Suddenly, a dull thunder sounded in the sky above Phaeron. A few minutes later, heavy rain fell from the sky, covering this small city-state in the southwest sea like a hazy veil.
The "light explosion" that briefly passed through the sky before has disappeared on the distant sea level. The residents in the city are still nervously guessing where the huge luminous objects that fell from the sky have landed. Now this sudden rainfall seems to have become a more disturbing omen - in the rain, the already dark night is filled with even thicker darkness, and the pale wound of the world has turned into a huge mouth that seems to be constantly wriggling and trembling in the dark clouds. The wind is whimpering in the streets and alleys, and the rolled up raindrops are hitting the windows, layer upon layer, which is very annoying.
Lawrence walked through the lobby of the inn and saw many people stranded in the inn gathered by the windows. They were whispering about the flashes of light that had flashed across the sky, the heavy rain outside, and the patrol team of guards who had just left. A warm fireplace was crackling not far away, and the bright electric lights were like night watchmen fighting against the dark night outside the window - on this unsettling rainy night, fire and light supported the increasingly fragile security barrier in people's hearts.
"It's just ordinary rain..." A soft voice came from the small mirror on her chest, and Martha whispered to Lawrence, "I've confirmed in the spirit world that nothing will happen."
Lawrence nodded slightly. He looked out the window and saw that the rain curtain blurred the scenery on the street. The water flowed down the glass, outlining distorted light and shadows. Martha's figure appeared in the window and smiled at him.
"I just jumped through the mirror to the White Oak. Everything is fine on the ship. Don't worry."
"Thank you for your hard work," Lawrence muttered softly, in a voice that no one else could hear, "Be careful when you enter the spirit world. This world is no longer safe."
"I know," Martha nodded, and continued, "Also, I noticed that several ships from the military port suddenly left and disappeared at full speed into the night in the northeast. Two of them were engineering ships with large winches and towing arms."
"They are going to recover the 'fallen object'. It seems that a luminous object has landed near Phaeron," Lawrence quickly responded, "... I hope everything goes well."
Martha nodded slightly, and then her figure gradually disappeared from the window—the hazy rain curtain and water flow filled Lawrence's vision again.
As he spoke, he raised his arm slightly, and a wisp of translucent spiritual flame jumped and rose from his fingertips.
Frame was startled out of his routine meditation, the vision of the flames sending a tingling sensation through his head.
Lawrence subconsciously felt angry when he saw the other person's appearance, but then he felt something was wrong. He frowned and walked closer to the mummy, taking a look at the bottle of wine in the other person's hand: "What has possessed you again?"
…
The priests on duty looked at each other in bewilderment.
The Fire-Bearer Pope gradually frowned. He stared at the brazier for a while, then suddenly realized something. He stood up abruptly and walked towards the door.
The pope's sudden appearance startled the priests waiting outside the prayer room. One of the priests on duty, wearing a black and red robe, immediately stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
A strong smell of alcohol hit me in the face.
"I'm going to the archives," Frame said without looking back, "No one else needs to follow me. Just make sure to guard the bonfire of the chronological column."
He walked through the stairs and corridors and returned to his temporary residence upstairs. He fished out the key and opened the wooden door with mottled paint.
However, the "sailor" who would normally jump up when he saw the spiritual fire did not react that much this time. The mummy just put the bottle on the table beside him and stared blankly at the flame on the old captain's fingertips. After several seconds, he slowly raised his head and said, "Captain, I'm fine. I just remembered something."
In the darkness of the night, a shriveled figure was sitting crookedly on a chair in the room. The dim light of the street lamp poured into the room from the window, shining on the uninvited guest. He heard the door open and slowly turned his head. His shriveled face, like a skeleton, showed a chilling smile: "Ah... Captain, you're back."
Lawrence raised his hand and turned on the light in the room. The bright light dispelled the darkness of the night and made the ugly mummy look less weird and scary. He frowned and looked at the other person with a serious expression: "'Sailor'? Why are you coming to me instead of staying in your own room?"
The old captain looked outside absentmindedly for a while, then turned and left the lobby of the inn.
Lawrence frowned, staring at Abnormal 077, who seemed to be in a somewhat abnormal state, and slowly spoke: "... Remember something?"
But the moment he entered the room, his movements suddenly stopped.
The shadow of the illusion seemed to still remain in the flickering flames, and gradually collapsed over time.
At this moment, Fram had already strode through the corridor outside the prayer room - after leaving the inner temple, his figure suddenly turned into a stream of fire, which jumped between the countless candlesticks, braziers and bonfires in the temple. Almost in the blink of an eye, it passed through the entire upper level of the Ark and came to the core building of the entire Firebringer Ark.
