Deep Sea Embers

“Inquisitor Vanna,” the slightly emaciated regional bishop saluted the young inquisitor, “may the waves shelter your soul.”

“May the waves shelter your soul too,” Vanna replied to the bishop, then walked to the chair on the side with a somewhat tired step. “This is already the second batch of sun heretics thrown into prison, right?”

“Yes, we caught a dozen of them at the port three days ago already. They were promptly detected and stopped when they tried to kill a citizen. This new group is the second batch. They aroused the alarm of a meter reader during a dark ceremony in the apartment building,” the regional bishop nodded with a slightly worried look in his eyes. “To think so many cultists managed to infiltrate our city already… Fortunately, we found out early, otherwise their dark ritual would’ve caused devastating damage to the people.”

“Pland is a transportation hub on the Boundless Sea, and the calm of the past four years has paralyzed a lot of people’s awareness.” Vanna nodded in agreement, “But… It is not certain that we discovered their intents early or late. Those who came before the alarms went off might’ve already dug themselves deep inside a hole to avoid exposure.”

The regional bishop glanced at the inquisitor’s expression, hesitated for a moment, then asked, “I heard that many people have also been arrested in other areas?”

“Yes, in almost every city sector,” Vanna did not hide the truth. “Now in the underground cells of almost every church are captured heretics. From several to dozens…. But most of them are mere minions that had hardly any training. The priests have so far mostly been able to evade capture.”

Vanna’s tone unconsciously became serious when she spoke at the end. She’s also leaking worry on her face due to what’s to come.

Ever since the operation of these heretics trying to find the sun fragment became known to the authorities, the church had reacted quickly and launched a full-scale search across the entire city-state. Whether it be the slums or high-end communities, they’ve searched it all. The only parts they struggled with were the sewers and unknown sectors.

“Every day there are results, but we still couldn’t find out who’s pulling the strings, which gives me a bad feeling about the deteriorating situation.” Vanna explains her woes in front of the regional bishop, “With such a large invasion force, it is impossible to operate without a high-ranking commander behind them. Yet, we still don’t have a clue as to who’s behind it.”

The regional bishop pondered for a moment and slowly spoke: “According to the results of the current interrogation, these minions only obey the orders of the ‘emissaries’, and the so-called ‘emissaries’ are a group of low-level priests who directly got their orders through the sun masks they wore. Could the sun heirs already be lurking inside the city?”

“The sun heirs lurking inside a human state? Logically speaking, that’s unlikely,” Vanna’s brows furrowed slightly at the idea. “Although they have great power, they also have obvious ‘traces of existence that can’t be hidden. The filthy and foul stench they produce would’ve been picked up by the patrolling guardians. Theoretically, the routes we set should have no blind spots.”

“It’s just a guess in the end,” the regional bishop shook his head, “I also know how difficult it is for the sun heirs to hide their presence from society. But those low-level “emissaries” do carry a sun mask. Even if they are not directly controlled by an heir, they must be maintaining contact to a certain extent… After all, mass-produced holy relics are not cheap. The cost would put a dent in anyone’s pocket.”

Vanna rubbed her chin in thought after being reminded about the cost factor: “According to the interrogation record, those heretics are mainly inquiring about the supernatural event from eleven years ago, right? They believe it has something to do with the sun fragment?”

“It seems so,” the regional bishop nodded. “Although they do not know the source of their intelligence, they seem convinced that the sun fragments caused the ‘chemical plant riot’ in Pland eleven years ago… I remember you too were…”

The regional bishop stopped partway due to the striking scar on Vanna’s left eye. Slightly lowering his head in shame for being so inconsiderate: “I’m sorry, I was careless.”

Subconsciously brushing her hand against the scar, Vanna shook her head to dispel such emotions: “It’s okay, just a scar. You’re correct though, I did witness the riot personally so there’s no need to hold back.”

“I’ve learned that there was also a group of sun heretics among those who rioted back then. We are sure of this after arresting hundreds of saboteurs.” The regional bishop now sounded heavy in his voice, “But the infiltrated heretics don’t seem to know anything about the events eleven years ago…. If they are part of the same cult, wouldn’t they have at least some information on what happened? Don’t you think it’s weird?”

“Eleven years ago…. Either the branch in Pland acted without permission and didn’t communicate with the others, or the sun fragment’s appearance was a complete accident back then. Regardless of which, nothing good could come of it. There’s also the possibility that it’s the handiwork of a third force who remained in the shadows, and that the sun heretics are merely a pawn that got used.” Vanna conjectures using what little knowledge she knows, “And according to the records we have, those captured ‘saboteurs’ back then were all in a state of madness and delirium. I’m more inclined to believe they were under the influence of a powerful force that’s not their own.”

“…… Chasing twisted and dark things, only to be dominated by said dark forces before being tossed aside like firewood during the chaos….” The regional bishop sighed at how incredibly sad and foolish those pawns were, “What a miserable life.”

Vanna didn’t add anything to that, only standing quietly while staring out the window. From where she was, the lady could observe what was happening at the port from a distance. The blockade and cordoning have ended by now, and many of the piers were reopened during the day except for Pier 1. The reason was that it housed the latest steamship, the White Oak, which was constantly being monitored by the priests.

Vanna eventually retracted her gaze from the port after remembering something else: “I heard the notice for Anomaly 099 has been issued to the port area?”

“Yes, it just arrived this afternoon. Would you like to take a look?” The regional bishop said as he took out the folded documents from his possession, “For some reason, it came a little later than expected.”

“Show me,” Vanna reached out and took the document, “and it’s normal to be a little late considering what’s involved. Anomaly 099’s out-of-control state is very special after all. Considering the fact that it went missing during a direct confrontation with the Vanished, the bishops of the other city-states must weigh the wording and information carefully before releasing the document. Merely knowing about the matter might create a direct connection with that ghost ship if we’re not careful.”

When the lady mentioned the word “Vanished”, the oil lamp closest to Vanna suddenly flickered, followed by a subtle crackling sound of which shouldn’t be.