Deep Sea Embers

The hot wind blowing across the church grounds scorched the inquisitor’s nostril whenever she breathed; nevertheless, her sharp senses were unhindered. She’s scanning the premise for the heresy, for signs of the enemy to slay in this twisted history where Pland had been destroyed.

The fire that began in 1889, the flint that started it all and evaded the Storm Goddess’s awareness, had finally shown its claws. Vanna never liked complex problems, but she had never been one to cower away from them either.

Where are those heretics…?

A low, hoarse murmur suddenly came from the shadows of a nearby building. This murmur carried the power of blasphemy and malice, constantly warping the scorching air into a twisted picture of delusional illusion. But Vanna didn’t look that way, only raising her barreled machine gun, turning it towards a seemingly empty spot, and pulling the trigger.

The deafening roar of the bullets ripped through the air, and the yellow casings of the depleted bullets scattered out of the gun’s cartridge with magnificent speed. Whatever was hiding in the gap between light and shadow was now forced to show itself by defending with that black umbrella and tentacles.

Smirking at her own deed, Vanna launched the giant broadsword in her right hand out and nailed the monster to the ground several meters out. This wasn’t enough though. Once she had succeeded, the inquisitor promptly grabbed the deformed lamppost nearby and slammed the metal rod to the side.

There’s a second hidden attacker, and they just got smashed into mush by Vanna’s monstrous strength. Its remnants were struggling and wriggling violently on the ground in an attempt to reform. But Vanna was having none of it. Turning her huge machine gun, the lady loaded a new ammo clip from her backpack and unleashed a barrage of bullets into that mess.

“Sneak attacks in groups of twos… That’s the limit of your tactics.” Vanna mumbled, casually tossing away the lamppost that had been severely distorted by her swing just now.

Then raising her right hand, Vanna summoned her storm sword and continued with the execution. Yet, something was off after she got no response from the blob of blasphemy.

“No regeneration?” She frowned and got closer to confirm the thing had indeed stopped squirming. It’s even shriveling up like a prune before her eyes.

What’s going on? Why are these dregs losing their ability to regenerate? Is it because their main body is weakened? Or is it because these dregs have already been abandoned?

Vanna watched this scene in confusion and vigilance, then jerked up and gazed ahead.

Further away, a stream of green flame had appeared from within the darkness, quickly gathering and spreading throughout the square. The way it behaved was predatory, slurping up the corpse of these dregs!

Burn, devour, grow; these were the first words that came to the lady’s mind. She’s wary of this new intrusion, but it didn’t matter, for the green flames seemingly ignored her presence entirely. Before she knew it, the wave of the green had wandered past the square and out of sight.

……

Torrential rain poured down on this day, washing away the sky and blanketing the city in a long-conspired conspiracy. And when the power of the rainstorm could not stop Morris, the doom of fate came into play again – his car finally broke down.

The old scholar decisively gave up the idea of restarting the car, knowing that the force of obstruction would only intensify. Moreover, the Ender had already announced his declaration, meaning the curse wouldn’t allow him to fix this car.

But the “curse” wasn’t an unsolvable spell. Generally speaking, that thing could only guide or interfere with the “event” of reality to a varying degree.

Morris popped open his car door and bit his lips as he braved the torrential rain that instantly drenched his entire body. Even standing there was staggeringly hard as the wind knocked him off balance.

No matter though. Morris was a determined fella. Reaching up to keep his hat on, he clenched his coat and continued to trudge through this chaotic rainfall.

He didn’t have an umbrella, and there was little point in doing so in this weather when there’s only half a block left. Before he knew it, Morris could even see the shop’s sign through the raindrops with the faint outline showing through his vision.

Finally, the curse placed on this scholar had lost its strength as the wind weakened around the streets. The raindrops no longer hurt when they hit Morris’s face, and the biting cold didn’t cause him to shiver.

A few more steps, only a few more steps and you’re there! Keep going!

But just as he’s about to make the final stretch after cheering himself onward, Morris suddenly heard another faint echo hitting his ear.

“Stop, you’ll regret it!

“There is no salvation ahead… Pland will only be devoured by another catastrophe!”

“History is about to complete its displacement… What you’re saving is no longer the real reality, but a reverberation on the wrong path…”

Morris’s footsteps did not stop though; instead, he subconsciously quickened his pace until he’s only several feet from the doorway. Here, the influence completely dissipated, evaporating into nothingness due to the power of the shop’s owner.

Morris found the weight lifting off his shoulder in that moment, causing him to lose balance and stumble through the door.

Even in his partially dazed state, the old scholar could still hear the faint voices of two girls conversing upstairs.

Shirley: “It’s raining so hard!”

Nina: “Ya, it started all of a sudden… Good thing I listened to Uncle and came back early. Oh my hair is all wet… Shirley, can you help me dry my back!”

Morris shook his head, letting his mind recover as the warmth cleared away the biting chill over his skin. Then, he noticed someone sitting behind the clerk desk – a blond lady in a purple dress curiously gazing over.

The old scholar’s first impression was that she’s very beautiful. However, Morris wasn’t captivated by this feature; rather, it’s the transcendent and elegant temperament of the other party. He’s never met someone carrying such a mysterious and unique air around themselves, at least not anyone he’s known within the upper class of Pland.

For a momentary second, Morris found himself falling into a trance, hallucinating the lady sitting in a garden of flowers. He knew this was wrong, but he just couldn’t help it.

Suddenly, a weird thought had crept into the older man’s head – that she might not be human. But this notion only lasted for a second before Morris dismissed it. This was Mr. Duncan’s antique shop. If he has a new worker here, then it’s not his place to pry into her identity.

Then, he heard a greeting coming from the opposite side: “Old Sir, it’s raining a lot outside. Do you need help?”

“Mr. Duncan… I’m looking for Mr. Duncan,” Morris hurriedly answered after being startled, “It’s very important that I speak to him! Is he in the store?”

“He is,” the mysterious and elegant woman smiled, “he said he’s suffering from a little high blood pressure, so he’s currently resting on the second floor.”

Morris looked stunned: “Blood pressure… A little high?”

The blonde woman behind the counter shook her head, looking all confused as well: “I don’t know what’s going on either. After we discussed the issue of history and fakes, his mood suddenly turned very poor.”

History and fakes?!

Morris’s heart suddenly jumped, and as he’s about to ask, Duncan’s voice cut in from the stairs: “Alice, are there guests?”

“Yes, Mr. Duncan! An unfamiliar old man!”

Morris looked up and saw Duncan standing on the stairs, half of his body illuminated by the light, half of his body hidden in the shadows.