A dull thunderclap suddenly sounded over Phaelon—and a few minutes later, torrential rain fell from the sky and covered the small city-state in the southwestern sea like a hazy curtain.

The "light explosion" that had briefly swept the sky had disappeared into the distant sea level, and the inhabitants of the city were still nervously speculating about the whereabouts of the huge luminous bodies that had fallen from the sky, and now the sudden rain seemed to have become an even more disturbing omen—in the rain, the already dark night was filled with even thicker darkness, the pale creation of the world had become a giant mouth that seemed to be constantly wriggling and trembling in the clouds, the wind was whining in the streets and alleys, and the raindrops were rolling against the windows. Layered on top of each other, it's frustrating.

Lawrence walked through the lobby of the inn and saw many people stranded in the inn gathered around the windows, whispering about the flashes that had crossed the sky before, about the heavy rain outside, about the departing patrol of the Guardians, the warm fireplace crackling not far away, and the bright electric lights like a night watchman against the vast darkness outside the window—on this unsettling rainy night, fire and light supported the increasingly fragile security barrier in people's hearts.

"It's just ordinary rain...... a soft voice came from the small mirror on her chest, and Martha whispered to Lawrence, "I've confirmed in the spirit world that nothing will happen." ”

Lawrence nodded slightly, he looked out the window and saw that the rain curtain blurred the scenery on the street, the water flowed down the glass, outlining distorted light and shadow, and Martha's figure appeared in the window, showing a smile at him.

"I just jumped through the mirror to the White Oak, and everything is fine on board, don't worry."

"Thank you," Lawrence muttered softly, in a voice that no one else could hear, "be careful when entering the spirit world, this world is no longer safe. ”

"I know," Martha nodded, and continued, "Also, I noticed that several ships on the side of the military harbor had suddenly departed and disappeared into the night to the northeast at full speed, two of which were engineering ships with large winches and towing arms. ”

"They went to retrieve the 'falling object', and it seems that a luminous object has landed near Faellon," Lawrence reacted quickly, "...... Hope all the best. ”

Martha nodded slightly, and the figure faded into the window—a hazy curtain of rain and water refilling Lawrence's vision.

The old captain looked out for a moment, then turned and left the lobby of the small inn.

He walked through the stairs and hallways to his makeshift lodging upstairs, and pulled out the key to open the wooden door, which was already a little mottled in paint.

But the moment he entered the house, his movements suddenly stopped.

In the darkness of the night, a shriveled and emaciated figure was sitting crookedly on a chair in the room, and the faint light of the street lamp spilled into the room from the window, shining on the uninvited guest—he heard the door open, and slowly turned his head, his shriveled face like a skeleton showed a chilling smile: "Ah...... Captain, you're back. ”

The strong smell of wine came to the face.

Lawrence raised his hand and turned on the electric light in the room, the bright light dispelled the night, and also made the ugly dried corpse not look so weird and terrifying, he frowned and looked at the other party, with a serious expression: "'Sailor'? You're not in your room, what are you doing here? ”

"Captain......" The sailor tilted his head, his whole head drooping as if it were about to be torn from his neck, he carried a huge bottle in one hand, and poured a large gulp into his throat, and the liquor flowed freely down the hole in his chest and the crack in his neck, and fell to the floor, "I found this in my room—don't get me wrong, I didn't steal it...... I didn't steal you, I understand the rules, stealing the captain's stuff will be hanged on the mast......"

Lawrence subconsciously felt a burst of anger when he saw the other party's appearance, but then he felt that something was wrong, he frowned and approached the dry corpse, and glanced at the wine bottle in the other party's hand: "What did you let 'possess' again?" ”

As he spoke, he raised his arm slightly, and a translucent spirit flame jumped up at his fingertips.

However, the "sailor" who usually jumped up directly as long as he saw the spiritual fire did not react so much this time, the dry corpse just casually put the wine bottle on the table next to him, and looked at the flame on the old captain's fingertips a little sluggishly, and then slowly raised his head after a few seconds: "Captain, I'm fine, I just remember something." ”

Lawrence frowned, staring at Anomaly 077, which seemed to be in a slightly wrong state, and slowly spoke: "...... Remember something? ”

"I used to be a real person," the cadaver reached out to prop himself up, as if trying to adjust his sitting position, but after a few attempts to do so, he still didn't succeed, "we went far, far away, and then ...... It took a long, long time to return to this damn boundless sea......"

……

Frem woke up from his routine meditation, the illusion of the flames tingling his mind.

The little giant-like Pope of the Senjin suddenly opened his eyes to see that he was still kneeling in the prayer room, the flames blazing in the brazier in front of him.

The glow of the flickering fire still seemed to have the shadow of an illusion, and it gradually collapsed with the passage of time.

