The figure in the mirror really left - without doing anything extra, just as he said at the beginning, he just "came to check the situation."
Vanna stared at the mirror with a vigilant look on her face for a long time before she finally confirmed it and felt relieved.
Then she fell into a brief period of reflection and doubt.
The reason for her suspicion was because of her professional habit as an Inquisitor. It was hard for her to truly trust a "person" like Captain Duncan who had been carrying a horror legend for a century and was also related to the Warp, even if the other person really looked rational and friendly, and indeed protected the Land City-State. The reason for her reflection was simpler -
She realized that her guard had gradually weakened during her exchange with Captain Duncan.
This was an inappropriate display of weakness, and she had never thought that this would happen to her.
Ultimately, this is because one has fallen into hesitation and self-doubt and lost the purity of belief, which has led to a hole in the heart.
Vanna reflected on herself for a while, and at the end, she sighed softly.
In any case, the city had survived safely, and she would tell Bishop Valentine what happened tonight, including... her own hesitation.
The young Inquisitor's sigh faded into the darkness as the lights went out.
…
On the second floor of an antique shop in the lower town, Duncan withdrew his gaze from Plande Cathedral and looked at the night scene of the city with thousands of lights near and far, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
He didn't know what had happened to Vanna, but one thing was obvious: the young inquisitor's mental state had just experienced a brief and dangerous shake - this shake even directly touched his perception, forcing him to make a projection directly in the real world to check what had happened to Vanna.
Now recalling it, the aura he felt from Vanna at that time was actually a little familiar—that aura was hidden deep in her spiritual world and surrounded her. If one carefully distinguished it, it was a bit like...
It was like the wonderful feeling you got when you were at the bottom of the Lost Homeland, observing the chaotic light and shadow outside the hull through the cracks.
It's subspace.
And judging from the question that Vanna suddenly asked herself at the end, the trouble she encountered might really be related to the subspace.
Duncan tapped his fingers on the windowsill unconsciously, guessing the truth.
Before leaving, he strengthened the seal he left on the other person. This power should be able to help her resist the possible erosion when necessary, but the key question is, why did a trace of the subspace suddenly appear on Vanna, a high-level saint
Duncan's thoughts spread, and he suddenly thought of some other clues, or "knowledge" - under certain circumstances, the souls of the Four Gods' followers are more easily eroded by the Warp than mortals, and after being eroded, their souls will even directly generate a channel connecting the real dimension and the Warp.
The initial invasion of the chapel in the sixth block also began with the shadow of the nun’s soul…
Will something similar happen to Vanna? If so, what is the reason behind this counterintuitive phenomenon
After a moment of contemplation, Duncan took a breath and turned away from the window.
In any case, he should pay more attention to Vanna, this special "node" in the future - now Vanna lacks trust in him as the "ghost captain", she certainly won't take the initiative to tell her all the secrets, so he needs to pay more attention on his part.
On the way back to the bedroom, Duncan heard the laughter of two young girls coming from the next room - the voices of Nina and Shirley.
Even though they had returned to the city-state from the Lost Homeland, they seemed still excited, especially Nina.
The child didn't seem to have any psychological trauma from the eerie and terrifying ghost photo, nor did she have any worries about the future - she was as cheerful as usual, even... seemed to be a little more cheerful.
Was it the influence of the sun fragments? Or was it because she had a strong ability to receive
Duncan thought about it.
He suddenly felt that... he seemed to have discovered some unexpected "talents" of Nina.
As night fell, the cold, pale light of the World's Creation illuminated the open deck of the Lost Homeland.
The sound of brisk footsteps broke the silence on the ghost ship in the night, and a figure wearing a gorgeous long dress and a silver-haired shawl came to the control panel at the stern.
Alice looked up at the captain who was learning how to steer the ship. His violet eyes were reflecting the light and sparkling. "Captain! Where are we going next?"
We don't have a destination for now, so let's leave the busy routes between city-states for now," Duncan looked down at the puppet, "You look like you're in a good mood?"
"Yes, yes!" Alice nodded excitedly. No matter how elegant and noble she looked, the cheerful look in her eyes when she nodded was enough to make people feel silly. "It's so lively on the ship today! This is the first time I know that just a lot of people getting together can be so interesting..."
