Chapter 747

Chapter 747: Sunset

Seventy-two hours later, the long sunset finally began to draw to an end. At the far edge of the Boundless Sea, only a thin golden rim of the glorious Sun Wheel and part of its rune rings still rested on the sea. In the refraction of the clouds, the evening glow grew more splendid, yet also more dim.

The people of this world had no time to admire the beauty of the sunset. To most, that radiant glow only meant that the veil of night was near. Now the whole world was slowly stepping into what might be the longest veil of night in history.

In the city-state of Morka, two steam walkers bearing the crest of Truth Academy were walking down the streets. Fully armed Knowledge Guards moved beside the machines, checking the streets while urging citizens to hurry home. In the fading light, the shadows of warriors and spider automatons stretched long and swayed, melting into the shadows between the streets and the buildings by the road.

In Cold Harbor, the last supply transfer had already ended. The notice that the subway stations would be temporarily shut down echoed in every station. Guardians sealed every door leading to the underground facilities and guarded each entrance and exit. At sunset, holy steam and incense would be sent into the pipes until the underground of the city-state was fully purified. After that, the subway would reopen, but it would run carefully under the new schedule and safety rules.

After all, the veil of night might last one to two months. The city-state could not completely shut down for so long. During these seventy-two hours of dusk, the administrators and scholars of the city-state had already drawn up a new “timetable” and set of safety rules for the long Long Night, to keep the city’s basic functions running as well as possible while the veil of night lasted.

The new timetable and safety rules had never been tested in practice. There had not even been time for more careful discussion. Each city-state would test the feasibility of its own “veil of night plan” in this long darkness before the Sun rose again.

And in distant Lunsa, gunfire had once broken the city’s calm and almost snapped people’s taut nerves. Suntists took the chance to move, stirring up the anxious citizens and preaching that the true Sun god would be reborn in the veil of night. Misled by them, their congregation set fires in the Lower City and tried to seize the Cathedral on the city’s edge.

The chaos was quickly put down. The flamebearers of the Flamebearer Church took control of the situation at once, but the tension in the city-state had already risen…

…

A mechanical spider moved its long jointed legs as it walked down a weathered old street in the city-state. The loudspeaker mounted on the machine’s head gave out a slightly distorted voice that echoed through the alleys:

“Attention, all citizens… There are thirty minutes left before sunset. Please return home as soon as possible… The new curfew will last twelve hours. After that, the temporary city schedule will take effect…

“…Steam, electricity, and gas will be supplied as usual. Workers in related posts may pass checkpoints with their permits… All veil of night Sanctuary Worlds will stay open until sunrise…

“citizens have the duty to help watch over the city’s basic facilities… If you find a street lamp out or steam supply weak, please report at once to the nearest Cathedral or security post…

“…If you notice abnormal shadows in your home, or hear strange sounds from underground, please seek help from the Knowledge Guards on the streets…

“Please keep calm and relaxed, citizens. We are going through a special anomaly. The city-state has enough power to protect everyone. Please follow the new schedule and safety rules, keep your life in order, and keep your body and mind healthy…”

The broadcast grew farther and farther away, until it became just a faint, distorted wind in the ears. Outside the window of the Harbor Inn, the gas lamp had already been lit. Its lonely light drove back the darkness heavy with malice and lit up the empty street. Aside from the occasional guardian passing the intersection on patrol, there were no more pedestrians to be seen.

It was hard to imagine that only a few days ago this place had been full of traffic and crowds.

Lawrence drew his gaze back from the window, let out a soft breath, and bent over his diary, writing line after line:

“Year xx, month x, day x. We are still docked at the Harbor of Faerun. This city-state has already done all it can to prepare for the coming night, and now the Sun is about to vanish below the sea…

“My crew members do not feel fear. Instead, they seem… excited, fearless of heaven and earth. The divine blessing of the Vanished fills them with confidence and makes them believe they have enough strength to face whatever comes. That is not a bad thing.

“Faerun is not a very rich city-state, but its situation is still alright. Everyone here is doing their best to calm the people around them and to gather what they need to get through the night… Before dinner, the inn’s boss said he had gotten enough fuel and had filled the warehouse with emergency food and medicine, so even if the curfew grows longer, they can still hold out…

“This city-state lies near the southwest border, and it seems it is used to such ‘restless’ times. No one knows what will happen next. The people here try not to talk about the worst possibilities and instead pour all their effort into daily life. That is a valuable trait. It lets Faerun bear more pressure than the rich city-states in the Central Seas…

“But I am worried about other things—the sealed objects on the ship, and the sealed objects in the city-state.

