As usual, Vanna calmed herself down and silently recited the sacred passages from the "Storm Codex" in her heart. Then she took out a half-burned carved candle from the drawer next to her, placed it beside her, and lit the candlestick.

A cluster of bright little flames danced on the top of the candle, and the calming aroma slowly spread as the essential oil evaporated. Vanna took a deep breath, and then without hesitation, slashed the dagger across her arm.

The blood seeped into the fine lines on the dagger, as if being absorbed by it, and a brief pain came from her arm - the pain didn't even last for a few seconds, and it turned into a faint tingling as the wound healed.

Fanna could even hear the slight sounds of cell regeneration and blood clotting. She saw the wound on her arm healing quickly, and the sound of the waves could be faintly heard by her ears.

She looked at the ritual dagger in her hand again, and after a slight hesitation, she placed the dagger stained with her blood above the burning candlestick, letting the flame lick the tip of the dagger.

"Please listen, Lord of Storms, Gospel of the Deep Sea, Maiden of the Sea of ​​Tranquility, please listen, your followers need guidance..."

The flames crackled, and the blood on the dagger ignited in the blink of an eye, turning into a layer of hazy glow floating on the blade.

This is a sign that the channel has been established.

A saint, using blood as a guide, using a special prayer format, and following a special ritual process, can establish a communication channel between himself and the gods that is far more stable and direct than when an ordinary priest prays. This special power and "grace" is what distinguishes a "saint" from an ordinary clergyman.

As for how stable and direct this special "channel" is...

In a way, this can even be considered a direct conversation with God.

The gentle sound of waves rang out, becoming more and more obvious as if it was echoing directly in her mind. Fanna felt the air around her gradually become moist, and even a fishy and salty smell seemed to waft into her nostrils. Then, she suddenly felt dazed, and the scene in front of her eyes changed.

The familiar bedroom disappeared, and the surroundings turned into endless, gently surging blue sea. There was also a faint blue light rising and falling in the depths of the sea, as if there were hundreds of mysterious light sources hidden in the deep sea. Fanna felt as if she was in the center of a deep sea area of ​​unknown size, and in the sparkling waves in front of her eyes, a blurry image gradually emerged.

It seemed to be a lady in a long dress, with a large hazy shadow spreading in all directions behind her. The lady's face was hidden behind the veil, and the shadows behind her were winding and intertwined, like countless chains entangled together, and seemed to be outlining some kind of larger "body" that was beyond mortal reason, and the figure in the long dress was only a small part of this huge body - the small part that could be understood by mortals.

Vanna took a deep breath and calmed her heartbeat.

As a saint, it was not uncommon for her to catch a glimpse of the phantom or incarnation of the storm goddess Gemona during special ceremonies. However, she could not help becoming nervous when she thought of her repeated hesitations today and the almost unorthodox questioning thoughts in her heart.

The mysterious and vague figure seemed to move a little closer. "He" did not speak, but Fanna felt that an "idea" emerged directly in her mind.

The goddess's phantom was signaling her to speak.

"I..." Vanna hesitated for a moment, and finally, as if she had made up her mind, she said directly, "I have survived until now because of the warp. Why did you still choose me as a saint and bestow your blessing upon me?"

The hazy figure did not make any movement, but Fanna did not dare to urge him. She knew that even though what she saw was just a projection, it was indeed pointing directly at Ge Mona, and the question she had just raised was a huge risk -

This was beyond her duty as a believer, but she really wanted to know the answer.

She waited in trepidation for an unknown amount of time, when suddenly an idea entered her mind as if it were implanted directly into her brain -

“…There is no difference…”

"No difference?" Vanna was stunned. This incoherent answer was even more difficult to understand than the obscure and fragmented prophecies and revelations. She instinctively felt that there should be some other "context" in this answer, but she did not understand the information and therefore did not hear it. This made her subconsciously ask again, "What do you mean by no difference? I don't understand. You knew that I was blessed by the subspace, but you still chose..."

However, Vanna was unable to finish her words, because the deep sea illusion around her suddenly began to shake violently, and the soft and bright light in the depths of the waves dimmed and faded one after another. The goddess's illusion was on the verge of collapse in the blink of an eye. Vanna felt that she was being "pushed" out of this channel, and before the connection was completely cut off, she only vaguely perceived a few words:

【…time is limited①…be going to②…critical③…】

The contact was completely cut off.

