Deep Sea Embers

In the following days, everyone on the boundless sea saw the shining of the black sun - that false sunshine 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 about the sunshine.

Having lost their self-awareness, the entities that acted blindly and foolishly in the mist and night staggered through the city, gnawing and tearing the food in their "cognition", and their low roars seemed to fill the whole world, with another layer. Layers of whispers came from the depths of the city-state;

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 maintained communication with each other with the help of sewers and the few urban rail transits that were still running. The survivors of the city hall and church ensured 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 - that 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 federations. 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 news 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 reinforced, and now it is part of the shelter in this frontier city-state. The high shelter wall extends from the port area and closes near the steam hub factory. Inside the high wall is the city. Almost all the survivors.

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, interspersed 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 went up from that direction, blooming a lasting light in the night sky.

The faint "sunlight" escaping from behind the creation of the world complements the light of the signal flare.

"It seems that there are no survivors in that direction, there are only monsters spawned by the city itself," Martha's voice came from the small mirror on Lawrence's chest, "It's now, there shouldn't be any new ones." The Awakeners appear deep in those long-lost 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 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 no one in this world except us remembers what the 'Black Sun' is," Lawrence sighed and shook his head. "All the fear and worship of Him have been folded into abandoned history. ”

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

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

He is just lighting the pilot light for the last ship in the world that is still sailing.

The sound of footsteps came from behind, and Lawrence retracted his gaze to the sky. He turned around and saw a shriveled and ugly figure wearing an ill-fitting crew uniform walking through the mist, stepping onto the city wall, and came to him. before.

"Captain, I'm back to report." The sailor tugged at the hem of the crew uniform and pulled the corners of his mouth into an ugly and terrifying smile.

Lawrence looked at the sailor up and down, and the corners of his eyes twitched: "...Can you stop being so happy every time you see me? It's scary."

The sailor immediately grinned: "I looked outside the high wall on the way here. I look like this and my appearance is already average in today's city-state."

Lawrence spat to the side, but did not continue to tease the mummy. Instead, he took two steps forward and reached out to pat the sailor on the shoulder.

"How was it on the Lost Home?"

The sailor thought for a while, and the deep groove on his face slowly expanded: "It's a nice place."

"That's good," Lawrence laughed, then shook his head with a smile, "Then the wonderful expat job is over now..."

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

The sailor also laughed and greeted him with open hands: "It's a great honor."

Lawrence hid aside: "I'll just say, forget about the real hug - go back and wash yourself properly, your rotten flesh is all rotten."

…

"Teacher Morris has taken his family to the shelter, and now he has signed up to join the city wall guard team... It is said that at first the head of the city wall guard saw an old man coming to sign up and rejected him, and then the teacher went to the scene Everyone was beaten up...

"Miss Vanna is staying at the cathedral now - she is commanding the Night Watch troops there. It is said that there are still many out-of-control priests under house arrest in the cathedral. She is very busy every day, but the last time I saw her, she felt that she was quite okay. Happy... She also told you? Yes, she is happy that she can help when she returns to the city-state...

"Have the sailors and Miss Agatha arrived at their destinations safely? That's good... I heard that the fleet going north is getting smaller and smaller. It is said that the situation on the Lenglie Sea is not good. There was a little bit before. Worry... As long as we arrive safely, that will probably be the last fleet.

"How's the situation with Miss Lucretia? Are you trying the delicacies of Qingfeng Port? It's true... she is indeed a witch lady..."

Nina's murmuring voice echoed in her heart. Duncan sat on the big wooden barrel on the edge of the deck of the Lost Home, listening to the voice from far away, with a faint smile on his face.

"What plans do you and Shirley have?" he asked suddenly.

Nina was quiet for a few seconds: "...Shirley and I decided to stay in the antique shop."

"Why don't you go to the asylum or the cathedral? The situation is somewhat better there."

"If we don't go, we don't have any other relatives, and we don't worry about safety issues, so there is little point in going to the shelter - now Agou and Shirley are responsible for patrolling the store, and I am responsible for maintaining the light and temperature in the antique store. This The shop can also be regarded as a small 'sanctuary' in this neighborhood. Occasionally, the Night Watch troops pass by here and can come in to have a rest. They are all Miss Vanna's subordinates... By the way, they also said that this antique shop The store is 'the most reliable night safe house in the city-state'..."

Nina's voice sounded happy with a hint of pride. She seemed to be very satisfied with the current situation. Listening to this, Duncan let go of his little worry.

It seems that the two girls used another method to "run" the small antique shop, and they managed it very well.

While Nina was chatting away, Duncan saw layers of light and shadow emerging from the corner of his eye at the end of the jump tunnel.

The outline of clouds and mist appears deep in the gray-white background, and the "sunshine" that permeates the entire jump channel covers the distant clouds and mist, outlining the silhouette of the eternal curtain.

Duncan slowly stood up.

"Nina."

The girl who was talking about homely matters stopped immediately: "Huh?"

"Be prepared to raise your head—"