Chapter 1 A Sudden Change

Vanna and Valentine were both stunned by the sudden turn of events. High Priestess Helene’s "judgment" seemed less like a solemn religious decree and more like a deliberate pursuit of a predetermined outcome—the result had already been decided, and the conversation just now was merely a formality.

Such a hasty "judgment" was naturally unacceptable to Vanna, the inquisitor, and even Valentine beside her found it hard to accept. They spoke in unison: "Your Holiness…"

"Alright, alright, there's nothing wrong with this. Life always has its ups and downs, just like the unpredictable nature of storms," Helene waved her hand, interrupting Vanna and Valentine. "And don't easily fall into despair, Saint Vanna—being relieved of your duties as an inquisitor is not necessarily a punishment, it's just that you're temporarily not suited for this job. Perhaps… the storm has other plans for you?"

Vanna was stunned by these words, vaguely discerning some deeper meaning in Helene's tone. However, just as she was about to ask further, she saw the High Priestess shake her head at her.

"Let's leave it here for now. There are some things I need to see with my own eyes before I can decide," Helene said softly, "Pland… It's been many years since I last set foot on this land."

She paused slightly after saying this.

"You two return to the upper levels first. The elevator is ready. I will complete a prayer here—it won't be long. We'll meet on the upper deck."

Almost before she could react, Vanna was "driven" back into the elevator with Valentine. It wasn't until the elevator reached the top, until the two of them left the car and walked along the corridor to the upper deck, that Valentine quietly broke the silence: "Vanna, how are you… feeling right now?"

She really couldn't think of a better way to break the awkwardness.

Vanna stopped in her tracks. "Your calmness and rationality are indeed far beyond ordinary people—most people probably wouldn't be able to think as calmly as you have in the face of something like this happening so suddenly," Valentine said, starting to walk again as she spoke. "But more than that, I'm more concerned about something else right now."

The younger Vanna was ultimately not as knowledgeable about the Storm Codex as the experienced Bishop Valentine. For a moment, she hadn't thought of these key points!

For some reason, she felt vaguely uneasy.

"I just think she's being unreasonable," the hoarse, aged voice came again. "Wasn't she doing a good job? No one in the inquisitor assessments of all the city-states could surpass me. And she directly dismissed her, never mind the reason of wavering faith… we're all vague about that. As long as you can continue to perform your duties, that reason is the least important."

Tirian took a deep breath, placed his hand on the railing in front of him, and frowned in thought.

Just then, as if to confirm this increasingly intense unease, a slightly hurried sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind.

I fell asleep. Vanna frowned subconsciously, but didn't speak for a moment. Valentine continued, "Also, she chose to announce your dismissal in a 'secret chamber' that no one knows about. According to church law, secrets imparted by the High Priestess in a secret chamber cannot be passed on to others, regardless of the content of the secret. This is a 'dangerous signal'."

This was the very bottom of the Pilgrimage Ark, an area that normal people rarely had the opportunity to come into contact with, let alone understand. I call that place the "belly of the beast." In a sense, that description is not wrong at all.

The usually steady first mate's face was now full of ease.

In an extremely vast space, High Priestess Helene stood quietly among the dim flames. After who knows how long, she finally looked up and turned her gaze to the darkness nearby.

These things, originally hidden in the darkness, were fully revealed to Helene as the flames spread.

Helene began to walk, passing through the burning braziers, and came to a place that had not previously been illuminated by the fire.

"... An ancient diving device suddenly appeared in the Frosty Near Seas," Aiden said, taking a breath. "It's 'Diving Device Number Two'—the fourth one."

A

Clusters of flames spread with his steps, gradually illuminating the entire dim space, reflecting things that had not been illuminated before.

Valentine shook her head helplessly. "I thought you'd at least ask a question."

The intricate network structure on the ground, the huge tumors or nerve nodules hanging from the high dome, the nerve cords and vascular pillars hanging down from the dome, and the huge pale supports that resembled skeletons.

