Ashes Of Deep Sea-Chapter 274 - 278 Reasonable Arrangement
Chapter 274: Chapter 278 Reasonable Arrangement
Nightfall was deepening, and the frigid Creation of the World hung high in the night sky. Under its pallid luminescence, the entire City-State had fallen into silence.
In the second-floor corridor of an antique shop in the Lower City District, Duncan stood before a small window, quietly gazing at the silent street outside. The roofs, undulating under the chilly glow, and the pipes and valves sprawling across them, lay still.
In a far-off view, he saw the Homeloss sailing across the heaving Endless Sea, following the course of the Sea Mist to the north through the dark night.
Here, however, he watched over the entire City-State, utilizing the ubiquitous “perception” to scan every corner of Prande.
He slightly raised his eyes to see the invisible “mists” that continued to hover above the city.
Released by the Storm Cathedral, these “smokes”, akin to “souls”, ceased their expansion after nightfall. Now, they almost covered three-quarters of the City-State, undulating slowly in the night sky like a thin veil, as if…
Strolling leisurely in the night sky.
Duncan withdrew his gaze from the sky and focused on a vast shadow at the edge of the City-State.
It was where the Storm Cathedral docked.
The enormous Pilgrimage Ark, like a dark cloud, clung closely to Prande’s southeast port. In Duncan’s perception, he could distinctly feel the outline of this massive entity, but he couldn’t penetrate his probing sight into the interior of the cathedral.
The interior of the cathedral seemed to him like a vast, dark void.
The ordinary ships docked at the port couldn’t block his “touch”—within a sufficient proximity to Prande, nothing could escape his touch, but now the cathedral was clearly an exception.
Was this due to Goddess Gomona’s “protection”, or a special defense technique of the Deep Sea Church?
Duncan was curious, but he refrained from taking any drastic actions. Although he had contemplated whether a blast of green fire could break the cathedral’s defenses, he only thought of it momentarily—after all, there was no feud, and there was no need to ignite a fire out of mere curiosity.
At that moment, Duncan’s heart suddenly stirred, and he quickly withdrew his perception from the Storm Cathedral, looking toward the direction of the Upper City District instead.
He thoughtfully gazed at the hills that rose above the surrounding land, and the Prande Church that stood solemnly in the night.
…
In a well-lit resting room at the highest point of Prande Cathedral, Pope Helena lit a spice-infused ritual candle and placed the candelabrum in front of a full-length mirror in the corner before she slightly turned to look at Fenna, who had been standing by her side for a long time.
“I heard that the first time you saw ‘him’ in the Dreamscape, your first reaction was to jump and strike,” she commented. “What were you thinking at that time?”
Fenna’s face showed a touch of embarrassment, “At that time… I didn’t think much.”
“When you say ‘didn’t think much,’ it usually means ‘didn’t think at all,'” Helena laughed, “which is actually good. Excellent warriors often act faster than they think, which is very useful when confronting heretics or malevolents—after all, ‘thinking’ can easily become our vulnerability.”
“…but I am just glad that my impulsive action at the time did not have any consequences,” Fenna sighed helplessly, “in retrospect, he seemed not to mind my ‘offense’ at all.”
“He didn’t care, none of them do,” Helena sighed softly, “Higher beings care about much broader and longer-term things… The good news is that, included in what they care about is our survival to some extent.”
Fenna was silent for a moment, and Helena looked at the former Judge with a half-smile, “Fenna, you must have many questions.”
“I want to know… about your arrangements for me,” Fenna hesitated before speaking, “You covertly relieved me of my Judge duties without arranging a new guardian for the City-State, and I am somewhat at a loss, not knowing how to fulfill my responsibilities.”
Helena listened calmly, her face showing no surprise. After Fenna finished speaking, the seemingly young pope just smiled and glanced out the window.
Through the iron-patterned framed window, one could see the City-State streets, peacefully lit by numerous gas lamps.
“It’s a tranquil night, Fenna,” the Pope said, “how many incidents involving Transcendent contamination or sinister invasions do you think the night guards will report today?”
