Chapter 27 Change It Back

The instant she heard those words, Vanna heard a tremendous noise, a continuous roar that defied description, a tearing screech mixed with the sound of burning flames. The sound did not come from any particular direction, but as if the entire city-state, even the whole world, was making that terrifying sound.

Amidst the headache-inducing roar, she looked at the figure standing behind the Doomsday Preacher—the "Captain Duncan" she had seen in her dreams. But unlike her previous vision, standing there now was a "ghost" completely enveloped in flames, his whole body appearing as a phantom-like entity.

In just a moment, Vanna determined that this was not his true form, but another projection—except that this projection had come to this tower through her as a "medium." She could feel the flow of that power, something burning in her soul, and voices in her mind that were not her own.

She subconsciously raised her hands and saw ghostly green flames quietly attach to her body, and a burning path spreading out beneath her feet. She understood then, realizing that long ago, that ghost captain had already turned her into a kind of "node" capable of projecting power. The extent of this erosion and pollution had far exceeded her and Bishop Valentine's imagination, and all of this…was for today.

In the next second, the entire world in her eyes changed dramatically.

The ghostly green flames spread—in every sea of fire in Pland, in every pile of ashes, in every rising plume of smoke, those ghostly green flames had been lurking for who knows how long. At this moment, they erupted completely, instantly engulfing the entire city-state!

It was too fast to react, or rather, it had all been completed long before this "reality invasion" began. Vanna recalled the scene she had seen on the other side of the veil and suddenly realized that the great fire created by those Doomsday Preachers and Solar Heretics had unknowingly become the carrier of the ghostly flames… Their act of burning the entire city-state was the final step needed for the ghost captain to complete the "fire usurpation"!

A shrill cry suddenly rang out, startling Vanna. She looked towards the source of the sound and saw the emaciated Doomsday Preacher also engulfed in raging ghost flames. He twisted and howled like a torch on the edge of the platform, the sight of the city-state's flames being instantly usurped reflected in his melting eyeballs, causing the fanatic to curse and swear loudly:

"Folly, folly! Ruined! You rejected the blessings of the subspace, you are doomed to suffer in this world forever… Folly!!"

However, in contrast to the fanatic's curses and swearing, another scene unfolded—

Pland, completely burned by the ghostly flames, was recovering at an unbelievable speed!

Buildings destroyed by the flames were rapidly being restored, roads melted and torn were healing as before, the fiery rain falling from the sky had stopped, and the doomsday-like clouds were also rapidly dissipating as if time were flowing backward. Even a corner of normal sky appeared on the edge of the city-state, and in the more distant places…

The long-silent bells were ringing.

As Captain Duncan had said, change it back.

Vanna stared wide-eyed at this incomprehensible scene. She had never imagined that a city-state that had been completely destroyed could actually be repaired. Soon, she realized the essence of this "repair"—

The historical pollution brought by the Doomsday Preachers and Solar Heretics was being stripped away. The "false history" that had completely covered Pland and replaced reality was being "rejected" by some powerful force!

She looked in astonishment at the tall figure standing not far away. The latter was just calmly watching the Doomsday Preacher, who was about to be burned to charcoal. After a long while, he spoke softly, as if to himself: "Everything can be polluted, except subspace…"

The Doomsday Preacher was not yet dead. Although he had been completely twisted into a non-human form, a hoarse, shocked voice still came from the pile of charcoal: "You… you turned this city-state into a part of the *Sea of the Lost*?!"

"The *Sea of the Lost* is the promised ark. I think we can broaden our thinking on the idea of ‘ark,’" Duncan smiled, bending down slightly. "If ships encountering the *Sea of the Lost* on the sea will be assimilated and absorbed,

Then… why can’t Pland, under my gaze, be regarded as another *Sea of the Lost*?"

A loud bell sound of a ship approaching the harbor came from afar. Vanna subconsciously looked up into the distance. In the next second, she saw a scene that shocked her—

She saw a ship.

The *Sea of the Lost* appeared, sailing from the direction of the boundless sea, its whole body burning with滔天 *linghuo* (raging spirit fire), its semi-transparent spirit sails billowing like a sky-covering curtain.

The ship crossed the coast, crossed the rapidly restoring port, and sailed directly into the Pland city-state, which was already covered in ghostly green flames, as if sailing on water. It moved majestically between the constantly repairing, resetting high walls, houses, and towers. It was constantly creating illusory ripples on both sides, and with each ripple spreading out, the city-state's restoration would advance further. It looked as if the entire Pland was being reborn in the wake of the *Sea of the Lost*!