Vanna felt as if she was violently thrown back into the real world. Her heart was pounding and a feeling of suffocation made her gasp for breath subconsciously. She raised her head and looked around, and saw that all the illusions had disappeared. The dagger in her hand had fallen onto the table at some point. Only the carved candle was still burning quietly, the flame jumping and swaying restlessly.

After an unknown amount of time, Vanna finally withdrew her gaze from the candlelight. She picked up the fallen dagger and slowly put it back into the drawer.

Her mind was spinning with the only information that came to her mind during that brief exchange.

"It makes no difference" and "Time is running out and the deadline is approaching."

She still couldn't understand what the former meant, but the latter... seemed to have a clearer meaning, but it only made her more confused.

Is the goddess telling me that something is about to happen? Is she warning me that I have limited time to prepare for something? What does critical mean? What is critical? Another crisis? Another reality invasion-level disaster?

Is it related to the crisis that Pland just went through?

Vanna's thoughts were in a mess. This time, praying did not calm her down. Instead, she felt even more uneasy than during the day.

But suddenly, a strange color appeared in the corner of her eyes, and her chaotic thoughts stopped instantly.

The dancing flame on the carved candle was tinged with a layer of dark green at some point.

The next second, she suddenly looked up at the dressing table in front of her, and at the oval mirror.

Captain Duncan's figure appeared in the frame, looking at this side calmly.

"Are you okay?"

The gloomy and majestic figure spoke, and it was a very abrupt question.

"It was you?" Vanna stood up suddenly, and then seemed to think of something, "It was you who disturbed my ceremony just now?"

"Ritual? I think you misunderstood," Duncan shook his head in the mirror, his tone very calm, "I just suddenly sensed that your aura was extremely chaotic, and I thought there were still some difficult enemies left in Plande City, so I came to check the situation... But now it seems that I was reckless."

Sensing a chaotic atmosphere...so you came to take a look at the situation?

Fanna had a question mark on her head, wondering if she had heard it wrongly, but soon she remembered the first time she saw him in the mirror, and subconsciously showed a vigilant look: "You pulled me into the dream again?"

"You're still in the real world, so don't worry about that," Duncan said casually, "so I strongly suggest you don't just jump over like you did last time - you'll really mess up your room."

"...I'm not a barbarian who can only jump and slash." Vanna suddenly felt that communicating with this ghost captain was really tiring. His words and actions always went beyond the records in the information, and she always unconsciously neglected to guard against him in these unexpected exchanges. "Besides 'coming over to see the situation', what else do you want to do? I thought... you had already left completely."

Duncan in the mirror frowned, as if he was troubled by the overly vigilant and hostile attitude of the young judge in front of him: "You can relax a little, and it's better to be polite. I have indeed left, but the distance in time and space does not mean much to me. In addition - anyway, I just protected your city-state, don't you think you should at least say thank you?"

Vanna stared at the ghost captain in the mirror. After a few seconds, she suddenly took a step forward and actually lowered her head: "Thank you very much for your help. At least in this matter, Plande is under your protection."

This straightforward thank you was beyond Duncan's expectations. He had thought that this girl's brain would be as solid as her muscles, but he was unexpectedly embarrassed: "That's right... don't take it so seriously, I just mentioned it casually."

"We may have different positions, but your act of protecting Plande is undeniable," Vanna raised her head, her face serious, "Today, countless people have survived the disaster. Putting aside my position as an inquisitor, I should thank you."

She paused for a moment, then straightened her face and said, "But this doesn't mean that I will relax my vigilance against you and the Lost Homeland. We are still not sure what your purpose is for the civilized world... At least until we confirm this, I will..."

"Okay, I understand what you mean," Duncan interrupted Vanna. He looked at the young judge with a half-smile. The other party's words and attitude were far from polite, but this overly straightforward character was not annoying. "Then tell me something else... You seem to be in trouble?"

Vanna met Duncan's gaze, and after a few seconds she took a deep breath, "Sorry, it has nothing to do with you."

"…It's irrelevant, but I'm curious," Duncan said calmly, "Whether you are willing to admit it or not, you can't dispel the mark I left on you, Vanna. I can sense your current bad condition - maybe I can help you."

Notes:

①Time is limited.

②Coming soon.

③Critical.