Chapter 1 The Sun Slowly Moves

The sun moved slowly, at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, falling extremely slowly towards the sea horizon – a magnificent golden-red glow spilling across the boundless sea. This grand yet eerie, drawn-out dusk persisted.

For the first time in history, dusk had become something to be feared – because more and more people had realized that after such a slow sunset, what would be even more terrifying was the night that would last for an unknown amount of time.

Dante Wayne stood on the terrace outside the City Hall office, his brow furrowed as he looked at the streets bathed in the glow of the setting sun. The densely packed rooftops of Pland's upper district gleamed with a dazzling light in the evening sun. This familiar scenery had once been his pride as governor, but as the sunset continued, that pride was gradually turning into a heavy pressure.

But he knew that compared to other "ordinary" and "normal" city-states, Pland was already in a good situation.

The flames left by the "Ghost Captain" gave this city the safest night sky on the boundless sea. Even if the sun went down, there shouldn't be any large-scale supernatural invasions here. The pressure brought to the city by the long night was tricky, but at least it didn't involve those inhuman things that grew in the dark – all he had to consider were issues such as city security, residents' lives, material reserves, and production adjustments under the long night.

But elsewhere, the situation was not so simple.

In Cold Harbour in the north, the municipal department had declared a state of emergency, and the constabulary and guardian forces were rushing to repair shelters and store holy oil in the streets and alleys; in Morkha, the Academy of Truth had activated all the steam walkers stored in the church armory and placed them in various gas stations, pumping stations, and steam hubs; in the southwest sea, several city-states had announced new "Nightfall Bans", and city residents in the outer districts would be temporarily transferred to the nearest church shelter area, the inner city would be sealed off, and massive bonfires would be lit at sunset and continue until the end of this night...

All reserves were being inventoried and mobilized. In the seventy-two hours before sunset, every city-state was gathering strength to deal with the impending night.

If it could really end.

Footsteps came from behind. A political affairs officer entered the office. Seeing Dante Wayne on the terrace through the open sliding door, the young officer coughed lightly twice: "Ahem, Governor, the heads of the steam hub, power station, and mining facilities are already waiting for you in the conference room. Do you want to go now...?"

Dante nodded and waved his hand gently: "I know, you go over first and wait for me for a few minutes."

The footsteps left the room, and Dante took a deep breath, adjusting the overly strained expression on his face while sorting out his thoughts.

He turned around, walked past his wide, curved desk, and reached for a document.

His gaze stopped on a photo frame on the edge of the desk.

In the photo frame were two figures standing together. One was him when he was young, and next to him was a tall, silver-haired girl with a faint smile on her face. They were standing next to a flowerbed, and bright sunshine shone behind them.

This was the only group photo of Dante Wayne, who was busy with work, and Vanna, who had entered a church school for training early on – after this group photo, they seemed to have never had such a leisurely afternoon again.

"I wonder how Vanna is doing..."

Some memories surfaced in his mind. Dante missed the warm sunshine that had melted into his memory, then reached past the photo frame and found the document he was looking for – he tucked it under his arm and walked quickly towards the office door.

Vanna woke up from a series of chaotic, fragmented, and bizarre dreams, with the gentle sound of waves still echoing in her ears. The sound of the surf hitting the hull of the ship rose and fell outside the porthole, calming her somewhat uneasy mood.

She couldn't remember the content of the dream, only that the suddenly distorted and torn things had cast some indelible shadows in her eyes. The memories in the dream faded away, and only a lonely, desolate, and ruined "atmosphere" seemed to linger in her mind for a long time, still feeling slightly cold at this moment.

Vanna sat up from the bed and looked at the window not far away, seeing that the glow of the setting sun still filled the sea – the Forsaken had somehow left the spirit world and was now sailing on the sea in the real dimension. In the distance, she could still see the silhouette of the Brilliant Star, the strangely shaped "magic warship" sailing with the Forsaken at full speed.

As for the Tide, the Repose, and the Unrepose, those church warships, they had already left. After the fleet left the Border Veil, the Forsaken and the Brilliant Star said goodbye to the church ships and went their separate ways.

Vanna took a deep breath, and then took a few more deep breaths. A slightly salty scent floated into her nostrils, and the gentle, layered sound of the waves still echoed in her mind.

She suddenly frowned, as if sensing something, and quickly turned to look at the corner of the room.

Gentle seawater surged in the cabin, surrounding her before she knew it. The illusory sound of the waves echoed in her ears, and the moment Vanna turned her head, the gentle rising water seemed to suddenly expand countless times – along with the entire room, which was also expanded countless times.

