Chapter 1 Aftermath

After the mighty convoy of freighters had departed, the dock district under the night sky seemed quieter than ever—all the large loading and unloading equipment had been shut down, and irrelevant personnel had withdrawn from the work area. Now, apart from the necessary watch teams, only the ubiquitous gas lamps lined the roads, keeping watch over the city.

Descending the slope on the south side of the dock, and passing through a long flight of steps, was the sandy beach, where citizens would often relax in the days when the sun still shone.

But now, there was only a desolate beach, a dark and silent sea in the night, and a salty, cold sea breeze blowing from the direction of the boundless darkness, seemingly mixed with suspicious whimpers. The broken waves crashed against the distant reefs, occasionally churning up unstable foam, which was illuminated by the cold glow of the World Scar with a corpse-like pallor.

Grim-faced guardians watched over all the roads leading to the coast, holding lanterns and swords, vigilantly watching the endless night beyond the city-state.

"The coast is sealed off," a fully armed Knowledge Guardian blocked Talan Eyl, shining his lantern on the scholar's face, cautiously confirming the shape of the latter's facial features and the number of eyes. "It's very dangerous outside now… Keeper of Secrets?"

This dutiful watchman finally noticed the figure following behind Talan. In the light of the lantern, he was surprised to see the face of Ted Reel.

"We're going for a walk on the coast," Ted Reel nodded lightly to the guardian. "We'll be back within an hour."

"...You may pass, but this gentleman needs to show his qualification," the Knowledge Guardian hesitated for a moment, but still looked at Talan Eyl strictly. "No qualification, no passage."

"I am Talan Eyl, a professor at the college, with Level Two Night Passage rights," Talan Eyl hurriedly reached into his arms, found the pass he always carried with him. "The scope of passage includes the coastal area..."

The Knowledge Guardian took Talan Eyl's credentials and carefully checked them. Only then did his tense expression relax slightly. He took two steps to the side, indicating passage.

"Thank you." Ted Reel said to the watchman and stepped forward.

But just as the two of them were about to pass the sentry post, the guardian couldn't help but ask, "...Keeper of Secrets, and Professor Talan, the Sun Fragment has left. The coast is a restricted area now. What are you going there to do?"

"...Just to confirm the changes in the coastal area after the Sun Fragment left," Talan Eyl said, slowly walking forward. "We'll be back soon."

Talan Eyl and Ted Reel passed the sentry post and walked slowly forward on the desolate beach. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

"Now this place has also become a restricted area," after an unknown amount of time, Talan Eyl broke the silence. "The guards here are very responsible."

"They were carefully selected by me," Ted Reel said. "The coastal area is only a general restricted area. If it were in the Grand Steam Core or a Level One Containment Zone, even the Consul and I would have to show our credentials to prove our identities before we could pass."

Talan Eyl hummed, then fell silent again. He walked slowly, and after an unknown amount of time, he spoke again: "They still have no news?"

"The *Lost Country* and the *Brilliant Star* crossed the border a month ago. Now we can only confirm that they still 'exist'," Ted Reel said calmly. "Captain Duncan's avatars left in Pland and Frost are still active. Occasionally, some information about the *Lost Country* comes from those two city-states, but in most cases, news about the 'End of the World' is not allowed to be spread between city-states."

He paused and shook his head gently, "Even I can only find out this much."

"...It's good to know that they are still 'alive'," Talan Eyl said softly. "Knowing that they are still 'alive' and still operating on the border makes me feel a little better."

"Although it's not appropriate to say so," Ted Reel unconsciously slowed down, with a strange expression on his face, "but on those two ships, you can't find one or two guys who are truly 'alive' in the real sense."

Talan Eyl rolled his eyes: "That's why I put quotation marks around the word 'alive'. Can't you hear that?"

Ted Reel immediately glared at the scholar: "...How could anyone hear that?!"

Talan Eyl laughed. He took a deep breath in the cold night wind, seeming to feel a little relaxed. Then he raised his head and looked in a certain direction at the end of the coast.

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He shook his head vigorously, trying to drive the sense of cognitive confusion out of his mind.

He felt that the sea was perfectly normal, but he clearly "remembered" that it shouldn't look like this. Struggling for a long time in the contradiction between thought and cognition, he couldn't help but break the silence: "...The waves are gone."

...Then he turned his head and looked at the tall figure standing beside him: "Father, is something a little wrong?"

Duncan didn't speak for a moment, but Aiden, who was standing on the other side, looked at his captain in confusion: "Waves? Wrong? What are you talking about?"

Hearing Aiden's voice, Tyrian felt another trance. He raised his hand and tapped his forehead, looking at the distant sea with a confused expression. He felt that something was rapidly dissipating from his cognition. It was a certain "thing", something that should have existed in the world as a matter of course, but now... it was disappearing.

Then, he heard his father's voice in his ears—

"She forgot the waves."

His father said this in a low and solemn tone.

The trance in his mind finally faded away. The moment he heard his father mention the word "waves," Tyrian finally felt that he had regained his senses. The next second, the expression on his face changed from confusion to astonishment.

He widened his eyes and stared at the distant sea.

Even Aiden beside him seemed to suddenly wake up. The bald giant with a fierce appearance looked at the boundless sea, and even a trace of horror appeared on his face.

At this moment, throughout the world, the Endless Sea was as calm as a mirror—"waves" had disappeared from this world.

"Father," Tyrian finally reacted and suddenly turned to look at Duncan. "The Storm Goddess… She…"

"Rotting," Duncan interrupted Tyrian softly. "An inevitable result."

Tyrian and Aiden stood stiffly.

"Don't worry, she's still here. Although the process of rotting is deepening, the sea is still here, so she's still here," Duncan shook his head. His voice woke Tyrian up. "This is just a 'peeling' during the deepening process of rotting, and this is not the first time that such a 'peeling' has happened to this world."

Tyrian was stunned, and subconsciously repeated: "Not the first time?"

"Do you know how many intelligent races there are in this world?" Duncan asked suddenly.

"Of course, there are three..." Tyrian replied almost without thinking.

But the next second, the "Iron Lieutenant" seemed to understand something. Although he didn't remember anything, he guessed the horrifying..."meaning" behind his father's question.

"Soon, you will also forget the sound of waves crashing against the rocks. The world will 'correct' all of this, and before that, you can briefly remember its former 'existence'." Duncan said softly, then reached out and patted Tyrian's shoulder hard.

"Don't mention the word 'waves' to anyone else. From now on, it is a 'blasphemous prototype'."