The rain was pouring down, and the whole Plande was shrouded in an unprecedented downpour.
It was as if the sea was upside down, with an endless abyss overlooking the earth from the sky, as if the world had fallen into the abyss. Ink-black clouds hung high in the sky like blocks of iron. Endless rain washed over Pland's ancient bell tower, tall buildings, walls, and rugged coastline. Continuous waves surged in from the sea, as if forming some kind of siege, blocking the entire city-state from all directions.
Even the most insensitive person could sense a strange atmosphere from the abnormal heavy rain. Citizens fled home, closing their doors and windows. Homeless people on the streets rushed into the nearest shelter or relief center, or the poorest ones went to the sewer entrances or pipe exchange stations - there were at least gas lamps and sacred steam, which could provide the most basic sense of security on such a rainy day.
Heidi rushed to the cathedral square in this storm - perhaps the goddess's protection was still there, the rain around the cathedral was a little lighter than other places, but this lighter rain did not make Heidi feel relieved, but made her even more worried.
The rain in the cathedral was lighter than in other places, which meant that this heavy rain was indeed related to supernatural powers.
The church guards opened the gate, and Heidi rushed out of the car and rushed into the sacred triple-spired gate. In just a few steps, her whole body was soaked by the cold rain.
But she had no time to care about these things, because the moment she walked into the church, she felt the restless atmosphere in the air around her. This was the spiritual warning reminding her that an invisible "conflict" was gradually unfolding with this place as the center.
A silent monk received her, and then at her strong request, the monk informed Bishop Valentine who was praying in the main hall of the church. Heidi waited for three minutes in anxiety and uneasiness, and finally saw the respected old man appear in front of her.
She noticed that the bishop was wearing a full set of ceremonial robes, with a heavy triple crown placed neatly on his head. He held a long holy staff in his hand, and a copy of the Tome of Storms decorated with silver and gems hung around his waist.
This was definitely not the attire for ordinary days. Instead, it was the attire that would only be worn at extremely important ceremonies. These heavy and luxurious clothes and decorations were a heavy burden, enough to make a strong adult feel tired while walking. However, Valentine walked with a steady and majestic pace. There seemed to be thunder and lightning brewing in his eyes, and his aura was transcendent and full of holiness. Those sacred things made the old man temporarily shed his mortal identity and turned into a symbolic body. He came to Heidi and looked at the "psychiatrist" who visited the cathedral in this bad weather with a serious expression: "Child, what happened?"
"I... I need shelter, the highest level of shelter!" Heidi answered immediately. She recalled her father's particularly serious reminder before he left, and said solemnly, "I want the entire Storm Cathedral to be on alert to protect me - to protect the child of Plande's most outstanding historian."
"The most outstanding historian in Plande..." Bishop Valentine stared into Heidi's eyes quietly. There seemed to be a flash of lightning in the old man's eyes. Then he closed his eyes slightly and nodded gently. "I received your request, child. The cathedral will provide shelter. You are safe."
"Thank you very much," Heidi took a deep breath, without moving her eyes away from the old man. When she saw Valentine's outfit, she knew that the cathedral seemed to have entered a "pre-war state" before she arrived. "Excuse me... what happened?"
"It's war," Valentine said calmly. "Someone has declared war on Plender. A storm that was not blessed by the goddess descended on Plender. This was the signal for war, but it was not until you came that I finally knew who the opponent of the war was."
"Start a war?!" Heidi was stunned. "Who are the enemies? Where are they?"
Valentine stared at Heidi quietly for a long time before he said softly, "It's Pland—
"A Prand who has been lost in history."
There was a loud thunderclap, and the whole church seemed to be shaken violently. Heidi was startled. She looked up in horror, looking at the glass windows that were still rattling in the aftershocks of the thunder, and at the heavy chandelier that was swaying left and right above her head. In the midst of this shock and shaking, she suddenly felt a slight
A tremor—a tremor different from thunder.
It was the roar of a large number of steam walkers gathering in the square, and the roar of the Skitarii steam tanks driving out of the garage.
Heidi turned her head in fear and looked at Bishop Valentine, who was standing in front of the statue of the goddess like a reef in the sea. She spoke quickly: "Is the enemy coming?!"
"The enemy is here," Valentine said softly. In the noise of thunder, his whisper still fell clearly into Heidi's ears. "They arrived many years ago..."
