Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 213: Chapter 217: The Devotee’s Doubts

Heidi suddenly sneezed vigorously, startling the young monk who was taking notes across from her.

“Are you all right?” the young monk asked with some concern, looking at the lady psychiatrist in front of him, “Do you feel unwell, or is there anything unusual?”

“I’m fine—it might just be the cool breeze I caught in the square earlier, coupled with the tension before that’s making me chilly now,” Heidi interrupted, waving her hand and rubbing her nose, “Where were we?”

“We were discussing how you, in a near ‘out-of-body’ state, witnessed two ‘realities’ overlapping in the City-State, and the arrival of Homeloss caused one reality to peel away and vanish,” the young monk glanced at the notes he had just taken, then flipped through earlier pages, “You also mentioned possessing a crystal pendant, which you believed might be key.”

“The pendant is broken,” Heidi thought for a moment and nodded, “My father acquired it from an antique shop, but I suspect neither he nor the shopkeeper knew of its special nature—it was nothing but a free gift, carrying even a glass workshop’s label.”

“That is, an item with transcendent power, hidden in plain sight, arrived in the Lower City District by chance and landed in your possession,” the monk looked down as he continued recording, “Could you tell me about the antique shop and some specific details about the pendant? It might help us to grasp a more detailed account during the recovery efforts, as items of transcendent nature often have the ability to influence fate, and its encounter with you might not be coincidental.”

“Of course, no problem,” Heidi nodded immediately, sharing what she knew. After outlining the general situation, she hesitated for a moment before finally uttering, “Has everyone… come back yet?”

“From what we currently understand… yes,” the young monk nodded, “Although almost everyone has a memory of the City-State being consumed by flames, everything has now returned to the state before the catastrophe—currently, the explanation given by the Archbishop and the Judge is ‘an invasion-level historical contamination disaster’, but the specifics are yet to be disclosed.”

With that, he paused, adding, “But your case is the most peculiar—almost no one remembers how the disaster ended, yet you ‘saw’ the critical process, making your testimony crucial.”

“I understand,” Heidi sighed softly, then as if suddenly remembering something, “Should I check in with my family first? It looks like I won’t be going back anytime soon…”

“We have already sent someone,” the young monk smiled slightly, “You don’t need to worry.”

“They’ve been notified? That’s good,” Heidi thought for a moment and gently nodded, “Let’s continue then, what else do you need to ask?”

“Right, the next question, do you remember any distinct details about the Ghost Ship that appeared in both historical trajectories? While recalling those details, did you experience any mental distraction or hallucinations?”

…

Fenna arrived at the grand cathedral.

The vast, sacred space was particularly quiet at this moment, except for the necessary guards at the entrance, with only Bishop Valentin standing silently in front of the holy icon.

The sound of Fenna’s footsteps broke the serene atmosphere inside the cathedral.

Valentin turned around, now having shed the ornate garments and crown he only wore on special occasions, clad simply in a robe and wearing a soft hat. Apart from holding the staff that signified his position as City-State Bishop, he looked no different from an ordinary old man.

Fenna approached Valentin, her expression calm, “Order in the cathedral district has been restored, the garrison troops are returning to their stations in sequence to regulate the City-State’s order, and the high-ranking priests have gone to soothe the steam cores at major factories. At least before nightfall, we can ensure the ‘Evening Bells’ ring as usual, and the city’s gas supply will not be interrupted.”

The old bishop seemed visibly relieved, “You’ve done well, Fenna.”

“As I should,” Fenna spoke calmly, “The lingering spiritual and cognitive chaos from the contamination continues to affect the untrained populace, making it difficult for ordinary people to snap out of the disaster all at once. Even the city hall is in disarray, with only ‘professionals’ temporarily managing the order.”

Valentin nodded, then reminded, “Besides ensuring the gas supply after dusk, extra patrols need to be dispatched in every district with sufficient lanterns and incense to guard against anything ‘sneaking’ in during the night… We have just gone through a reality invasion, and the foundation of reality in Plunder is at its most vulnerable. Also, check all the nighttime shelters in the city, as there might still be citizens too panicked, locking themselves inside… Once the holy oil runs out in the shelters, those troubled refugees could turn into a big problem.”

Fenna nodded, “Understood, I will arrange it later, and I will personally lead the team to inspect key areas tonight.”