"It's not always 'fun' to get people together - but you may have trouble understanding this now," Duncan said casually, "Also, control your nodding, because you scared them when your head fell off today."
"Oh oh..." Alice hurriedly held her head, and then seemed a little worried, "Then they... won't stop coming because of this?"
“This worry is unnecessary.
Alice uttered "oh" again, and then was silent for less than two seconds before asking again: "Then... can I still go to the city-state to play in the future? This time I didn't even get to see the world properly, and I encountered... a mess, and I feel dizzy..."
Duncan's eyes swept across the sea and then fell back on Alice: "Of course, I can ask Ai to send you to the antique shop tomorrow - I still need your help in the store."
"Really?" Alice's eyes lit up and she looked very surprised. "I thought... we wouldn't be going back to the city-state most of the time. After all... it seems like you've finished your work there?"
Duncan did not answer the other party immediately. Instead, he deliberately kept silent for several seconds before suddenly asking, "Do you think that I am paying attention to Plande because there is something I have to do?"
Alice was stunned for a moment, then she scratched her head and said, "I... I don't know."
Duncan smiled and shook his head, gently releasing the steering wheel in his hands.
There were slight creaking sounds coming from all over the Lost Homeland, and the spiritual sails on the mast were slightly retracted, and the ship entered a "cruising mode" taken over by the Goat Head.
"We just solved the trouble caused by a group of cultists." Duncan stepped down from the bridge and walked towards the captain's room. He casually said to Alice, "As for Plande... I think that city-state is destined to be with me."
The captain walked away. Alice thought about it for a while, confused, and turned to look at the direction he left. "... As expected of the captain, he is so profound...
Duncan arrived at the door of the captain's room. He looked up and saw the words "Gate of the Lost" reflecting the dim light from the creation of the world on the door frame.
He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then placed his hand on the door handle.
Gently push inwards.
Hazy and distorted fog appeared before his eyes. Duncan stepped forward and felt the familiar momentary weightlessness and slight dizziness. The feeling of dislocation, as if he had traveled through endless time and space and arrived at his destination in an instant, passed by for a moment, and then the surroundings became quiet.
The never-ending sound of wind and waves on the boundless sea and the slight creaking sounds from various places on the Lost Homeland faded away, and the fishy sea breeze also quietly disappeared. A familiar smell came from the surroundings, and this smell came from the room where he had lived for many years.
Zhou Ming opened his eyes and looked at the unchanging scene in the single apartment.
As usual, the first thing he did after returning here was to check the general situation of the entire room, to check if there were any changes here since he left, to check if the thick fog outside the window showed any signs of dissipating, to check if the string and paper scraps he left on the window and windowsill had been moved.
Passing Place
.
Even though he knew it was meaningless, he still treated this series of "confirmations" as a task that had to be completed.
After completing this series of confirmations, his second thing was to go to his desk.
Zhou Ming lowered his head and looked calmly at the things on his desk.
A miniature model of the Plande city-state was quietly placed on the table.
Exquisite, restored, every detail is lifelike, even every floor tile and every street lamp is exactly the same as the real Plande.
Or in other words, this is the real Pland "projection" presented in some form in his bachelor apartment.
It's here, just as expected.
The fine flame that jumped and burned on the desk completed the final carving of this "collection". Now, this perfect masterpiece has been presented to its owner.
Zhou Ming exhaled lightly, slowly sat down at the table, and looked at this exquisite "model".
Compared with the "model" of the Lost Homeland, the size of this "city-state" is obviously much larger, but it is obviously not scaled in proportion. Its size seems to be just right to fit into a separate grid on the shelf, as if it was specially tailor-made for that place.
However, in this lifelike city-state model, there is no trace of any residents. It seems that the "people" living in the city-state cannot form a projection here
Zhou Ming seemed to be thinking about something, and he looked at the Plande city-state for a long time. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief, picked up this large "collection" with both hands, and placed it carefully on a shelf not far away.
After putting it away, he took two steps back and silently admired his new collection.
The Lost Homeland had left Plunder, but the Captain... had never left his loyal city-state.