Chapter 1 The Beginning

As night fell, Morris was summoned to the captain's cabin.

Duncan sat behind the chart table with a serious expression. A pile of miscellaneous books lay on the table beside him – books brought aboard from Pran and Frost, as well as some obtained from the Sea Fog Fleet.

After confirming the "harmlessness" of maritime reading, the ship's collection of books had been steadily growing.

Morris glanced at the table and saw that the books were categorized in a variety of ways – strange tales from various city-states, authoritative historical materials, and even "dangerous readings" involving doomsday theories and apocalyptic doctrines.

A sense of curiosity and unease rose in the old scholar's heart.

The captain seemed to be suddenly looking for some information, and judging from the books he had taken out, what he was looking for was probably not so simple – he had called himself over, mostly to inquire about this matter.

Slightly raising his vigilance, Morris quickly recited the name of Rahm, the God of Wisdom, silently praying for blessings in the mental realm. At the same time, he looked down to confirm the amulet strung with colored stones on his wrist before sitting down opposite the captain. "Did you call me here for something?"

"Encountered some problems, need to consult someone as learned as you," Duncan nodded, then seemed to notice Morris's nervous expression, and smiled to comfort him. "Don't be so nervous, I'm just asking casually, it might be related to history."

Just asking casually? History? Hidden truths that even the master of the Vanishing Line couldn't be sure of?

Hearing the captain's comfort, Morris quickly recited Rahm's name back and forth a dozen times in his heart, coating himself with layers of that foolish blessing before stiffening his nerves and raising his head. "I'm ready, ask away."

A hint of helplessness arose in Duncan's heart. He knew that the old scholar's nervousness was the most normal reaction, so he sighed and began to speak while organizing his words. "In your known historical knowledge, is there any description of an event – a huge man-made object falling from the sky, accompanied by large-scale flames and flashes, and this falling object may have exploded, splitting into several smaller parts that fell on the world?"

Duncan finished speaking and looked earnestly into Morris's eyes. Morris also stared blankly back at Duncan.

"......Is that it?" The old scholar asked hesitantly.

"That's it, just that much," Duncan nodded. Of course, he had many more details that he hadn't described, but in this kind of vague historical question, too many details might affect Morris's judgment, so he chose the most concise statement. "If there are any records of this in history, there may be deviations in the descriptions, but the general event should all revolve around the core scene of a 'huge object falling in fire.' Do you know of any similar events?"

The question suddenly thrown out by the captain was puzzling, but Morris noticed Duncan's serious attitude and began to try to recall and think. After several minutes, he slowly shook his head. "I have never seen a record similar to that."

"Including all the official and unofficial histories?" Duncan was not surprised by Morris's answer, but still asked somewhat unwillingly, "This event may have been transformed into a myth, or even become part of some heretical doctrines, because it may have happened in the distant past."

"I am certain," Morris said again, "Including all the official history, unofficial history, and heretical doctrines, as long as I have come into contact with them, there are no event records that match or are similar to the scene you described – of course, it cannot be ruled out that some very narrowly circulated legends or lost histories still record this event, after all, there is always the unknown beyond our knowledge, but......"

Morris paused at this point before continuing, "If it is really a historical secret that even I don't know, then you should find it difficult to find corresponding information through other channels... Perhaps you can try your luck at the Great Library of the Academy of Truth, and look for clues in the oldest books in Mocha and Light Wind Harbor."

Duncan did not speak for a while, but fell into contemplation with a calm gaze. After a long time, he nodded gently. "You can write letters to your acquaintance scholars to inquire about this matter. If it is really necessary to negotiate with the headquarters of the Academy of Truth, you can also do so."

Listening to the captain's rather solemn tone, Morris nodded seriously.

It seemed that this matter was really very important.

As an old scholar who had devoted his life to learning, he was of course also aroused by curiosity, and couldn't help but ask, "May I ask? What exactly is this matter you are talking about...?"

Duncan hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth. "I'm not sure. I also accidentally touched some phantoms, but even if I can't determine its essence... I also feel that this scene may be closely related to the way our world is now, and to many lost histories."

