The rainstorm has not stopped yet and even shows signs of getting worse. The violent wind brings cold rain to hit the towering exterior walls of the Deep Sea Cathedral and the doors and windows inlaid with stained glass, as if it is the dense and chaotic heartbeat of this city-state.

In the square in front of the city-state, steam walkers and steam tanks have been assembled, and fully armed guards are silently blocking all intersections.

On the bell tower at the rear of the cathedral, a special brazier was lit. Purified whale oil mixed with fragments of sea-bream burned fiercely in the brazier. The flame lit up in the storm like a lighthouse guiding ships home. With the help of a special magnifying glass, the bright flame could be clearly seen in most of the city-state.

As the brazier in the central cathedral was lit, similar flames appeared above churches throughout the city-state - even in the most remote community churches, there was a towering bell tower facing the central cathedral, and at the top of the tower was where the brazier was placed.

On this stormy day when darkness fell, one lighted bell tower after another formed a series of lighthouses over Plande. When all the lights were on, the melodious bells and loud whistles spread throughout the city.

The boilers of every church were started, the bells of every church were ringing, and Plande roared in the storm, as if civilization itself was resisting some invisible invading force in the darkness. This unusual situation made all residents close their doors and windows tightly, and those who had more knowledge in the extraordinary field realized the current critical situation from the unusual movements of churches throughout the city.

Deep inside the Governor's Mansion, Dante Wayne, who had just woken up from a coma, heard the sound of bells and whistles outside the window, and saw the "lighthouses" far and near in the darkness. He stood up with the help of his servants and looked at the doomsday-like scene outside the glass window in astonishment: "The cathedral has activated the reality stability barrier... A reality invasion-level disaster has occurred?!"

"We are still investigating the situation," an assistant officer came to Dante's bedside, his tone a little nervous, "the situation was very sudden, the cathedral only said that all districts in Plande needed to be blocked at the highest level - you were in a coma at the time, and Bishop Valentine used emergency authority..."

Dante did not respond to the assistant officer's words, but seemed to have suddenly realized something, and his brows relaxed: "...Vanna is back."

"Miss Vanna?" The attendant who was taking care of her turned his head in confusion after hearing this. "Miss Vanna didn't return to the mansion. She should..."

"I know." Dante knew that others would not understand what he meant by this nonsense, so he waved his hand and looked at the assistant officer. "Is the City Guard still under the command of the City Hall?"

"Yes, Bishop Valentine has only taken over the sheriff's force and a small number of city guards responsible for emergency response," the assistant officer nodded immediately, "most of the city guards are still waiting for your order."

"Okay, except for the First Division, have all the city guards obey the cathedral's arrangements." Dante still felt dizzy, but he quickly gave the order. "Also, the entire city is under the highest level of martial law. Ring all the martial law bells. After the bells ring, anyone who appears on the street... no matter who they are, will be treated as a cultist."

The assistant officer was immediately startled by this order: "Mr. Dent, this..."

"Follow orders," Dante raised his head, his only remaining eye looking sharp, blood seeping out of the ruby ​​prosthetic eye again, "We are now in a state of war."

"……yes!"

The assistant officer took the order and left. Dante started to cough violently. After a long time, his coughing subsided a little. He whispered to the attendant beside him: "Take me to the cathedral."

"Mr. Dent, your body..."

"My health is fine. I have something important to tell Bishop Valentine."

"yes."

※※※

Nina held Shirley's hand tightly and sat behind the window, looking at the strong wind and heavy rain outside in fear. Thunder roared in the sky again and again, making all the doors and windows tremble uncontrollably. This horrible scene even made Shirley, who was always very brave, tremble slightly and couldn't help cursing in a low voice: "Fuck, what kind of weather is this..."

"Shirley, you can't... you can't curse," Nina was also scared, but she still said with a straight face, "Uncle said you..."

"Okay, okay, I won't curse, I won't curse, don't tell Mr. Duncan," Shirley said quickly. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a figure appearing on the stairs and subconsciously shrank his neck, "Ah, Mr. Duncan is coming down."

"Uncle Duncan!" Nina stood up immediately and almost ran towards the figure coming down the stairs. "You... are you done?"

"Well, we're done for now, but it's not completely over yet," Duncan said, and he casually stroked Nina's hair. Then he turned to look at the counter. Morris was still sitting there, but his complexion looked a little better. Duncan nodded to him, "The person has been brought back."

"I just felt it. She's back," Morris said immediately. "I don't know how you did it, but...thank you very much for your help."

