Agatha of the Frost City-State arrives - and with the familiar gray wind, the goddess official, who is now also the archbishop of the city-state, appears before Duncan and Alice, and bows to Duncan: "Good night, it's a pleasure to see you in charge of this matter yourself." ”

Duncan glanced up in the direction of the sea: "Strictly speaking, it's still dusk. ”

"Dusk will last for a long time, but people still have to move according to the 'normal' rhythm of life," Agatha said, nodding lightly to Alice next to her, "Long time no see, Miss Alice." ”

"Uh...... Ay! Long time no see! Alice reacted for a moment before she spoke, she scratched her hair embarrassedly, "There's an Agatha on the boat, too, I didn't react at once." ”

A smile appeared on the corner of Agatha's mouth when she heard this, and although her eyes were covered with black cloth, she seemed to still have a warm gaze on Alice: "...... How is she lately? ”

"Okay! Chasing Shirley through the mirror every day to do her homework, or sneaking out when the fog is up to scare people - although she says she's just out for a walk," Alice said quickly, with a happy expression on her face, "Everyone likes her very much, only Shirley is a little afraid of her......"

Agatha listened silently to Miss Doll's descriptions, the expression on her face was a little surprised at first, but gradually turned into a smile, and after a while she nodded lightly and said to herself: "So that's how it is...... Sounds good. ”

At this time, Tirian on the side finally found an opportunity and stepped forward: "Has the cathedral been arranged for the vigil?" ”

"I came here after taking care of this matter, don't worry, we have plenty of men," Agatha said casually, but then couldn't help frowning slightly, and stepped back quietly, "...... Your Excellency, you ...... Is it because the stomach is not very good? ”

Tirian was stunned when he heard this, and then understood what was going on, even as a "steel lieutenant general" at this time, he felt a little unbearable, the corners of his mouth trembled slightly, but he quickly reacted, raised his hand and pointed to the paper bag in his father's hand: "...... Would you like to try hash browns? ”

Agatha didn't know why the topic suddenly jumped to this, she glanced at Duncan's hand suspiciously, and the latter immediately raised his hand: "Alice made it herself—Breeze." ”

“…… Not necessarily," Agatha took a half-step back as soon as she heard the words "Breeze," but then seemed to react to the rudeness of this and added, "This body is lifeless and can no longer enjoy the food of the world, thank you for your kindness." ”

Duncan glanced at Agatha's cracked, broken puppet-like body, and knew that the other party was telling the truth, so he could only shrug his shoulders regretfully, and stuffed a bag of hash browns directly into Tirian's arms: "Then you can take it all—go back and eat it slowly." ”

Tirien accepted his father's gift with a somewhat sluggish expression, his gaze silently scanning the several figures present: a corpse, an immortal, a puppet, and a father—and a corpse.

The steel lieutenant finally realized in hindsight that he was the only unlucky guy on the scene with a high content......

Duncan didn't care about Tirian's delicate expression, and after finally giving the bag of things out in his hand, he clapped his hands and turned to look at the magnificent planet that was still floating quietly above the beach.

"This is just the beginning," he said to Agatha, "and in the days to come, more and more fragments of the sun will fall on the endless sea, and they will have all sorts of 'lost stars' as the core - and in the long night afterward, these fragments of the sun may be the only guarantee of the safety of many city-states." ”

Hearing Duncan's words, Agatha's expression quickly became serious: "...... So, the disintegration of the sun is inevitable, is it? ”

"Yes, as bad as it sounds, it's inevitable, and it's going to accelerate," Duncan nodded slightly, "I'm going to contact the Pope of the Four Gods to remind them to keep an eye out for the luminaries that have fallen on the Infinite Sea, and to recover them in time." ”

Tiriam and Agatha fell silent.

In the days that followed, the world didn't know how many more sunrises it would take—the long night was coming, and even Tirion felt a little suffocated in the face of the fact that it was coming.

While feeling the suffocation, Tirion then thought of more.