"I understand," Morris lowered his head deeply. "I will find a way to investigate."

He did not continue to ask for details, nor did he ask what the "phantoms" the captain was talking about were, because he knew that curiosity and the desire to explore must be just right, not less, and certainly not more.

After a slight pause, Duncan then added, "'New Hope', focus on these words when investigating the information."

"Does this sound like a ship?" Morris asked thoughtfully.

Duncan thought for a while, then nodded with a strange expression, "Yes... a ship."

Indeed, it was a ship, a spaceship whose engine exploded and fell from the stars to the earth.

Frost, South Port, in a secret underground facility, undead engineers were working busily.

Knowledge from half a century ago was once again put to use. Ancient blueprints were taken out from the fleet warehouse, and the engineers as old as the blueprints gathered excitedly among a large pile of machines, pipes, and cables, exchanging knowledge and ideas that sounded like heavenly books to ordinary people.

Tirian sat in a corner of the hall, watching his subordinates busily working around.

"I really didn't expect that I could still put these blueprints to use in my lifetime," an undead engineer with a shriveled head, a large hole in his chest, and half of his body powered by a steam engine said excitedly, holding the blueprints. "Look at these drainage devices and balancing mechanisms. They have made many modern changes to the submersible, but the basic principles are still the same as those of the past: water injection, sinking, drainage, floating, supplemented by ballast weights in the bilge..."

"I understand your excitement," Tirian glanced at his subordinate. "But I must remind you that you are no longer in your lifetime."

"Almost the same meaning, a year of death is also fine," the shriveled-headed undead engineer laughed, his incomplete teeth looking terrifying. He raised his hand and tapped the steam engine on half of his body, causing the slightly malfunctioning gear set to rattle and resume rotation. Then he raised his head and looked at the submersible that was being surrounded by his comrades not far away, and after a long time, he said with a trace of emotion, "Alas... if only I could see its builder, it was designed very well, with great care... They really wanted this thing to be put to use."

Tirian did not say anything, but quietly watched the submersible in the center of the hall. After a long time, he sighed softly, "Go get busy, it can really be put to use this time, don't make any mistakes."

"Yes, Captain."

His subordinate left, and Tirian breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, a slight buzzing sound suddenly came from the crystal ball lens set beside him, followed by Lucretia's teasing voice, "Looks like you have a lot on your mind, brother. Does it seem easy to be a magistrate?"

Tirian turned his face expressionlessly and watched the crystal ball placed on the table gradually light up, Lucretia's figure appearing in the crystal ball.

"I specially moved this thing from the ship, not to listen to you teasing your brother here."

"Relax, brother, you are not a sea pirate anymore, a magistrate is a position that requires both majesty and affinity," Lucretia smiled, as if she didn't care about the dissatisfaction in Tirian's tone. Then she changed the subject and asked curiously, "But I really want to know, is this... really father's arrangement?"

"What else?" Tirian sighed, "He did something big here, something you can't imagine. Now the entire Frost is being affected by him. I should feel fortunate that he has really regained his humanity, so his arrangement, although surprising, is at least not bad... Whether it's Frost or my Sea Fog Fleet, now everything has been explained."

Lucretia finally put away her slightly teasing smile. After thinking for a moment, she hesitated and asked, "Father... is he doing well now?"

"Very well, his main body is on the Vanishing Line, fishing or feeding pigeons every day. His incarnation is in Frost, taking a walk in the park in the morning and coming to me to supervise the progress of the project in the afternoon – are you concerned? Then next time he comes, I'll turn on the crystal ball and you can chat directly?"

"Ah, then never mind!" Lucretia raised her voice almost reflexively, and then quickly regained her ladylike posture, "I... I still need to prepare, let's not talk about this, I have a lot to do here..."

"What are you doing there?" Tirian raised his eyebrows subconsciously when he heard this. "Speaking of which, how is your research going? What is the situation with that 'fragment' that fell from the sky?"

Lucretia hesitated. Originally, she was just looking for a reason to change the subject, but at this moment, she couldn't help but sigh softly.

"No progress, even Talan Er of Light Wind Harbor is helpless."