Chapter 550

Chapter 550: Afternoon

Under the weight of the words “witnessed by the Four Gods,” Sara Mell finally and reluctantly accepted Lucretia’s judgment.

No matter what those starlights the sea witch spoke of really were, and no matter what form Duncan Abnomar truly existed in now, at least the leaders of the Pilgrimage Ark, who could speak directly with the Four Gods, had all decided to cooperate with the Vanished. That decision itself was a powerful piece of “evidence.”

Or, to put it in a more extreme way: if even the judgment and orders given by the Four Gods were wrong, then it would not matter whether there was a disaster or not. The very fact that “all Four Gods were wrong” would be the greatest disaster.

“We knew very little about Subspace. All the rules of the Mortal Realm might be overturned in that domain,” Lucretia said. She turned her head and looked out through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office, as if gazing at the distant sea. Her voice was calm and unhurried as she went on: “When the Vanished ‘returned’ from Subspace to our Mortal Realm, a series of changes had to happen. Remember, back then, just a slight influence was enough to turn the Radiant Star and the Sea Mist into what they are today. So what about the Vanished, after being soaked in Subspace for a century? What about my Father?

“There were many things we should have expected long ago.”

She drew back her gaze from the window and turned her head. She quietly fixed her gaze on Sara Mell’s eyes.

“To be honest, I do not even care how much of his ‘essence’ is still the original Duncan Abnomar,” Lucretia said softly. “Even if only a single grain of light in that starlight still belongs to him, I am willing to welcome him back for that one grain. As long as, as a whole, he still stands on the mortal side, that is enough.”

Listening to the witch’s calm words, Sara Mell’s expression shifted several times, then finally settled into a sigh: “Yes. At least he is a friendly existence. That is much better than a true Subspace ghost.”

Lucretia did not speak again. She only nodded lightly.

“How is Scholar Taran’s condition?” Sara Mell asked after a brief silence. “I heard he fell into a ‘dream crisis,’ and that you and your Father solved it together?”

“Yes. That was what I was about to tell you,” Lucretia said, straightening her expression at once. She spoke very seriously: “The so-called ‘dream’ that Master Taran Ael fell into may be more complicated than you think. My Father confirmed some information. It is connected to those heretic cultists…”

Over the next ten minutes or so, she told the governor everything she knew, including the goals of the Annihilators and what she had seen of the Sunspawn inside the dream.

After that, she also mentioned the information sent from the city-state of Pland—about the Ender, the Fourth Long Night he had spoken of, and those strange, rambling “sermons.”

Sara Mell listened with a serious face from start to finish, not interrupting even once.

Only after Lucretia finished did the office fall quiet for more than ten seconds. Then this governor, who had lived a long and rich life, slowly nodded.

“Nameless One’s Dream…” Sara Mell said thoughtfully. “There is no such term in the elves’ cultural system, but it really does make one think of the demon god Saslokar’s Dream of Creation. However, if such a vast ‘dream’ truly exists, why has no one discovered it for thousands of years? Those heretic cultists say the elves are the ‘passage’ to this dream, but as far as I know, nothing like what happened to Taran Ael ever happened before.”

“We have discussed this too. The most likely explanation is this: the appearance of Nameless One’s Dream is itself one of the signs and proofs that the Fourth Long Night is approaching.”

Sara Mell reacted at once: “You mean…”

“Nameless One’s Dream may have only appeared, or ‘shown itself,’ recently,” Lucretia said gravely. “It might have always been in a dormant state, or in a ‘suppressed’ state, so no one noticed its existence. But as the Fourth Long Night draws near, it is slowly becoming active…”

Sara Mell did not answer. She furrowed her brows, then slowly lifted her head and looked out the window at the bright sunlight. Under the lock of the double rune rings, the Sun was crossing its highest point in the sky. It would soon be afternoon.

She did not know how long she stared before she finally broke the silence in a low voice, almost like she was repeating the Ender’s sermon to herself:

“…dusk is drawing near. The Sun is starting to become ‘gentle,’ and so those who were once banished and erased are beginning to return to this world again…”

…

At the main door, Nina checked her clothes and the things she needed to bring one last time.

The temperature in this southern city-state was much higher than in Pland. Even though it was the cooler end of autumn, she still had to wear light clothes to go out. She put on her favorite dress and matched it with her new light sandals. Her mood became bright at once.