The Sen'jin Pope, who looked like a little giant, suddenly opened his eyes and saw that he was still kneeling in the prayer room, with fire burning in the brazier in front of him.
"Captain..." The sailor tilted his head, his entire head drooping as if it was about to be torn off his neck. He held a huge bottle of wine in one hand and gulped it down his throat. The wine flowed freely along the hole in his chest and the crack on his neck, dripping onto the floor. "I found this in my room - don't get me wrong, I didn't steal... I didn't steal yours. I know the rules. Stealing the captain's things will be hanged on the mast..."
"I used to be a real person," the mummy stretched out his hands to prop up his body, as if he wanted to adjust his sitting position. He tried several times but still failed. "We went to a very far place, and then... it took a very long time to return to this damn endless sea..."
Located below the "Big Bonfire" and protected by a thick megalithic dome, the "archive" stores and records countless historical books and precious stone slabs.
The archives were brightly lit, and rows of neatly arranged shelves were displayed like giant walls in this huge hall. These shelves, which were stronger and heavier than any conventional bookshelves, were placed on long tracks with hidden traction mechanisms driven by steam engines, allowing the bookshelves to move between the internal library and the external reading room at any time.
However, Frame's target was not the towering bookshelves, but the "secret rooms" deeper in the archives.
He walked straight through all the bookshelves and tracks and came to the stone wall at the end of the hall—two Fire Keeper knights wearing heavy armor and holding flaming swords blocked his way.
"The secret room has been sealed," the knight said. His voice was muffled under the heavy mask. Even though the person standing in front of him was the Pope, he still performed his duties meticulously. "May I ask why you are here?"
"I need to consult the stone tablets left by successive popes," Frame said in a deep voice, "I suspect a historical line penetration event has occurred."
There was a slight sound of joints rubbing and colliding under the knight's armor.
"… Era range?" another knight asked.
"Between 1600 and 1755 in the New City-State calendar," said Frame.
The two knights looked at each other, and each took a half step to the side. At the same time, they raised their flame-shaped swords and placed them on the two grooves on the ground in front of the stone wall. One of them looked at Frame cautiously and said, "Please confirm the current time."
"January 22, 1902, New City State Calendar."
The flame-shaped sword was inserted into the groove on the ground. With the roar of the mechanism operating, the stone wall slowly retreated.
"Confirmed, January 22, 1902, New City-State Calendar," the Fire Keeper Knight said solemnly, "Please return before the end of today. I wish you peace."
…
"We lost contact with the Sea Song," the middle-aged man in the robes of the Deep Sea Priest bowed his head in front of Helena, his tone filled with anxiety and frustration, "They maintained intermittent communication with the temporary lighthouse for an hour after crossing the 6-nautical-mile critical line, and then there was no news at all."
The priest then paused and added, "After the psychic communication failed, we risked turning on the radio, but still did not receive any signal from the Sea Song."
After a brief silence, Helena nodded slowly.
"Back off."
"Yes, Pope."
The middle-aged priest bowed and left the room, and the place became quiet again.
After a long time, Helena stood up from her chair and slowly walked to the statue of the storm goddess Gemona. She threw a sea-bream amulet into the brazier at the feet of the statue, then raised her head and looked at the goddess with a veil on her face.
The goddess's face is hidden under the black veil, like the unpredictable waves and fate.
"… The pioneers we sent to find you are missing. Have they arrived safely in your kingdom? Or… have they been lost in the vast nothingness outside the world?"
The goddess remained silent, not even the gentle sound of the waves could be heard.
After an unknown amount of time, Helena finally let out a sigh, then she withdrew her gaze from the statue and lowered her head to stare at the burning brazier in front of her.
"Lune, the advance fleet sent by the Deep Sea Church outside the border has lost contact," she whispered to the brazier, "Do you still want to continue to implement the plan?"
"Go on," Rune's voice rang out from the flames. "The 'Mathematical Law' has completed its preparations and will leave the port for the southern border in 24 hours. We have detected a stronger signal in this direction. Perhaps it will be smoother than the Sea Song."
Helena listened, nodded slightly, and then hesitated for a moment: "Banster..."
She was interrupted halfway through her words by a sudden crackling sound from the brazier.
She opened her eyes unexpectedly—Frame's voice suddenly rang out from the fire: "Sorry to interrupt you, I have brought you important information related to the Sea Song."
"Frem?" Helena asked in surprise, then she reacted, "You mean the Sea Song? Do you have any news about the Sea Song?!"
"Yes," the flames crackled, and Frame's voice seemed a little distorted. "The Sea Song has returned."
"The Sea Song has returned?" Helena could not hide her astonishment. "When? How come I…"
"December 1675," said Frame calmly.