Chapter 133 An Uninvited Guest

As the bells rang, Vanna had just finished her evening prayers on deck—she came to the corridor, preparing to return to her room, but saw Maurice, who had also hurried to the corridor.

With just one glance, she guessed something from the serious expression on Maurice's face.

"Did you hear the call of the 'Swift Bell' too?"

"Yes, it seems you heard it too," Maurice nodded upon hearing this. "The bell has rung for the third time—I'm about to go and hold a psychic resonance ceremony."

"...But it's still the Deep Sea Church's turn," Vanna's eyes widened slightly when she heard this. "How could you hear the bell?"

Maurice sighed softly, "I don't know, so it's necessary to go to the gathering to figure out what's going on... It seems that there has been an unprecedented situation."

Looking at the slightly solemn expression on the old scholar's face, Vanna thought of the series of disturbing events that had occurred recently, and then she nodded silently. The two brushed past each other, each returning to their rooms.

The gentle sound of waves echoed in her ears, and the feeling of being submerged in seawater gradually enveloped her. Hurrying back to her room and performing the ritual, Vanna watched the candlestick burning and expanding before her eyes. The dancing flames turned into a hazy light and shadow, and her slightly restless mood gradually calmed down with the sound of the waves.

After a brief dizziness and sensory reset, she opened her eyes again and found that she had arrived at the sacred and ancient "gathering place" in the form of a soul projection—towering and solemn stone pillars stood at the end of the huge plaza, chaotic and dark shadows and never-ending streamers shrouded the top of the stone pillars, the ground was covered with mottled and broken ancient stone slabs, and in this vast gathering place, there were soul projections of the saints hurriedly gathering here.

Vanna stood in a corner of the plaza in astonishment, her eyes wide as she looked at the countless figures in all directions—she had never seen so many soul projections appear in the gathering place at the same time. Without a doubt, it was impossible for all of them to be saints of the Storm Goddess.

The "heretical believers" who heard the bell during the Deep Sea Church's rotation were obviously not just Mr. Maurice.

The saints of the four major churches have all gathered!

The number of people was still increasing, and more and more soul projections appeared in the open space of the plaza, many of whom seemed to have arrived in haste—although it was indeed during the Deep Sea Church's rotation period, every saint who received the "Swift Bell" still unhesitatingly executed the iron rule jointly agreed upon by the four divine churches, and quickly responded after the bell rang, arriving at this gathering place.

The bewildered and astonished soul projections gathered together, buzzing and rumbling as they discussed this unusual situation. Vanna's figure moved among her compatriots, listening to the discussions of the people around her while walking towards the center of the plaza.

A hazy figure walked over from the side and greeted her, "Vanna! I was looking for you—what exactly is going on?"

Vanna followed the voice and immediately recognized the soul projection of Bishop Valentine. She greeted the other party and then shook her head, "I'm not sure either, but it seems that all qualified 'saints' from the four major churches have heard the summoning bell... Mr. Maurice should also be in this gathering place."

"...The sound of the Swift Bell is emitted by the pilgrimage arks, but its source comes from the 'pointing' of the Nameless King's Mausoleum. All saints have received the summons, so the only explanation is that the Nameless King's Mausoleum has actively released a strong signal to 'summon everyone'..." Bishop Valentine's tone was solemn. He turned his head and looked at the center of the plaza, which was still empty, before retracting his gaze after a long time. "This ancient covenant ceremony has been running stably for thousands of years, and this has never happened before."

"...Perhaps it's related to the recent 'sun extinction'. Some huge change is approaching..." Vanna said softly, and then she suddenly felt something and looked up to the side.

Another hazy figure emitting a familiar aura appeared in her sight.

It was Maurice's soul projection.

Vanna immediately stepped towards him, and before she could get close, she heard him say, "It seems that the situation is just as I thought. I'm not the only one who heard the bell."

"Yes, it looks like all the saints are here... Perhaps we should be grateful that this place is spacious enough," Vanna sighed, her tone somewhat subtle. "Now the main body of the 'Mausoleum' has not yet appeared. When it does appear... I wonder what it will announce to the outside world."

Maurice did not say anything, but nodded solemnly. He greeted Bishop Valentine, whom he had not seen for a long time, and turned his head with Vanna to look at the direction of the center of the plaza.

At this moment, four special figures appeared in the vision of many saints one after another.

Helena, Rune, Banster, and Frem—the representatives of the four gods entered the gathering place. Among the countless hazy and illusory soul projections, their clear figures were particularly eye-catching.

