Godwyn John left with a complex but still resolute expression. He asked nothing before leaving, and Agatha offered no further explanation.

Now, Agatha was once again alone in the prayer room—bright lights struggled against the palpable darkness outside the window, cold flames danced on the candelabra before the holy statue, faint smoke still rose from the extinguished brazier, and in the floor-length mirror beside it, her fragmented body was reflected.

Agatha turned and approached the statue of Bartok, raising her head so her black-cloth-covered eyes could “gaze” at the night-clad deity. The statue was as it always was, but in her eyes, the towering sculpture was already riddled with cracks, like a pile of debris that should have collapsed long ago, still maintaining a superficial integrity under the support of some invisible force.

She sensed the aura in the cathedral—an increasing presence of death.

The “cornerstone” of this world was gradually cooling and dying. Almost all living people were gradually “transferring” towards the state of the dead, and people who had died without realizing it were active throughout the city-state. The situation in the cathedral was the same. John was dead, having died from a breath taken during midday prayers yesterday. Sister Lora was also dead, having died in a shallow sleep—and yet they were still conscientiously performing their duties in the cathedral, like all the others.

A layer of hazy flame suddenly surged in the mirror beside her, the mirror surface turning black in the fire. Then, a figure became clear in the mirror.

Agatha turned and saw that it was not Captain Duncan who had appeared in the mirror, but Tyrian.

"My father helped me construct this channel to establish a connection between those 'blessed' by his flames," Tyrian said proactively. "Ms. Agatha, how is the situation on your end?"

"...The number of dead in the cathedral is increasing," Agatha sighed softly. "Many of the newly deceased have 'transformed' from the living under very normal circumstances. It seems that this event itself cannot be prevented. No treatment or protection methods can solve this."

"The same is true in other parts of the city-state," Tyrian said with a grave expression. "Even... the same is true in other city-states. This is happening worldwide."

Agatha nodded, thought for a moment, and then slowly said, "But the moving dead are not the problem. The real problem is that more and more people are 'awakening'."

"Yes," Tyrian said in a deep voice. "Just as my father reminded us, the world's 'correction' mechanism is shutting down... the Death God's final action delayed the total collapse of the Sanctuary again, but it also broke through its 'correction' mechanism. Now, this safety barrier used to protect the cognition of ordinary people is failing, and its rate of failure is faster than we imagined."

"But there is no need to worry too much, Governor—whether it's the priests in the church or the guards and constabulary forces active outside, many of them have been trained throughout their lives to fight against those bizarre disasters and situations, including those that directly befall them."

Agatha said, her voice as calm and magnetic as ever, as if releasing a force that soothed people's hearts.

"Perhaps no one thought that even gods would slumber, no one thought that even this world would die, no one imagined the specific appearance of this scene today, but we have long been prepared for 'everything'—no matter what happens, we will first unconditionally fulfill our responsibilities.

"A few days ago, I issued instructions to the priesthood, telling them that a disaster they could not yet understand was spreading, telling them how to protect those who 'awaken', and how to deal with it if they suddenly 'awaken' themselves.

"Some of them now understand the situation as you and I do, while others do not yet understand the meaning of those orders—but this does not affect their execution of those orders.

"I believe the constabulary forces outside will do the same.

"No matter which team it is, some people may waver, some may be afraid, some may retreat under mental pressure and be unable to fulfill their responsibilities, but in the end, some people will be dutiful, and they will not be in the minority, Governor Tyrian—no matter what day the end of the world arrives in what form, we are all prepared for this day."

No matter what day the end of the world arrives in what form...

Listening to Agatha's words, Tyrian's expression relaxed slightly after a brief moment of contemplation, and then he nodded. "I am planning to expand the scale of the 'quarantine zone' and establish a series of shelter facilities in the cemetery ring—relying on the cemetery's own protection to gradually transfer and protect the population. This process requires the church's cooperation."

"This is a difficult and massive undertaking," Agatha said. "'The living' and 'the dead' are mixed together, and awakened people will randomly emerge from among them. We cannot comprehensively identify this change and transfer all those who have awakened to shelters, nor can we treat others as enemies, even if they are indeed muddled walking corpses."

