Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 487: Ray Nora's "Friend"

The brass key left by Le Nora turned out to be a gift from a friend—this was completely beyond Duncan's expectations.

It also aroused his great curiosity.

Who the hell, and for what purpose, made that key? What is the nature of that key? After touching the key, what happened to the phantom that "the spaceship fell to the ground and disintegrated in the explosion" that I saw?

He couldn't wait to know the answer. Fortunately, the Frost Queen didn't hide what she knew, but told her frankly:

"That was a friend I met shortly after I left the cathedral. At that time, I was planning to take over power, and I often met with various people, or participated in things in the public domain, and the old man appeared once At the fundraiser...

"He was not on the guest list, but he easily bypassed all the security and eyeliners. I thought he was a professor from a university because he wore a scholar's robe and had a refined demeanor-I didn't know he was The one who sneaked in, chatted with him, and the profound knowledge he displayed was amazing, until... the bodyguards of the assembly finally reacted and kicked him out.

"But after that, the old man began to appear frequently in my sight, sometimes in high society gatherings, sometimes in private dinners organized by friends, he would appear when everyone's eyes shifted, and then he remained calm Talk to me freely, discuss with me about history, mathematics, and occult fields, and leave quietly before anyone disturbs-except for being discovered by bodyguards when we first met, he can always hide himself from everyone out of sight.

"Isn't it incredible? A friend only I know, a knowledgeable advisor, a... air friend.

"I never disclosed his existence to the outside world. At first, it was because I was worried that it would arouse the concerns of the church. The bishops would suspect that my psyker talent was out of control and put me back in the cellar—I knew that my power had not Out of control, I don't worry about being imprisoned, but I feel that my time is precious and I can't continue to waste it in the cage. Later... I began to gradually grasp the power of the city-state, so I couldn't expose the existence of this 'secret advisor' .

"This state lasted for about three years, and I became friends with this mysterious old man, but just when I thought he would continue to be my 'special staff' until the coronation, he suddenly Show up and say goodbye to me.

"That's what he said - 'The window is over and this is the last time we see each other.'

"Then, he handed me a brass key and told me that the key is a distorted collection, the key that can establish a connection in time and space, and it can carry knowledge and memory. One day, it will work...

"After talking a lot about the key, my 'air friend' just turned away, and walked towards the first rays of the rising sun - at the second the sun rose above the horizon, he Disappeared, and that was the last time I saw him."

Duncan listened to Le Nora's narration in astonishment, and countless associations appeared in his mind, and all the associations quickly pointed to a noun. When the Frost Queen's voice fell in front of him, he immediately spoke: " Wait, the person you describe sounds like a..."

"Yes, the last missionary, Captain Duncan," Leigh Nora smiled, "I guessed it after the first few meetings—I have been exposed to countless books during the years of training in the church. , I naturally know what a missionary is in the end."

"You're befriending a missionary of the end, and he..." Duncan frowned, but realized the incongruity in the middle of the sentence, "Wait, no, it doesn't look like a normal end Preacher……"

"That's right, as you said, although the 'nature' is very similar, the state of the old man is completely different from that group of crazy cultists. He has sharp thinking, clear reason, gentle and friendly attitude, and the final The only thing that missionaries have in common is the point of 'non-linear intervention and disappearance'."

"...Normal end-end missionaries can't think and communicate calmly, because the tearing of the timeline has already disturbed their cognition, and the worship of the subspace has destroyed their reason," Duncan quickly reacted, "and you The one I know is the opposite..."

He stopped suddenly.

Because at this moment, he recalled another thing, something related to "self"!

Tirian once mentioned in an exchange with Fanna and Valentine that a century ago, on the eve of "Duncan Abnomar"'s last voyage, several mysterious The visitors, who wore ascetic robes, suddenly appeared on the ship and had a long talk with the then "Captain Duncan" all night, and disappeared mysteriously when the sun rose the next day...

Tirian has always believed that the visits of those mysterious visitors were the direct cause of the Lost Country's final voyage to the "frontier".

And those mysterious visitors... Judging from the description, they are exactly a group of clear-sighted, gentle and friendly "final missionaries"!