Fenna hesitated for a moment before speaking, “…I’m not sure. These days, the City-State has indeed been safer with no incidents reported, but…”
“Zero,” the Pope interrupted her. “There are zero incidents tonight, just like yesterday, the day before, and it will be the same tomorrow.”
Fenna opened her mouth.
“You all have noticed this, but haven’t dared to conclude, have you?” Helena smiled, “A city that is no longer dangerous at night, even in the temporary darkness after the gas lights go out, no longer breeds shadows; the most radiant pearl atop the Endless Sea, now truly lives up to its name.”
Fenna gradually began to understand, “You mean…”
“Phenomenon-Prand,” Helena nodded lightly, “Within this large phenomenon, it seems no ‘Transcendent contamination’ occurs except for ‘Phenomenon-Prand’ itself.”
“Is this your observational conclusion?”
“Do you think I came here just to receive ‘adoration’ from the citizens in the streets and greetings from clergy and officials in the cathedral?” Helena looked at Fenna with a wry smile, “I have my own ways to observe and judge the changes happening in this City-State.”
Fenna’s mouth hung open, as if she had countless things to say but suddenly didn’t know where to start. A myriad of scattered thoughts filled her head. She felt that the current events once again surpassed her worldview, making it impossible to find a logical way to continue the conversation. After who knows how long, she finally blurted out, “So… does Prand now have no need for Judges?”
“I’m not sure,” Helena’s reply caught Fenna off guard. The Pope shook her head, clearly also uncertain, “Because this kind of thing has indeed never happened before, but at least one thing is certain: as long as the nature of Phenomenon-Prand remains unchanged, then you indeed no longer need to work as before, and the duties of the City-State guards will also undergo significant changes.”
Pausing here, Helena pondered for a moment and then added, “But even so, the City-State still needs the protection of its guards—I can only be sure that no ‘natural Transcendent contamination phenomena’ will occur within Phenomenon-Prand, but the threats we face are not only natural phenomena. Heretics, ancient descendants, sinister creations, those who actively seek to disrupt the civilized order will not comply simply because Prand has become a phenomenon.
“But overall, one thing is for certain: Prand has become much safer.”
Helena stopped, her gaze calmly fixed on Fenna’s eyes for a few seconds before she softly continued, “Fenna, we are treading a very new path; no City-State, no church has ever faced such a situation.
“On another note, our world… seems to be undergoing some disturbing changes as well, whether it’s the malfunction of Phenomenon 001 or the activities of the Homeloss, all are breaking the fragile balance maintained by the City-States for thousands of years. Under these circumstances, and with only very limited revelations from the Goddess, I can only act within these confines.
“Fenna, you possess great talent, and this talent should be assigned to… more valuable places. Prand is now in its safest state, but I guess you aren’t someone who indulges in comfort, are you?”
Upon hearing the Pope’s words, Fenna immediately straightened up unconsciously, “I’m ready to sacrifice everything for faith and justice at any time!”
“Sacrifice everything?”
“Of course, sacrifice everything!”
“Without looking back?”
“As long as it’s the will of the Goddess!”
“Including going to the Homeloss?”
“Including going to…”
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Fenna unconsciously spoke loudly, but barely managed to utter a few words before she choked, and after a couple of seconds, she stared dumbfounded at the Pope before her, “…what did you just say?”
“I just said that our world is undergoing many disturbing changes, and among these changes, at least Homeloss is the only one that has shown a possibility of communication and a tendency of goodwill,” Helena said earnestly, “We need to establish a stable channel of communication with the master of Homeloss, and ideally, it should have an official nature. You can consider yourself a special envoy, or you can think of yourself as a ‘hostage’—of course, I personally suggest you choose the first option, but how you see it is up to you.”
Fenna listened dumbfounded until the Pope finished, finally finding her chance to speak, “But… but… is this reasonable? Going to Homeloss… like I understand the concept? Is this even possible?!”
Helena quietly watched the somewhat flustered young “Judge,” anticipating this reaction, and after a long while, she began speaking with a smile, “Reasonable.”
