Frem's gaze was instantly drawn to the huge "cane", and he stared at it for a long time, and it took a long time to squeeze some voice out of his lips: "...... Forever burn the fire......"

After a few more seconds of silence, he raised his head and his eyes fell on Vanna and Duncan: "You take it out, it's ......"

"That's what Vanna meant," Duncan shook his head and took a slight step back, "she thinks the cane should be given to the Church of the Firebearers." ”

Frem's eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Miss Inquisitor with some bewilderment.

"Taryjin left me this cane as a parting memento, but at that time, he didn't know the existence of the Deep Sea Age," Vana sighed softly and said in a calm tone, "Maybe the Taryjin I saw was just a shadow, or maybe the Senjin people of the Deep Sea Age were just 'replicas' recreated after the third long night, but there were some things...... Whoever belongs is whomever it is, the legacy of civilization should not be turned into a personal collection, and it should make more sense to give it to the Church of the Firebearers than to keep it in my hands. ”

There was a moment of silence at the table, and Helena, Rune, and Banst exchanged glances before wisely closing their mouths as Frem slowly reached out, his rock-like fingers carefully rubbing the rough surface of the cane.

The dense notches on the cane seem to be engraved with frozen time, wordlessly telling a period of civilization forgotten by all beings, in that long-faded memory, a race stumbles from the wasteland, to glory, and to the end.

But Frem couldn't even make out any of the words on it—he only felt that every mark on it was incomparably intimate, even so intimate that it seemed to be engraved in his soul, but it was so strange that it seemed to be another dimension of words.

A complex emotion welled up from the bottom of my heart.

"The elves felt the same way you did when they first unearthed those scrolls from the Dark Isles," Lun broke the silence abruptly beside him, and the elven old man watched the expression change on Frem's face and said faintly, "We've been through it, I know. ”

“…… There's a full text evolution on it, and we'll always be able to decipher what they mean," Frem said softly, "The Firebearer is an expert at this. ”

He suddenly raised his head and looked into Vanna's eyes with a solemn expression.

"I'll rub all the traces of this and use it to study the text and history of the Senjin people - we'll just take that."

Fanna was stunned for a moment, puzzled and surprised: "Of course you can...... But you mean, canes ......"

"This is a gift from our Lord, and it is the will of the Lord to keep it in your hands," Frem shook his head slowly, "and, Miss Vanna, the legacy of civilization is not this cane brought out of dreams—the real legacy is here, it is the history recorded in these nicks. ”

The Pope's fingers brushed the surface of the cane, and in the dimples of the various shades, his fingertips seemed to touch those ancient lost years.

"To this day, whether we want to admit it or not, it is impossible to deny what is recorded in the Book of Blasphemy of the cultists, that the true history of our world begins in the Third Long Night, and that everything in the world is a 'copy' born from the ashes, and for a world that is copied out of the ashes...... The significance of digging up 'memory' and 'history' is far more than the pursuit of 'relics' - Miss Vanna, we just need to take the words with us. ”

Vana blinked, which seemed a little unexpected, and she subconsciously looked up at Duncan, who nodded slightly at her.

“…… I see," Vanna exhaled softly, "then I'll take good care of it, and treat it as equal to glory and life." ”

"Very well, then this problem is solved," Duncan broke the silence, he took a half step forward with a smile on his face, but soon he couldn't help but speak as if he remembered something, "...... But then again, after Vanna brought this 'chronological pillar' to the real world, didn't your Flamebearer Church receive any 'feedback' or 'revelation' from Tarijin? ”

"No," Frem shook his head, admitting very calmly, "as we mentioned at the meeting, the connection between the mortal world and the gods has become extremely difficult right now, not only in the 'voice' itself, but also in the barely transmitted message...... There was more and more interference and noise, and the only good news now was that the 'power' of the gods could still be effective on the boundless sea, but beyond that, even the four of us hadn't heard their clear voice for many years. ”

"I have only access to the Goddess's vague revelations and occasional guidance," Vana immediately added, "While the Goddess is still quick to respond to my calls, that 'response' has always been vague. ”

"The decline and death of the gods is a very different process from that of mortals," Lune said, "we still can't decipher the secret, but it is clear that they are still sensible to this day—but this 'reason' is no longer accurately transmitted to the mortal minds, as if there is some kind of 'cognitive deviation' between the two, and this 'deviation' makes our minds less and less able to understand their 'voices......"

