Deep Sea Embers

Annie didn't know what happened—she just had time to see two strangers standing at the gate of the cemetery, when the old guard's slightly bent body blocked her view, and the old man's slightly nervous voice came into her ears : "Son, don't look over there."

The little girl was a little nervous: "Grandpa, what's wrong?"

"Don't move, don't talk, it's okay." The old man said softly, while his eyes remained on the burly figure, one of his hands was placed by his side, blocking Annie's restless sight, and the other hand pressed On the chest - there's an amulet there, which can be used to set off alarms throughout the cemetery if necessary.

The burly figure came towards this side.

All the muscles in the old man's body tensed up.

"Good morning," a deep voice came from under the thick bandage, as if echoing in the tomb, "this should be my first official 'door visit'."

It was clear language communication, and the attitude was very friendly - as in the previous contact, this unnameable "visitor" showed a friendly stance.

But the muscles on the old guard's body did not dare to relax at all. He once thought that this visitor would visit again sooner or later, and also thought about the circumstances under which he would communicate with the other party, but he never expected that the other party would be so open and aboveboard. He quickly came to the gate of the cemetery, stood opposite him and greeted himself. He didn't know whether Anne behind him would be affected by this visitor, so he could only stand between the two as much as possible, thinking quickly about the next response .

The old man's nervousness completely fell into Duncan's eyes.

He looked even more nervous than when we first met—was it because of the child behind him?

"Relax," said Duncan, with a slight smile in his voice, "I have no hostility—much less the child behind you."

"I know you are friendly, but your very existence may affect ordinary people," the old guard said cautiously, trying his best not to offend the visitors in front of him. train."

"Oh, then she's safe," Duncan said. "You should understand what she can't see."

The old guard was silent for a while. He knew what the other party meant, and he also knew that Anne, as an ordinary person, would not be affected by some extraordinary power like himself, but he still did not relax, but asked cautiously: "You What do you want to do when you come here?"

"Is the priestess not there?" Duncan glanced curiously at the direction of the cemetery. "I have something more important to tell her."

"She just left," said the old guard, and at the same time, he became more cautious when he mentioned Agatha. "What do you want from her?"

Then he paused, and added: "I can contact her at any time - the cemetery guard is also a priest, and can directly contact the cathedral and the gatekeeper."

"Ah, that's good, I can save some trouble," Duncan said, raising his hand to dig in his pocket-this action made the cemetery guard in front of him visibly nervous, and he smiled and shook his head upon seeing this , "Don't be nervous, if I'm really malicious, I don't need to raise my hand."

After finishing the words, he had already taken out a sealed letter from the pocket of the windbreaker, and raised his hand to hand it to the old man in front of him.

"Give this to the 'gatekeeper' named Agatha, or directly to your cathedral," Duncan said casually, "Anyway, it's a piece of news, as long as it's delivered."

A... letter? It turned out to be a letter? !

The old guard looked at the things the other party had taken out in astonishment, and subconsciously took them before realizing it. He blinked in confusion, never expecting that an indescribable visitor came to the cemetery in the form of a physical body, for the purpose of giving himself a piece of cake. letter.

He flipped over the envelope for another look.

On the back of the envelope, the mark and serial number of a small local printing factory can be seen—this is not even a "confidential ceremony letter" condensed by some extraordinary power, it was bought from a newsstand at the intersection, and it may even be today I bought it when I passed by this morning.

The old man raised his head, with obvious doubts and inquiries in his slightly cloudy and yellow eyes.

"Make a small contribution to the safety of the city-state," Duncan smiled, but unfortunately his friendly expression was completely blocked by the bandages, and then he looked past the old guard and looked at the little girl who was hiding behind the old man, " Are you scared?"

"No." Annie shook her head, carefully looking at the tall and burly figure across the old man's fingers, "I'm very brave."

"I have a niece, she is also very courageous," Duncan said, looking at the old man, "this child is..."