She put the key, some small change, and a map into her little bag. Following Lady Lucretia’s advice, she also packed incense strips and medicine to drive away mosquitoes. It all seemed ready.

Last of all, there was the friend she was taking out with her.

Nina turned her head and looked toward Shirley.

Shirley was still wearing her favorite dress. She was squatting down, fastening the straps on her sandals. When she felt Nina’s gaze, she looked up at once and asked: “What is it, Nina?”

Nina smiled and asked: “Have you decided where to go?”

Earlier, when they tried the “local specialty food,” the shock had been so great that the two girls almost ran back to the ship on the spot. For a moment, they had even felt a real urge to give up and go home.

But in the end, Nina and Shirley did not act on that impulse.

This rare stop at port during a long sea voyage could not be wasted.

“I do not know where to go either,” Shirley said as she stood up and patted the dust from her skirt. “That elf uncle said there is a market two blocks away. Let us just go there. Anyway, I really do not want to go to any so-called ‘food street’ again.”

Nina nodded, then glanced at the small pouch at Shirley’s waist: “Did you bring the mosquito repellent? This city has many more mosquitoes than Pland.”

“Yeah.” Shirley patted the pouch at her waist. “Dog reminded me.”

Nina broke into a bright smile: “Good. Then let’s go~”

The two girls walked down the steps in front of the door. Just then, the lock behind them clicked and the door hinges turned.

Shirley jolted and turned around at once. She saw a tall, imposing figure in the doorway and went tense on the spot.

“We… we just want to walk around…” Shirley blurted out before Duncan could speak. She was flustered and rushed: “We already told Mr. Morris…”

“We will not go far,” Nina said with a bright smile. “Just to the nearby market.”

“I know.” Duncan only gave a light nod. Then he walked up to the two young ladies and let his gaze fall on Shirley.

Shirley shrank her neck almost by reflex. She held it in for several seconds before she spoke in a small, careful voice: “Maybe… I should not go…”

“Here,” Duncan said, cutting her off. He held out a few banknotes.

Shirley stared blankly at the money in front of her, unable to react for a moment.

“You are going to the market, right?” Duncan’s voice snapped her out of it. “This is your pocket money for today. Do not spend it all at once. I already gave Nina hers.”

Shirley still seemed dazed. Only when Dog’s reminder sounded in her head did she suddenly come back to herself. She hesitated, then took the notes, which were actually not of very large value, and turned her face away. To cover her embarrassment, she muttered: “I thought you were going to drag me back to do homework…”

Duncan paid no mind to her reaction. He looked at the two young ladies in front of him and reminded them casually: “Do not come back too late. Try not to go to other districts. If you get lost, call me. I will send AI to pick you up…”

“Yeah, yeah, we know,” Nina said, waving her hand again and again. Her tone sounded impatient, but the smile on her face was as bright as always. Then she grabbed Shirley’s arm and tugged her toward the end of the street. “We are heading out then! We will be back before evening!”

Shirley let herself be pulled along, still a bit muddled. She looked back halfway, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something. In the end, she did not say anything. She only smiled suddenly and, in the brief gap while Nina was dragging her forward, she waved back at Duncan.

Duncan watched the two girls disappear around the corner. A moment later, he withdrew his gaze and looked at the empty space not far away: “Back from City Hall?”

As his voice fell, Lucretia appeared on the empty ground as if out of nowhere. Like a mirage turning solid, she stepped out of the fading illusion, a hint of surprise on her face: “So you already noticed me?”

Duncan nodded: “I saw you from the start.”

Lucretia turned her head and looked toward the direction where Nina and Shirley had gone.

For a moment, the expression on her face shifted in a subtle and complicated way. Many thoughts seemed to rise and fall in the depths of her eyes. There might have been old memories mixed in, and some faint, nameless feelings. But in the end, she gathered up every trace of change in her gaze. When she turned back to Duncan, there was only a light smile on her face.

For some reason, Duncan suddenly felt that this witch’s mood had become very good—very, very good.

“Has Taran Ael already left?” Lucretia asked suddenly.

“He left half an hour ago. He said he was worried about his laboratory,” Duncan replied with a nod, then asked: “What did you talk about with the governor at City Hall?”

“The Church has sent a notice to every city-state. The warning you sent to this world is starting to take effect…”