Chapter 1

In Pland, the sun's extinction naturally led to a city-wide chaos, but before the chaos developed into a dangerous situation, the city-state guards and the guardian forces who appeared in time had already controlled the situation!

The melodious chimes from the small church echoed over the neighborhood, the chimes seeming to contain the power to calm people's minds and regain their courage. Steam walkers clanked through the streets and alleys, broadcasting the latest orders from City Hall.

Gas lamps along the roads had been urgently lit; panicked pedestrians were doing everything possible to return to their safe homes or diving into the nearest "Night Shelters." Fully armed guardians were quickly moving through the crowd, confirming the situation in the various Night Shelters and checking whether any "tainted things" that should not appear in the real world had bred in the sudden darkness!

Heidi turned on all the lights in her house at the first moment—from gas lamps with sacred power and oil lamps to sufficiently bright electric lights, using these lights to dispel the darkness brought by the extinction of the sun, and also to dispel the tension in her heart. Her mother's voice came from the direction of the sofa, "Relax, Heidi, running around will make you fall. It's not the end of the world yet."

Heidi turned her head and saw her mother sitting on the sofa as usual, having picked up the letters she had temporarily put down due to the darkness.

The old woman's expression was still gentle and calm, as if no matter what happened in this world, it would not affect her. The sun went out—this was terrible! Heidi was surprised by her mother's calmness at this moment!

She couldn't feel at ease at all.

"You can still read letters!"

"If I put down the letters, will the sun shine again?" Her mother finally turned her head, with a helpless expression on her face!

"Now we can only choose to trust City Hall and the Cathedral. There will be powerful beings protecting this city."

Heidi pursed her lips and subconsciously gripped the pendant hanging on her chest.

"Damn... If Vanna were here, I could ask her what's going on... Father isn't home either."

She didn't notice that when her mother, who was sitting on the sofa, heard her murmuring, her face instantly revealed a somewhat subtle expression. The next second, the old woman shook her head, "If the sun really went out, then this must be a sight that the whole world can see. Vanna and your father must have seen it too—they must be thinking of ways within their respective responsibilities, and you should calm down at this time and think about your own responsibilities."

Heidi finally calmed down a little. She frowned and turned her gaze to the table not far away. A delicate and sturdy suitcase was quietly placed in the corner of the table.

It was filled with various tools and potions she used when practicing medicine—since the city-state had been exceptionally peaceful even at night recently, she hadn't used the most potent items in that suitcase for a long time.

"There will be many people who need psychological counseling."

Her mother's calming voice came from behind: "I estimate that it won't be long before City Hall sends someone to pick you up—the sun is only temporarily darkened, but our city hasn't sunk yet!"

Heidi breathed a sigh of relief and slowly walked towards her medical kit.

"Okay, you're right, it's not the end of the world yet—so my overtime won't end."

"Don't forget to bring a gun when you go out on a call..."

Her mother reminded her in a gentle tone, "Although Pland has been much safer than in the past recently, people with mental disorders are always so dangerous—in necessary situations, you have to use some drastic measures to deal with the 'lesions.'"

"Of course."

Heidi replied casually.

Opening a secret compartment at the bottom of the suitcase, a beautifully crafted revolver and several spare cartridge holders lay quietly before her. She quickly checked the condition of the gun, and then opened her mouth with a trace of emotion, "After all... gunpowder is also medicine."

"I have dispatched the city-state guards, so there is no need to worry about the order in Frost City in a short time!" Tirian stood in front of a large floor-to-ceiling mirror in the corner of the domed office, and said to the mirror with a serious face.

"The sense of tension brought to the city by the mirror crisis that occurred not long ago has not yet faded. The good news is that under the influence of this sense of tension, the implementation of various emergency plans will be relatively fast."

A faint green flame burned quietly on the surface of the mirror like a veil. Duncan's figure stood in the dark depths of the mirror; after Tirian's voice fell, he nodded, "Very good. Are there any signs of transcendence in the city so far?"

"Not yet discovered," Tirian said immediately.

"However, I have increased manpower to focus on the situation of facilities such as mental hospitals. The Cathedral is also arranging people to focus on patrolling various Night Shelters, cemeteries, and blocks with less lighting..."

"In theory, within the alienated Frost City, 'darkness' itself is no longer a dangerous factor. Only the mental breakdown that directly points to people's hearts and large-scale panic need close attention."

