the gate because of their polluted souls, so they were stuck on the border between life and death. According to the strict concept of the Church of Death, the 'undead' actually belongs to the world of the living."
Duncan didn't speak for a while, but recalled his experience in the cemetery.
Waking up in a coffin, he was called "restless" by the cemetery's caretaker; a group of Annihilation Cultists came to steal the body, and they seemed to have expected that the body would move; the body suddenly disintegrated on its own, as if it had "reached a certain limit"...
"Frostbite may not have experienced true resurrection of the dead, but there are probably people who have witnessed the dead appearing in the city, and these events are most likely related to a group of Annihilation cultists," Duncan said slowly after pondering, "but it's still hard to say how much they have infiltrated, and it's also hard to say what they want to do."
"Annihilation Cult?" Tirian was surprised. He didn't expect that this matter would be related to the cultists all of a sudden. "How can you be sure that it is related to them?"
"They once tried to take a body away from the city-state cemetery. They seemed to be well prepared and even anticipated that the body would move abnormally. Although the actual situation in the end was a little different from what they expected."
Tirian listened in a daze, and looked at his father with some suspicion: "How... do you know this information? And it's so detailed..."
"That body is me."
Tirian: "...Huh?"
"It was just an evening walk, and I happened to encounter the body snatcher," Duncan said without further explanation. "It's not important. What's important is whether these 'return of the dead' events are related to the 'deep sea' beneath the frost."
"The dead return and the 'deep sea'?" Tirian frowned. He had never associated these two things together. When he heard his father suddenly mention it, he couldn't help but feel a little confused. "Why do you say that? The relationship between these two things..."
"It's very simple. The body I 'temporarily used' showed strange disintegration in the end. The state it presented during the disintegration process was very similar to the 'replica' that appeared in the Abyss Project that you described."
"Disintegrating?" Tirian was surprised, and then puzzled, "But... the replicas of the Abyss Project come from the seabed a thousand meters below. How can the dead in the city-state be related to that place..." He paused, his expression became complicated and solemn, and he raised his head after a moment: "Could it be that the power of 'replication' has spread in the city-state, and the cultists you mentioned are the promoters? But there should be no connection between the Annihilation Cult and the deep sea..."
Listening to Tirian's soliloquy, Duncan suddenly thought of another thing.
At the deepest part of the Obsidian, inside the mouth of "Captain Christo", there is a small piece of flesh and blood that contains the breath of the Deep Holy Lord!
If that ghost ship really came from the deep sea beneath the Frost, and if Captain Christo (regardless of whether he was a clone or the original) really had contact with the Lord of the Deep... then the Annihilation Cultists in the city-state must be related to the deep sea!
Tirian looked at the figure on the ice curiously. "Father, what are you thinking about?"
"How much do you know about the Lord of the Deep? What about the Annihilation Cultists?" Duncan suddenly raised his head and asked, "How much have you dealt with them?"
"I haven't had much dealings with them. Although the Annihilation Cultists are not as elusive as the End Preachers, they are also a low-key and secretive group. They are obsessed with studying demonic knowledge and "purifying" themselves through demonic knowledge. They generally don't have anything to do with outsiders."
Tirian shook his head and continued, "As for the Lord of the Deep... I heard that His status is equal to that of a god, but He does not have the authority of a god. In the few materials describing Him, He is a huge piece of meat crawling in the deepest part of the Deep, guarding a large rift leading to the Warp with countless tentacles. But there are also claims that He is actually stuck in that rift, and some great power has sealed it there...
"The information in this area has always been vague and bizarre. After all, mortals in the mortal world have almost no means to observe the situation in the Deep Realm. All research in this area is based on indirect observations of projections from the spirit world and soul-torturing of certain Annihilation Cultists."
At this point, Tirian couldn't help but ask curiously: "Why do you suddenly ask about the Lord of the Deep?"
"In the deepest part of the Obsidian, I found a small piece of flesh and blood. It is very likely from the Lord of the Deep."
Tirian: "...?"
It was obvious that he had been more shocked tonight than his old father was when he saw the twelve Badika dancers dancing on the stage just now.
"I know you don't believe it, but it's true." Duncan could see the disbelief on Tirian's face. "I have a deep demon here. It can help identify it."
