Chapter 1 Vanna

Vanna stood on the highest tower of the Stormwind Cathedral, looking through the open window. Her gaze passed over the roof of the cathedral, watching the lights flickering in the depths of the clouds, the city buildings that were no longer quite as she remembered, and the distant sea.

The steam-powered pipes beside the tower's spiral staircase hissed softly. A copper incense burner hung on the pipe valve, emitting wisps of smoke. The aged Archbishop Valentine stood quietly beside her, his eyes, clouded and pale with stagnant blood, watching the distance alongside Vanna.

After an unknown amount of time, Vanna broke the silence in a low voice, "I remember... I used to stand on this tower often. Whenever night fell, I would look at every corner of Pland. The steam pipes hissed then too, and the scent of incense was calming."

"That doesn't seem so long ago," Archbishop Valentine said softly.

"Yes, it doesn't seem so long ago," Vanna nodded gently. "The nights weren't peaceful then either. All sorts of things would emerge from the darkness, disturbing the lives of ordinary people. And I was full of confidence then, feeling like I could fight any enemy threatening the city-state—whether they were sinister cultists or the things the cultists summoned."

The old archbishop said nothing more, only lowered his gaze slightly, looking towards the cathedral garden. In the mist-filled night, a faint roar and chilling crunching sounds came from that direction, as if some enormous creature was trapped in the depths of the fog.

"Mother Terreni is dining again," Valentine said slowly. "She devours herself at this time every day. Twenty-four hours later, she will regenerate from the soil. There are also twelve nuns and twelve priests in the garden, wandering near Mother Terreni and entering the small cloister next to the garden at specific times—the place you used to pass by on your daily walks."

Vanna let out an almost imperceptible sigh and said softly, "Will they run outside the cathedral?"

"I've ordered the garden sealed off, but it wouldn't matter even if it wasn't," Valentine said. "Mother Terreni never leaves the garden, not even when 'alive.' As for the nuns and priests, they aren't dangerous—there are shadows more dangerous than them all over the city."

"My sword is useless," Vanna sighed.

"If the Wanderers try to break through the high walls of the various sanctuaries, we'll still need your strength," Valentine shook his head. "Small and large-scale chaos can occur in the city at any time. Sometimes people suddenly 'awaken' in their homes, sometimes blind Wanderers break through the security zone's perimeter. We've arranged a new 'Night Watch' force to patrol and guard the city, but they can't always cover everything. If you're willing, I think they'd be very happy to have you, the 'Inquisitor,' back to lead them."

The old archbishop paused, then added, "Of course, you may need to readjust to your old subordinates. Some of the Night Watch have undergone... 'changes,' which make them look less human. But in this world, possessing reason and humanity is a precious thing."

"I won't mind," Vanna smiled and stretched her arms slightly. "It's still more 'human' than the *Lost Ship*, isn't it? I'm happy to return to this familiar work—you can help me arrange it."

"That's good," Valentine smiled, the old man nodding. "I'll summon the Night Watch at the next shift change and deliver the good news. Would you like to return to your room and rest for a while? It's in good condition and has been cleaned regularly."

"Alright," Vanna said casually, but then, as if remembering something, she asked with some concern, "Is there anything I should be aware of?"

"Ignore the mutterings of your dressing table. It's not a rational voice. And don't stare at the window for too long; it tends to grow eyes. That's all."

"...Frankly, the situation is quite... 'mild'."

Valentine shrugged helplessly, and just then, a burst of radiance that seemed to appear from nowhere suddenly interrupted what he was about to say.

Both of them looked up in astonishment, searching for the source of the radiance.

The clouds were tinged with a cold, pale light, a glow that spilled down from the Worldscar. As the cloud cover had lowered, that "scar" spanning the entire sky was now completely behind the clouds, making it difficult to see clearly from the ground. Only in the brightest and most sparse gaps of the Worldscar could one occasionally see a part of the rift's structure.

And now, they saw an unusual light in the gaps between the clouds.

It wasn't the cold, pale radiance but a faint orange hue. It was mixed in with the Worldscar's original light, even momentarily evoking the long-lost... sunlight.

