In the realm of the gods, far from the real world, people believe that this special dimension is the foundation of the world. Contrary to common sense, this "foundation" is not at the bottom of the world but at the very top of all dimensions.
The ancient Kingdom of Crete described their understanding of the world structure in their remaining texts:
The foundation of the world is at the top, guarded by eternal truths and order, and the realm of the gods exists within this foundation, everlasting and unchanging;
Below the realm of the gods is the reality where all living beings reside. In this layer, the mortals enjoy the remnants of order, allowing them to survive in a relatively stable and prosperous world;
Further down from reality is the spirit realm, which gradually deviates from human understanding. In the spirit realm, the blessings of the gods have become thin, and twisted and bizarre powers begin to take over;
Below the spirit realm lies the deep sea, which is no longer suitable for life and is ruled by strange forces. This place can no longer be considered part of the material world; it resembles a shadow of nothingness;
Beyond the deep sea is the very bottom of the world—the subspace depth, where the shadows of all things gather. Here, extremely dangerous ancient gods and various malevolent beings reside.
In the records of the ancient Kingdom of Crete, the gods established a contract within the foundation. This contract is the source and standard of all laws in the world. This order flows downward, defining the rules of the world’s operation and permeating all things in the mortal realm. As one descends deeper, the power of order begins to weaken and is gradually overtaken by the subspace. The "foundation" where the gods reside and the subspace are like the two ends of the world, with "order" flowing unidirectionally between them.
This is an ancient gift left to the world by a brilliant civilization that thrived a thousand years ago during the era of the deep sea. Over the long years, countless scholars have studied this "layered structure" exhaustively, yet none have found any errors in this model. Today, it has become the widely accepted "standard model" of the world.
In this standard model, mortals fall into deeper places, but few can return from the "depths" to the "shallows." Even if a lucky few occasionally return from the spirit realm to reality, it has never been heard of anyone defying the heavens to reach the "foundation" dimension where the gods reside.
Because of this, the return of the Lost Homeland, a ghost ship, has become the most outrageous anomaly in the world—its return defies people's understanding of the world standard model.
On the other hand, the existence of the Lost Homeland aligns with the classic statement about anomalies and phenomena: the law of permanent misalignment regarding anomalies and phenomena.
Nevertheless, Bishop Valentin and Vanna do not believe that the ghost captain has the ability to seek revenge on the Storm Goddess—even if he had the desire, he wouldn't be able to accomplish it.
This is because the "foundation" and the real world are discontinuous. There is no continuous descent or material interchange like there is between reality and the spirit realm, or between the spirit realm and the deep sea. So far, no scholar has found any evidence that connects the "foundation" directly to the real world. Even the gods can only indirectly influence the world through projections or commands. How could a ghost ship possibly strike back at the realm of the gods?
Since seeking revenge directly from the Storm Goddess is impossible, the only remaining option is to target the goddess's followers in the mortal world.
The Storm Cathedral, the headquarters of the Deep Sea Church, is a "pilgrim ark" that sails hidden across the boundless sea, appearing and disappearing without a trace. The Pope, who sits in the ark, possesses the power to command the storms on behalf of the goddess, making him a difficult target.
Therefore, the city-state of Prande, which is fixed on the sea, clearly visible, and open to the outside world, becomes a better choice: eighty percent of the people in this city-state are followers of the Storm Goddess.
Vanna has already concluded that the ghost captain has come for revenge—after all, the Lost Homeland fell into the subspace during a storm a hundred years ago. Besides that, she can't think of any other reason to explain why the Lost Homeland, which had disappeared for so many years, would suddenly return to the real world and target Prande.
But what exactly does the ghost captain plan to do?
Vanna furrows her brow and slowly speaks, "Bishop Valentin, do you think... the Lost Homeland is related to the recent movements of those sun followers in the city-state?"
After a pause, she adds, "In last night's dream, I saw the burning sun appearing alongside the Lost Homeland in Prande. The simultaneous arrival of these two disasters might be a sign from the goddess..."
