Chapter 2 Sun News

After lunch, Duncan watched Nina clear the table. He wanted to help with the dishes, but she insisted that he not, claiming that the doctor had said it wasn't good for his health to touch cold water. So he leaned against the stairwell, watching the girl busy herself in the kitchen while reading the newspaper he had bought that morning.

The everyday normalcy of the scene gave him an odd feeling.

Just then, Nina's voice came from the kitchen: "Uncle Duncan, is there any news in the paper?"

Duncan glanced down at the newspaper. The first thing he saw was the date, "New Commonwealth Calendar, August 14, 1900." Then, he saw the headline about the church inquisitor leading a team to arrest dozens of cultists. It was the most significant front-page news in the whole paper.

"It says here that the inquisitor led a team to arrest dozens of sun heretics," he said casually. "It also says this is the largest heretical gathering the church has successfully broken up in the past four years. There's also some stuff reminding citizens to be careful at night and to watch out for heretical beliefs around them."

"Oh, I heard about that on my way here!" Nina deftly put the clean dishes into the cupboard. "It's so scary. I heard from my teacher that those sun-worshipping cultists even sacrifice living people to the sun god… Who would be so deranged as to believe in such a cult?"

Duncan suddenly didn't know what to say, because no matter what he said, it felt too delicate. Should he tell her that he had recently enjoyed an immersive experience of a sacrifice package on that altar, or should he tell her that her uncle was such a deranged cultist?

But one thing was clear from Nina's reaction: she obviously didn't know that her "uncle" was a sun heretic. She even had normal values like ordinary people, thinking that human sacrifice in the sun god's worship was a terrible thing.

In her eyes, her "uncle" was just a bit irritable because of his illness, a bit of a drinker, and had some "strange friends."

The body he occupied might have been a bloodstained scoundrel, but at least he had raised Nina to this day, and so far, he had protected her from the sun god's faith.

Perhaps someday, a cultist named "Ron" would truly degenerate to the final step, dragging his last remaining family member into this endless abyss, but at least until today, it had not happened.

And it wouldn't happen in the future.

"Uncle? Why did you suddenly stop talking?" Nina was curious about the silence behind her. She turned to look at him, her eyes filled with concern. "Are you feeling unwell again?"

"No, I just spaced out," Duncan reacted and shook his head. "What you said is true. It really is a deranged thing… The paper also mentioned that citizens should pay attention to safety and report any heretical behavior around them. You should also try not to wander around outside of school and home these days."

Nina nodded, but then "ah'd" with a hesitant and awkward look on her face: "But… I promised my classmate that I would go to the museum in a few days…"

"Museum?" Duncan asked casually, "What museum?"

"It's the ocean museum near the school, close to the edge of the upper city," Nina explained. "I heard they're exhibiting near-sea mineral specimens recently… Is that okay?"

"Go if you want to," Duncan thought for a moment and nodded. "There are church guards and city-state officers patrolling everywhere now, those cultists shouldn't be so bold as to jump out in the next couple of days."

Nina nodded happily: "Okay!"

"Do you have to go to school this afternoon?" Duncan asked again.

"Yes, this afternoon is history class. I don't want to miss old Mr. Morris's class," Nina nodded. "He's a very famous expert in the field of history… But it's really strange, why doesn't such a famous old gentleman teach at a university in the upper city, but comes to a public school in the lower city? Most of the students in the class don't like history class. They're all sleeping when the old gentleman is teaching…"

Duncan shook his head frankly: "How would I know."

What a joke, not to mention that old Mr. Morris who teaches history, he only just met Nina—he would have to rummage through hours of memories to remember where Nina's public school even was…

And even the original owner of this body probably didn't know much more about his niece's situation than he did—when Duncan took over his life, he had obviously been too deeply and for too long mired in the heretical worship of the sun.

Nina had class to attend in the afternoon, so she didn't stay in the antique shop for long after lunch. After quickly packing up her things and grabbing the textbook she had left at home, the girl trotted out of the house—it was almost an hour's walk from the antique shop to that public school in the lower city. She had to not waste every minute to avoid being late for old Mr. Morris's class.

Of course, there was public transportation in the city. Even in the relatively backward lower city, steam-powered railcars and trolleybuses would pass through the streets, but these required four to six pesos for a ticket.

Nina told Duncan with a smile that running more was good for her health.

If she had a bicycle, her commute to school would be much easier—Duncan had seen people riding these vehicles on the streets of the lower city.

In a society that had developed steam machinery, bicycles, as industrial products, were not so expensive that ordinary people could not afford them, but they were definitely not cheap for residents of the lower city. An ordinary bicycle could cost a family of three half a month to a month's worth of living expenses… It was quite a burden.

Duncan didn't know where the identity he currently occupied would lead in the future, but watching Nina trot away and disappear around the corner, he felt that… if he had the means, he should be nicer to this girl.

If only for the previous vegetable soup and savory pancakes.

What's more, she was a diligent and studious student.

Perhaps he should think carefully about how to make money in this "civilized city-state."

With various thoughts running through his mind, he put down the newspaper in his hand and slowly walked to the end of the corridor on the second floor. After opening the narrow window, he stared blankly at the city streets bathed in sunlight.

In this world, "abnormalities" and "visions" had long been intertwined with the progress of civilization. Neither the authorities nor the church concealed matters in the supernatural realm from the public. Even a girl like Nina, who was still in school, could directly learn about content related to abnormalities and visions from her textbooks.

She even knew the ancient Cretan kingdom's classification standards for abnormalities and visions, which were still in use today, and she knew the publicly available numbers and names of some abnormalities and visions whose laws had been discovered.

Yes, this knowledge was even made public to the whole society—although not all of it.

The authorities and churches of various city-states all recognized a list. On this list, the most famous or most dangerous abnormalities and visions had their own special numbers. These numbers were not permanently fixed. Under special circumstances, some abnormalities and visions would be eliminated or transformed for various reasons, and their numbers might be transferred or vacated. But no matter how they changed, one thing was certain:

Abnormalities and visions that could have independent numbers and names must have their own special dangers or strengths.

The authorities made public a directory of some of the abnormalities and visions, partly to ensure that every citizen knew about these specific dangers and had common sense for self-protection, and partly because some abnormalities and visions were simply too close to people's lives.

These things had even penetrated every corner of ordinary people's lives, and every link in the operation of society. People could see them at any time, and there was no way to hide them, nor was there any need to hide them.

Duncan raised his head and silently watched the sky.

Vision 001, the Sun.

The giant luminous body running in the sky, the great vision that dominated the sky in the Deep Sea Era, born on the morning of the day after the collapse of the ancient Cretan kingdom.

Scope of influence—the whole world, affected units—unlimited, self-operating and moving, unable to be interfered with by human power, meeting the definition of vision.

Historical records: On the day the ancient kingdom collapsed, the sea water surged, the city-states shattered, and all the members of the first dynasty died generously in the darkness, their blood soaking the sea. Then Vision 001 rose from the sea, and from then on, there was peace in the daytime on the boundless sea.

The ancient Cretan kingdom was the first city-state civilization established by the survivors after the opening of the Deep Sea Era. It lasted only a hundred years, but left countless legacies that have blessed people to this day.

The word "Crete" in ancient language means "Eternal Night."

It was a night that lasted for a century.

All this was written in Nina's history textbook.