"I just want to visit the cemetery. I'm an ordinary person who has nothing to do with the church," the old man said immediately. After realizing that Anne was really not affected, he relaxed a little. "I'm trying to persuade this child to go back. The weather is terrible."

"It's easy to slip on a snowy day," Duncan nodded, then looked at the little girl and asked casually, "What's your name? How old is this year?"

The old guard's heart tightened, and he wanted to remind Annie, who had never been in contact with extraordinary power, not to open her mouth. After all, it was quite dangerous to reveal her name to an unknown superior, extraordinary——

But he was slow.

"My name is Anne," the girl said unsuspectingly, "Anne Barberry, I am twelve years old this year!"

In front of the gate of the cemetery, there was suddenly silence.

Duncan quietly looked at the little girl who was poking her head out from behind the old guard, staring at her eyes, and the outline of eyebrows vaguely similar to that of Captain Christo Barberi.

He just asked a random question, but he didn't expect...it would be such a coincidence.

The sound of stepping on the snow came from the side, and Alice looked at the little girl who called herself "Anne Barberry" in surprise, and then turned to look at Duncan: "Ah, I remember the surname Barberry, isn't it..."

Duncan bent down slowly, made his gaze level with the girl, and made his tone as gentle as possible: "Your surname is Barberry?"

It seemed that because of the sudden change in the atmosphere, Anne seemed a little nervous, she shrank behind the old guard: "Yes, yes."

"Captain Crystal Barbery, what is your relationship?"

"He is... my father." Annie whispered, then subconsciously grabbed the old guard's clothes, looked up at the old man, as if she wanted to ask for help.

However, the old man didn't respond. He just showed astonishment, as if he had thought of something, looked at Duncan with an incredulous expression, and at the same time looked at the young woman with a veil and a blond hair shawl in surprise.

"You are Captain Crystal's daughter—you live with your mother on Hearth Street?" Duncan asked again, looking at the little girl in front of him.

Annie nodded hurriedly, and then seemed to come to her senses: "You... know my father?"

"...I've seen it before, although I'm not very familiar with it," Duncan said softly, "He asked me to visit you and your mother. I haven't had time to look for you, so I didn't expect to meet you here."

Anne's eyes widened in surprise.

The same is true for the old guard on the side.

"My father..." Annie opened her mouth, but she couldn't think of what to say for a long time. After trying her best to organize her words, she asked cautiously, "He is really dead...isn't he?"

Duncan nodded slightly.

"Then... will he still be sent here?" Annie asked hurriedly, "The adults said that people who believe in the God of Death will return their souls to Bartok's cemetery after death, and then be taken in." Leading to that gate, the grandpa guard told me that this cemetery is..."

Annie was talking, her voice suddenly became smaller.

In fact, since a long time ago, she no longer believed what the old man told her.

She is twelve years old this year.

Duncan stretched out his hand suddenly and rubbed Annie's head—on the thick woolen hat, a little snowflake that hadn't melted fell down and mixed with the accumulated snow.

"Captain Crystal is a great man, very great—he's now in Bartok's country, where he's resting."

Annie raised her head and blinked.

She still doesn't quite understand what Duncan's words mean—she doesn't even understand the existence of this tall and burly figure in front of her.

But the cemetery guard beside her suddenly reacted.

The old man suddenly pressed Anne's shoulders to tell the child not to continue talking, then he raised his head and looked directly into Duncan's eyes: "What you said... is the real situation?"

"...I think so," Duncan thought for a while. He didn't know what happened to the so-called Death God Bartok's door, nor did he know what humans would experience after death, but in front of a child, he Knowing what to say—and that's what he really wanted, "I sent him off myself."

The old guard's pupils contracted slightly, but he quickly covered up the change in expression.

"It's almost time for me to leave," Duncan said. He looked at Annie, who was still a little confused, and then at the guard of the cemetery. There are many, let's meet again when we have a chance.

"Also, don't forget that letter."

The old guard blinked, and before he could speak, he saw the green flames flashing away in front of his eyes.