Chapter 1 Something's Not Right

Vanna didn't turn her gaze from the car window until a long time had passed.

Her primary purpose in coming here today was to investigate that small church, but after entering the Sixth Block, she realized that the atmosphere of the entire area was abnormal. This made her vaguely feel... that perhaps every inch of this block needed to be investigated.

After a moment's thought, she reached out and picked up a thick stack of documents from the seat next to her.

These were the files she had obtained from City Hall before the operation—using her Inquisitor authority and relevant provisions in the "Special Regulations for Handling Abnormal Events," she had obtained all municipal records related to the Sixth Block from the past few years. She had already read part of the information on the way here.

These documents from City Hall were not top-secret files, nor did they involve any high-profile supernatural events or unsolved, important cases. On the contrary, what Vanna had requested were the most basic things—

Gas meter readings, electricity bill payment records, business tax revenue, water supply, heating, garbage disposal, and security patrols…

The pages turned, and Vanna's eyes quickly scanned the documents.

If her years as an Inquisitor had given her any "case-handling experience," then one thing was absolutely crucial—

The most ordinary daily life often hides clues to supernatural phenomena.

Surrounded by the boundless sea, anomalies and strange phenomena filled the human world. Under the watchful eyes of these things that threatened all living beings, the peaceful "daily life" in the city-state was the greatest treasure in this world. The ordinary people of Pland might have taken peaceful days for granted, but those warriors who fought against anomalies and strange phenomena all year round knew very well—

A ray of sunshine in the morning, a hot meal on the table, the cries of vendors on the street, and a good night's greeting before going to bed are all continuous miracles.

It was a magnificent view constructed by mortals over ten thousand years in this crumbling world.

Any disturbance from supernatural phenomena would leave scratches on this magnificent view.

"Have you found anything wrong?" The voice of the Guardian driving the car came from the front. The young church warrior noticed Vanna's slightly furrowed brow. "Missing municipal files?"

"On the contrary, all the municipal files are complete," Vanna shook her head slightly. "Water, electricity, heating, and sewage records are all there, and maintained at a very balanced value, abnormally reasonable."

"Then your expression…"

"No criminal cases," Vanna raised her eyelids slightly. "The criminal case records are blank. In addition, the newborn records are blank, and the resident death records are blank."

The Guardian driving the car widened his eyes slightly. In the rearview mirror, Vanna could see the incredible expression on the young man's face.

"An obvious anomaly, isn't it?" Vanna said softly. "A block, for so many years, with the population neither increasing nor decreasing, and without any criminal incidents, not even a fight. Even the safest places in the upper city can't achieve this level, but all the water, electricity, and heating records are there, giving the feeling as if…"

She paused and looked out the window: "As if all the residents here are a group of docile phantoms… They live quietly in this enclosed place, neither increasing nor decreasing. There are no internal conflicts, no external communication, just quietly carrying out normal ‘resource consumption,’ periodically sending a signal to City Hall that ‘everything is normal here.’ And such an abnormal situation has gone unnoticed for so many years."

The car became quiet, and only the dull sound of the steam core running could be heard. After an unknown amount of time, Vanna suddenly felt the car shake.

"We're here, at the small church."

Vanna raised her head and saw that the community church, which had disappeared from the cathedral's "sight" at some point, was right outside the car window.

From the outside, it looked as if it had been abandoned for more than a decade.

This was the place that the terrifying ghost captain had indicated to her.

Those burning ghost flames and the gloomy, dignified figure forever frozen in the center of her vision could not help but reappear in Vanna's mind. The next second, she immediately took a deep breath, softly recited the Holy Name of the Storm Goddess Gomona, picked up her weapon, and got out of the car.

A bleak, cold wind blew from the end of the street, swirling the dry leaves on the side of the road. The Guardians in black followed the Inquisitor and cautiously approached the dilapidated small church.

The leaves crunched under their feet, making a slight cracking sound that sounded like flames burning rotten wood.

The sound of flapping wings suddenly came from overhead. Vanna looked up amidst the flying leaves and saw a white dove landing on the steeple of the church.

