Deep Sea Embers

The dead are crawling out of their coffins one after another, and the cemetery is full of corpses dangling. They ask questions in confusion, walk calmly, or sit on the morgue in a daze, the remnants of the old order after it has dissipated. I was recalling and thinking in vain with the slight sense of dissonance, trying to grasp the uneasiness and shadow lingering in my heart.

And the caretaker who is supposed to guard this cemetery to prevent the dead from waking up and restless is guiding these waking corpses, sending them away from this temporary place of residence, and sending them back home.

The dim street lights reflected this strange scene. Even Agatha, who could no longer sense the temperature of the living world, felt another coldness that seemed to slowly spread out from her soul. She stood blankly on the path. Standing next to him, he watched Duncan send the moving corpses out one after another, as if he was deep in a bizarre dream.

"Okay, you are the last one." Finally, the last staggering dead man set foot on the way home. It was a young man who died of murder. There was a terrible hole in his chest, and Duncan held him. The fresh dead man stepped off the platform and warned gently and calmly, "You still remember the direction home, go back, shortness of breath is normal, you will soon adapt to all this, now go home, and your family Stay together, don't think too much, and live a good life - get out of here, move forward, and don't look back. You won't have to come back to this place for a long time. "

The stiff-footed corpse finally walked away, and the dim streetlight illuminated his figure until he finally disappeared into the vast night in the distance.

Duncan finally came to the doorkeeper. Even though he was separated by thick bandages, there was still a gentle and calm smile in his eyes: "I've kept you waiting for a long time, Ms. Agatha."

Agatha was suddenly in a trance, feeling as if she was about to forget something very important, but then she suddenly woke up,

While raising his hand and pressing his forehead, he murmured to himself: "The boundary between life and death has disappeared, Captain. What happened? I feel that something is wrong. What happened here in the cemetery was not normal just now."

Her body swayed, as if her consciousness was suddenly interrupted, and she even almost fell.

"Relax, Agatha." Duncan reached out and gently supported the gatekeeper, helping her slowly walk to a morgue nearby.

Let her sit next to a coffin.

"Keep breathing—or not breathing at all. The main thing is to keep your mind calm," he said slowly, just like he had just comforted the restless dead. "It's normal to feel dazed and slightly nervous and panic, and it will pass soon." , Tirian is fine now, and you will be too soon."

Listening to the words coming from beside her, Agatha felt that the tearing conflicts in her mind finally receded slightly, and her cognition temporarily stabilized. After a moment of silence, she whispered: "And. how long?"

We are heading to the last node, the node of the God of Death. According to past experience, this will take about two to three days. After that, I can confirm Bartok's status." Duncan looked at Agatha's hooded eyes. Black Veil's Eyes, "But if you're asking after that, that final moment, it's going to be a while. "

"What else will the world look like?"

Duncan did not speak, but still looked at her calmly. At first, the sea lost its waves, and the boundless sea turned into a calm water mirror. Then, the dead no longer rested in peace, the concept of death was distorted, and the boundaries between life and death became blurred. ,And after that?

He suddenly remembered what Black Sun had described to him: one day, the ocean would forget the appearance of the waves, life would forget how to die, the flames would not remember how to burn, the wind would stop flowing, and the clouds would fall from the sky to the sea.

The gods are sinking in oblivion, and the world is sinking in oblivion—that is the "rotten future."

That corresponds to the "future of fire", another lightless end.

Agatha didn't get the answer to the question, but in Duncan's eyes, she seemed to already know the result, and as the cognitive tearing and shielding in her mind vaguely emerged again, she also vaguely realized that this This may not be the first time this happened in this world.

I have undergone the most rigorous training and testing. I have hammered my skills and strengthened my will in the temple. I have sworn in front of the Lord's icon to protect those who follow us with my own strength and faith.

She spoke softly, and the coldness of the world penetrated her mind, as if to freeze her thinking. Her voice sounded in the cold night, as if coming from one tomb and echoing in another tomb, "But how can I be here?" Protect them under such circumstances? Captain Duncan, in the face of the collapse of the foundation of the world?

"You are protecting them, and everyone in this city is also protecting this city in their own way - the way of life here, the memories here, everything here," Duncan's deep voice interrupted. Gasha's words, "I know that even so, everything is slowly dying. The 'memory' of this world is disappearing between the fingers like quicksand. No matter how tight you hold your hands, it is just delaying the process. But it's no one's fault."