The Pope of the Fire Bearer frowned, stared at the brazier for a moment, then suddenly realized something, and abruptly got up and walked towards the door.

The pope's sudden appearance startled the priests waiting outside the prayer room, and one of the priests on duty, dressed in a black and red robe, immediately stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong with you?" ”

"I'm going to the Archives," Frem said without looking back, "and the others don't have to come along, take care of the bonfire that guards the Chronological Pillars." ”

The priests on duty looked at each other.

By this moment, Frem had strode through the corridor outside the prayer room—and after leaving the inner temple, his figure suddenly turned into a flowing firelight, which jumped between the countless candlesticks, braziers, and campfires in the temple, and almost in the blink of an eye, it passed through the entire upper level of the Ark, all the way to the building at the very heart of the entire Ark of the Fire Passer.

Located beneath the "Great Bonfire" and protected by a heavy stone dome, the "Archive" stores and records countless historical scrolls and precious stone slabs.

The archives are brightly lit, and rows of neatly arranged shelves are displayed in the vast hall like giant walls, and these shelves, which are stronger and heavier than any regular bookshelves, are placed on long rails with hidden traction mechanisms, driven by steam mechanisms, to allow the shelves to move between the inner and outer reading rooms at any time.

However, Frem's goal was not the towering shelves, but the "secret rooms" deeper in the archives.

He made his way through all the bookshelves and tracks to the stone wall at the end of the hall, where two fireguard knights in heavy armor and flaming greatswords blocked his way.

"The Chamber of Secrets is sealed," said the knight, his voice muffled under the heavy armor, and even though the Pope stood in front of him, he still carried out his duties scrupulously, "May I ask why you are here?" ”

"I need to look at the tablets left behind by the popes," Frem said in a deep voice, "and I suspect that there has been a historical thread penetration." ”

There was a slight sound of joint grinding and colliding under the knight's armor.

“…… Chronological range? The other knight asked.

"The New City-State Calendar between 1600 and 1755." Frem said.

The two knights glanced at each other, each took a half step back to the side, and at the same time lifted the flame-shaped greatsword in his hand and placed it on top of two grooves in the ground in front of the stone wall, and one of them looked at Frem cautiously: "Please confirm the current time." ”

"January 22, 1902 in the New City Calendar."

The flame-shaped greatsword was inserted into the groove in the ground, and the stone wall slowly retreated with the roar of the mechanism.

"It has been confirmed, January 22, 1902 in the New City Calendar," said the Knight of the Firekeeper in a deep voice, "please return before the end of the day." Peace be upon you. ”

……

"We've lost contact with the Sea Song," the middle-aged man in the Abyssal God's robe bowed his head in front of Helena, his tone uneasy and frustrated, "They intermittently communicated with the makeshift lighthouse for an hour after crossing the six-nautical-mile threshold, and then there was no news. ”

The priest then paused, adding, "After the psionic communication failed, we ventured to turn on the radio, but we still didn't receive a signal from the Sea Song. ”

After a brief pause, Helena nodded slowly.

"Stand down."

"Yes, Pope."

The middle-aged priest bowed and exited the room, and it was quiet again.

After a long time, Helena rose from her seat, slowly approached the icon of the storm goddess Grimona, threw a sea polyp amulet into the brazier at the foot of the icon, and then looked up at the veiled goddess.

The face of the goddess is hidden under a black veil, like an unpredictable wave and fate.

“…… The pioneers we sent to find you have disappeared, have they arrived safely in your land? Or...... Lost in the vastness of the world? ”

The goddess remained silent, not even the gentle sound of the waves.

After a long time, Helena finally let out a soft sigh, and then she withdrew her gaze from the icon and lowered her head to the blazing brazier in front of her.

"Rune, the advance fleet sent by the Deep Sea Church beyond the borders has lost contact," she whispered into the brazier, "are you going to continue the plan over there?" ”

"Go on," Lune's voice rang out from the flames, "the Laws of Mathematics is ready and will depart for the southern border in twenty-four hours—we've detected a stronger signal in this direction, perhaps better than the Sea Song." ”

Helena listened, nodded slightly, and then muttered slightly: "Banster's ......"

She was halfway through her sentence when she was interrupted by a sudden crackling sound in the brazier.

Her eyes widened unexpectedly—Frem's voice rang out abruptly from the fire, "Sorry to interrupt you, I've brought an important piece of information related to the Sea Song. ”

"Frem?" Helena was surprised, and then reacted, "You said the Sea Song? Do you have news of the Sea Song?! ”

"Yes," the flames crackled, and Frem's voice seemed a little distorted, "the Sea Song has returned. ”

"The Sea Song has returned?" Helena couldn't hide her surprise for a moment, "When?" How can I ......"

"December 1675." Frem said calmly.

(End of chapter)