Deep Sea Embers

“You get nightmares every time you stay home, and it’s always about that event from your childhood.” Dante Wayne’s voice came from behind the inquisitor, who had come out to the balcony and observed the city.

“…… As an inquisitor, this is an unwanted sign of weakness,” Vanna mutters. She was more than a head taller than her uncle, but the lady never minded showing her true side in front of this elder who effectively raised herself. “I am distressed.”

“…… Did you talk to Heidi yet?”

“She recommended four types of brain surgeries and two nerve puncture treatments,” Vanna sighed, “Given the years of friendship we have, I didn’t beat her.”

“…… That’s definitely something she would say, after all, she doesn’t deal with normal people that often.” Dante Wayne shook his head, “Actually, I didn’t expect that after all these years, you were still trapped by the nightmare of that night.”

“I thought I had come out of it too.” Vanna rubbed her temple, “Maybe it really has something to do with this big house. As soon as I return here, I will dream about what it was like… Maybe I should consider holding another exorcism ceremony for this house, otherwise I will keep thinking this house carries the shadow of that disaster…”

Uncle Dante contemplated the suggestion and didn’t raise an objection. “Is there still that fire in your nightmare this time?”

Vanna nodded: “Yes, there are fires everywhere. You escaped from the fire with me on your back. I even remember clearly that we fled the city from the factory’s pipeline, and a burning building nearby was gradually collapsing in the fire…”

Speaking of this, she stopped and landed her gaze on her uncle: “… You don’t remember the fire, do you?”

“Not only do I not remember, nobody else does.” The serious-faced administrator slowly shook his head, “I only remember the leaked gas pipes and those cultists who went berserk… There were many parties that night, but only one seemed to remember seeing the raging fire.”

Vanna didn’t speak for a while and fell into deep thought. Then after an unknown amount of time, she suddenly said softly: “Except for the ‘fire’ incident, my memories and yours are consistent… I didn’t understand anything back then, but now I know very well that this must be some kind of supernatural force exerting influence. Even after becoming a saint, I still can’t dispel that influence.”

“There could only be two answers. The one responsible is so powerful that they left an imprint on your soul for life, or the source of the influence of that incident remains hidden somewhere in the city. I have been investigating this matter for years, but unfortunately, there has been little progress thus far.”

Dante Wayne’s tone ended with a hint of apologies. Not only for being unable to solve his niece’s distress but also for failing to investigate an old case as the highest government official.

The “Great Chaos” eleven years ago left a scar that’s far too deep, both physically and mentally on everyone involved.

Vanna knew that this matter was not only her own phantom at work, but also a plague on her uncle’s heart. Not knowing how to comfort others well, the inquisitor could only try to divert the topic: “I remember that a lot of cultists were arrested back then. Judging from the assessment count after the engagement, that incident was even larger than the ‘Black Sun’ incident four years ago.”

“Yes, thousands of people were arrested, so many that I wondered how it’s possible for so many cultists to hide inside Pland unnoticed.” Dante Wayne sighed, “And there is more than one sect involved… There are the Suntists who follow the black sun, Annihilators who worship the Nether Lord, and even those Ender missionaries who worship subspace itself… These maggots in the gutters all emerged that night, deranged and wreaked havoc.”

Vanna stared at Dante with more intent now: “But according to the results of the subsequent interrogation, none of the saboteurs arrested by the authorities can be called the ‘mastermind’. No one even knows why they caused chaos that night. It was as if they were all detonated at the same time and went into collective madness.”

Dante didn’t speak for a while for he too believed it was not normal. Then he noticed the look coming from his niece: “The reason for your irritability should not just be because of that nightmare is it? Suddenly mentioning these things is related to the recent unstable situation in the city-state?”

Vanna did not evade the question: “There is indeed a certain connection. The suntists converging on Pland are searching for an ‘anomaly’ called the sun fragment, and the Vanished has reappeared in the real world almost simultaneously. Everything is pointing to us here, reminding me of the chaos from eleven years ago.”

“…… I have ordered all ports to strictly check the movement of people and communicated with the other administrators of neighboring city-states. We’ve already cracked down on many cultists and effectively cut off their means of flowing into Pland because of these measures. All that’s left to do is to wait on what the church does. The supernatural area is the specialty of the guardians.”

Speaking of this, the middle-aged admin suddenly stopped as if to ponder his following words. But after a moment of hesitation, he decides it’s best to say it: “As for the matter of the Vanished, I can’t help much in the transcendent realm, but in the worldly aspect, I have an idea.”

“Secular aspect?” Vanna frowned, “Wait, you mean…”

“Lucretia Abnomar, captain of the pioneer exploration ship Bright Star, and Tyrian Abnomar, the pirate leader of the Northern Seas and captain of the Sea Mist,” Dante said unhurriedly. “It is true that the Vanished is a ghost ship beyond the understanding of reality, but as long as it has been a member of the real world, the real world will have an anchor related to it. I wonder how Captain Duncan’s son and daughter will react to their father’s reappearance in the world.”

Vanna’s eyes slowly widened. She was used to using simple and crude methods to directly deal with her enemies, so she had never considered anything related to the Vanished from this perspective. But soon the lady frowned: “But I heard those two hardly deal with the city-state authorities… They are rulers of their own turf on the Boundless Sea and maintains a cold relationship with the city-states.”

“This is normal, after all, they are the children of that ghost captain. The Bright Star and the Sea Mist are the two escorts of the original Vanished. Although they parted ways a hundred years ago, in the eyes of most city-states, they are still the embodiment of curses and dangers. It is not so much they alienated the civilized world, but rather the civilized world actively avoids them.”

Vanna frowned and appeared wary at her uncle’s plan: “Then do you expect them to come and help Pland against their father?”

“It’s just an idea, but it’s worth a try.” Dante grew serious, “After all, we all know that the Bright Star and Sea Mist parted ways with the Vanished more than a century ago. That happened before the event on the Thirteen Islands of Witherland. Rumor is that some ship captains witnessed the Sea Mist battle the Vanished in the northern seas half a century ago. At that point, the Vanished had already become the legendary ghost ship. This may explain the attitude of the two captains towards their father.”

“More than half a century ago… At that time, the Sea Mist was still the flagship of the Frost Queen. That Captain Tyrian was probably just being ordered to protect the city-state,” Vanna said slowly while pondering. “But you are right. At least this proves that the Sea Mist has a record of confrontation with the Vanished.”

But she still had some doubts, which she voiced after a few seconds of thought: “What if the Bright Star and Sea Mist ignored Pland, what then?”

“That’s why this is just an attempt,” Dante said quietly, “and I’ll spread the word and find a way to get the news into the ears of those two captains. After that, we can only wait and watch for their reaction afterward.”