"But don't forget, in the underground altar, that contaminated 'sacrifice' killed the priest of the Dark Sun. That was a 'messenger' who had been baptized," the bishop shakes his head. "At least in that sacrificial setting, the Lost Homeland and the Dark Sun seem to be on opposing sides."
For a moment, Vanna is silent, lost in thought due to the bishop's words. After a brief silence, the old man continues, "Regarding those who worship the Dark Sun, I received some intel from the Lunsa city-state this morning..."
Vanna immediately raises her head, "Intel?"
"The sun heretics are not only reviving in Prande; they have been active in many city-states recently. A large group of sun heretics has been transferring through Lunsa and Moko ports, gathering towards Prande, and some have been caught," the old bishop nods. "During interrogations, those heretics mentioned 'sun fragments.'"
"Sun fragments... the remnants that fell off after the 'True Sun God' was shattered?" Vanna suddenly realizes. "Do they believe a piece of the sun fragment is hidden in Prande?"
"It seems so. We don't know where those heretics got their information. It could be that they received some 'revelation' in their madness. In any case, they firmly believe that part of their 'master's' remains is hidden in this city," Bishop Valentin's expression is calm. "And they see this as hope for the revival of the Dark Sun."
"...Those madmen," Vanna can't help but curse under her breath. "How many lives have they harmed to resurrect that dark, blasphemous sun!"
"The Dark Sun is our term. To them, the Sun God is radiant, representing the truest order—they can't be expected to have any conscience while drenched in blood," Valentin shakes his head. "They firmly believe that everything they say and do is just. When dealing with them, there are only two languages that work: firepower and weight."
Hearing the bishop's statement, which is very much in line with the style of the Deep Sea Church, Vanna can't help but twitch her lips: "Looks like we have our work cut out for us."
"The boundless sea is never peaceful, and the city-state is also in the boundless sea," Valentin says. "Captains must face storms in the ocean, while we must face the storms brought by foolish mortals. Judge, be prepared; the city-state of Prande may face a challenge."
"Two challenges," Vanna corrects seriously. "Besides the followers of the Dark Sun, there is also a mysterious and terrifying ghost captain—if the Lost Homeland and the Dark Sun are indeed not on the same side, then our troubles have multiplied from one to two."
Bishop Valentin ponders for a moment: "Perhaps there is another possibility—based on the situation at the underground altar, the Lost Homeland might end up fighting against the followers of the Dark Sun?"
"...Then those two troubles would merge into one catastrophic problem, Bishop Valentin," Vanna looks at the old man, who has clearly begun to lose focus. "If the ghost ship returning from the subspace clashes with a group of cultists fighting over sun fragments in Prande, and there might also be the Dark Sun's descent involved, I can't think of a worse situation."
Valentin sighs, admitting that Vanna is right.
"In any case, we should first work with the law enforcement to capture those sun heretics infiltrating the city-state. Eliminating the threat of the Dark Sun before the situation escalates is a more achievable goal," Vanna says. Now that she has cleared her mind from the interference of the Lost Homeland and entered her area of expertise, her thoughts become noticeably more active. "As for that ghost ship... we don't know its next move, so we can't take action for now. We can only monitor the spirit realm and the surrounding waters of the city-state..."
At this point, the young judge can't help but shake her head, looking serious and helpless: "Damn it, who can know what a ghost captain will want to do next..."
...
"I want to add some ketchup..." Duncan waves to Nina across the table. "Just pass it to me, and I'll do it myself."
Nina immediately hands over the ketchup: "Okay, Uncle Duncan."
It's already noon, and Duncan and Nina are having lunch in the small kitchen on the second floor. The food in the antique shop is simple—a type of local specialty savory pancake from Prande, served with ketchup or hot sauce, along with a vegetable soup. It's not exactly gourmet food, but both Duncan and Nina are enjoying it.
Duncan hasn't had such a normal lunch in a long time, and neither has Nina.
Duncan feels like he is starting to like this place.
(End of Chapter)