“And there are those ships still sailing out on the distant sea. Even if they try their best to return, many still cannot reach the Harbor in time. The Sun is about to set. Perhaps many captains and sailors are still on the Boundless Sea. It takes at least seven days to sail from the middle of the southwestern route to the nearest city-state, and the situation on those distant routes is even worse… In a lasting veil of night, no one knows what changes this sea will undergo…”

A faint cool draft brushed past his ear. Lawrence stopped writing and sighed softly.

He raised his head and looked at the window facing the Harbor district. His gaze passed over the docks. He could see two more large cargo ships appearing at the far sea horizon, sounding their horns as they drew toward the coast. Several small fast boats bearing Church emblems shot out from the docks like arrows, heading toward the two ships that had requested to dock, ready to carry out boarding checks and the necessary divine blessing before they came into port.

In a corner of the window, a hazy figure slowly appeared on the glass surface and waved at Lawrence, who was looking into the distance.

“Two more ships coming in, and both big ones,” Lawrence said softly. “All the docks in Faerun are almost full.”

“In the past seventy-two hours, four times the usual number of ships have docked in Faerun, and more than half of them came here just to ‘take shelter’,” the hazy figure on the glass said casually, its voice carrying a faint, airy tremor. “They are already the lucky ones. The ones who cannot make it back do not even know what to do.”

“…Every long-distance ship has a small Cathedral and a shipboard Father, but those measures were made to deal with normal nights,” Lawrence sighed and shook his head. “They gave twenty-four hours after sunset as the final time limit for normal docking. After that, any returning ship will not be allowed to come straight up to the city-state. They will have stayed in the veil of night too long. They will no longer be safe.”

“…The White Oak once had the same ‘treatment’,” Martha said. “I remember you told me—it was after the first time you met the Vanished.”

Lawrence shrugged and said nothing.

Martha stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again: “…If the Sun keeps moving like this from now on, people will get used to it sooner or later. The chaos will only be temporary, just like the city-states that held on through the Dark Age. After the old kingdom fell, they found new ways to continue. As long as life survives, it always finds a way.”

Lawrence knew these were not the kind of words Martha would normally say. She was an outstanding explorer and captain, but not a philosopher.

Yet he still felt a hint of comfort and warmth in her words.

“You are right, Martha,” he nodded lightly. “There will always be a way out…”

High in the sky, the pale World’s Wound slowly appeared behind the clouds. The thinning sunlight was fading from the sea, and at some point a hazy mist had risen nearby, rising and falling with the waves.

The towering bow of the Vanished cut through the waves, sailing into the distance through the evening mist. The half-transparent spirit form sails on its tall masts billowed without wind. The Radiant Star followed close by, its half-real, half-unreal hull rising and falling on the waves as if it might slip into another dimension at any moment.

News came from Lightwind Harbor. The last civilian cargo ship that could return before sunset had already docked at the pier. The city navy was setting up posts and markers in the nearby waters and was moving a mobile Harbor, equipped with a high-power steam core and Cathedral facilities, to the sea between the city-state and the “glowing geometric body”. After that, any ship returning to the city would have to stop at that temporary Harbor, and only after strict inspection and quarantine would it be allowed to come any closer.

Duncan stood on the foredeck, listening as Morris relayed the situation from Lightwind Harbor, and nodded slightly: “Lawrence is in the city-state of Faerun right now. He said they left a twenty-four-hour window after nightfall for returning ships. When that window closes, the returners must also stop at a temporary dock near the city-state and undergo inspection and quarantine.”

“Each city-state is making its own response plan based on its own situation and experience, but no one knows which one will work best,” Vanna said beside him. “Even so, getting through the first veil of night should not be too hard. Even with stored supplies alone, most city-states can safely wait for sunrise. What is truly worrying… is what comes after.”

Duncan said nothing. He only thought in silence.

After quite a while, he suddenly spoke: “What about the sightings of the ‘End Survey Team’?”

“Just as you guessed—there have also been scattered reports of sightings in other parts of the world,” Vanna nodded. “I confirmed it with Helena, Your Eminence. She said that starting a few days ago, there have been at least five incidents within the Deep Sea Church’s sphere of influence where people ‘saw a phantom as if from another time and space suddenly appear’. After comparison and confirmation, at least three of them are very likely to have been the End Survey Team carrying out their observations at the End of Time.”

Duncan thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

At the edge of his vision, the last strand of evening glow finally faded from the sea.

Night fell.