"You… you can save this city-state… but you cannot stop the descent of the sun…" A weak voice came from the twisted charcoal pile that was once the Doomsday Preacher on the platform, like the last murmur before a nightmare disappeared. "Even if it's just a few fragments summoned from history… it's enough to… destroy it again… it’s destined…"

The voice gradually weakened, fading to nothing. The twisted pile of charcoal finally exhausted all its vitality and turned into a cloud of dust that drifted away in the spirit flames.

But after hearing the Doomsday Preacher's words, Vanna suddenly reacted. She suddenly looked up at the sky and saw that the "black sun," with its extremely bright edges and a black-red abyss-like hole in the center, was still suspended high above the city-state. The feeling of agitation within the sun had even become more obvious and stronger than before!

The flames of the *Sea of the Lost* removed the historical pollution suffered by Pland, but that blasphemous sun… was never a part of Pland from the beginning. It was a historical projection jointly summoned by the Doomsday Preachers and the Solar Spawn, and it existed independently of all orthodox and false histories!

"Something is awakening in the black sun!" At this moment, Vanna even forgot her and "Captain Duncan's" respective identities, and subconsciously shouted, "It will…"

Duncan simply waved his hand at her gently.

Then, Vanna saw the ghost captain turn around, facing the direction where the blasphemous sun was hanging high. He raised his hand, as if calling and welcoming something, and said in a gentle voice—

"Come this way… Yes, don't worry, you won't fall. Just move forward.

"Remember how to ride a bike? Just like that… come forward, I'll hold you."

In the next second, a bright golden arc of flame suddenly stung Vanna's eyes. She saw a huge gap torn in the edge of the black sun, and an arc-shaped flame jumped onto Captain Duncan as if cheering. With the departure of this flame, a shrill howl suddenly rang out from the blasphemous and terrifying sun in the sky!

As if some giant beast had suddenly suffered a blow that pierced its heart, countless dazzling red cracks quickly covered the black-red core of the sun, and its bright and dazzling halo was instantly stained and burned away by ghostly green flames. Immediately afterward, the ghostly green flames began to rapidly spread to the dark core of the sun. The feeling of agitation in the dark core completely disappeared, and the faint vitality that had been present almost vanished in the blink of an eye. It cracked open, and hot, boiling matter flowed out of it, but it was burned clean by the ubiquitous ghostly green flames before falling into the city-state.

Accompanied by continuous screams, roars, and crackling explosions, the deformed and blasphemous sun finally disintegrated, leaving only a few remnants and debris falling into the ripples on the edge of the *Sea of the Lost*.

At this moment, the massive *Sea of the Lost* had also sailed to the center of the city-state. It gradually floated upward in a spirit state, approaching the cathedral's bell tower in the illusory sea water and ripples. The sky-covering spirit sails swept across the sky, and the shadows of the masts and ropes swept past Vanna.

She heard the bell ringing, the bell of the cathedral—the bell tower beneath her feet had also broken free from the pollution of history, and the bell ringing device was automatically running.

Bishop Valentine's figure also gradually emerged in the air—the bishop, who had guarded the city-state to the last moment, had successfully returned to reality, proving that the historical branch pointing to destruction had completely disappeared.

However, Vanna's gaze did not linger on the bishop. She was still staring at Duncan not far away, who had already turned around—he was surrounded by a dancing arc of flame, and the warmth and brightness brought by the flame even softened his gloomy and dignified face slightly.

"I thought you were going to come up with a jumping slash," Duncan said to Vanna with a smile, as if chatting with a friend, "Just like last time."

"…I am not a reckless person."

"Is that so? I thought you loved jumping slashes—after all, every mature warrior can't resist the urge to start with a jumping slash towards the opponent," Duncan casually joked. He reached out to soothe the arc of flame beside him, which seemed a little restless, and then nodded to Vanna. "I'm done here. See you next time."

Vanna was stunned, and subconsciously stepped forward: "Wait! You can't just…"

But Duncan had already turned around. He waved his hand and walked towards the empty space outside the bell tower platform—the towering stern of the *Sea of the Lost* slowly moved past the tower, and beside the helm on the deck was the captain, personally steering the ship.

Duncan's projection, wrapped in spirit flames, directly stepped onto the ship and merged with his main body.

He stood on the conning tower, holding the helm, and nodded to Vanna with a smile.

The massive ghost ship then began to gradually accelerate, its illusory hull passing over Pland, sailing towards the coast on the other side of the city-state amidst the gradually rippling waves, and sailing towards the boundless sea.