He turned his head and looked at the path in the cemetery and the morgues beside the path that were now completely silent.

Some of the morgues still have the marks of bullets and blades that have been smashed and chopped. There are also bouquets presented by the living to the dead, and there are even traces of wet tears left on them.

There were people here who fought for the boundary between life and death, and there were people here who mourned those who passed through life and death and went to another world. But now this place has completely quieted down. For a long time in the future, In time, it may not have any more "guests".

People will gradually forget the role of the cemetery, and then it will be irresistible "neglect". Death will become a state transition that is not cared about. Bartok's priesthood will be blurred, and the concept of the Church of Death will become a natural , but cannot understand, and no one would even think of understanding. This dying world will once again "adjust", and "ignorance" is another gift it bestows on all living beings - to avoid the vulnerability of mortals. His mind accidentally glimpsed the frightening corruption and fester hidden in the depths of darkness.

Agatha felt the cold air gradually filling her chest, and then being slowly exhaled out of her body as she breathed.

She seemed to have not breathed for a long time. After the death of this body, she became more and more accustomed to the identity of the deceased, so much so that she gradually forgot about "breathing".

But now, she began to breathe clearly again. The dark night enveloped the world gently. She felt that the trance in her mind was gradually fading away, and all the confusion and anxiety were slowly dissipating.

She heard Captain Duncan speak beside her, with a reassuring calmness in his voice.

"Agatha, did you know? Human eyes can actually see the tip of their nose all the time - it will block a large part of the person's field of vision, and when the two eyes are focused, it will form an area that theoretically cannot be ignored. dark shadow,

"But your brain has been dealing with this 'trouble'. It has learned to ignore the dark shadow and 'fill' the gaps in the field of vision through incredible imagination, deception and calculation. Only at specific angles and positions can you Notice the existence of that 'blind spot'.

"At the same time, due to the influence of neural structure, people's field of vision is upside down. Your brain needs to make a lot of calculations and adjustments in order to flip the signals transmitted by the nerves into a normal appearance - so some people, When they encounter neuropathy, they briefly see the upside-down world and even struggle to move in that upside-down world.

"Human beings are such imperfect creatures that the human brain has to ignore, forget, and even self-deceive in order to survive rationally in this world." And this world has a brain like yours. The same corrective mechanism - those terrible tears and contradictions will eventually be hidden under this corrective mechanism. Although they will accumulate more and more, even though the whole world will gradually sink, this is already.

We’re the best we can do.

"Agatha, this world is so imperfect that its designers had to ignore, forget, and even self-deceive in order for you to survive sanely in this world, and now, this The process is reaching its limit.

"Like sand running through your fingers.

"But the 'robes' tried their best."

Duncan retracted his gaze from the distance and quietly stared at the gatekeeper sitting on the landing platform.

"I'll go back to the cathedral."

Agatha suddenly whispered.

The green fire danced in the depths of her broken body, smoldering around her eyes.

"There will be people who come to the cathedral asking for help, there will be other priests who are as temporarily confused and uneasy as I am, and they will need me. And after this, when this 'process' is temporarily over, I will continue to perform my duties. I should Together with the followers, let everyone's life go on, even for one more day. And then-

She breathed a sigh of relief, and then jumped down from the morgue, her posture agile.

She stood in the night like a calm tombstone, as if her days as a nun wearing long skirts and praying in the cathedral had not diminished her aura as a gatekeeper at all.

'Then, the world may become worse,' Duncan's voice came from the side, 'Life has forgotten how to die, the fire may also forget how to burn, wind and clouds, light and darkness, many things will be there. Gradually sinking into this unstoppable rot - and the correction of the world will reach its limit. Someone will wake up in the dark and realize the horrific changes in the world. By that time

Agatha raised her head and faced Captain Duncan's gaze calmly. The breeze gradually emerged around her, and her figure gradually disintegrated into ashes in the wind.

A smile appeared on her face.

"I will still fulfill my responsibilities and be patient - we all have our own things to do, right?"

Duncan nodded slightly.

Agatha's figure turned into gray wind and into the night, leaving this quiet cemetery