Deep Sea Embers

Every day that followed, everyone on the boundless sea saw the shining of the black sun—the false sunshine that filled and covered the entire world. Behind the creation of the world, the last lighthouse on this sea separated it. The radiance spread to all corners of the sanctuary and lasted for many days and nights.

People have speculated about the origin of the "glow". Some speculated that it was a sign of further collapse of the world. Some speculated that it was the creation of the world that was undergoing some kind of change. The last optimists believed that it was the sunshine that was about to return to the world. In the end The pessimists believe that all things have reached the time of death - but for more "people", they don't care that the sunshine has lost its self-recognition, and the blind and foolish entities are swaying through the city in the mist and night. , gnawing and tearing the food in their "cognition", low roars seemed to fill the whole world, and layers of murmurs came from the depths of the city-state's underground;

A huge, fluctuating shadow appeared on the sea, and the shadow gathered towards the coastline of the city-state. It was an unidentified fleet returning from all corners of history. Forgotten and invisible sailors and pirates took advantage of the night to board the city-state. , but melted into the night in the roar. No one knew where they went, but low and vague sounds of boat songs and trumpets seemed to be heard from every intersection of every pier;

The buildings of the city are waking up in the night. After the last sober person leaves them, they forget their original appearance in the fog. The roofs open with cascading eyes, the chimneys curl up and grow in the night, and the windows appear. With sharp teeth, every door sings loudly in the night, emitting the loudest noise in the memory of the city-state;

And those real madmen who woke up built high walls deep in the city.

They maintain communication with each other with the help of sewers and the few urban rail transit systems that are still in operation. The survivors of the city hall and church are ensuring the final order.

People take turns sleeping to ensure that at least one pair of eyes is open in every corner of these last refuges, to prevent scales and flesh from growing on the high walls and roofs.

The night watchmen walked through the night, searching for the last survivors in the completely twisted and fallen city to prevent them from being swallowed up and wiped out by other entities that had lost their humanity.

Everyone received the final order—the order originally originated from the distant northern city-states, and was later transmitted to the entire world with the establishment and mutual communication of various city-state alliances. It has only one core content:

Survive, do everything possible to survive, and don't let too many people fall in the final darkness before dawn.

Although the death mechanism has been shut down, people swallowed by night and madness will still disappear into this world. They will turn into useless remnants in the shelter, unable to usher in the "dawn" - the last protectors of this world. Do everything possible to avoid this happening.

And those who are protected are talking about that "dawn" in the high walls cautiously, cautiously, but full of hope and expectation.

People are talking about a new world that will appear at the end of this long night.

No one knows how the message first came out, and no one knows whether this was the intentional guidance of the protectors. This may be just a distant and ethereal hope, but in this night of sinking everything, there must be a hope spreading and growing. .

Lawrence stood on a section of the old city wall in the western part of Faeren, quietly looking into the distance.

This section of the old city wall has recently been repaired and strengthened, and now it is part of the shelter in this border city. The high shelter wall extends from the port area and closes near the steam hub factory. Inside the high wall is this Almost all the survivors in the city.

The few remaining survivors are concentrated in the two churches outside the high wall and the apartment buildings near the churches. The night watchers are trying to connect the underground structures of several shelters to protect everyone.

There was a terrifying roar coming from the depths of the night, mixed with the sound of a steam walker firing, and several consecutive flashes of light appeared deep in the flowing clouds, and then everything gradually returned to calm - after a long time, a The flare rose up from that direction, blooming a lasting light in the night sky.

The weak "sunlight" escaping from behind the creation of the world intersected with the light of the signal flare. "It seems that there are no survivors in that direction, only monsters spawned by the city itself," Martha's voice came from the small mirror on Lawrence's chest. According to the news, "Now that we have reached this point, there should be no new "awakened ones" appearing deep in those long-fallen neighborhoods."

"Faellen is a small city, and the search operation will end soon. In the days to come, the main task of the Night Watch troops is to ensure the safety within the high walls." Lawrence nodded lightly, "But in other city-states, the search operation will be over soon. The survivors' actions should continue until the end. In those huge, maze-like old neighborhoods, there will always be people who are still holding on and waiting for rescue.

Martha hummed slightly and did not speak again.

