After the departure of the huge convoy of cargo ships, the docks seemed much quieter than ever at night - all the large loading and unloading equipment had been shut down, unrelated personnel had been evacuated from the work area, and now in addition to the necessary queues, there were only the ubiquitous gas lamps lining the roads to keep vigil for the city.

From the ramp on the south side of the pier, down a long staircase, the sandy coast is in front of you, and there are always citizens resting here on those sunny days.

But now there was only a dead beach, a sea that was dark in the night, and the salty, cold sea breeze blew from the direction of the boundless darkness, as if mixed with suspicious whimpers, and the broken waves crashed against the reef far off the shore, and the undulating foam rose from time to time, reflecting the pale color of corpses reflected by the cold light of the creation of the world.

Grim-faced guardians guard all roads to the coast, lanterns and swords in hand, vigilantly watching the endless darkness beyond the city-state.

"The coast is blocked," a heavily armed intellectual guard stopped Taran Eyre, who shone a lantern on the scholar's face, cautiously checking the shape of the latter's facial features and the number of eyes, "it's dangerous out there...... Your Excellency the Keeper of Secrets? ”

The dutiful night watchman finally noticed the figure following Taran, and in the glow of the lantern, he was surprised to see Ted Lille's face.

"Let's go to the coast," Ted Lille nodded to the defenders, "and we'll be back in an hour." ”

“…… You can pass it, but this gentleman needs to show your passability," the knowledge guard hesitated, but still looked at Taran El with a blank look, "You can't pass without pass." ”

"I'm Taran Eyre, a professor at the Academy, and I have a second-class night pass," Taran El hurriedly reached out and groped in his arms, finding the pass that he had been carrying on his body, "The passage area includes the coastal area......

The Knowledge Guard took Taran El's papers, examined them carefully, and his tense expression relaxed, and he took two steps back to the side and signaled for passage.

"Thank you." Ted Lille said to the Night's Watch and stepped forward.

But when the two of them were about to pass through the sentry, the guard couldn't help but speak: "...... Your Excellency the Keeper of the Secrets, and Professor Taran, the Sun Fragments have left, and now that the coast is a blockade zone, there is nothing over there, what are you going to do? ”

“…… Let's check what happens to the coastal area after the sun fragments leave," Taran El said as he walked slowly forward, "We'll be back soon." ”

Taran El and Ted Lille passed the sentry post and walked slowly forward on the dead beach, neither of them speaking for a moment.

"It's a lockdown now, too," it took for Taran El to break his silence, "the guards here are dutiful. ”

"They've been handpicked by me," said Ted Lear, "and the Coast is still a general lockdown zone, and if it's in the Great Steam Core or Level 1 Containment Zone, even Your Excellency Archon and I will have to show our identity to get through. ”

Taran El let out an "um", then fell silent again, and he walked slowly, and after an unknown amount of time, he spoke again: "They still have no news?" ”

"It's been a month since the Lost Country and the Bright Star crossed the border, and now we can only confirm that they are still 'there'," Ted Lille said calmly, "Captain Duncan's stay in Plant and Frost's incarnation are still active, and occasionally there is some information about the Lost Country from those two city-states, but for the most part, news related to 'World's End' is not allowed to spread between the city-states. ”

He paused and shook his head slightly: "Even I can only hear so much. ”

“…… It's good to know that they're 'alive,'" Taran El whispered, "I feel better knowing that they're 'alive' and still operating at the border." ”

"It's not appropriate to say that," Ted Lille slowed unconsciously, with a strange expression on his face, "but there's not a single thing on either ship that is truly 'alive' in the sense of the word." ”

Taran El rolled his eyes, "That's why I put quotation marks around the word 'alive', can't you hear it?" ”

Ted Reardon glared at the scholar, "...... How is this possible to hear?! ”

Taran El laughed, taking a deep breath in the cold night breeze and seemed to feel a little more relaxed, then he looked up and looked in a direction at the end of the shore.

It used to be the place where the Storm Cathedral of the Ark of the Deep Sea Church docked, but now that majestic sea ark had left the city-state, and there was nothing but an empty sea at the end of the sight, pale foaming in the light of the Creation of the World.

"The Arks are gone," lamented the scholar, "and there is always the illusion that Breezehaven has suddenly been abandoned......