Tirian came to the bow of the ship, gazing at the open sea behind him. However, this time, the hoarse, aged voice didn't respond at all.

"You mean…"

"He's afraid you'll take it seriously."

"Are you serious about taking these two steps back?"

Valentine stared at the pillar for a long time, then reached out and slowly stroked the uneven grooves formed by nerve fibers.

At first, he thought it was a sequela of "Dad's beatings," an accumulation of stress from seeing his father several times in the near sea and in the city of Pland. However, as the Sea Fog got further and further away from Pland, that unease not only didn't weaken, but became even stronger.

The corner of Valentine's mouth seemed to twitch. "Do you feel like you're seeing a satisfactory scene?"

It seemed that something was about to happen, or… had happened, and this thing was very likely related to her.

"To dismiss an inquisitor, a new inquisitor must take over, and an important position like a city-state inquisitor must be personally 'tested' and appointed by the High Priestess—you should know this process," Valentine said slowly. "But Her Holiness the High Priestess didn't mention this at all… This should have been a 'necessary matter' announced at the same time as the dismissal, or even sooner."

On the vast, boundless sea, the steel warship Sea Fog was sailing through the waves. As the warship gradually "recovered" and its power was fully activated, this thin layer of ice fog reappeared around the ship and continued to generate large chunks of floating ice in the distance.

Vanna was stunned, her brow furrowing slightly. "How am I supposed to continue to perform my duties in Pland?"

"Your dismissal will not be known to anyone," Valentine said calmly, looking into her eyes. "Nor will a new inquisitor be appointed to take over your duties."

I suspect my intuition as a transcendent in this regard.

“…I thought you were sleeping.”

Tirian turned his head sharply and saw that it was First Mate Aiden walking towards him.

"The Academy of Truth… truly unbelievable technology," he praised softly. "Who would have thought that the dead Leviathan could be 'revived' in this way…"

He finally stopped in front of a huge "pillar."

"I don't know," Vanna said softly. She looked up and gazed at the exit of the corridor ahead. After a moment of thought, she continued, "But she believes that she may soon no longer need to continue to perform her duties in Pland."

"Near the Frosty Sea?" Tirian felt his heart leap and asked, "What's going on?"

"He is indeed asleep most of the time, but today he prayed to Queen Gomona with unusual solemnity and brought outsiders to this place. I felt that I should be awake no matter what."

As soon as he finished speaking, a low rumbling sound suddenly came from the pillar, followed by a hoarse, aged voice that sounded from an unknown structure: "First of all, I haven't been dead from the beginning, and secondly, I don't think I'm 'alive' now—it's very inaccurate to describe Leviathan in terms of life and death, little girl."

"This is the arrangement of the Lord of Storms," Valentine said softly.

This time, the hoarse, aged voice was obviously stunned for a moment before speaking: "…Oh, then I have no problem."

"You can still tell jokes, so it seems you realize that this isn't good either," Vanna shook her head and said in a low voice, "Frankly, my initial reaction was disbelief and unacceptance. This hasty and sloppy 'judgment' seemed more like a bad joke than something that should have come from Her Holiness the High Priestess, but just now I recalled the details in Her Holiness' words. I always feel…"

…She seems to have other intentions."

This even gradually made her feel a little irritable. Valentine took a step back to the side.

Tirian immediately frowned. "What happened?"

"The cathedral just received a psychic message from the home port. Something… happened near the Frosty Sea."

At the top of this pillar, under the dim dome, one could still see a smaller number of hanging organs. The surfaces of these organs were covered with grooves, looking just like… brains.

Vanna frowned. "Something else?"

With that, he breathed a gentle sigh. "I think you should wait patiently, waiting for the 'other favor of the storm' that Her Holiness the High Priestess spoke of."

This was a pillar formed by the twisting and stacking of a large number of simple structures. Its surface was mottled, and a large number of nerve networks and vascular systems were wrapped around it like reliefs. In the depths of these nervous systems, one could vaguely see simple metal wires and needles glittering with silver light, as if they were spreading down from the upper level.