Tirian's tone was still a little confused: "Deep Demon? Help identify it?"
"A Deep Hound—you saw one," Duncan said casually, "though you only saw it for a moment."
Tirian was startled for a moment, as if he remembered something, and immediately reached out and touched his forehead.
Duncan nodded: "Yes, that's it."
Tirian didn't know what to say.
Duncan raised his eyes and looked over Tirion's shoulder towards the square.
After a few rounds of dancing, even the dancers who had taken the potion in advance should take a break.
"It's time to end this conversation," Duncan said suddenly. "This matter seems to be more complicated than you and I imagined. It's hard to draw any conclusions just by discussing it through a mirror." .... "What do you mean..."
"I will send a messenger, who will take you to the Lost Homeland. Here, we can discuss some things more conveniently, and you can also see with your own eyes what I brought out from the depths of the Obsidian."
On the Lost Hometown?!
Although this was a gentle invitation, Tirian couldn't help but feel a chill and tension in an instant.
He tried hard to control the changes in his expression, but the instantaneous reaction in his eyes still caught Duncan's eyes.
"If you don't want to, I can go directly there," the voice on the ice said lightly, "but you need to prepare yourself with your subordinates first."
Tirian looked a little tense.
Should I go to the Lost Homeland myself, or let the Lost Homeland sail into the base of the Sea Fog Fleet
No matter which option you choose, it seems to be a challenge to your life achievements.
But after a brief consideration, he made a rational decision.
"Send a messenger. It will be more convenient for me to go there."
Tirian looked calmly at his father on the ice.
Reason told me that my father had really regained his humanity, so even if the Lost Homeland returned from the subspace... theoretically it was not a dangerous forbidden place.
Is there anything that can't be overcome
If I go there by myself, I only need to prepare myself mentally. But if the Lost Homeland is allowed to sail directly into the home port, then I will not be the only one who needs to prepare myself mentally.
Just have to fight a little bit of nervous instinct.
"That's good," Duncan nodded, seeming satisfied with Tirian's answer. He then took a half step back, and his figure quickly dimmed and blurred on the ice. "Then I'll leave first. I have some things to do. I'll let you know before the messenger leaves."
Tirian bent slightly before the ice, which was gradually returning to normal, and waited until the last trace of green flames faded before he stood up again.
Then he calmed himself down, turned around and walked towards the square.
In the square, the noise from the second half of the night had not yet died down. The undead sailors were either eating and drinking or chatting and laughing. Some rude people who were closer to the stage tried to whistle at the dancers on the stage - but because of air leakage in their mouths or throats, they could only make funny sounds.
On the stage, the dancers had finished their performance. They stood in a row under the command of the foreman, as if waiting for the next order to disperse. The cold wind blew through the gap between the bonfire and the windshield. Several of the girls seemed to be shivering a little, but in their numb and dull eyes, a lively look gradually began to emerge.
The effects of the alchemical potion were about to end, and normal emotions would return to their minds.
Two girls gradually showed a little curiosity on their faces, but more people's eyes gradually showed fear.
The square was filled with strange-looking undead beings - even if one had prepared oneself mentally in advance, this was not a scene that most people could withstand.
First mate Aiden ran out. He had been on the stage the whole time. Now he came directly to the highest point in the square and yelled at the sailors who were still making noises in his hoarse voice: "Disperse! Disperse! No more dancing! Those with the scariest looks, cover your faces. Those with missing limbs, crawl under the table. The girls are leaving - get out of the way next to the stage... Willen! Get under the table! I get scared when I see your face!"
So the sailors in the square responded loudly, some covering their faces, some hiding, some making a lot of noise and laughing. The leader of the dancers on the stage looked at this scene a little bit bewildered at first, then reacted, saluted Aiden hastily and awkwardly, and quickly walked off the stage with the girls.
The girls, with nervous and frightened looks on their faces, tried to hide themselves behind other people and hurried towards the temporary accommodation arranged for them.
There were also two very brave girls who deliberately stopped and blinked their eyes curiously at the undead people in the square.
A girl looked up as she passed by Aiden, grinning and saying something that made the first mate so embarrassed that he almost fell off the platform.
The dancers from Cold Harbor left.
Aiden finally noticed Tirian coming to the square.
(End of this chapter).
Yuantong reminds you: Remember to collect after reading