Deep Sea Embers

Even the dullest of folks would’ve noticed something was amiss under this strange atmosphere: students rushed home, commoners closed their shops, the homeless rushed into the nearest shelter for relief, and the security forces activated all of the protective measures in place for any signs of attack.

It’s under this ominous atmosphere that Heidi barged into the square of the main cathedral with her car. Perhaps it’s due to the goddess’s protection, but the rain here was slightly weaker than elsewhere. This didn’t relax Heidi though; on the contrary, this marginally lighter rain only worried the doctor more because it’s proof that the rainstorm was caused by supernatural powers.

The church guards promptly opened the main door after recognizing who it was, allowing Heidi to rush through the triple-spired door of the cathedral. In light of the small trek, her body was already drenched in the cold rain.

But she had no time to care about this little discomfort. Heidi had felt the restless atmosphere in the air around her the second she stepped into the cathedral, which was a warning of the soul, a reminder that an invisible “conflict” was gradually unfolding around these sacred grounds.

A silent cleric received her at the entrance, and at her strongest request, the cleric promptly notified Bishop Valentine, who was praying in the church’s main hall. Heidi waited for another three minutes in anxiety and restlessness before finally getting an audience with the respected bishop.

To the doc’s surprise, Valentine had come out in full ceremonial garb: a heavy three-pronged crown on the head, a long holy staff in hand, and the Storm Codex hung around his waist.

This was by no means the wardrobe of an ordinary day, but only in the most important ceremonies will the bishop be formally dressed in this fashion. These heavy and luxurious decorations are a huge burden, enough to make the able-bodied adult feel tired just by walking. Yet, Valentine remained steady and majestic in his steps, those eyes seeming to be brewing up a storm within those irises.

“Child, what happened?” Valentine asks the psychiatrist with a serious expression.

“I… I need asylum, asylum of the highest rank!” Heidi replied immediately, recalling her father’s particularly stern order before leaving. “I want the entire Storm Cathedral to guard me, the child of Pland’s most outstanding historian.”

“The most outstanding historian of Pland…” Bishop Valentine recited the sentence and met Heidi’s eyes directly. There are literally bolts of lightning flashing within those eyes, a manifestation of the goddess’s blessing on this high-ranking bishop. Then he closed his eyes slightly and nodded as if receiving guidance, “I have received your request, child. The cathedral will provide shelter, and you are safe.”

“Thank you so much,” Heidi took a deep breath, her gaze not once leaving Valentine’s figure due to how solemn the air was. She didn’t know what’s happening, but in her view, the cathedral had clearly entered a state of imminent battle even before her arrival. “Excuse me… What happened?”

“It’s war,” Valentine said calmly, “someone has gone to war against Pland. An unblessed storm has descended on our city-state. This is the signal for war, but it wasn’t until your arrival that I finally learned who the opponent was.”

“War?!” Heidi was stunned, “Who is the enemy? Where are they?”

Valentine silently eyed Heidi for a long time before softly answering: “It’s Pland, a Pland that has been annihilated in history.”

With a thunderous explosion, the entire church seemed to be violently shaken by the rumble. Heidi was startled as she raised her head in horror, looking at the stained glass still clinking and clanking in the aftershocks of the bolt. Then, as she ogled at the dangerously swaying chandelier up at the center, she suddenly felt a huge tremor under her feet.

It was the roar of a large number of spiderwalkers as they assembled in the square, followed closely by the roar of the steam tanks driven by the guardians from the armory.

Heidi turned her head in shock and looked at Bishop Valentine, who remained quietly standing in front of the sacred statue like a reef in the sea. Then sputtering her words out of panic: “Is the enemy coming?!”

“The enemy has already arrived,” Valentine said softly, his whisper still clearly in Heidi’s ear amidst the constant noise of thunder, “they arrived many years ago…”

……

Vanna slammed her sword down, blowing apart the rubble on the street and taking in the desolate scene ahead: collapsed houses, roads covered in rubbles, and various piles of humanoid things slowly wriggling among the thick layers of embers. It’s unbearable to watch this miserable sight for she knew what they were – citizens of Pland.

They died in this history and were shaped into these abominations by the twisted powers of darkness.

The young inquisitor pursed her chapped pale lips as emotions ran wild. However, the burning sensation from the lungs and the throbbing pain of the muscles told her this wasn’t real, not yet anyways if she could do anything about it.

Then something caught her attention as the lady stood at the intersection. A ghostly green flame could occasionally be seen between the wriggling ashes and the crackling embers, which was the imprint of some terrible ghost captain left in this false history.

The ghost captain’s position in this incident was strange and difficult to understand, and Vanna could not see the purpose of the other party at all, only that the mysterious power had mixed into the back of this curtain at some point. It’s spreading around in this destroyed version of Pland and opposing the distortion.

Finally, after several minutes of jogging over the rubbles, Vanna had arrived at her “goal” in this timeline – a chapel that remained intact during the fire.

She had walked through a small chunk of the city to reach the sixth block. Well, strictly speaking, she had slaughtered her way across the city.

Vanna took her sword and crossed the last of the obstacles, pushed open the charred metal gate, and entered the long prayer hall illuminated by the embers from the outside. Making her way through the place, the lady soon found the staircase leading down to the underground sanctuary where the dark wooden door stood.

Vanna exhaled softly, relieving the pain and exhaustion in her various joints before taking the first step. She had already scrapped the machine gun she pulled off the spiderwalker, leaving her with only the trusted and reliable broadsword from the church.

Once downstairs, the lady promptly tried pushing the dark door for resistance; sure enough, it was locked with a latch. However, she also noticed something else from her attempt. Though faint, Vanna could hear the rhythmic breathing of the other sister inside. There’s no need to hesitate anymore. With force, she blew apart the metal hinges holding up the blockade with a shove.

“You mustn’t open the door!!” A shocked and nervous young voice, seemingly mixed with a third echo, sounded after the commotion.

“I’m your junior,” Vanna strode in with the tip of her greatsword scraping the ground, causing a series of sparks to fly from the weight. Then, out of precaution, since it was too dark, the inquisitor reached down to her waist and lifted the tenacious lantern up for help, “Your battle sister.”

A nun armed with a long sword stood cautiously at the foot of the statue, watching warily at Vanna, who had just barged through the entrance. She was still young and wearing the old nun robe from 1885.

Vanna looked at the wary nun on the opposite side and sighed softly.

As she had suspected, it was only within this polluted curtain that she could step into the true enclosed underground sanctuary before the nun died in battle – this chapel in the sixth block was the first branching point.

“Sister?” The nun holding the long sword adapted to the sudden light, seemingly unaware that the sanctuary’s brightness had long been extinguished. In fact, if Vanna had taken a closer look, she would have seen the sister’s shadow acting strange and different, predatory like it was ready to attack at any second. “The main cathedral? Hurry and leave! The corruption here is already out of control. While I can still…”

Vanna shook her head and slowly stepped forward: “I’ll help you.”