Blind fools wandered outside the power plant, the muffled roar of the harbor's power facilities in the thick fog, the icy core of steam hollowing, the steam itself part of the distorted vision, and the protection of the flames had vanished.

But "sanctuary" itself is dispensable in today's world, the line between "normal" and "abnormal" has long been blurred, and when all minds fall with the world, "reason" has become a madman and a pollutant in the eyes of this world—and now, the madmen have gathered within the high walls, built their last shelter, and watched with trepidation as the outside world gradually plunged into darkness.

"We'll have plenty of supplies for the Bright Star," Helena said to Fanna and Lucrecia standing on a platform high above the power plant, "You can move to the western docks—one of the outer access points we currently have control." ”

"Can this 'lighthouse' still provide supplies?" Lucretia looked at the female pope with some surprise, "Do you have so many resources?" ”

"Yes, there is no shortage of supplies, which may not be in line with your first impression of this place," Helena smiled, "but in fact, the whole world is 'running' continuously, the production of all kinds of major materials, transportation, and even 'commercial activities' in the city-state...... Every half month, a cargo ship full of supplies arrives from the border base to replenish the lighthouse with fuel and other things, and the compatriots who are in a trance do the handover as usual, and we 'awakeners' will take the permits that we have dug up from old documents to transfer some of the supplies to another warehouse, and in the same way, we can call on many of the facilities and equipment here. ”

She turned her head and looked at the expansive platform outside the power plant.

"Yes, the world is still running, every part ...... They are all running along the old trajectory in a trance, like a big ship that has collapsed inside, still drifting along the original trajectory under the drive of inertia, those of us who wake up on the ship are powerless to repair the ship, but at least we can 'sail' with it until it capsizes. ”

Vanna and Lucrethea didn't speak for a while, and they didn't know how to speak.

This world is already completely unknown to them.

But Helena apparently didn't care, she just waved her hand and continued: "Thank you for telling me what happened at the end of the world, so that those of us waiting on the big ship finally know what is going on outside, and now the wait is at least meaningful, not just a matter of lingering."

"Lost Country...... Still sailing the ends of the world, aren't they? ”

"Yes, the captain and Alice are left at the end of the world, and they are still heading farther away," Vanna whispered, "the captain is preparing for the new world, when everything is ready...... You'll be able to 'blink'. ”

"Okay, then I won't delay your next journey," Helena's avatar turned her head and exhaled softly, "I'll arrange the supplies, and someone will send you two back to the docks later......"

She stopped abruptly, stared intently into Vanna's eyes, and waited a long time before she spoke.

"Vanna, have a safe journey—goodbye to our new world."

Vanna nodded solemnly: "Yes, Your Majesty, goodbye to our new world." ”

……

I don't know when the howling wind has stopped, and now there is only pure and extreme "cold" left on this ice field - the cold penetrates the flesh and blood, soaks the bone marrow, and freezes the soul, and the fire bearers in this cold wind have long forgotten the warmth of "fire".

The undead trudged across the ice fields, and in the cold night, the lanterns on their chests snaked and became a faint flickering thread in the depths of the ice fields.

Frem stood on a hastily erected platform, looking out at the ice in the distance, and at the end of his vision, the majestic silhouette of the church ark stood silently in the distance, the lights of the ark outlined a shimmering "mountain" in the night, and the sparkling light of the lanterns flowed between the "mountain" and the ice beneath his feet, unremittingly and tirelessly.

When the icebreaker was completely useless, the flame-bearers used the explosives they carried with them to break through the rest of the ice, and when the explosives were exhausted, the ark used its surging power and solid armor to smash away another part of the road, after which its power system finally came to a complete halt - even though the steam core was still whizzing hollow and the air was surging in the pipes, the giant ship was still parked between the ice, on the last leg of the road before its destination.

But fortunately, it is not far from the final "focus", and even in the sphere of influence of the focus—at this moment, the last "archive" of civilization is being established in this ice field.