Vanna was somewhat astonished. She looked up, searching for the direction of the Worldscar, and finally saw the enormous "scar" through a crack as the low-hanging clouds shifted. The strange orange glow reminiscent of sunlight was actually emanating from the edge of the Worldscar.

It looked... as if a strong light source was erupting "behind" the Worldscar. The light source was blocked by the rift in the sky, so only a few remnants of light spilled from the edge of the rift, dimly spreading across the sky.

Valentine instantly had the same thought. The old archbishop looked at the sky with astonishment and bewilderment on his face. "What is that...?"

Vanna didn't answer the old man. And in the next moment, the orange glow that spread from behind the Worldscar gradually dimmed again until it was completely extinguished.

After a moment, the orange glow lit up again, spreading across the sky.

That invisible, powerful light source flickered, like a guiding light in the night sky.

The whole world could see this scene.

Even all dimensions could see this scene.

At the end of the world, at the "Border Node" where the gods slumbered, the dim and false sunlight briefly dispelled the mist, illuminating the Leviathan Queen's palace, the server matrix of Navigator II, the Fire King's Ash Isle, and the graveyards of the dead.

In the deepest depths of the Abyssal Sea, Navigator I, proliferating uncontrollably, slowly wriggled at the bottom of the abyss. The vast swarm of nanomachines almost filled every inch of space beneath the shattered land. Among the countless uncontrolled tentacles, the dim sunlight suddenly dispelled the darkness, shining on Navigator I's dark red core.

In the far northern ice plains of the Endless Sea, ice sculptures stood silently beside the massive archive buildings. The Flamebearers were frozen on the ice plain, the tallest of them still holding the posture of gazing south before freezing—

The distant and dim "sunlight" flickered, and even after being blocked and weakened by the Worldscar, it still plated the frozen faces with a glittering glow, as if to deeply imprint itself in every pair of solidified eyes.

This sunlight was poisonous. For the mortal beings in the Endless Sea, bathing in such sunlight was no different from being immersed in the whispers of the subspace.

But with the Worldscar's blocking and weakening, its impact on the mortal world had been reduced to a minimum—even if there was still some "poisoning," the effect could be ignored.

Moreover, this world was already deeply mired in distortion and twisting—in the face of the collapse of all things, the Black Sun's radiance was no more severe than the world's own ruin.

So, that exiled sun began to shine freely for the first time—after such a long exile, after all those sun-descendants and sun-remnants who once craved His sunlight but could not obtain it had vanished into history, He finally burned fiercely in the apocalypse.

Sunlight filled the warp tunnel, outlining a bright and clear "light path" in that extremely uniform gray-white background.

Duncan felt a slight tremor beneath his feet. Alice was fine-tuning the warp process, beginning to readjust the course along the navigation signal released by the Black Sun.

Duncan narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the light at the end of the tunnel—here, without the Worldscar's obstruction, the sunlight that had crossed time and space seemed even a bit dazzling.

"I will light a beacon for you in the night sky. You must sail towards the brightest direction..."

A civilization that had created a Dyson sphere; they may not have developed to the technological height of the *New Hope*, but they clearly already knew how to make their voice heard in the universe, at least enough to create a signal for starship navigation.

"I see the light. We're sailing in your direction. This should shorten the *Lost Ship's* warp journey," Duncan said to the sunlight. He knew the Black Sun could hear his voice in this way. "How are you doing?"

"A scorching burning process. I feel like I'm boiling in flames—it's painful, but it's good," the Black Sun's voice trembled in the sunlight. "This is the first time in ten thousand years that I've truly burned. I thought I wouldn't be able to endure it at all, but... it's good."

"In the new world, you can coexist harmoniously with your own sunlight and avoid the pain of being burned by yourself," Duncan said with a smile. "There will be a rule that allows such a thing to happen."

"...Can such a thing be done?"

"Yes, this is a one-time opportunity to customize a new world," Duncan said slowly. "You can even request some value-added services—like changing your sunlight to pink."

"Ah, that won't be necessary, but if possible, I do have an additional idea..."

"Oh?"

"Can you arrange a few more planets for me? Gaseous or rocky, either is fine... Observing the evolution of life on different planets might be a fun thing to do."

"Alright, I've noted it down—this wish will be fulfilled after Alice's frying pan."

"That's quite an honor."