Deep Sea Embers

In the mist that filled the entire sea area, like an endless veil, the "Tide" from the Deep Sea Church and the two escort ships began to enter the area illuminated by the spiritual fire "torch". Their figures gradually became clear in the mist. Originally, due to The contours that appear to be trembling and undulating due to the influence of the border environment also tend to stabilize as the firelight illuminates them.

As for the sailors on the Tide, they felt a more obvious change in the process - the green flame rising into the sky was like a lighthouse bringing order, and the fog that never dissipated in the border waters was in that lighthouse. The surrounding area miraculously faded away, and as they continued to approach the fire, the vague noises and whispers in the surrounding environment also weakened - these changes have never been experienced by these sailors who have been patrolling near the Eternal Veil all year round. of.

On the bow deck of the Lost Home, Vanna frowned slightly and listened, as if distinguishing distant sounds from the wind, and then nodded to Duncan: "Tide Commander Sandra sends you greetings and Respectfully, he inquired about next steps.”

Duncan nodded: "When the Rest and No Rest arrive, we will enter the thick fog and be careful not to leave the scope of the flame lighthouse."

Vanna immediately conveyed the captain's instructions to her fellow church members, while Duncan was quite interested in her "spiritual communication" that could contact nearby deep-sea believers through meditation and prayer, and looked at it curiously. After the meeting, he seemed to think of another thing: "By the way...should the Homeless Ship really be equipped with a radio device?"

"If you want to use it in a safe sea area, that's no problem, but if you want to use it on the border...then it's not reliable," Fanna answered seriously, "In the border sea area, the machine is infected with evil. The probability will be very high. Except for machines with strong protection like the steam core that can be used stably, other things will have problems to some extent, and radios are the most prone to problems."

After Vanna finished speaking, Lucretia on the side added: "It is easy to hear 'sounds' from unknown sources when the radio is turned on. Those sounds will pollute people's minds, and some things will get in along the radio. The real world silently corrupts equipment that is not protected by steam - so generally ships entering border waters must turn off their radios, and even the internal telephone lines used within the ship must be cut off."

"Is there something that will follow the radio into the real world?" Duncan raised his eyebrows, seeming to find this quite... "interesting", "So the border patrol boats basically can only rely on Vanna's psychic ability. Correspondence' to contact?"

"Psychic resonance is a 'miracle' given by the gods," Vanna lowered her head slightly and traced the sigil of the storm goddess Gemona on her chest, "It's like a boiler protected by steam, sent out through psychic resonance. The words are also blessed and can avoid being polluted and distorted by external forces in this chaotic border sea - of course, this does not mean absolute safety. There are times when psychic communication is interfered with and polluted. In this boundless There is no 100% safety in dense fog."

"That's it..." Duncan nodded thoughtfully. Just like when he first set foot on the land of the city-state, he absorbed the new knowledge about the border with full curiosity and thirst for knowledge, and then he turned his head. , asked casually towards the seemingly empty place, "What about you, Agatha? Is the 'psionic communication' between you and the Rest in Rest and Rest in Rest the same as Vanna? As a A 'Shadow', is the 'psionic communication' you established when you contacted other Death Priests different from regular 'psionic communication'?"

Agatha's hazy figure emerged from the sky above the deck, and her slightly ethereal voice came from the air: "As far as I feel, there seems to be no difference. Even if it becomes like this, I can still be like in my memory." 'That way I felt Bartok's blessing and heard the voices of other church brothers and sisters. In fact... after coming here, I even felt that the voices I heard were a little clearer than 'memory' , it’s incredible.”

The "memory" mentioned by Agatha obviously refers to her "life as a gatekeeper" - although that life is false, that memory is 100% restored to the real Agatha, and she thus The judgments made are naturally of great reference value.

The "copy Agatha" who exists in the form of a "shadow", when listening to "psionic communication" in the border waters, feels that the voice she hears is clearer than what she remembers?

This somewhat counter-intuitive phenomenon made Duncan think deeply. He originally felt that the clone Agatha was weaker than the "original body" who stayed in the frost in areas involving magic and miracles. However, at this border The situation in the sea area... seems to be different from what you imagined?

In the final analysis... what is the essence of the "psionic resonance" power mastered by the priests of the Four Gods Church, and the "psionic communication" they established thereby?

