Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Two Approaching Storm Clouds
“`
The gods reside in a divine realm far removed from the reality of the mortal world. People believe this special dimension is the cornerstone of the world. Unlike common knowledge, this “cornerstone” is not at the bottom but rather at the apex of all dimensions.
The ancient texts of the Ancient Crete Kingdom describe the world structure they understood as follows:
At the very top lies the world cornerstone, guarded by eternal truth and order. Within the cornerstone exists the divine realm, perpetually self-sustaining;
Descending from the divine realm is the reality where mortal beings reside, who bask in the afterglow of order and thrive in the relatively stable and bountiful reality;
Descending from reality is the Spirit Realm, which strays from human comprehension. In this realm, the blessings of the gods diminish while twisted and bizarre powers begin to prevail;
Descending from the Spirit Realm is the Mysterious Deep Sea, wholly unsuitable for life and dominated by strange forces. It can hardly be considered part of the material world and more like a reflection of nothingness;
Passing through the Mysterious Deep Sea is the very bottom of the world—the depths of Subspace, where ancient gods of extreme danger and all sorts of malevolent entities reside in their true forms.
In the accounts of the Ancient Crete Kingdom, the gods established a covenant within the cornerstone. This covenant is the source and standard of all laws of the world. This order cascades downward, defining the laws that govern the world, permeating all things mortal, and as the “depth” increases, the power of order weakens and is gradually overshadowed by Subspace. The “cornerstone” where the gods reside and Subspace are like two endpoints of the world, with “order” flowing unidirectionally between them.
This ancient gift to humanity was inaugurated by a brilliant civilization in the Deep Sea age 10,000 years ago. Throughout the long years, countless scholars have exhaustively studied this “layered structure” and have found no fault in this model. Today, it has become the universally accepted “World Standard Model”.
In this standard model, mortals from the dust of the earth may fall into deeper places but seldom can anyone return from the “deeper layers” to the “shallow layers”. Even if there are occasional lucky ones who return from the Spirit Realm to reality, no one has ever heard of an existence so bold as to reach the divine “cornerstone” dimension from reality.
It is for this reason that the return of Homeloss from Subspace to reality has become the most preposterous anomaly in this world—it contradicts the common understanding of the World Standard Model.
On the other hand, the existence of Homeloss does conform to the classic statement concerning abnormalities and anomalies: “The Permanent Misalignment Law of Anomalies and Phenomena”.
No matter what though, Bishop Valentin and Fanna do not believe that the Ghost Ship’s captain has the ability to seek revenge against the Storm Goddess—even if he had the will, he couldn’t accomplish such a deed.
For the “cornerstone” and the real world are discontinuous; unlike the continuous falling and material interchange between reality and the Spirit Realm, and between the Spirit Realm and the Mysterious Deep Sea, so far no scholar has found direct evidence of a connection between the “cornerstone” and the real world. Not even the deities can descend their influence directly, resorting only to methods like projection and edicts. How could a Ghost Ship possibly counterattack the divine realm?
Since vengeance cannot be had directly on the Storm Goddess herself, the remaining choice is naturally her followers in the mortal world.
The Storm Cathedral, headquarters of the Deep Sea Church, is a “Pilgrimage Ark” that sails hidden upon the Endless Sea, coming and going without trace. The Pope who sits upon the ark wields the power to command storms on behalf of the Lord. He is not an easy target.
Thus, the Plunder City-State, with its fixed location on the sea, visible target, and openness to outsiders, inevitably became the better choice: eighty percent of the inhabitants within the city-state are followers of the Storm Goddess.
Fanna had already concluded that the Ghost Ship’s captain had come for revenge—after all, it was a storm that plunged Homeloss into Subspace a hundred years ago, and she could think of no other reason that could explain why, after disappearing for so many years, Homeloss suddenly returned to the realm of reality and targeted the Plunder City-State.
But what exactly does the Ghost Ship’s captain intend to do?
Fanna furrowed her brows, deep in thought, and slowly spoke, “Bishop Valentin, do you think… Homeloss has something to do with the recent activities of the Sun Believers in the city-state?”