The appearance of the four popes caused a brief commotion on the scene, but the commotion quickly subsided. The saints restored order and quickly calmed down due to the appearance of their respective leaders.

The situation today was unusual, and many saints who had heard the bell were confused and uneasy, but in any case, the appearance of the leaders was a reassuring signal, which at least showed that the current situation was still under the control of the church.

Then, Vanna noticed that the four popes were walking directly towards her.

Her expression was a little subtle.

Under the gaze and greetings of many eyes around her, Helena, Rune, and the other three came to Vanna. Helena spoke first, "Has the Mausoleum not appeared yet?"

Vanna was slightly stunned, "Uh... not yet..."

"Good," Helena nodded. "Then we'll wait a while longer."

Vanna didn't react, and nodded vaguely, "...Um, okay."

Then the four popes really turned around and began to patiently wait with Vanna for the ancient and mysterious mausoleum to appear.

Vanna felt a little subtle. She felt that the old Mr. Maurice next to her seemed to be casting a somewhat puzzled look, but she didn't know how to explain this, so she could only smile awkwardly—she didn't know if Maurice could see her somewhat complicated smile in this hazy soul projection form.

At this moment, another particularly tall figure came to Vanna's side at some point and patted the shoulders of this inquisitor. "Do we have to wait long?"

Vanna didn't turn her head and replied casually, "Not sure, but usually the mausoleum will appear within a few minutes after all the saints arrive at the meeting..."

She suddenly stopped.

The surroundings seemed to be quiet for a moment.

The expressions of Banster and Frem were a little stagnant, while Helena and Rune slowly turned their heads with stiff necks. Vanna turned her body little by little, looking in the direction from which the voice came—

Duncan stood there, looking at the few acquaintances in front of him with a harmless (as he thought) expression.

After a moment of silence, Vanna finally broke the silence with an exclamation, "Captain?! Why are you here?!"

This exclamation was like a stone falling into the water, and the brief silence in the gathering place instantly turned into a roaring and spreading boil—exclamations came one after another, discussions exploded, many soul projections retreated in astonishment, and emotions of tension, vigilance, and astonishment spread in the blink of an eye, permeating the crowd.

The expected situation.

Duncan glanced at the commotion in the plaza and turned his head to spread his hands helplessly. "To be honest, I didn't expect so many people at first."

Vanna felt that her brain was a little insufficient, but the popes on the scene had quickly reacted. They immediately ordered in unison—

"Silence!"

Great power was released from their words—Helena, Rune, Banster, and Frem's wills swept across the entire gathering place. Duncan didn't know what they did, but he could feel that the "crowd" around him, which had been in chaos the second before, seemed to instantly understand and comprehend the situation. Although there was still unease flowing in the air, the order in the gathering place had been restored.

After the order in the gathering place was restored, Helena turned her head first and stared into Duncan's eyes, "How did you get here?"

Duncan thought for a moment and raised his hand to wave it gently in the air next to him.

A skeletal giant bird wrapped in ghostly green flames flashed past in the darkness.

"I came by pigeon."

Helena: "......?"

"I heard the bell," Duncan noticed the wonderful and subtle expressions on the faces of the popes, and after thinking for a while, he added, "I don't know the specific reason—when the bell rang, I heard it. Then I noticed the gathering of spirits, probably because the four pilgrimage arks happened to be in Pingtong Port. This 'gathering' was very obvious to me, like the light in the night... I happened to be very interested in your 'gathering', so I tried it, mainly trying to track Vanna's soul starlight, and I chased it here."

Helena was dumbfounded: "...That works?!"

Duncan thought about it seriously and nodded: "I think it works."

Helena: "..."

Vanna seemed to be used to this. After Duncan said "I think it works," she naturally accepted the current situation (mainly because the athletic students have strong environmental adaptability) and casually said, "Then what do you think of today's special situation?"

"I don't know," Duncan said very frankly, "It's my first time here. What do you usually do after the gathering? Is there a process?"

"Wait for Aberration 004 - the Nameless King's Mausoleum to appear," Frem's deep voice sounded from the side. He seemed to always be in a calm and steady state, even at this time he was methodical, "After that, a tomb guardian will appear, and the selected person will be led to the tomb."

Duncan listened with interest and nodded slowly.

As if to confirm Frem's words, at this moment, a low rumble finally sounded from the center of the plaza, interrupting everyone's communication!

(End of this chapter)