As usual, Vanna calmed down and mentally recited the sacred passage from the Codex of the Storm, then took a half-burned glyphed candle from a nearby drawer, placed it at her side, and lit the candlestick.

A small bright flame danced on the tip of the candle, and the calming aroma slowly spread as the essential oil evaporated, and Vanna took a light breath, then slashed the dagger across her arm without hesitation.

Blood soaked into the fine lines of the dagger, as if absorbed by it, and a brief pain came from her arm—the pain didn't even last a few seconds before it turned into a faint itch as the wound healed.

Vanna could even hear the slight sound of cells regenerating and blood clotting, and she could see the wound on her arm heal quickly, and the soft sound of the waves faintly coming from her ears.

She looked at the ceremonial dagger in her hand again, and after a moment's hesitation, placed the dagger stained with her own blood on top of the flaming candlestick, letting the flames lick the tip of the dagger.

"Listen, Lord of the Storm, Gospel of the Deep Sea, Maiden of the Silent Sea, Listen, Your Followers Need Guidance......"

The flames crackled, and the blood on the dagger ignited in the blink of an eye, and turned into a thick glow that floated on the blade.

This is the identification of the channel that has been established.

A saint, guided by blood, using a special prayer format and following a special ritual process, can establish a far more stable and direct communication channel between himself and the gods than when ordinary priests pray, and this special power and "grace" is what distinguishes the "saint" from ordinary clergy.

As for how stable and direct this particular "channel" is......

In a way, this can even be seen as talking directly to God.

The soft sound of the waves sounded, as if it echoed directly in her mind, and Vana felt the air around her gradually become moist, and even the salty smell seemed to float in her nostrils, and then she suddenly felt a trance in her spirit, and the scene in front of her changed.

The familiar bedroom vanished, and the surroundings became an endless, slightly surging blue water, and a faint blue light rose and fell in the depths of the water, as if there were hundreds of mysterious light sources hidden in the deep sea, and Vana felt as if she was in the center of an unknown vast deep sea, and in the sparkling waves in front of her eyes, a blurred image gradually emerged.

It seemed to be a lady in a long dress, and behind her there were large hazy shadows spreading in all directions, the woman's face was hidden behind the veil, and the shadows behind her were sinuous and intertwined, as if they were countless intertwined chains, and as if they were outlining some kind of larger, more than mortal reason, and the figure in the long dress was only a small part of this huge body—a small part that could be understood by mortals.

Vanna inhaled softly, calming her heartbeat.

As a saint, it was not uncommon to catch a glimpse of the apparition or incarnation of the Storm Goddess Grimona in a special ceremony, but she couldn't help but get nervous at the thought of her own wavering and almost deviant doubts in her heart today.

The mysterious, vague figure seemed to move a little closer to this side, "he" didn't speak, but Vana felt an "idea" directly in her mind.

The apparition of the goddess motioned for herself to speak.

"I ......," Vanna hesitated slightly, and finally said bluntly, as if she had made up her mind, "I have survived because of the subspace, why do you still choose me as a saint and send blessings?" ”

The hazy and blurry figure didn't move, but Fanna didn't dare to urge, she knew that although what she saw was only a projection, this projection was indeed pointed directly at Gemona, and the question she had just asked was a great adventure-

It was beyond her duty as a believer, but she really wanted to know the answer.

I don't know how long I waited in this apprehension, and suddenly, an idea seemed to be implanted directly into her brain.

“…… There is no difference......"

"There is no difference?" Vanna was stunned, this endless answer was even more difficult to understand than the obscure and broken prophecies and revelations, she instinctively felt that there should be some other "context" in this answer, but she didn't understand the message and therefore didn't hear it, which made her subconsciously ask again, "What doesn't make a difference?" I don't understand, you chose to ...... even though you knew I had been blessed by subspace."

However, Vanna's words could not be finished, because the deep-sea illusion around her suddenly became violently turbulent, and the soft and bright light that had been in the depths of the waves also dimmed and faded one after another, and the phantom of the goddess was already on the verge of collapse in the blink of an eye, Vana felt that she was being "pushed" out of this channel, and before the connection was completely broken, she only vaguely perceived a few words:

“…… Time is limited...... Coming soon...... Critical ......"

Contact was completely broken.