Duncan reminded, "Also, there is no need to send anyone to the cemetery area. I will be personally watching over there."

"Yes," Tirian nodded quickly, then he hesitated, and opened his mouth while carefully wording his words, "How is the situation on your side... Is there anything wrong with the Vanishing Sea?"

"Don't worry about this. Nothing can threaten the Vanishing Sea!"

Duncan said lightly, "Nina has already lit a temporary sun in the sky. Now we are still sailing south according to the plan, and the surrounding sea area is calmer than expected."

Tirian breathed a slight sigh of relief, "Then it seems that I was overthinking it."

"Can you contact Lightwind Port?" Duncan's voice then came from the mirror, "What's the situation with Lucretia?"

"I just contacted her. She just returned to the ship, the Shining Star, and there is no safety problem at present. She said that she also observed the scene of the sun going out in Lightwind Port, but the chaotic situation in that city-state is much better than that of Frost City - due to the influence of that mysterious 'fallen object', most areas of Lightwind Port are still shrouded in 'sunlight'. Although the vision in the sky is disturbing, it is not as terrifying as it looks in Frost City."

"That's good. Stay in touch at any time and pay close attention to the changes in the city-state."

"Yes!"

Tirian nodded, then he hesitated and slowly opened his mouth; "Also, there is another situation..."

"Speak."

Duncan frowned in the mirror, "At this time! Any situation should be said!"

"We have lost contact with other city-states, whether it is those far away or Cold Port nearby."

Tirian said cautiously, "The telegram is interrupted, the signal towers at sea are not responding, and even the psychic communication of the church cannot be contacted. At present, only two city-states are barely maintaining contact. One is Pland, and the other is Lightwind Port."

"Communication with other city-states is interrupted,"

Duncan's expression suddenly became serious, "How long has this situation lasted?"

"When the sun went out, we discovered that the connection with Cold Port was interrupted, and then we confirmed that the other city-states were the same."

Tirian said immediately, "I have urgently recalled all ships in the sea area near Frost City and prohibited all ships from going to sea!"

Tirian said so, but in fact, he didn't say some things completely.

After the communication with other city-states was interrupted, a strange worry floated into his heart.

He was worried that outside the city-state, in those places where the sun could not shine, the boundless sea had become something that people could not understand...

"Continue to try to contact other city-states." Duncan's voice came from the mirror, interrupting Tirian's thoughts, "Also, if Lucy has any new news, contact me as soon as possible."

"Yes, Father."

The communication with the Vanishing Sea ended, and the huge domed office returned to silence again. Tirian raised his hand and rubbed his sore eyebrows vigorously. Then, he pressed the electric bell on his desk. The office door was pushed open, and Aiden walked in. Tirian raised his head and ordered his most loyal subordinate to be vigilant about those ships returning from the darkness. Before the sun is lit again, do not let them approach the city-state rashly - delineate a buffer zone in the near-sea area."

"Let the returning ships stop there temporarily, waiting for inspection and clearance!"

The mirror in front of him gradually returned to calm, and the faint green flames temporarily retreated to the corners of the mirror. Duncan breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the "sunlight" outside the window, which was still shining brightly on the deck of the Vanishing Sea and a large area of the surrounding sea. However, outside the area illuminated by the sunlight, the entire boundless sea was still shrouded in a strange darkness.

This was a very unsettling moment. Even the noisiest Goathead was now silent at the chart table. Only Alice was happily drying the quilt on the deck at this time...

Duncan rubbed his forehead, trying not to pay attention to the figure drying the quilt on the deck.

Then he concentrated and called out to the flame that was floating in the sky in his heart.

"Nina, how is your situation? Are you tired?"

"Not tired," With the resonance of the power of the flame, Nina's voice sounded in Duncan's mind almost immediately, "I didn't fly very high. I can stay in this position for a long, long time!"

"Can you see anything on the surrounding sea?"

"Um... no, there is nothing on the surrounding sea, not even a ripple. Uncle Duncan, have you thought of something?"

"Not for the time being, but you should always pay attention to the situation on the sea - especially those seas located at the junction of light and dark." Duncan said slowly, "If anything like a ship appears nearby, tell me as soon as possible."

Nina's voice responded immediately, "Okay; okay."

Duncan hummed and ended his conversation with Nina. Then he looked at the mirror in front of him, calmed down a little, and reached out to stroke the surface of the mirror, "Lawrence, how is your situation?"