He looked up in contemplation and looked at Duncan, "...... You just said that these falling debris could be the only guarantee of safety for many city-states? ”

"Vanna has received a revelation from the Storm Goddess, and I have received information from the Nether Lord, and based on the experience of Lighthaven, these sun fragments can indeed exert the same 'protection' power as Vision 001 in a small area," Duncan nodded slightly, "They can't pacify a large area of the sea, but they can at least protect a city-state." ”

Tirion's expression grew a little heavier, and after a few moments, he whispered to himself, "...... Is it enough? ”

His soft muttering fell into everyone's ears, Alice's expression was a little confused, and Aiden and Agatha clearly realized what Tirien's "is enough" meant, and their expressions suddenly changed slightly to solemnity.

Duncan nodded slowly.

"I see what you mean," he said in a deep voice, "and frankly, no one knows how many pieces will be there, let alone if they will be enough...... But without a strong constraint, even if there are enough fragments, it will never be 'enough'. ”

"The Church will intervene, and our patrol fleets are in all lanes," Agatha said after a brief thought, "and if the Church's fleet is not enough, the Frost Navy is reliable. ”

"But it's also the most optimistic of all—frankly, I'm not used to being overly optimistic about the future, especially when humanity needs to be tested," Tirion shook his head, "what if even the church is divided?" When night falls, all the trials are magnified infinitely...... Even the most loyal and upright people have their own stands. ”

Then they fell silent, and the atmosphere at the scene was a little depressing for a while.

Alice was still a little confused at the scene, she looked at Tiriam and Agatha, looked up at the captain again, and finally couldn't help but speak, "What are you talking about?" ”

Duncan didn't answer, just raised his hand and gently pressed Alice's hair.

"We're worried that the sun will not have enough to shelter all the city-states, or that someone wants to occupy more of the 'sun'," Aiden said, "after all...... It's about survival. ”

In such a straightforward explanation, Alice finally understood what everyone was discussing.

The doll's eyes widened and she looked a little confused—something she had never thought about, something she had never faced.

Tirion lowered his head and glanced at the paper bag in his hand with a complicated expression: "...... At that point, a northerner will really never be able to eat potato cakes from Breeze. ”

Duncan shook his head and whispered to Alice, "Don't think about it, it's not something you have to think about, the world has always had bad places, and it's not just like today." ”

Hearing the captain's words, Alice seemed to suddenly think of something, and immediately raised her head: "That...... You're going to make a move, right? It's like in Pland and Frost......"

Duncan didn't answer, but Agatha quickly reacted: "Yes - the Lost Fleet, if you add your strength, it will be easier to restrain the city-states and maintain basic order after nightfall, at least ...... Don't let the worst happen......"

Duncan still didn't answer, he just remained silent, noncommittal.

His reaction made Tyrion realize something: "Aren't you going to make a move?" ”

"No, I'm thinking about something else." Duncan shook his head slightly.

He turned around and stared silently at the "Lost Star" floating in the air, no one knew what he was thinking in silence at the moment, not even Tirion had the courage to speak at this time, and it was not until a long time later that Duncan withdrew his gaze and broke the silence softly: "If it does come to the worst day, I may need to do something that only I can do - it will probably be a long way away, maybe a long time away." ”

At this moment, Tirion seemed to vaguely sense something, some kind of ...... The foreshadowing of his intuition made him feel a hazy light and shadow flutter at the edge of his vision, and for a very brief moment, he felt as if his father's figure was already standing in a place far away that he could never reach, and although they were now close at hand, there was some kind of invisible curtain gradually closing, as if to separate them in two planes.

The invisible veil...... It seems to be filled with starlight.

But the feeling was fleeting, and Tirion felt his thoughts interrupt for half a beat, and by the time he tried to remember what he had just felt, he was left with an endless emptiness.

Duncan turned his head, and the only eyes on his bandage-covered face were calm eyes.

"Don't worry too much, even in the worst of cases, there will be a flame that will light up the world again, and difficult days are always temporary."

My father's words seemed to have something else.

But Tirion didn't have a chance to ask more—a rising spirit flame suddenly appeared on the beach, gradually outlining a vortex.

Father was ready to leave.

"I still have a lot of work to do," Duncan said as he gestured toward the flame as he strode toward the flame, "and focus more on the rest of the night, don't think about it too much—besides, don't worry about the graveyard." ”

The flames rose and then soared into the sky like retrograde meteors, quickly disappearing from Tiriam and Agatha's vision.

(End of chapter)