"I know, but we must do our best," Tyrian said with a calm expression. "It's better than eventually evolving into a completely out-of-control chaos—even if it really evolves to that point, at least we have built enough shelter facilities to protect a portion of the people."

"...I understand. The church will fully cooperate with the City Hall's actions, pending your arrangements."

…

In front of the ark-like giant ship, which resembled a small city-state, a series of huge hydraulic devices were installed on the bow like a mechanical city wall. Countless heavy metal ramming hammers, neatly arranged along this "mechanical city wall," were slowly lifted along the tracks, and then slammed down, crushing the thick ice in front like countless metal teeth. Amidst the constant mechanical roars and the shattering sounds of ice, the Cathedral Ark continued to advance slowly through this frozen sea.

The icebreaking device thus "gnawed" out a long track in the ice, its tail pointing towards the civilized world, and in front of it was seemingly endless ice and darkness. The dense fog representing the "border" was still rising and churning at the end of the line of sight, appearing increasingly gloomy and terrifying, yet seemingly forever unreachable.

Freym stood at the highest point of the Cathedral Ark, gazing in the direction of the endless ice plains. Two braziers burned fiercely beside him, their flames as cold as ice, and low, indistinct murmurs were hidden in the crackling sounds.

He could sense that the "focus" that the Everburning Pyre of Tarquin had revealed to him in its last revelation was coming, the only focus that could preserve the "legacy" in its original form during the transition between the old and new worlds.

Freym knew that the "Captain" was executing a great, Genesis-like plan. He knew that if the plan succeeded, a "new world" would arrive. Although he could not imagine what the new world would look like, he knew that it would be a thousand times better than this distorted, dark, and dangerous boundless sea.

Moreover, that new world had left a place for everyone—he had already learned this from the messages that had been intermittently transmitted back from the end of the world.

But that was a rebirth after destruction. Everything in the old world would be completely annihilated in that process. The "Captain" might have a way to allow "people" to complete their rebirth in the new world after this process, but... what about those things that had been created?

Those poems, those melodies, those amazing crafts, those precious books and the stone slabs recording the Dark Ages, the Old City-State Era, and the New City-State Era, and the meaning behind these things—that civilization once existed—could these be preserved?

Even if they could be preserved, these things would probably become a huge burden in the process of Genesis.

This concern led the Flamekeepers to embark on this voyage to the north. Now, after a great deal of effort, their destination was finally near.

They were going to leave a "legacy" for the people of the new world in this eternally frozen ice plain.

It was close, not far ahead.

However, a strange, ear-splitting roar suddenly came from a distance, followed by a series of explosions and mechanical friction sounds. The Ark underfoot transmitted a violent jolt, accompanied by a low rumble that sounded as if some mechanisms inside the Ark had shut down.

Freym's heart immediately sank.

After a while, a priestess wearing a dark robe and a veil over her face appeared before him in a hurry.

"Your Holiness, the main power conduit of the icebreaking device has ruptured!"

…

The Vanishing Ship and the Brilliant Starship were sailing in a uniformly gray-white background, and at the end of this long "warp tunnel," a faint color had already vaguely appeared.

Duncan stood at the bow of the Vanishing Ship, silently watching the sea surface that was gradually materializing in the distance. He heard footsteps coming from behind him, along with the "warmth" that was now very rare in this world.

He turned around and saw Nina standing behind him. The girl was filled with warm radiance, and in the sunlight, even the coldness that had been spreading constantly after the world died receded from her side.

"...You've found a new use for 'sunlight' again?" Duncan raised his eyebrows, a smile on his face, and then couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "Now you're controlling it more and more precisely—at first, you would even burn your own hair just using a little flame to boil water."

Nina narrowed her eyes slightly: "Yeah, and also burned those abyssal demons and ethereal shadows that happened to pass by."

"...I suspect they weren't just passing by."

"No big deal."

The two of them fell silent at the same time.

After a long while, Nina softly broke the silence: "...We're almost there."

"Yes."

Duncan said in a low voice. He wanted to say something, but before he could open his mouth, the blurry color at the edge of his vision suddenly expanded, becoming a calm, mirror-like sea surface and the islands on the sea.

"Warp... complete."

(End of Chapter)