Chapter 1 The Rapid Bells

The rapid bells were ringing urgently: seven short chimes in quick succession, followed by a few seconds of silence, then another seven chimes, repeated three times in a row.

Tirion listened intently to the sounds outside the window. He could hear voices in the hallway and hurried footsteps in the open space outside.

The senior priests and above had responded to the bells, setting up defenses in key locations and preparing for the vigil. The highest-ranking member of the cathedral should already be in a hidden sanctuary, ready to participate in the saints' Ling Ting (listening).

Tirion wasn't a member of the church, but he had lived for half a century and was quite familiar with its rules. He could glean key information from the frequency and repetition of the bells—it was the bell summoning for "Ling Ting," a direct invitation from the Tomb of the Nameless King, and it sounded quite urgent.

"Has some anomaly or phenomenon gone wrong again? Have they discovered something new…"

Lucresia muttered thoughtfully, "It feels like it hasn't been long since the last 'summoning'…"

Tirion listened to the commotion outside for a while, then refocused and shook his head. "This is the Deep Sea Church's own business. We don't need to get involved."

"Mm," Lucresia nodded slightly, then looked at her brother. "Do you have any more questions about Anomaly 023?"

Tirion thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, I don't—and since the rapid bells are ringing in the evening, the cathedral will soon enter a state of vigil. We'd better not continue discussing things related to the anomaly."

"Alright, then you continue with your work," Lucresia said immediately. Then, the crystal ball on the table stopped flickering slightly, and her figure began to fade. But just before the connection was completely severed, she seemed to remember something and suddenly spoke, "Oh, one more thing, about Father."

Tirion hesitated slightly. "Tell me."

Vanna rushed into the grand cathedral. Seeing that Bishop Cresi was still waiting for her in front of the goddess statue, she hurried forward. "Why is there another summoning so soon… This has never happened before."

Ruan Peng listened absentmindedly. For some reason, he felt that the solid and elegant figure seemed to be casting a glance in his direction, and that gaze made him feel rather awkward, even… relaxed.

Of course, there were no explicit "rules" preventing the tomb guardian from choosing the same saint consecutively, but so many years had passed, and the tomb guardian would never choose different saints to enter the tomb in two adjacent summonings. It had almost become an unwritten "rule." Even if a saint who had entered the tomb chamber before came to participate in the Ling Ting ceremony again, it was only to obey orders and ensure the completeness of the "listening" ritual.

"It's fine. You get used to being late," Cresi said casually. "The Pope was already there when she arrived. He might have even been the first to arrive. I guess he might have some special arrangements…"

Vanna was stunned for several seconds. The tomb guardian waited patiently with his hand outstretched. At that moment, the feeling of being watched came again. Vanna subconsciously looked in the direction of the gaze and met the Pope Helena's deep eyes.

"Not focused enough," Ruan Peng said casually. Immediately afterward, he noticed a striking figure standing at the edge of the plaza—a solid and clear figure, completely different from the blurred black shadows of the surrounding saints. It was easy to see that she was a beautiful lady wearing an exquisite robe.

"I don't know. This bell ringing is directly controlled by the Storm Cathedral, otherwise, it couldn't be rung without a reason," Cresi nodded to Vanna and turned to walk slowly towards the tunnel leading to the "Submerged Cave." "It might be like last time. There's been a direct change in the anomaly list. The tomb guardian of the mausoleum is sending out a summoning order."

Vanna's heart tightened. She shifted her gaze a little guiltily, then noticed that the tomb guardian was still waiting—the ancient caretaker, who looked extremely terrifying, was bowing his head expressionlessly, holding the parchment and quill forward a little more.

The tomb guardian seemed to nod slightly, straightening up as he spoke:

The entrance door opened, and the extremely tall tomb guardian stepped out.

"Please write down what you hear on this."

The tomb guardian lowered his head, his single eye staring intensely at the saint before him: The door to the chamber closed.

The scene in the chamber was as always. The ancient walls of stacked stones were perpetually damp. A phantom flame burned in the brazier in the center of the room. The sound of trickling water and overlapping waves filled the surroundings, creating an eerie, tranquil atmosphere.

