Chapter 1 When the Storm Arrives

When the storm descends, mortals scatter in terror at the roar of thunder, yet the thunder itself cares nothing for the mortals' reaction. Its roar is simply a consequence of its existence. Just as the Vanishing Line exists, its mere presence is enough to interfere with the order of the boundless sea. Considering whether "Captain Duncan" cares about being branded a heretic by the mortal churches is meaningless; it overestimates the influence of worldly beings on that shadow from subspace.

Besides, from another perspective, the Vanishing Line's image in the eyes of the civilized world doesn't seem much better than that of a "heretic" to begin with...

"I will discuss this with High Priestess Heilenna, Banster, and Freym," Rune said to Morris. "There will certainly be voices of doubt and panic within the main body, but the four of us should quickly reach a consensus. Regardless of the source of the information, the warning itself must be taken seriously."

"I knew you would look at this rationally," Morris's voice held a hint of relief. "You're still the same as ever."

"But you are very different from before, Morris," Rune said with a sigh. "When I heard that you had fallen into a depressive slump, many lamented it. I didn't expect you to recover so quickly, and even less did I expect your recovery to lead you to become a member of the Vanishing Line. Honestly, very few things have shocked me in the past millennia, but this is one of the most shocking."

"Life on the ship is actually not bad, even better than in the city-states. Although life at sea brings some trouble, I see new things almost every day here, dealing with all sorts of previously unheard-of matters."

"You sound like a crew member who is proud of their ship," Rune couldn't help but say. "I'm really curious, what exactly are you doing on that ship?"

Morris was silent for half a minute. Many images flashed through his mind: lecturing to the Abyss Demons, cursed puppets, and demon contractors; racing ships in the spirit world; eating Deep Sea Spawn; accompanying the Sun Fragment to read books, watching the latter braise all sorts of heretical filth that crawled out of the books every day!

"Positive and healthy academic research," Morris said earnestly.

"Oh, that sounds good," Rune nodded, but couldn't help reminding him, "But I still want to say, you should be vigilant. Perhaps, as you said, Captain Duncan has indeed regained his humanity, but as a mortal, living on the Vanishing Line and being with a subspace shadow day and night is inherently dangerous. You should cautiously approach all unknown things, and avoid your spirit and cognition from being affected."

"Thank you for your reminder, teacher, but rest assured, you know that I have always been a cautious student. Even when conducting the most dangerous research in the academy, I would always make thorough preparations, and I have never had an accident."

Having already returned to his desk, Rune fell silent upon hearing this. The elven elder couldn't help but recall Morris's time studying at the Truth Academy many years ago. Cautious!

There were indeed many cautious students in the academy, but everyone's understanding of the word was not so similar. There was one type of student who, upon seeing a dangerous book, would immediately try to isolate and seal it, staying far away and not touching it—that was called cautious. Then there was another type of student who, when coming into contact with forbidden knowledge, would immediately down half a pound of mixed potions, hang a body full of amulets, and then prepare three of the largest caliber handguns—they also called that cautious!

The probability of the second type of student dying young was very high, but as long as they survived, they often achieved great success. The most outstanding legendary scholars of the Truth Academy were often like this, but even among the most legendary, none had reached the level of chatting and laughing with a subspace evil god on the Vanishing Line.

After a long silence, the elven elder behind the desk finally broke the silence softly: "Morris..."

"Teacher, please speak..."

"You are destined for great things."

"Thank you for your expectations."

"No, I mean, if one day you stir up too much trouble, be sure to tell me in advance. If I can help, I will. If I can't, I'll have to run in advance."

The connection established by the psychic communication was severed, and the resonance at the level of thought and perception receded like a tide. Rune narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing the departure of his former outstanding apprentice. Only after confirming that Morris's consciousness had safely left the psychic channel did he completely relax, but a faint, strange noise, as if countless people were murmuring, still lingered in his mind, gradually dissipating after a long time.

Feeling the noise's influence on his mind, Rune couldn't help but sigh softly. A permanent borderline of madness, yet still maintaining reason and clarity—this was truly an incredible situation. Was this also the influence of that 'captain'?

Muttering to himself, the elven elder, perhaps the most knowledgeable among mortals, shook his head, then sat quietly at his desk, as if waiting for someone to call.

