Chapter 1 A Heavy Rain

A dull rumble of thunder suddenly echoed in the skies above Phaeton—minutes later, a downpour descended from the sky, shrouding the small city-state in the southwestern sea in a hazy curtain.

The "lightburst" that had briefly flashed across the sky had disappeared over the distant horizon, and the city's residents were still anxiously guessing where the huge, luminous objects that had fallen from the sky had landed. Now, this sudden rain seemed like an even more unsettling omen—in the rain, the already dark night was filled with an even thicker darkness, and the pale Worldscar in the dark clouds became like a giant mouth constantly wriggling and trembling. The wind howled through the streets and alleys, and the swirling raindrops beat against the windows, layer upon layer, making people irritable.

Lawrence walked through the hotel lobby and saw many people stranded in the hotel gathered by the windows. They were discussing in low voices the flashes of light that had streaked across the sky, the heavy rain outside, and the patrol of the Guardians who had just left. A warm fireplace crackled not far away, and bright electric lights, like warriors on night watch, fought against the vast darkness outside the window—on this unsettling rainy night, fire and light supported the increasingly fragile barrier of safety in people's hearts.

"It's just ordinary rain..." A soft voice came from the small mirror on his chest. Masha said to Lawrence in a low voice, "I've confirmed in the spirit world, nothing will happen."

Lawrence nodded slightly. He looked out the window and saw the rain blurring the scenery on the street. The water flowed down the glass, outlining distorted shadows. Masha's figure appeared on the window, giving him a smile.

"I just went to the White Oak via mirror jump. Everything's fine on board, don't worry."

"Thank you for your trouble," Lawrence murmured softly, in a voice that others couldn't hear, "Be careful when entering the spirit world. This world is no longer safe."

"I know," Masha nodded, and then continued, "Also, I noticed that several ships suddenly left the military port, disappearing at full speed into the night in the northeast direction. Two of them were engineering ships with large winches and traction arms."

"They're going to recover the 'fallen objects'. It seems that one of the luminous bodies landed near Phaeton," Lawrence quickly realized. "...I hope everything goes well."

Masha nodded gently, and then her figure gradually disappeared from the window—the hazy rain and flowing water filled Lawrence's vision again.

As he spoke, he raised his arm slightly, and a wisp of translucent spirit flame leaped and rose from his fingertip.

Freym awoke from his routine meditation, the illusion conveyed by the flame causing a stabbing pain in his head.

Lawrence instinctively felt a surge of anger when he saw his appearance, but then he sensed something was wrong. He frowned and approached the dried corpse, glancing at the wine bottle in his hand: "What did you let 'possess' you again?"

...

The on-duty priests looked at each other.

The Fire-Bearer Pope gradually frowned. He stared at the brazier for a while, suddenly realizing something, and abruptly stood up and walked towards the door.

The Pope's sudden appearance startled the priests waiting outside the prayer room. One of the on-duty priests, wearing a black and red robe, immediately stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong?"

A strong smell of alcohol wafted over.

"I need to go to the archives," Freym said without looking back. "The others don't need to follow. Be careful to guard the bonfire of the Chronicle Pillar."

He walked through the stairs and corridors, returned to his temporary residence upstairs, and took out the key to open the wooden door, the paint already a bit mottled.

However, the "sailor," who would normally jump up as soon as he saw the spirit fire, didn't react as strongly this time. The dried corpse simply put the wine bottle on the table next to him, and then looked somewhat blankly at the flame on the old captain's fingertip, slowly raising his head after a few seconds: "Captain, I'm fine, I just remembered some things."

In the night, a withered, emaciated figure was sitting crookedly in a chair in the room. The dim light of the street lamp shone into the room from outside the window, illuminating the uninvited guest—he heard the sound of the door opening, slowly turned his head, and a horrifying smile appeared on his skeletal face: "Ah... Captain, you're back."

Lawrence raised his hand and turned on the electric light in the room. The bright light dispelled the darkness and prevented the ugly dried corpse from appearing so strange and frightening. He frowned as he looked at the other party, his expression serious: "'Sailor'? Why aren't you staying in your own room? What are you doing here?"

The old captain stared blankly outside for a while, then turned and left the hotel lobby.

Lawrence frowned, slowly speaking while staring at the Abnormal 077, who seemed to be in a strange state: "...Remembered some things?"

But the moment he stepped into the room, his movements suddenly stopped.

The constantly leaping flames seemed to still retain the shadows of the illusion, gradually collapsing with the passage of time.

And Freym had already strode through the corridor outside the prayer room—after leaving the inner sanctuary, his figure suddenly transformed into a stream of flowing fire, the fire jumping between the countless candlesticks, braziers, and bonfires in the sanctuary, almost instantly passing through the entire upper level of the Ark of the Fire-Bearers, all the way to the most core building in the entire Ark.