Luan paused at this, and after a moment of thought, he continued with a hint of hesitation, "Frankly, it reminds me of the story of the 'Mad Bird' again. ”

Helena's face changed slightly in an instant, and she seemed to understand what Lune meant for the first time: "You mean...... The essence of the gods' current 'state of death' is that they are gradually deviating from our world at the level of 'cognition'? The increasing interference and noise we have received from the Ark over the years...... Is it some kind of growing 'mad bird effect'? ”

"This is a conjecture that I've only recently struck up - after the Breezehaven incident," Luan nodded slightly, "and it's the only conjecture that has been able to explain the growing 'noise' so far. ”

Duncan listened silently to the discussion between the popes, and when their discussion was almost over, he suddenly spoke: "Actually...... As I was trying to say, I can occasionally 'hear' their voices or see their messages. ”

Helena, Frem and the others fell silent in an instant.

The four popes slowly turned their heads, and a few glances fell on Duncan, and the expressions on their faces were like ghosts—

In all fairness, with the skills of a few of them, it is estimated that they will be much calmer than they are now.

"What you say is true?!" Helena was the first to speak, "You say you can hear the gods clearly?" They even ...... Deliver a message to you?! ”

Even Frem, who had always been calm and peaceful, didn't hold back, and the Senjin pope, who was like a little giant, went directly around the table and came to Duncan: "You have a direct connection with the gods? By what means?! ”

"Stop, stop, I just say 'occasionally', and only occasionally can I hear or see the news from them," Duncan hurriedly waved his hand, knowing that the four in front of him were obviously misunderstood, "It's not a 'direct connection', but it's ...... Pretty clear. In fact, I don't understand exactly what the 'noise' and 'interference' you keep talking about – I've never encountered it. ”

The popes looked at each other.

Duncan, on the other hand, did not hide the several times he had heard or seen the gods deliver messages by coincidence—including the messages he had seen, or the traces of the communication of the gods that he had seen in that strange dark space.

Of course, he withheld the specifics of these exchanges.

Then there was a long silence in the hall.

After a long time, the first to break the silence was Frem, the calm Senjin man who set his eyes on Lune: "...... This seems to at least prove that 'Them' is indeed still sane. ”

"Yes, keep your senses," Lune said after a momentary pause, and immediately began to think, "if this is true...... It wouldn't be too much of a problem if I had just guessed the direction......"

He paused, and quickly sorted out his thoughts clearly-

"Then the whole thing can be read in this way: the gods still have reason, but their 'reason' has deviated from the minds of mortals, and even from the whole world, so that it is difficult for us to contact them again, and even the world has begun to be polluted by them, but on the other hand, Captain Duncan is completely unaffected by this 'deviation' due to his own peculiarities......"

Lune suddenly stopped again, as if sensing some vague or inexplicable contradiction in his 'speculation', and he fell into thought, and at that moment, Duncan suddenly thought of something else.

"I remember...... According to the current consensus of scholars and churches in the world, the 'Dark Holy Lord' located in the deep sea is an ancient god who is completely crazy and out of control? ”

"Of course," Lune immediately replied without hesitation, "the Nether Lord is as completely irrational as the Black Sun, and we have direct evidence of this - although humans cannot enter the deep sea alive, through complex and dangerous rituals, we can 'observe' the situation at that depth......"

"I've talked to the Nether Lord," Duncan shrugged, "and frankly, I think he's in a good state of mind—though he says he's been a little hard lately. ”

Lune: "......? ”

Duncan looked at the ghostly expressions on the faces of several popes, hesitated for a moment, but decided to continue—after all, the atmosphere was here.

"In addition, about the 'black sun' just mentioned, in fact...... I've seen it, too, though only after a sentence or two — and he's really a little overwhelmed. ”

Lune, Helena, Banster, and Frem all had one expression: "......?!" ”

(End of chapter)