Chapter 275

Chapter 275: The Storm Cathedral

In Duncan’s senses, something with an immense presence was slowly drawing near the city?state of Pland.

His perception could not actually leave Pland’s physical bounds and extend outward, but as that immense presence came closer, he could still sense in an indirect way a kind of “radiance”. It was like a heat source, something that shone with strong light, slowly coming into focus on the Boundless Sea.

A simple gigantic ship would not give this feeling, nor would a group of powerful priests.

Duncan narrowed his eyes a little. In the “darkness” outside the city?state of Pland, that mass of strong light and heat was slowly taking shape.

What it was giving off… was that the so?called power of the God?

A moment later, green flames suddenly flared up from a window on the antique shop’s second floor. Then a plump white dove flew out of the window and quickly crossed the sky.

…

Inside and outside the Harbor in the southeast part of Pland, a huge crowd had already gathered.

The Storm Cathedral, which cruised the seas year?round and almost never made port, was about to dock at the city?state. For any believer who followed the storm Goddess Gamona, this was a once?in?a?lifetime grand event. Whether to show their piety or simply to look upon the Storm Cathedral’s majestic form, none of Pland’s citizens wanted to miss today’s spectacle.

When the Sun rose this morning and the curfew ended, residents living near the Harbor had already begun to gather. By the time it was close to noon, almost every spot near the Harbor that could be used to watch the ceremony was filled.

After that, the area around the Harbor went under traffic control. City Hall no longer allowed more spectators to approach the docks and worked with the Church to guide people to the various sanctuaries.

When the Storm Cathedral docked, mass rituals would also be held at the cathedrals across the city at the same time. On one hand, these rituals were of course to “welcome the Goddess’s glory”. On the other, they were meant to ease the pressure on the Harbor district and split up the believers.

Beyond the packed crowds, inside the Harbor district itself, lay the “ceremonial area” that the Church Guardians and city constables had temporarily sealed off. The local leadership of the Church and the city’s high?ranking officials had gathered there, already prepared to welcome the Storm Cathedral.

After hurrying all the way, Vanna finally reached the Harbor in time.

“You were almost late.” Governor Dante, who was waiting at the Harbor to welcome them, glanced at his niece rushing over, his single eye full of helplessness. “On such an important day, you, an Inquisitor, are actually the last to arrive.”

“Something unexpected came up.” Even as an Inquisitor, Vanna could not keep her usual presence in front of her uncle. With a hint of embarrassment on her face, she said, “I had planned my time well. I should have arrived at least half an hour early…”

“The Goddess will forgive you,” came the voice of Archbishop Valentine from the side. The elder was dressed in full ceremonial robes, holding the long staff that symbolized the city?state’s bishop. A faint smile rested on his face. “There is still some time before the appointed moment.”

Vanna nodded, let out a small breath, and looked around.

The view around the pier was wide. Guardians and constables had cordoned off a fairly large ceremonial area, but once her gaze went past that open space, she could see countless spectators in the distance, a sea of heads.

In all of Pland, nearly three?quarters of the residents were baptized believers of the Deep Sea Church. Even among the remaining quarter, those who had not been baptized still kept a shallow faith in the storm Goddess Gamona under the influence of the city’s atmosphere.

This city?state was the largest gathering place of Deep Sea believers on the Boundless Sea, and the grand scene before them showed that with overwhelming force.

“The arrival of the Storm Cathedral can actually help us solve a lot of problems,” Dante’s voice reached Vanna’s ears. “With this great event, the unrest in the city can quickly settle down, and we can release the news about the ‘Visions’ more gently. Honestly… I really feel relieved.”

“For believers, ‘being under the God’s gaze’ is more comforting than anything,” Bishop Valentine replied. “With the Goddess’s protection and witness, we can show the greatest unity and resilience, and we can face even extreme cases, including ‘the city becoming a Vision’, with calm.”

“Maybe the Storm Cathedral’s arrival is exactly to help us get through this crisis,” Dante said. “It’s just that Her Holiness the Pope has not said so outright.”