The Senkin Pope, who resembled a small giant, suddenly opened his eyes and saw that he was still kneeling in the prayer room, flames burning brightly in the brazier in front of him.

"Captain..." The sailor tilted his head, his entire head drooping as if it were about to tear off from his neck. He held a huge wine bottle in one hand, casually gulping down a large mouthful, the wine flowing freely along the holes in his chest and the cracks in his neck, dripping onto the floor. "Don't get me wrong, I didn't steal... I didn't steal yours. I know the rules, stealing the captain's things will get you hanged from the mast..."

"I used to be a person, I think," the dried corpse reached out to support his body, seemingly wanting to adjust his sitting posture, but after a few efforts, he still failed. "We went to a very, very far place, and then... it took us a very, very long time to return to this damn boundless sea..."

Located below the "Great Bonfire," protected by a heavy stone dome, the "Archives" stored and recorded countless historical books and precious stone tablets.

The archives were brightly lit, and rows of neatly arranged shelves were displayed in this vast hall like giant walls. These shelves, sturdier and heavier than any conventional bookshelves, were installed on long tracks, with traction mechanisms hidden within the tracks, driven by steam engines, to allow the shelves to move between the inner library and the outer reading room at any time.

However, Freym's target was not the towering shelves, but the "secret chamber" deeper within the archives.

He walked straight past all the bookshelves and tracks, arriving at the stone wall at the end of the hall—two Fire-Guardian Knights wearing heavy armor and holding flame-shaped greatswords blocked his path.

"The secret chamber is sealed," the knight said, his voice sounding low and muffled beneath the heavy mask. Even though the Pope was standing in front of him, he still carried out his duties meticulously. "May I ask the reason for your visit?"

"I need to access the stone tablets left by the past Popes," Freym said in a deep voice. "I suspect a historical timeline penetration event has occurred."

A slight friction and collision of joints came from under the knight's armor.

"...Date range?" another knight asked.

"Between New City-State Calendar 1600 and 1755," Freym said.

The two knights exchanged glances, each taking half a step back to the side, while simultaneously lifting the flame-shaped greatswords in their hands and placing them above the two grooves on the ground in front of the stone wall. One of them then cautiously looked at Freym: "Please confirm the current time."

"New City-State Calendar, January 22, 1902."

The flame-shaped greatswords were inserted into the grooves on the ground, and with a roar of machinery, the stone wall slowly retreated.

"Confirmed, New City-State Calendar, January 22, 1902," the Fire-Guardian Knight said in a deep voice. "Please return before the end of the day. May you be safe."

...

"We have lost contact with the Sea Song," the middle-aged man wearing the robes of a Deep Sea Priest lowered his head in front of Helena, his voice filled with unease and frustration. "After crossing the 6-nautical-mile limit, they maintained intermittent communication with the temporary lighthouse for an hour, and then there was no news at all."

Then the priest paused and added, "After the psychic communication failed, we risked turning on the radio, but still did not receive a signal from the Sea Song."

After a brief silence, Helena nodded slowly.

"Retreat."

"Yes, Pope."

The middle-aged priest bowed and left the room, and it became quiet again.

After a long time, Helena got up from her seat. She slowly came to the statue of the Storm Goddess Gomona and threw a Sea Breath Wood amulet into the brazier at the foot of the statue, then raised her head and stared at the goddess with her face covered in a veil.

The goddess's face was hidden under the black veil, like the unpredictable waves and fate.

"...The pioneers we sent to find you have disappeared. Have they safely arrived in your kingdom? Or... have they been lost in the vast nothingness outside the world?"

The goddess remained silent, and even the gentle sound of the waves did not come.

After an unknown amount of time, Helena finally let out a soft sigh, then she withdrew her gaze from the statue and lowered her head to stare at the blazing brazier in front of her.

"Luun, the vanguard fleet sent by the Deep Sea Church beyond the border has been lost," she said softly to the brazier. "Are you still going to continue with the plan on your side?"

"Continue," Luun's voice sounded from the flames. "The 'Mathematical Law' is ready and will leave port for the southern border in twenty-four hours—we have detected a stronger signal in this direction, which may be more successful than the Sea Song."

Helena listened, nodded gently, and then hesitated slightly: "Banster's side..."

She was interrupted by a sudden crackling sound from the brazier before she could finish her words.

She widened her eyes in surprise—Freym's voice suddenly sounded from the fire: "Sorry to interrupt you, I have brought important information related to the Sea Song."

"Freym?" Helena said in surprise, then realized, "You said the Sea Song? You have news of the Sea Song?!"

"Yes," the flames crackled, and Freym's voice sounded somewhat distorted. "The Sea Song has returned."

"The Sea Song has returned?" Helena immediately couldn't hide her astonishment. "When? How could I..."

"December 1675," Freym said calmly.

(End of this chapter)