He didn't wait long. The illusory, blurred sound of waves suddenly appeared in his mind, gradually coalescing into clear, continuous billows, followed by the call of flames and death. Rune sighed at these calls, then glanced at the alchemical container on the nearby table that was still reacting, confirming that there was enough material remaining in the container, and then gradually submerged his mind. This study was the "ritual chamber" where he conducted psychic communication rituals.

All the simple and solemn bookshelves, books, and alchemical devices on the desk were items needed to perform the ritual. Darkness surged, then scattered like mist. At the end of the deep, dim passage, the figures of the three high priests of the Deep Sea, Death, and Flame Bearers emerged.

Rune passed through the passage, came before his three old friends, nodded slightly to greet them, and proactively said before they could speak, "It seems you've received the news as well."

"Both Banster and I received messages from our respective saints," High Priestess Heilenna of the Deep Sea said, while pointing to the silent and towering figure opposite her.

"Freym just arrived. We barely had time to tell him the general situation," the towering figure called Freym nodded slightly. He was the leader of the Flame Bearers, the earthly representative of the Eternal Tinder "Tarygin." In terms of appearance, he was perhaps the most conspicuous of the four high priests: an unusually large body, skin as gray and strong as rock, and metallic纹路 on the skin surface indicated his race—he was a strong Senjin, wearing the dark gold robes representing the Flame Bearer High Priest.

His short hair was gray-white, his facial features were sharp, and he looked taciturn and exceptionally serious. In the past period, this Flame Bearer High Priest had been leading his patrol fleet to patrol the borders of the civilized world.

He rarely participated in the gatherings between the four of them; this was his first appearance recently.

"I haven't fully understood the situation yet," Freym opened his mouth, his voice as deep as if it came from stone.

"None of my saints have been abducted onto that ship."

Upon hearing this, the nearby Heilenna frowned strangely, and said in a low voice: "Our saints weren't abducted onto it either... they contacted Captain Duncan, they were wary of Captain Duncan, they recognized Captain Duncan, they joined Captain Duncan."

Freym glanced at Heilenna, his expression still like a stone, "I think they were abducted onto it."

Heilenna: "..."

Banster, the tall, thin, and old High Priest of Death, coughed lightly twice upon seeing this: "Isn't this the first day you've met Freym? He's always like this."

"Okay."

Heilenna was speechless for a moment, and slowly nodded, "We're not here today to discuss the matter of 'saints being abducted onto ships.' We're here to discuss the warning from the Vanishing Line."

Rune raised his head: "Do you have any questions you want to ask?"

"Yes."

Heilenna said immediately, her gaze falling on Rune, "I want to know, what exactly are those huge biological organizations beneath the city-states? From the description, that thing is very similar to the Leviathans supporting the Cathedral Arks... are they the same thing?"

"All four Cathedral Arks were created by the Truth Academy, including the technology to revive and control the Leviathans, which was also developed by you," Banster also looked at Rune and opened his mouth.

"But you have never revealed where you found the corpses of those Leviathans, nor have you revealed the connection between those Leviathan beasts and the structural foundations of the city-states... We have reason to believe that the Truth Academy holds some special truths."

Freym did not speak, but simply maintained that stony face, calmly staring into Rune's eyes.

However, facing these three rather pressuring gazes, Rune simply spread his hands frankly, "I don't know what's under the city-states either."

"You don't know?"

Heilenna widened her eyes slightly, "The Truth Academy revived four Leviathans, and you say you don't know what's going on with the Leviathans beneath the city-states?"

Rune simply asked back calmly: "The Storm Goddess Gormona is the Leviathan Queen—as a chosen of the Storm Goddess, do you know more than I do?"

Heilenna frowned, but did not speak. "I believe you have already tried to ask the Leviathan beast that carries the Storm Cathedral, and it probably cannot give you any answers, because even they themselves are not clear about the affairs of their species."

Rune sighed, shaking his head gently, "The history of our world has been shattered. Even ancient beasts cannot clearly recall the events before the Great Annihilation. Do you know, Captain Duncan even gave this phenomenon a name?"

"He calls it the 'event horizon' on the time dimension!"