Chapter 1 Vanna's Nightmare

Her uncle brought her some soothing herbal wine. The medicinal and alcoholic properties gradually calmed Vanna’s slightly agitated mood. She opened the door to the balcony, stood outside, and looked towards the distant cathedral.

Dante Wayne's voice came from behind her, "You always have nightmares when you come back, and they're always about your childhood."

"...As an Inquisitor, this is an unacceptable display of weakness," Vanna said in a low voice. She was a head taller than her uncle, but she never minded showing her true feelings in front of this elder who had raised her. "It troubles me."

"...Have you talked to Heidi?"

"She recommended four types of brain surgery and two types of nerve puncture therapy," Vanna sighed. "Considering our years of friendship, I refrained from violence."

"...That's her style; she doesn't deal with normal people," Dante Wayne shook his head. "Actually, I didn't expect that after so many years, you'd still be haunted by the nightmares of that night."

"I always thought I'd moved on," Vanna rubbed her brow. "Perhaps it really is related to this big house. Whenever I return, I dream of that scene... Maybe I should consider holding another exorcism ceremony for this house, or I’ll always feel like this building is sealing away the shadow of that disaster..."

Uncle Dante pondered for a moment and didn't object, but asked thoughtfully, "Does your nightmare still involve the fire this time?"

Vanna nodded. "Yes, there was fire everywhere. You carried me out of the fire. I even clearly remember us escaping the city through the factory's pipelines. A burning building nearby was collapsing in the flames..."

She paused, her gaze falling on her uncle. "...You don't remember the fire, do you?"

"Not just me, no one remembers it," the city-state governor said slowly, shaking his head with a serious expression. "I only remember the gas leak in the pipeline and the crazed cultists... There were many people involved that night, but you seem to be the only one who saw the raging inferno."

Vanna was silent for a long time, pondering before finally speaking softly, "Apart from the 'fire', my memories and yours are consistent... I didn't understand anything back then, but now I know very well that some kind of extraordinary power must have been exerting its influence, and even after so many years, even after I became a Saint, the influence hasn't dissipated."

"That means either the influence is of an extremely high level, so high that it left an indelible mark on your soul, or the source of the influence didn't disappear with the resolution of that incident, but has been hidden somewhere in the city-state all along. I've been investigating this matter all these years, but unfortunately, I haven't made any progress."

Dante Wayne's tone carried a hint of apology at the end. He was not only sorry for not being able to solve his niece's troubles but also regretted that he, as the city-state governor, had been unable to solve an old case.

The scars left by the "Great Chaos" eleven years ago were too long-lasting.

Vanna knew that this wasn't just her own hang-up but also her uncle's concern, but she wasn't good at comforting people. After thinking for a long time, she could only change the subject, "I remember a lot of cultists were arrested at the time. Judging from the post-incident reckoning, that incident was even larger in scale than the 'Black Sun' incident four years ago."

"Yes, thousands of people were arrested, so many that I even wondered how so many cultists could hide in Pland, this city-state," Dante Wayne sighed. "And it wasn't just one cult... There were solar heretics who followed the Black Sun, nihilistic cultists who worshiped the Abyss Saint Lord, and even Doomsday Evangelists who worshiped the sub-space itself... Those maggots in the gutter all crawled out that night, insanely wreaking havoc everywhere."

Vanna looked at Dante, "But according to the subsequent interrogation results, not a single one of the thousands of saboteurs arrested by the authorities could be called a 'mastermind.' Not even one knew why they were causing chaos that night. It was less like those cultists were organized to sabotage and more like they were detonated into madness in the depths of their spirits at the same time, falling into a state of collective loss of control."

Dante was silent for a moment, thinking quietly, before suddenly looking into Vanna's eyes, "The reason for your agitation shouldn't just be because of that nightmare, right? Bringing up these things suddenly... is it related to the recent unrest in the city-state?"

Vanna didn't avoid the question, "There is indeed some connection. Solar heretics are converging on the city-state. They are looking for an 'anomaly' called the Sun Fragment, and the *Lost Ship* has also reappeared in the real world almost simultaneously, its 'course' vaguely pointing towards Pland. Although it's hard to say what connection these two things have, the scent of such turbulent currents... always reminds me of the chaos eleven years ago."

"...I've ordered all ports to strictly check personnel flow and informed the governors of other city-states. Many solar heretics have been caught on ships, and their means of entering the city-state have basically been cut off. As for those who have already entered Pland... it mainly depends on the actions of the church. The Guardians are professionals at finding and locking down supernatural crimes."

Speaking of this, the middle-aged governor suddenly stopped. He seemed to be carefully considering whether some things should be brought up now, but after a moment's hesitation, he made up his mind, "As for the *Lost Ship*, I can't help much in the supernatural realm, but in the secular aspect, I have an idea."

"Secular aspect?" Vanna frowned. She was just about to say what connection the ghost ship *Lost Ship* could have with the "secular world" when she immediately thought of a certain statement, "Wait, are you saying..."

"The captain of the pioneering exploration ship *Glittering Star*, Lucrezia Abnormaal, and the pirate leader in the Northern Sea, the captain of the *Sea Fog*, Tirian Abnormaal," Dante said unhurriedly, "The *Lost Ship* is a ghost ship that exceeds understanding of reality, but as long as it was once a member of the real world, the real world will retain the 'anchors' of its existence... I wonder how Captain Duncan's children will react to their 'father' reappearing in the world."

Vanna slowly widened her eyes. She was used to solving enemies directly with simple and brutal methods and had never considered matters related to the *Lost Ship* from this perspective. But soon, she frowned, "But I heard that those two hardly deal with the forces of the city-states... They have become self-sufficient forces on the Boundless Sea, maintaining a cold or even tense relationship with all the city-states."

"That's normal. After all, they are the children of that ghost captain. The *Glittering Star* and the *Sea Fog* were originally the two escort ships of the *Lost Ship*. Although they parted ways a hundred years ago, in the eyes of most city-states, as long as you're associated with that ghost captain, it means curses and danger. It's less that they've distanced themselves from the city-states and more that the city-states are actively avoiding them."

Vanna frowned and looked at her uncle, "Then you're hoping they can help Pland fight their father?"

"It's just an idea, but it's worth a try," Dante said quite seriously. "After all, we all know that the *Glittering Star* and the *Sea Fog* parted ways with the *Lost Ship* more than a century ago. Lucrezia and Tirian broke with their father before the Vessellan Thirteen Islands incident. More than half a century ago, there were rumors that some ocean-going captains had personally seen the *Sea Fog* fight the phantom of the *Lost Ship* in the Northern Sea. At that time, the *Lost Ship* had already become a legendary ghost ship, which may indicate the attitude of the two captains when facing their 'father.'"

"More than half a century ago... At that time, the *Sea Fog* was still the flagship of the Frost Queen. That Captain Tirian might have just been ordered to protect the city-state," Vanna said slowly, thinking. "But you're right, at least it's enough to prove that the *Sea Fog* does have a record of fighting the *Lost Ship*."

But she still had some doubts and voiced them after thinking for a few seconds, "What if the *Glittering Star* and the *Sea Fog* ignore Pland?"

"So, this is just an attempt," Dante said quietly. "I will spread the news and find a way to send the situation of the *Lost Ship*'s reappearance and sailing towards Pland to the desks of those two captains. That's all I'll do. What the two captains do after that is up to them."