"This is just the beginning. It's a little early to thank you now," Duncan said as he turned his head to look outside the window. "The conspiracy has been exposed. They have already started to act in advance. The invaders are launching an attack on the other side of the curtain... It is estimated that they will arrive soon."

Morris looked worried, while Nina looked at Duncan in confusion: "Uncle, what intruder? You said..."

"Nina," Duncan interrupted the girl directly. He turned his head, with a serious and solemn look that Nina had never seen before, "Do you believe me?"

Nina barely hesitated: "I believe it."

"Very good. Then you must believe that this storm will end safely. No matter what happens, don't panic. No matter what I do, don't be nervous or afraid," Duncan said seriously, looking into Nina's eyes. Then he raised his finger and pointed at Alice who was standing quietly by the stairs. "Alice can be trusted. If an emergency really happens, you should stay with her."

Nina nodded blankly, and Alice immediately said, "Please rest assured, Mr. Duncan, I will protect Miss Nina."

"I'm not too confident about your fighting ability," Duncan glanced at Alice and sighed helplessly, "but there's no one else I can trust."

Another burst of thunder suddenly exploded, and a loud noise of something collapsing was heard on the street in the distance. Along with the loud noise, there were sharp alarm sounds coming from nowhere and rapid bell ringing from the church bell tower farther away.

The lights in the antique shop suddenly flickered a few times and then went out.

The power is out.

Darkness instantly enveloped the entire block, and everything seemed to have entered nightfall early in the storm.

In the dim light, Shirley's voice came from not far away: "I'll go light the oil lamp! I know where the oil lamp is."

Duncan hummed, but suddenly, he felt Nina grab his hand.

Those hands seemed a little hot.

"Uncle..." Nina whispered nervously and quickly. Soon, even the air she breathed out was a little hot. "I feel... a little hot..."

In the darkness, Duncan's eyes suddenly became serious.

But apart from being serious, he was not unduly panicked.

From the beginning, he was prepared for any unexpected events that might happen to Nina.

He simply held Nina's increasingly hot hand gently, and between his palm and Nina's fingers, in the gaps between the fingers that were barely noticeable to the naked eye, tiny green sparks were dancing.

The sound of flapping wings was heard, and the pigeon Ai flew down the stairs in the dark and landed steadily on the counter next to it.

Shirley lit the oil lamp, and the flickering flame temporarily dispelled the darkness in the shop, but on the street outside, the sky was already as dark as ink, and the light and power brought by the sun had all been blocked outside the city-state by the storm.

"Nina, do you remember what I just told you?"

In the darkness, Duncan's voice reached Nina's ears.

Nina nodded slightly: "Yeah."

"Don't be afraid, something...very cool will happen later." Duncan smiled and said softly.

The corner of his eye looked further away.

Outside the window, on the street where heavy rain was pouring, the pouring rain had gradually become stained with an abnormal layer of red. The red was bright and vibrant, as if it was a reflection projected from another time and space into the real world.

But he did not look at the rain, which had begun to fall abnormally, nor did he care about the "reflection" projected through the curtain.

His eyes passed over the uneven buildings and coastline of Pland, and he looked towards the boundless sea.

The illusory silhouette of the Lost Homeland was gradually emerging in his pupils.

※※※

Heidi subconsciously shrank her neck the moment the thunder sounded.

She huddled on a bench in the main hall of the cathedral, her hands subconsciously clutching the crystal pendant that served as a talisman, silently chanting the holy name of Lachem, the god of wisdom, but she stopped halfway through the prayer and looked up at the statue of the goddess of storms not far away.

"The goddess is kind...she probably won't mind."

She muttered softly, then continued chanting the name of Lahem.

But suddenly, she stopped, a strange palpitation made it difficult for her to concentrate.

Heidi stood up from the bench and looked around with an inexplicable palpitation in her heart.

She saw the guards gathered near the main entrance. A small group of civilians who had come to the church to seek refuge because they had no time to return home were placed on the benches in front of the icon. Several priests were walking in the main hall. Bishop Valentine, holding a long staff, stood quietly in front of the icon, his eyes looking straight ahead calmly.

Everything is normal, but... where does the palpitation come from?

Unconsciously, the crystal pendant around her neck seemed to be getting slightly hot, but Heidi didn't seem to care about it. She just subconsciously came to the window not far away and looked at the situation in the square through the transparent pane on the edge of the stained glass window.

The young psychiatrist's eyes suddenly widened.

"Fire...fire!" she screamed in horror, "the rain turned into fire!"