After pausing, she added, “Last night in my Dreamscape, I saw a burning sun and Homeloss both appear in Plunder. The simultaneous arrival of both disasters might be a premonition given to me by the Goddess…”
“But don’t forget, in the underground sacrificial site, that corrupted ‘offering’ killed the priest of the Black Sun, which was a ‘messenger’ who had received baptism,” the bishop shook his head, “At least at that sacrificial site, the standing of Homeloss seems to be in opposition to the Black Sun.”
“`
Vanna remained silent for a moment, lost in thought upon listening to the bishop’s words. The old man opposite her spoke again after a brief silence, “About those worshipers of the Black Sun, this morning I indeed received some intelligence from the Rensa City-State…”
Vanna immediately lifted her head, “Intelligence?”
“The Sun Heretics are not only rekindling in Plunder but have been making moves in many City-States. Recently, a large group of Sun Heretics have been passing through Rensa and Moco ports, converging towards Plunder. Some were caught,” the elderly bishop nodded, “During the interrogation, those heretics mentioned ‘Sun Shard’.”
“Sun Shard… the remnants peeled off after the disintegration of the ‘True Sun God’ mentioned by the heretics?” Vanna suddenly caught on, “They think there is a piece of Sun Shard hidden in Plunder?”
“It seems to be the case for now. I don’t know where those heretics got their information, or even if it was a ‘revelation’ they received in their madness. In any case, they are now convinced that a fragment of their ‘master’ is hidden in this city,” Bishop Valentin said with a calm expression, “and they see this as the hope for the revival of the Black Sun.”
“…Crazy bunch,” Vanna couldn’t help but curse softly, “For the resurrection of that dark, blasphemous Sun, how many lives have they claimed!”
“We call it the Black Sun, but to them, their Sun God shines brightly, embodying the most genuine order—you can’t expect those deranged heretics to have any conscience while they’re stained with blood,” Valentin shook his head, “They firmly believe what they say and do is just. Dealing with them, there are only two languages that work best, one is caliber, and the other is weight.”
Upon hearing the bishop’s remarks, which had a touch of the Deep Sea Church about them, Vanna’s mouth twitched involuntarily, “It looks like we’re going to be busy.”
“The Endless Sea is never calm, and the City-State lies within the Endless Sea,” Valentin said, “Captains have to face the storms at sea, we have to face the storms brought by the folly of the mortal world. Judge, be prepared. The Plunder City-State may be about to face a challenge.”
“Two challenges,” Vanna corrected seriously, “In addition to the followers of the Black Sun, there’s also a mysterious and terrifying Ghost Ship captain—if Homeloss and the Black Sun aren’t allies, then our problems just doubled.”
Bishop Valentin pondered briefly, “Perhaps there’s another possibility—based on the situation at the sacrificial site in the sewers, Homeloss might end up fighting with the followers of the Black Sun?”
“…Then two problems would merge into one earth-shattering trouble, Bishop Valentin,” Vanna said, looking at the old man who had clearly started to think divergently, “A Ghost Ship returning from the Subspace and a group of heretics fighting over a Sun Shard in the Plunder City-State, possibly accompanied by a descent of the dark Sun. I can’t think of a worse scenario.”
Valentin sighed and had to concede Vanna was right.
“In any case, we’ll first work with the public safety officers to capture those Sun Heretics infiltrating the City-State, and eliminate the threat of the Black Sun before the situation escalates. That’s the more achievable goal,” Vanna said. Once she had lifted the spiritual interference of Homeloss on herself and entered a field of her expertise, her thinking was clearly more active, “As for that Ghost Ship… we have no knowledge of its next move; we can only do our best to monitor the Spirit Realm and the surrounding seas of the City-State…”
Speaking of which, the young Judge couldn’t help but shake her head, her expression stern and helpless, “Damn it, who knows what a ghostly captain might do next…”
…
“I think I want some more ketchup…” Duncan gestured to Nina across the dining table, “Just pass it here, I’ll add it myself.”
Nina immediately handed over the ketchup, “Here you go, Uncle Duncan.”
It was now noon, and Duncan and Nina were enjoying their lunch in the small kitchen on the second floor. The food from the antique shop was simple—a local Plunder specialty of savory pancakes, served with ketchup or spicy sauce, along with a vegetable soup—not particularly gourmet, but both Duncan and Nina relished their meal.
It had been a long time since Duncan had enjoyed such a regular lunch, and Nina too had not had a normal lunch like this in a while.
Duncan was beginning to like this place.