"It's a holiday," said Ted Lille unceremoniously, "it's hypocrisy, you can be cured by being locked up in the office overnight to mark student papers, and you can guarantee that there are no illusions." ”

"I'm not like you," Taran Al raised his head slightly with his arms crossed, "my students are motivated young people, and their papers are usually written ...... themselves

Ted Lear snorted coldly, ignoring the scholar again.

But after being quiet for a long time, they suddenly broke the silence in unison: "It's good to approve papers." ”

The two long-time friends were stunned at the same time, glanced at each other with a wry smile, and fell silent again.

And beyond the coastline not far from them, the vast and boundless sea was as quiet as they were at the moment, the sea was boundless, undulating, and the salty and cold sea breeze blew from the darkness, but the sea was still as calm as a mirror.

The brilliance of the Creation of the World shines on the sea, gilding the whole world with a pale luster that is even to the extreme.

Ted Lear frowned suddenly, and glanced in the direction of the coastline with some confusion.

"What's wrong?" Taran El asked curiously, not knowing why.

"I don't know, but I suddenly feel ...... Something seems to be missing," Ted Lear frowned slightly, muttering uncertainly, "do you feel ...... What's missing? It should be some kind of sound, when the wind blows through the sea, there should be some sound, and there will be some kind of phenomenon, lapping on the reef......"

He stopped, turned around, and stared intently at the mirror-calm sea in the distance, standing for a long time in the night.

He and Taran El began to feel that nothing seemed wrong.

……

Tirien frowned, standing on the shore and looking out at the mirror-like sea in the distance, a constant and instantaneous sense of trance lingering in his mind, making him even feel like he couldn't distinguish between reality and fiction for a short time.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to banish the sense of cognitive confusion from his mind.

He felt that everything was normal on the sea, but he clearly "remembered" that it should not be like this, so he struggled with the contradiction between thinking and cognition for a long time before he couldn't help but break the silence: "...... The waves are gone. ”

Then he turned his head and looked at the tall figure standing beside him: "Father, is something not quite right?" ”

Duncan didn't speak for a while, but Aiden, who was standing on the other side, looked at his captain suspiciously: "Waves? Wrong? What are you talking about? ”

Hearing Aiden's voice, Tirion felt a trance again, he raised his hand and tapped his forehead, his eyes looked at the sea in the distance in confusion, he felt that something "something" was rapidly dissipating from his perception, it was some "natural phenomenon", something that should have existed in the world as a matter of course, but now...... It's disappearing.

Then he heard his father's voice reach his ears—

"She forgot about the waves."

My father said this in a low and solemn tone.

The trance in his mind finally faded, and the moment he heard his father mention the word "waves", Tirion finally felt like he was awake again, and the next second, the expression on his face changed from confusion to shock.

His eyes widened, staring at the sea in the distance.

Even Aiden next to him seemed to suddenly come to his senses, and the bald man with a fierce appearance looked at the boundless sea, and even a trace of horror appeared on his face.

At this moment, all over the world, the infinite sea calmed down into a mirror - the "waves" disappeared into this world.

"Father," Tirion finally reacted, turning his head abruptly to look at Duncan, "Storm Goddess ......"

"Rot," Duncan interrupted Tyrion softly, "inevitable results." ”

Tiriam and Aiden stood stiffly.

"Don't worry, she's still there, while the decay is deepening, the sea is still there, and she's still there," Duncan shook his head, his voice waking Tirion awoke, "This is just a 'peeling' in the process of decay deepening, and this isn't the first 'peeling' in this world." ”

Tirien was stunned and subconsciously repeated, "It's not the first time?" ”

"Do you know how many intelligent races there are in this world?" Duncan asked suddenly.

"Three ......, of course," Tirion replied almost without thinking.

But in the next second, the "Lieutenant General of Steel" seemed to understand something, and although he didn't think of anything, he guessed the ......-chilling "meaning" behind his father's question.

"Soon, you too will forget the sound of the waves crashing against the reef, and the world will 'fix' all this, and until then, you can briefly remember how it once 'existed'." Duncan whispered, then reached out and patted Tirion on the shoulder.

"Don't mention the word 'waves' to anyone else, from now on it's a 'blasphemy archetype'."

(End of chapter)