Duncan was thinking subconsciously, but his thinking was quickly interrupted——

"They are coming," Agatha said suddenly in the shadow, "The Rest and Restless are approaching."

A very penetrating whistle sounded from the depths of the fog. Two black ironclad ships with towering bridges, a small church standing at the stern, and large main guns installed on the bow and sides of the hull slowly emerged from the fog, and then Four small frigates appeared on the sea accompanied by the rise and fall of the fog.

The bright light of spiritual fire rising from the "guiding ship" illuminated the vague silhouettes of the ships, and in response, the two black ironclad ships once again sounded the whistle representing greetings, and at the same time illuminated a series of lights. Signal.

"Commander of the Rest, Polekny, and Commander of the Rest, Orlando, send you greetings and respects." Agatha's figure nodded slightly to Duncan, "They have sent a reconnaissance boat to briefly confirm the situation in the surrounding waters, and No traces of the activities of the Annihilation Cults were found, and no small islands that could be used as temporary footholds or police posts were found. However, within the curtain, the reconnaissance boat briefly heard some unusual noises, and it was confirmed that there was indeed something in that direction. what'."

Listening to Agatha's report, Duncan's expression gradually became serious, and then he exhaled softly, and his heart gradually calmed down.

"Let's go - once again, don't leave the range of the spiritual fire."

As the fragmented "Guide Ship" began to accelerate slowly again, this "United Fleet" temporarily organized by the Church of the Deep Sea, the Church of Death, and the "Lost Home Fleet" finally sailed towards the eternal curtain and gradually entered that... Deep in the endless thick fog.

The clouds and fog that covered the sky rolled in like a barrier, and at some point they turned into a huge layer of curtains around the fleet. The sun was left behind, and the sunlight gradually faded from the field of vision, and as the fog became more and more A rich, chaotic but not dark "sky light" has gradually become the main color of this foggy sea.

Thirty minutes after entering the boundary of the curtain, the fog began to clearly "converge" and became thicker. They began to take on a... sticky and "textured" form, like some kind of entity. Like lumps, they float unevenly in every corner of the field of vision.

Some hazy outlines seemed to flash past in the condensed fog, seeming to be cautiously observing the fleet that suddenly broke into the border, and watching the uninvited guests appearing in this sea area.

The deck gradually became a little quiet. Even Shirley, who was always chirping and noisy on weekdays, seemed to feel the change in the breath. She closed her mouth cautiously and looked at the "fog balls" flowing near the side of the ship like living creatures. ”, and the faint silhouettes in the fog.

"This... this thing looks different from the 'fog' I know..." Agou muttered in a low voice, "It's also different from what I saw outside the curtain..."

"After entering the scope of the curtain, the texture of the fog will become like this - as if the order between reality and reality is missing, and the diffuse fog will tend to appear in a lump-like condensed state, as if there are intellectual beings around it. Something is bringing these fogs together..."

Lucretia said, standing on the edge of the deck and stretching out her hand, her fingertips gently flicking the mist that was flowing past the side of the ship like a stream in the air.

"But in fact, there is nothing inside them, and there is nothing in the center of the condensed fog... Do not easily believe any entities you see in the fog. Unless they have shown obvious tendency to move, it is best to treat them as Phantom or my own imagination.”

"Hey, is it okay to put your hand in like that?" Shirley couldn't help but exclaimed after seeing Lucretia's actions, "These fogs look very evil!"

"The fog is very dangerous, but it doesn't mean that the fog is corrosive and poisonous - otherwise you will be dead the moment you enter the curtain." Lucretia glanced at Shirley and shook her head, "As long as you have enough With experience and correct methods, the area within six nautical miles of the border is the 'relative safety zone'... Of course, no matter how cautious you are, many people still die in this so-called 'relative safety zone'."

Listening to the exchange between Lucretia and Shirley beside him, Duncan remained silent and did not speak. He just stood on the bow of the ship, watching the mist streams that were constantly dividing and joining nearby, his expression seemed to be thinking all the time. What are you wearing?

Lucretia noticed Duncan's silence.

"Dad, did you think of something?"

Duncan blinked, and after hesitating for a while, he finally muttered softly: "It looks familiar."

Lucretia: "Looks familiar?"

Duncan hummed, but his eyes still stayed on those amorphous masses floating around. He frowned more and more as he looked at the vague outlines in the fog, the turbid light in the sky, and the strange texture that occasionally appeared in the flowing clouds and mists. The tighter...