At the end of the suddenly blurred room, Vanna saw a towering shadow, some kind of huge... biological structure, floating at the end of the slowly undulating waves.

And part of that biological structure extended towards her, condensing into a figure on the sea – wearing a long dress as black as the abyss, with a veil covering her true face.

She looked at Vanna, her eyes with peculiar diamond-shaped pupils seeming to be filled with countless thoughts and emotions that were difficult to convey directly. In this gaze, Vanna suddenly felt an unspeakable sense of intimacy and... touch.

She instantly reacted, tensing up and bowing her head deeply: "Lord..."

"We don't have much time, child," the figure said softly, accompanied by layered noise that was enough to tear apart and drive ordinary people's minds into madness. Her thoughts echoed in Vanna's mind, "...our connection with the mortal world will be strengthened one last time..."

An irresistible sense of dizziness struck from the bottom of her heart. Vanna instantly realized that she was being contaminated – being contaminated by the goddess she devoutly believed in. Her voice, Her thoughts, the illusion She was conveying to her, were filled with unprecedented chaos!

But Vanna still forcibly stabilized her mind. At the edge of her vision, she saw a wisp of soft, ghostly green flame burning and rising, allowing her mind to return to stability.

"...What do you need me to do?" She tried not to look directly at the huge phantom behind the Storm Goddess, while trying to stay awake and speaking, "What can I do?"

"...Collect those fallen stars... let them protect you one more time... go tell the Fire Thief that we want to... talk... we will find..."

The layered sound of the waves gradually turned into some unbearable, ear-piercing shriek. The gently rising seawater seemed to be giving off a stench, and a bone-chilling cold slowly submerged her whole body. Vanna barely distinguished the last sentence from the noise echoing in her ears. She felt a splitting headache and didn't even have the strength to think about the meaning of those words – and in her gradually blurred vision, she saw the distant seawater and the huge phantom collapsing silently.

"You saw Gomona's revelation?" Duncan's eyes widened slightly. He looked at Vanna, who had suddenly run to the captain's room, and then noticed her current bad state. He immediately got up and took her arm. "Sit down here first, catch your breath, and speak slowly."

"Thank you... Captain," Vanna was almost forcibly pressed into the chair by Duncan. The lingering throbbing and dizziness in her mind made it difficult for her to even think, but fortunately, this state was rapidly improving after seeing the captain, which made her thoughts flow smoothly again. "I directly saw His phantom, and I heard His voice... The Goddess's condition is very bad. Those noises... gave me the feeling of facing those dark Outer Gods directly."

She took a few breaths, and then told him everything she had just experienced.

After hearing Vanna's report, Duncan frowned and his expression gradually became solemn.

"Go collect those fallen stars..." he murmured softly, but he couldn't help but recall the "advice" he had heard from a tentacle extending from the Abyss Saint Lord in the depths of Alice's mansion courtyard –

"Preserve the fallen ￥#&** fragments. If all is irreparable, use them to extend the lifespan of each node city as much as possible. Stay alive. Survival is the first directive."

Obviously, Vanna quickly thought of this too.

"...Is the Goddess referring to those 'luminous fragments' that have fallen from the sun's runic ring?" She looked up and looked into Duncan's eyes. "Does He mean that those luminous bodies can protect the city-states in the coming days?"

"Judging from the experience of Gentle Breeze Harbour, although the power of those luminous bodies is not as strong as the sun itself, they can still play a role in shielding the Wound of the World and calming the night within a certain range," Duncan nodded slowly. "Now the second luminous fragment has fallen in Frost, and with the revelation you just received, it's not difficult to associate everything."

As he spoke, he looked up at the window.

The slow sunset was still floating on the distant sea, and the broken runic ring cast a magnificent light and shadow on the sea.

The revelation that Gomona conveyed to Vanna was not difficult to understand. What was really unsettling was the other meaning of that revelation.

"...This is just the beginning," he said softly. "It looks like the disintegration of the sun will accelerate, and the real large-scale collapse and fall... is still to come."

(Book recommendation time, the book title is "I Can See the Health Bar, and My Purity is Extremely High". It is a dungeon flow and original infinite flow leaning towards the apocalyptic style. The protagonist has extremely high purity, is a muscular brute, a chaotic neutral hedonist, and has a cheat that allows him to see the current state and health of his targets - you can support it.)

(End of this chapter)