The "sunshine" behind the Creation of the World slowly dimmed, then reappeared a moment later, illuminating the entire sky.

"Who would have thought that the 'black sun' would eventually light up the sky," Martha broke the silence softly. "Even a year ago, even sun believers would not dare to say such crazy things. "

"But now, except for us, no one in this world remembers what the 'Black Sun' is," Lawrence sighed and shook his head, "all the fear and worship of it have been folded into the abandoned history. "

He raised his head and looked at the dim sunlight in the sky.

The "Black Sun" that has been forgotten by the whole world is still slowly flickering on the back of the creation of the world, and there is no creature in this world that needs his sunlight.

It is just lighting the navigation lights for the last ship in the world that is still sailing.

The footsteps came from behind, and Lawrence retracted his gaze to the sky. He turned around and saw an ugly figure wearing a crew uniform that didn't fit him well passing through the mist, stepping onto the city wall, and coming to him.

"Captain, I'm back to report." The sailor pulled the hem of the crew uniform and pulled the corner of his mouth to reveal an ugly and childish smile.

Lawrence looked the sailor up and down, and his eyes twitched: "Can you stop smiling like this every time you see me? It's scary. "

The sailor grinned: "I looked outside the high wall on the way here. My appearance is already above average in the city-state today. "

Lawrence spitted to the side twice, but did not continue to tease the man. Instead, he took two steps forward and patted the sailor on the shoulder. "How is it on the Lost Hometown?"

The sailor thought about it, and the deep grooves on his face slowly stretched out: "It's a good place. "

'That's good,' Lawrence laughed, and then smiled and shook his head, "Then now the wonderful overseas assignment is over--

He opened his hands and made a welcoming gesture: "Welcome back to the White Oak. "

The sailor also laughed and opened his hands to greet him: "It's an honor. "

Lawrence hid to the side: "I'm just expressing my gratitude, and I don't care if I really hug you--Go back and wash your body, you are covered in rotten meat. "

Mr. Morris has taken his family to the shelter, and now he has signed up for the wall guard. It is said that the head of the wall guard rejected him when he saw that he was an old man, and then the teacher beat up everyone on the scene.

"Miss Vanna is now staying at the cathedral, where she commands the night watch. It is said that many out-of-control priests are still under house arrest in the cathedral. She is very busy every day, but I felt that she was quite happy when I saw her last time. Did she tell you? Yes, she is very happy that she can help by returning to the city-state.

'Have the sailor and Miss Agatha arrived at their destinations safely? That's good. I heard that there are fewer and fewer fleets going north. It is said that the situation in the cold sea is not good. I was a little worried about arriving safely before. That is probably the last fleet.

"How is Miss Lucrecia doing? Are you trying the food in Breeze Harbor? Is she really a witch?

Nina's mumbling voice echoed in his heart. Duncan sat on the big wooden barrel on the edge of the deck of the Lost Homeland, listening to the voice from afar with a faint smile on his face.

"Do you and Shirley have any plans?" he suddenly asked. Nina was quiet for a few seconds: "Shirley and I decided to stay in the antique shop. "

"Aren't you going to the shelter or the cathedral? The situation there is better. "

"No, we don't have any other relatives, and we don't worry about safety issues. There is not much point in going to the shelter. Now Agou and Shirley are responsible for patrolling the shop, and I am responsible for maintaining the light and temperature in the antique shop. This small shop can be regarded as a small 'shelter' in this block. Occasionally, the night watch troops pass by here and can come in to rest. They are all Miss Vanna's men. By the way, they also said that this antique shop is the 'most reliable night safe house in the city-state'"

Nina's voice sounded happy with a hint of pride. She seemed very satisfied with the current situation. Satisfied, Duncan listened, and put aside the little worry in his heart.

It seems that the two girls have "run" the small antique shop in another way, and they are running it well.

While Nina was chatting, Duncan saw layers of light and shadows appearing at the end of the jump channel.

The outline of the clouds appeared in the depths of the gray-white background, and the "sunlight" that permeated the entire jump channel covered the distant clouds, outlining the silhouette of the eternal curtain.

Duncan slowly stood up.

"Nina."

The girl who was chatting stopped immediately: "Huh?"

"Prepare to look up--"