The body Duncan was using at the moment couldn't express complicated expressions, but his momentary silence and slight changes in his eyes still did not hide from the Frost Queen's keen observation, and Lei Nora immediately reacted: "What are you thinking? ?"

Duncan raised his head and didn't speak for a while, just quietly staring into the other person's eyes.

The "friend" that Ray Nora knew was not an isolated case—in the group of final missionaries, who are generally considered to be murderous and crazy cultists, there is indeed a group of individuals with reason and unknown purpose, and they run around In the timeline, use a certain contact opportunity called "window period" to constantly interfere with the affairs of the world!

Thoughts fluctuated in his mind, and countless thoughts flashed by, Duncan finally broke the silence: "They also visited the Lost Homeland."

For the first time, Ray Nora's eyes widened instantly.

It seems that she has not completely lost the emotion of "surprise" as she said at the beginning.

"Have you also come into contact with the sane and final missionaries?" Lei Nora said quickly, "What did they tell you? They are..."

"Unfortunately, I don't remember anymore," Duncan interrupted the other party's hasty inquiry, "This part of the memory has disappeared with the erosion of the subspace, and I only learned from other channels that I had fought with them before." deal."

There was an unconcealable look of regret on Ray Nora's face.

Duncan quickly gathered his thoughts and brought the topic back on track: "After realizing that the other party is a special final missionary, haven't you discussed his true identity with him? Haven't you asked his purpose? "

"Of course I asked—but do you think I'll get an answer?" Leigh Nora sighed resignedly. "We get along very well. He is my elder teacher and friend, and he is willing to answer most of my questions. , but whenever I try to bring the topic to his...'identity', he always prevaricates it with one sentence——

"It's not yet time, don't get in touch with things outside the 'boundary' too early."

"Don't get in touch with things beyond the boundary too early..." Duncan repeated this seemingly meaningful words in a low voice, and then frowned slightly, "How could you make friends with such a suspicious person under such circumstances?" My friend, it can be called... a wide heart."

"I need help, and most of the things that can be called 'power' in this world are dangerous," Lei Nora said calmly, "Compared to the 'dreams' I have been exposed to since I was a child, A doomed preacher is too mild and harmless."

Duncan didn't say anything else, he just got up again, and slowly came to the darkness at the end of the room.

"...The last thing, what are your plans for your future...?"

Lei Nora frowned slightly: "The future?"

"Do you need to stay in this room called 'Drifting Land' forever?" Duncan said, raising his chin again, pointing to the huge "tentacle" in the dark deep sea, "You need to stay here forever, Are you using dreams to suppress the activity of this 'wrong copy'?"

"Do you have another way?"

"Maybe, but not sure," Duncan said. "If I can completely destroy this false copy, what will happen?"

"...Freedom," Lei Nora was silent for a few seconds, before solemnly and slowly nodding, "He and I will be freed."

"And after that?"

"I don't know," Leigh Nora shook her head, "that's beyond my comprehension—I've never imagined what it will be like when this long nightmare is finally over. Perhaps, this 'drifting place' will Losing this connection point, it will reconnect somewhere else, maybe, I will lose my connection with the real world, no longer be troubled by nightmares, and become a wandering soul with nothing to do, waiting for the day when this room is reopened .”

"That doesn't sound like a happy ending," Duncan's tone became serious. "Eternal exile, that's not much better than sinking into a nightmare."

"In fact, it's worse, because this room is not under my control, and it is more likely to sink to the side of the warp in the process of drifting out of control than to reconnect to a 'connection point' in the real world."

Duncan fell silent and didn't say a word for a long time.

But Lei Nora took the initiative to break the silence after a moment: "But even so, I still recommend you to do this—if you can really do it, let's end this while I still have time."

Duncan looked into the eyes of the Frost Queen: "...Are you sure? Even if this will make you suffer eternal exile?"

"Eternal nightmare is actually a kind of eternal exile," Lei Nora smiled, "This release can at least truly solve the long-term threat facing Frost—at least for a long period of time, my city-state and our The people are safe."