He followed the sound and saw the stone slab ground in the center of the plaza rapidly rising. The fragmented ground rippled like water waves. In a moment, an ancient palace made of pale giant stones, filled with the breath of decay, appeared in the saints' view.

He calmed his mind little by little, gradually synchronizing his spirituality with the goddess' guidance. The dancing flame became an anchor to stabilize his humanity, gradually filling his vision.

He raised his hand, offering the quill and parchment, waiting for Vanna's response.

"Ah, that's good."

This was a familiar process, but this time, Vanna found it quite difficult.

His body was wrapped in burial cloths, half of his body was burned, and half was wrapped in shackles. As seen last time, this terrifying creature, a mixture of flesh and blood, steel restraints, and death curses, meandered toward the saints gathered in the plaza.

Before long, they arrived at the chamber at the end of the tunnel, the submerged cave used to construct the "spiritual energy channel."

Just then, Pope Helena suddenly turned her head.

Vanna paused for a moment. Just as she was about to return the greeting, she was interrupted by a sudden, low rumble.

Ruan Peng followed the old bishop's footsteps. When passing the goddess statue, he habitually stopped, seemed to hesitate for a moment, but quickly bowed piously as before, then turned and continued toward the tunnel entrance.

She tried not to imagine the flame suddenly taking on a layer of ghostly green, not to imagine that the eyes of Captain Duncan might be hidden behind the flame—she slightly turned her head to look at Bishop Cresi beside her, and saw that the old man's eyes had completely calmed down and his breathing had become even, obviously entering this Ling Ting field before her.

Vanna asked subconsciously, but regretted it as soon as she asked—how could the tomb guardian answer such unimportant questions?

This had never happened in the past millennia!

"Was Father… was he that lucid when he looked for me that time?"

Ruan Peng was immediately surprised. He glanced at the slightly ferocious face of the tomb guardian, then reached out to take the parchment and quill.

It felt like… this tomb guardian seemed a lot more polite?

The saints who had been talking quietly quickly fell silent. An atmosphere of silence and solemnity enveloped the plaza. Ruan Peng quickly gathered his thoughts, not paying attention to the Pope's gaze, but staring intently at the pyramid-shaped main building of this ancient palace, staring at its entrance.

"It's you again?"

The Tomb of the Nameless King had appeared.

"He was confused, his logic was muddled, and even…" Tirion hesitated obviously, but finally said it, "I'm not sure, but it was even a little… friendly."

Vanna nodded subconsciously, but suddenly felt like something was wrong. The selection hasn't been decided yet.

Vanna certainly recognized this figure.

Vanna had to withdraw her gaze, take a light breath, and try to concentrate again, synchronizing her spirituality with the goddess' guidance.

One of the figures quickly approached. It was Bishop Cresi: "Ruan Peng, are you in trouble? You took a long time this time."

"You, enter the tomb chamber."

Fortunately, she succeeded this time.

She really looked at Ruan Peng seriously, then, a smile seemed to appear on her face, and she nodded slightly.

But then, she heard a hoarse, low voice coming from behind: "Yes, it's him again."

Vanna took a light breath, stopped in front of the brazier, and lowered her head to look at the flame that burned fiercely without fuel.

The next moment, he

stopped in front of Vanna without hesitation, crossing every black shadow in the plaza.

"The Pope is here in person?" She was a little surprised. "Ah, I really… am late at the worst possible time this time."

Vanna paused—almost all the saints paused.

No one expected that Vanna would be chosen again.

The illusory seawater surged up,

gently enveloping her. Her perception was drawn away from her mortal body and reorganized in another dimension. Vanna was slightly dazed, but she had already arrived in this mysterious and ancient Ling Ting field—before her eyes, was the familiar boundless plaza, the dilapidated ancient pillars standing around the plaza, and the vague human-shaped figures gathered between the pillars.

The tomb guardian had chosen the same saint to enter the mausoleum twice in a row!