The dove tilted its head, seeming to curiously observe the Guardians who were deploying around it.

"A white dove… a good omen foreshadowing calm seas…" For some reason, this strange thought suddenly flashed through Vanna's mind. Then, she ignored the dove that had suddenly flown in and gently pushed open the half-closed door of the small church.

Warm, bright light entered her eyes. A nun with a gentle smile on her face appeared before her.

"Hello, sister. It's been a long time since anyone has come to this church…"

The nun's gentle voice reached the ears of the Guardian warriors.

…

One gas lamp after another was neatly arranged between the bookshelves. The bright light dispelled the shadows between these ancient archives. Slightly heavy and slow footsteps echoed between the bookshelves, interspersed with the old priest's low murmurs:

"Seventh row, sixth column, seventh row, sixth column… the records from 1885, should be here… should be here…"

The old priest stopped in front of the bookshelf. He raised his head and saw the giant-like bookshelf quietly overlooking him, and the files that carried the city-state's historical memory were neatly arranged in the giant's bones and flesh.

His eyes fell on a few of the record books, and he slowly reached out his hand.

The brass mechanical prosthesis made a slightly rusty friction sound as it operated.

"Finally found it!" The old priest's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "It was hidden here… Even though I looked for so long with Inquisitor Vanna before!"

His fingers touched those files.

Heavy and slow footsteps echoed between the bookshelves, interspersed with the old priest's low murmurs, "Seventh row, sixth column, seventh row, sixth column…"

"Finally found it!" The old priest's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. He reached out to those files, and the brass mechanical prosthesis made a rusty creaking sound as it operated. "It was hidden here… Even though I looked for so long with the Inquisitor before!"

His fingers were about to touch those files.

Heavy and slow footsteps echoed between the bookshelves.

…

The old priest suddenly stopped.

He raised his head, his neck stiff as if rusted, and quietly watched the huge bookshelves neatly arranged and extending forward. He saw one gas lamp after another burning between the bookshelves, and the pillars depicting wave patterns stood quietly between the bookshelves.

The soft sound of waves suddenly rang in his heart, making the old man's somewhat chaotic mind suddenly clear.

The archive's protection is activated? Who activated it? Why was it activated? Was it me? When did I activate these protections? What am I doing here?

The old priest suddenly shuddered and instinctively reached for the large-caliber revolver at his waist, but the next second, he noticed the abnormality in his body.

His originally flexible arm had become so stiff and heavy, and the harsh sound of parts rubbing together sounded like a pile of abandoned scrap metal grinding against each other.

He looked in surprise at his brass mechanical prosthesis, but what he saw was a rusty arm, with verdigris and turbid liquid seeping out of the metal seams, staining the entire limb. As his gaze continued to move downward, he saw tattered clothes and a left leg that was constantly leaking black oil.

It was as if he had been trekking through this archive for years.

The old priest stared blankly at the traces left on his body. The sealed memories finally loosened at this moment. He suddenly remembered many things, many distant things that seemed to have happened in a previous life—the Inquisitor's visit, investigating the data, the strange records of heretical worship, the missing years…

Then the Inquisitor left the archive, and he stayed here to continue searching for the missing 1885 records…

The soft sound of waves rang again, a little clearer than before, but still as if separated by a thick curtain, as if it was coming from another space-time.

But it was this distant and缥缈 sound of waves that suddenly made the old priest's mind clearer than before. Along with the loosening of his memory, his reason and judgment were also quickly returning. The next second, he realized what might have happened.

A huge phenomenon—not some anomaly, not some supernatural being with malice, not a mastermind or a supernatural phenomenon, but a huge phenomenon!

The City-State of Pland was at the center of a huge phenomenon!

"This is bad!"

The old priest exclaimed and turned around, dragging his no-longer-nimble body towards his post.

The next second, he stopped abruptly.

A strange black figure appeared in the archive at some point.

In this enclosed room, the strange figure was holding a strange black umbrella—as if to block the ubiquitous sunlight.