“…you can delegate it to your assistant,” Valentin looked worriedly at the young Judge, “Go rest once you’ve managed what’s on your hands. You are still injured.”

“After returning to the cathedral, the injury has mostly healed,” Fenna immediately responded, and she size up the old man before her, “Your ‘injury’ earlier was more severe than mine…”

“Is that the same?” Valentin sternly said, “I have recovered from historical pollution, but you actually fought through the entire City-State twice, inside and outside the veil! I can see your current weakness.”

Fenna said nothing; she simply turned around, raising her head under the glow of candles and gas lamps, quietly gazing at the holy icon of the Storm Goddess Gomona.

The cathedral fell into a brief silence until Valentin broke the eerie quiet, “What are you thinking about?”

“I’ve been pondering how to write the latter half of this report,” Fenna sighed, “When Her Holiness wants to understand the catastrophe at Plunder, how should we explain to her how all of this ended?”

Valentin’s expression suddenly became more compelling.

“In a sense… well, perhaps ‘a sense’ no longer applies,” the Archbishop struggled for a moment, then sighed much like Fenna, “The fact is, Homeloss’s arrival extinguished the historical pollution brought by the Doomsday Preacher and prevented the imminent birth of the Black Sun in this mortal world. Although we do not know the purpose behind the Ghost Ship’s captain’s actions, there is no doubt…”

The Archbishop paused, and after nearly half a minute of silence, he couldn’t help but speak in a heavy voice: “Plunder survived because of the arrival of Homeloss.”

“Perhaps, he came for the ‘Sun Shard’,” Fenna thought to herself, holding back much of her own thoughts, “Do you remember the ‘White Oak’? That ship faced Homeloss head-on and managed to retreat unscathed, only the anomaly 099 was taken—perhaps the motives of ‘Captain Duncan’ are simpler than anyone imagines.”

“Taking away a Sun Shard and abducting an anomaly aren’t the same,” Valentin shook his head, “But you’re right, this indeed is the only explanation we can think of now. If Her Holiness needs an answer, then it’s the only one we can offer… For the rest, we can only report everything that happened here as it is, and see what conclusions the clerics of the Storm Cathedral can draw.”

Fenna hummed softly, then turned back, her gaze once again falling on the sacred image of the goddess.

“Your mind is still very unsettled,” Valentin, knowing her for many years, easily noticed something was amiss with Fenna, “Fenna, we have already discussed the matters of the City-State and the Church, what else is shaking your will now?”

“I… it’s nothing.”

“We’ve known each other for many years,” Valentin shook his head, “Although professionally, you and I are equals, you’ve always treated me as a trusted elder in our personal dealings—I can see that something hasn’t been right since you returned. What exactly happened?”

Fenna fell silent momentarily, gazing up at the goddess veiled in her mantle, then after a while, she lowered her gaze to her own body.

The words of Dante Wayne seemed to echo in her ears.

Eleven years ago, in the great fire, the one the Doomsday Preachers used to initiate historical pollution, her uncle… he hadn’t actually saved her.

The great fire marked the beginning of historical pollution, the division between “true history” and “pseudo-history,” where those who died that night genuinely perished, and following that great fire, the destruction and survival of Plunder were split into two diametrically opposed “world lines.”

Meaning, she, who had died that night… shouldn’t have survived.

It was the “blessing of Subspace” that allowed her to live to this day.

The frenzied screams of the Doomsday Preacher still rang in her ears from the top of the bell tower—

“You resurrected after death, shall also die after being born…”

She had already died and been resurrected.

Yet wasn’t reborn to die again.

The appearance of Homeloss disrupted it all.

Now, she still stood here, breathing the air of the mortal world, enjoying the warmth of the living.

Even the Storm Goddess still blessed her, using the moisturizing power of the sea winds to heal all her wounds from the previous battles.

This even caused Fenna, for the first time in her life, a confusion related to the goddess—

The Storm Goddess… did she really not mind that she was still alive due to the “blessing of Subspace”?

And this confusion further extended and expanded into something far more chilling for Fenna—

If, as per the words of the Doomsday Preacher and Captain Duncan, the whole of Plunder City-State at this moment, was already saturated with the flames of Homeloss, every person in this city-state, even the land itself, had become “profaned heretics.”

Yet… the blessings in the cathedral continued, and every prayer to the goddess by the Deep Sea Priests in Plunder still received responses as before.

For the first time in her life, Fenna doubted the faith she had always held.