Chapter 168: Chapter 172: Fenna’s Discovery
Fenna stood silently in front of the staircase leading to the Underground Sanctuary, looking at the black door that had just been restored before everyone’s eyes.
Three hours ago, she had led her team to this abandoned church and had seen the warm and bright lights inside, the main hall where everything seemed normal, the silently praying nun, and the clean and tidy pulpit.
Two hours ago, she had shaken off that obviously odd nun, led her guardians to this Underground Sanctuary, and upon opening the doors of the sanctuary, she had seen the truth within—a subspace plunged into darkness, a sword-wielding nun who seemed to have died in battle not long ago, the scattered marks of combat in the basement, and the absence of the infiltrators.
Two minutes ago, she had completed a meticulous scout of the Underground Sanctuary and, along with her subordinates, had brought the body of the nun out from the Sanctuary, preparing to send it to the Central Cathedral for autopsy and burial.
Then, as everyone watched, the body of the nun that had been brought outside the Sanctuary turned to ashes that dispersed with the wind, while the door to the basement, which had been violently pried open two hours earlier, was instantly restored to its original state. Now it stood quietly at the end of the staircase, as if mocking the explorers standing on the stairs.
“Judge…” a bearded guardian warrior approached Fenna with a low voice, “It seems that there is some kind of time loop here…”
Fenna nodded slightly, saying nothing.
What emerged in her mind was the terrifying dreamscape of the previous night, as well as “Captain Duncan” who had invaded and contaminated her dream.
The words of the ghost captain echoed in her mind, “…If you truly care about the safety of the City-State, why not visit the sixth district, take a look at that small church…
“I look forward to your discoveries there…”
Was this what “Captain Duncan” wanted her to see? A sealed timescape, a small church contaminated and isolated by some unknown force, a nun who had died fighting against a mysterious infiltrator? Why did he want her to see these things? What did it all mean?
Fenna frowned deeply. When she had set off this morning, her mind was filled with thoughts about the Homeloss and the schemes of the ghost captain, pondering whether the other party was guiding her to this small church to corrupt or attack her, the Judge, in some way. But now, she suddenly began to doubt her initial judgment.
Could it be… that ghost captain just wanted to provide her with a clue? Like a helpful bystander… reporting a heretic within the City-State to her?
The thought emerged in Fenna’s mind—at not too long ago, she had jokingly said the same thing to Bishop Valentin, but now she couldn’t help but run this absurd joke, at the level of subspace, through her mind again.
The next second, the young Judge shivered, her expression stern.
She was actually associating that ghost captain with being “harmless”; this must be the effect of his mental contamination working! She mustn’t continue thinking it…
“Judge?” The voice of a subordinate came from beside her again, pulling Fenna out of her reverie. The bearded guardian wore a worried expression, “Did you…hear or see something?”
“…No, I am perfectly lucid,” Fenna shook her head, responding to her seemingly reliable subordinate. She knew that before setting off, this subordinate had been in contact with Bishop Valentin and was likely also tasked with “monitoring” her, the superior officer. And she had no complaints about this—after all, she had been contaminated by Captain Duncan; it was normal to be on a mission even with shackles on now.
“The timescape here has reset. Shall we go down again?” the subordinate asked.
Fenna pondered for a moment, then turned her head and asked, “What is that ‘nun’ in the main hall doing?”
“She is still praying,” replied a guardian who had just returned from the main hall, “It seems that nothing we do outside the main hall attracts her attention.”
“Uh-huh,” Fenna nodded lightly, her eyes landing on the door at the end of the stairs. After a long moment, she bit her lip, “Go down again.”
She led the guardians back to the entrance of the Underground Sanctuary, pushed the door, and felt the familiar resistance again—the door was blocked from the other side by the body of the nun.
Last time, she instructed her subordinates to pry open the door hinge with a crowbar, opening the passage without damaging the runes on the door as much as possible.
This time, she pressed her hand against the door panel, took a gentle breath, and then suddenly clenched her fist and swiftly knocked on the door.
Within one-hundredth of a second, the entire door vibrated in a way that human senses could not detect, and then the sturdy door suddenly shattered into endless dust. Wood shavings and metal particles fluttered down, only to be repelled and blown away by the aura swirling around Fenna.
The body of the nun fell behind the door, unscathed except for her original wounds.
It wasn’t until then that the guards on the scene heard a very deep hum, which seemed to diffuse into the brain and then vanished in the blink of an eye.
The warriors cast their awe-filled gazes towards the young Judge, while Fenna, accustomed to these looks, had her longsword slung across her back and took a lantern from her waist with her left hand. As soon as the door had shattered, she stepped forward.
The glow from the lantern once again lit up the dark underground space, revealing a scene identical to what they had seen upon their first entry, just as expected, the time and space here had returned to the starting point.
After another careful scouting, Fenna and the warriors returned to the side of the nun who had died in battle.
Not long ago, Fenna had attempted to take the body of the nun out of the Underground Sanctuary, but now she realized that this body had likely become a part of the “cyclic lockdown” of this aberrant time and space, unable to leave this place anymore.
Quietly gazing at the nun’s blood-stained face, Fenna pondered for who knows how long before she suddenly said softly, “…Are you still fighting in this cyclical time and space…”
A brief silence fell over the Underground Sanctuary until a guard’s voice suddenly broke it, “Judge, what do you think… she was fighting against?”
Fenna thought quietly, and after a long time, she raised her head thoughtfully, analyzing the information they had:
“The Underground Sanctuary is an excellent sealing environment; once the door is closed, it becomes a prison;
“The fate of the church’s guard troops is unknown, but it’s clear they didn’t partake in the battle here;
“The nun locked herself inside, armed, which means she anticipated a battle before entering;
“There are no traces of intruders, and given the closed-loop structure of time and space here, the invaders should also be repeating the cycle here. Even if the invaders were to flee quickly, they wouldn’t have had time to erase all the evidence at the moment we opened the door…”
The surrounding guards listened to their superior’s analysis, and suddenly someone realized, “Clerics only seal themselves off and prepare for an ‘endgame’ battle in one situation…”
“Yes, there’s only one situation,” Fenna said softly, slowly standing up, “when a cleric realizes a door to Subspace is about to open within their own soul.”
“A Subspace invasion!” A guard exclaimed in a low voice, “She was fighting against… her own shadow?! But… how is that possible, this is a church, and…”
“And no alarm was ever received from this church,” Fenna interrupted before her subordinate could finish, her voice heavy. She knew well how many things were amiss here, “A cleric completely corrupted by Subspace becomes a vessel, opening a gate to Subspace within their soul, but usually, there is a process to this, especially in an environment like a church. Even in dire situations, the on-duty personnel should have had the chance to send out an alarm. But now it seems the contamination the nun suffered progressed very rapidly… so rapidly that she only had time to grab her longsword and lock herself in here…”
She paused for a moment and then mused, “…Or perhaps an alarm was sent out, but its transmission was disrupted by Subspace interference, preventing it from reaching outside the church.”
“…But this isn’t a ship sailing on the sea,” a guard mumbled incredulously, “this is land, the church is under widespread protection, how could the power of Subspace corrupt a priest so quickly and sever the entire area’s external communications?”
“You’re right, something isn’t right, everything here isn’t right, but what’s even more wrong is…” Fenna said in a low voice, scanning the Underground Sanctuary as the lantern’s radiance illuminated the dim walls and pillars where countless menacing secrets seemed to lurk, “if Subspace once tainted this place, where has it gone now?”