Vanna felt as if she had been brutally thrown back into the real world, her heart pounding, a feeling of suffocation that made her subconsciously gasp for air, she looked up and looked around, seeing that all the illusions had dissipated, and the dagger in her hand had fallen on the table at some point, only the glyph candle was still burning quietly, the flames beating and swaying.

After a while, Vanna's gaze finally withdrew from the candle flame, and she picked up the fallen dagger and slowly put it back in the drawer.

Her mind swirled with the only information that had come to her mind during that brief exchange.

"There is no difference" and "Time is limited, and it is about to be critical".

The former, she still couldn't understand what it meant, and the latter...... It seemed to have a clearer meaning, but it only made her more confused.

Is the goddess telling herself that something is about to happen? Is it warning yourself that you have a limited amount of time to prepare for something? What does criticality mean? What's on the borderline? Another crisis? Another real-life invasion-level disaster?

Is it related to the crisis that Poland just went through?

Vanna's thoughts were so heavy that this prayer did not calm her mind, but made her more nervous than during the day.

But suddenly, a strange color appeared in the corner of her eye, and her chaotic thoughts stopped instantly.

The flame jumping on the carved candle was dyed a dark green at some point.

The next second, she suddenly looked up at the dresser in front of her, at the oval mirror.

The figure of Captain Duncan appeared in the frame, calmly staring at the side.

"Are you alright?"

The gloomy and majestic figure spoke, asking very abruptly.

"Is that you?" Vana Spirits stood up suddenly, and then seemed to think of something, "You just disrupted my ritual?" ”

"Rituals? I think you misunderstood," Duncan shook his head in the mirror, his tone very calm, "I just suddenly sensed that your aura was extremely chaotic, and I thought that there were still some tricky enemies left in Poland City, so I came to check on the situation...... But now it seems that I was reckless. ”

Perceive the confusion of breath...... So come over and see what's going on?

Vanna had a question mark in her head, a little doubtful that she had misheard, but soon, she remembered the situation when she saw the other party in the mirror for the first time, and suddenly subconsciously showed a vigilant look: "You pulled me into a dream again?" ”

"You're still in the real world, don't worry about that," Duncan said casually, "so I strongly advise you not to jump right over like you did last time - you're really going to make a mess of your room." ”

“…… I'm not just a jumper," Vana suddenly felt that the communication with this ghost captain was really tiring, the other party's words and actions would always exceed the records on the data, and she always unconsciously neglected the other party in these unexpected exchanges, "What else do you want to do besides 'come and see the situation'?" I thought...... You've left completely. ”

Duncan in the mirror frowned, as if he was a little annoyed by the young inquisitor in front of him being too wary and hostile: "You can relax a little, better be polite, I have indeed left, but the distance in time and space doesn't mean much to me, and besides- anyway, I just protected your city-state, don't you think you should at least say thanks?" ”

Vanna stared at Captain Ghost in the mirror, and after a few seconds, she suddenly took a step forward, and actually lowered her head: "Thank you very much for your help, at least from this matter, Prandmund you are sheltered." ”

This blunt thank you was beyond Duncan's expectations, and he had expected that the girl's brain would be as solid as her muscles, but he was embarrassed by surprise: "It's ...... Don't take it so seriously, I'll just mention it casually. ”

"We may have different positions, but your act of sheltering Plant is undeniable," Vanna looked up with a serious expression, "There are countless people who have survived the disaster today, and I should thank you for putting aside my position as an inquisitor." ”

She paused at this, then straightened her face and said, "But that doesn't mean I've let my guard down on you and the Lost Country, and we're still not sure what your intentions are for the civilized world...... At least until I confirm that, I ......"

"Alright, I see what you mean," Duncan interrupted Vanna, looking at the young inquisitor with a smirk, the other party's words and attitude were far from polite, but this kind of overly upright personality was also annoying, "Then say something else...... You seem to be in trouble? ”

Vanna met Duncan's gaze and took a few seconds before taking a soft breath, "I'm sorry, it's not about you. ”

“…… Nothing to do with it, but I'm curious," Duncan said lightly, "whether you want to admit it or not, you can't dispel the imprint I have left on you, Vanna, I can sense your bad state at the moment—maybe I can help you." ”

(End of chapter)