Footsteps sounded from the side, and the veiled priestess walked up to the platform, she stopped beside Frem and bent slightly: "Eleven more people have 'woken up', they have been settled in the camp and are currently receiving psychological comfort and counseling. ”

Frem nodded slightly, "Well, how are they doing?" ”

"It's better than the previous batch," replied the priestess, "and it is useful to keep some hints and reminders to people in a 'trance' state in advance, so that after they 'wake up', most people will almost immediately realize that this is a 'state of affairs' that is still under control, and seek help from the nearest contact...... These experiences can be conveyed to the city-state. ”

Frem bowed slightly, and didn't say anything more, but just raised his head and quietly stared at the archive under construction.

Construction machinery brought down from the Ark is busy on the ice field, and a rudimentary, if not somewhat ugly, complex of buildings has begun to take shape.

Compared to the imposing Ark and the quaint and stately shipboard churches, the buildings that are almost indistinguishable from the rugged factories are almost aesthetically pleasing to all, because they are designed with one goal in mind - to build as strong storage space as possible in the shortest possible time and in an unfamiliar environment.

A slight murmur came from beside him: "Do this...... Does it really make sense? ”

Frem turned his head to look at the priestess standing beside him.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I didn't waver, I just ......," the priestess shook her head and explained, "I just thought of recent events - more and more people are waking up from their 'trance', and many of them have their last memories even going back to the day they first set off, and many people ask me what happened along the way, and many questions ......"

"I understand what you're trying to say, Driss," Frem interrupted the priestess softly, his gaze still resting on the "construction site," "Many people think that as long as people are preserved, everything is preserved, because civilization is created by man, and if man can create civilization once, he can rebuild civilization countless times...... I understand, yes, and I recognize more – as the Pope of the Firebearer, I understand better than many how civilization is built and perpetuated. ”

He paused for a moment and continued softly, "Civilization without people is meaningless, but Drissy, and the second half of the sentence - the same is true of people without civilization.

"It's true that civilization is not just those cold stones and books, not just those carvings, music scores and crafts that can't speak, those things are only carriers and manifestations of civilization, not abstract civilization itself, these are true, but—

"Civilization needs carriers, it needs evidence.

"It is foolish to stick to the 'carrier' and abandon the 'essence', and it is also foolish to know only the essence and think that there is no need for the carrier - without the carrier and the evidence, no matter how brilliant the memory is, it will always erode over time, before man has time to rebuild civilization, even if it is not considered from this perspective...... Drise, we also need to leave some evidence so that future generations in many years can understand what happened in this world.

"One of the meanings of cultural relics and archaeology lies in this 'inform'."

The veiled priestess met Frem's gaze calmly, her once-bright eyes, which had been clouded and dull many days before, but were still steadfast.

"I see, I'll tell the others about your admonition as well......"

Frem nodded.

And a thin layer of "fog" quietly appeared around them at some point.

Priestess Drissy looked up in surprise and looked at the white mist wafting all around her.

After entering the ice field, they have not seen the "fog" for a long time.

Although the majestic wall of fog of the Eternal Veil is at the end of the view, unlike the rest of the frontier seas, this ice sheet is almost non-foggy.

"The weather has changed...... she raised her hand, touching the disembodied fog, "the ice will also fog up?" ”

Frem frowned, he looked up at the sky, at the wisps of white that were constantly flowing like fluids, and finally realized after a moment.

"No, it's not fog," he said suddenly, with surprise in his voice, "...... It's the cloud! ”

"Clouds?" The priestess was stunned for a moment, as if she had only remembered what "cloud" meant after thinking about it, and then her eyes widened in astonishment, "The clouds have fallen from the sky?" ”

“…… It's the clouds that have come down," Frem said with a solemn expression, but he quickly realized that this statement did not seem to make a difference, and added, "All the clouds are descending in sync, not so much as they are 'falling' but more like ......"

He stopped, and Dries understood what he meant, and the priestess blinked, with a hint of unease in her tone: "The sky itself is getting lower......"

(End of chapter)