…
The giant sword smashed down, and the ruins and rubble blocking the road were blown away like dust. Vanna held the sword and crossed a collapsed road. She saw the houses in front of her falling down like wax figures in a fire. The hot and thick ashes covered the road like snow. The remaining sparks danced and flew among the ashes and ruins, and there were suspicious human-shaped things slowly crawling in the hot ashes. It was unbearable to watch, and the scene was weird and miserable.
Fanna controlled herself not to pay too much attention to the squirming human-shaped gray creatures.
She knew that those were the citizens of Plande, everyone she knew, protected, and loved. They died in the fire that would burn down the entire city-state, and no one in the city-state was spared.
They died during this period of history, but were shaped into this horrible and tragic phantom by the eternal flame.
These scenes were interfering with her emotions and judgment.
The young judge pursed his dry, pale lips, feeling the burns on his respiratory tract in the hot, ash-filled environment, feeling his strength draining away, and reminded himself once again—
None of this has happened and will not happen.
She raised her head and looked towards the end of the street.
Among the wriggling ashes and jumping sparks, one could occasionally see a ghostly green flame flashing by. That was the mark left by a certain terrible ghost captain in this false history. The position of that ghost captain in this incident was strange and unclear. Vanna had no idea what his purpose was. She only knew that his power had mixed into the back of the curtain at some point and was spreading throughout this destroyed Plande, and was vaguely in conflict with the power that distorted history.
And at the end of her sight was the end of her journey, one of the "goals" she had set for herself in this destroyed Plande.
A small church whose main structure remained intact after the fire stood quietly at the end of the street.
She had walked across half of the city and arrived at the small church in the sixth block.
Strictly speaking, she killed half of the city-state.
Vanna walked forward with the sword in hand, overcoming all obstacles. The door of the chapel had collapsed, and a long hall illuminated by the embers appeared vaguely before her.
There was no longer the warm and bright lights in the long hall, no longer the neat and holy prayer table, and no longer the young nun praying peacefully.
Fanna walked straight past the ruins and came to the back of the main hall, where she found the sloping stairs leading underground.
A dark wooden door stood quietly at the end of the stairs.
Vanna exhaled gently, relieving the pain and fatigue in every joint of her body, and then walked down the stairs.
The miniature machine gun that had been removed from the walker had long been scrapped and thrown away on the way. Now all she had in her hand was the loyal and reliable giant sword that had accompanied her for many years.
She came to the door with sword in hand and pushed it gently with her hand.
The door was locked, but only with a latch, and there was no one blocking it from the other side.
I could vaguely feel the breath and sounds coming from the other side of the door.
Vanna exerted force with her hands, and the fragile door lock did not hold in her hand for more than half a second. With a sound of metal tearing, the door of the underground temple was pushed open by her.
A startled and nervous young voice came from the other side of the door: "You can't open the door!!"
At the same time as this sound rang out, there seemed to be a faint noise mixed in with it.
"Your junior," Vanna pushed open the door, the giant sword scraping against the ground, and she stepped inside. The stubborn lantern on her waist was still emitting light, illuminating the underground temple that had fallen into darkness, "Your battle sister."
The sanctuary was illuminated by a faint light.
A nun holding a long sword stood cautiously at the feet of the statue of the goddess, watching Vanna with full vigilance as she pushed the door open - she was wearing an old nun's robe from 1885 and her face was still very young.
She was about the same age as Vanna when she died in battle.
Vanna looked at the nun opposite her who was on full alert and sighed softly.
As she imagined, only within this polluted and distorted veil could she enter this sealed underground sanctuary before the nun died in battle - the brief moments before the nun died in battle were part of the historical pollution.
This small church in Block 6 is the first twisting point.
The young inquisitor finally found the most crucial information, but...how should she report it all next
"Sister?" The nun holding the sword adjusted to the sudden light, and it seemed that only now did she realize that the lights in the entire underground temple had been extinguished. She didn't know when she was standing in darkness, and under her feet, something seemed to be stirring in the depths of the darkness. She raised her head and looked at the tall woman who appeared in the dim light, and finally saw the symbol of the Storm Church on her armor and giant sword. "Are you sent by the Cathedral? Leave quickly! The pollution here is out of control. While I still have time..."
Vanna shook her head and slowly stepped forward: "I'll help you."