“Her Holiness has her own reserve. Besides, every message she sends out has to be guided by the God…”

While her uncle and the old bishop spoke beside her, Vanna’s attention slowly left them. She gazed out at the endless sea in the distance, waiting for that towering Cathedral to appear in her sight.

The appointed time was almost here, yet there was still no sign of that astonishing giant ship on the calm sea.

Yet in the very next second, the corner of Vanna’s eye suddenly caught a momentary distortion on the sea.

The sea water curled, the sky trembled, and the sunlight on the waves suddenly rippled out, turning into layers upon layers of cloud?like veils. An engineering construct almost as large as the entire Harbor district abruptly rose onto the sea’s surface, as if it had crossed straight through dimensions to appear in Vanna’s sight!

It had not fully appeared yet and still looked faint and unreal, but its vast, rolling presence was already sweeping toward them, shaking the heart.

Even as the city?state’s Inquisitor, this was Vanna’s first time seeing this ark?ship with her own eyes.

In an instant, feelings of excitement, thrill, and awe rose in her.

She held her breath without thinking, then looked to her side.

The high?ranking officials from City Hall craned their necks in anticipation. Bishop Valentine and her uncle were staring wide?eyed at the distance.

It seemed that the shock and astonishment were so great that they had forgotten to speak.

After another two or three seconds, Bishop Valentine’s eyes lit up. He raised his staff high and brought it down hard. The sound of the staff’s tip striking the ground rang out like thunder across the entire harbor square.

“Praise the name of the Storm!”

The high?ranking priests gathered near the pier answered in unison: “Praise the name of the Storm!”

Salute cannons fired. Magnificent music followed. Cheers thundered in and around the Harbor; everywhere she listened, the whole place boiled with sound.

Vanna looked out to the sea beyond the Harbor and saw that the earlier strange scene of curling water and shifting light had already settled. The majestic Storm Cathedral had dropped all cover and disguise and was slowly drawing close to Pland’s shore.

The gathered crowd was in a frenzy.

Loud benedictions rang out everywhere, cheers and joy were everywhere, and even small children who didn’t understand what was happening were excited in the crowd. Together with the salute cannons and the music, the noise was deafening.

On the roof of a tower near the docks, Duncan stepped out from a door of flames and quietly watched the scene of noisy celebration and the huge cathedral?ark not far away, a structure that already went beyond the idea of a “ship” and made it hard to imagine how it could even move.

Nina and Shirley were beside him, too excited to sit still, noisily arguing about the structure of the cathedral?ark—Nina starting from the mechanical knowledge she had learned at school, while Shirley relied completely on wild imagination and stubborn confidence.

Alice seemed a bit nervous. She had never seen such a huge thing moving on the sea, and when the steam pipes on the side of the cathedral?ark suddenly vented and the loud whistle echoed through the sky, she instantly grabbed her head with both hands.

Duncan’s gaze slowly moved between the crowd gathered at the docks and the cathedral?ark’s towering triple spires.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again.

He saw countless gray?white phantoms spreading out from within the Storm Cathedral, like invisible tentacles or like ribbons of drifting smoke. These flowing shadows stretched out from every door, every window, even every mechanical seam of the cathedral?ark, rolling out in a mass like storm clouds to cover half the sky above Pland.

He saw those drifting shadows droop downward, sweeping over the gathered crowds and the bell?ringing towers.

The phantoms brushed lightly over the heads of the cheering Pland residents, who were clearly unaware of it.

It seemed no one could see those shadows, not even the priests of the Church who had very high Spirit Sight.

Or rather… was it exactly because they were priests of the Church that they could not see those shadows?!

What were these shadows? What were these invisible tentacles spreading out from the Storm Cathedral?

A huge question gathered in his heart. Duncan’s expression grew more and more serious. Without thinking, he reached his hand out into the air beyond the platform, as if trying to catch one of the phantoms.

At the same time, a gray?white phantom like smoke drifted over and slowly approached his palm.

The strip of smoke thickened a little and wrapped around Duncan’s fingers. In the next second, he actually felt a slight, cold touch, as if he had touched some kind of solid thing.

Then the gray?white “tentacle” snapped back at once, leaving only a cold, hollow feeling behind.