Bishop Valentine put away the paper with the strange emblem.

"None of us recognize this pattern. It is very likely from a very ancient era, or from a secret society that has never been exposed to the public," the old bishop said as he put away the paper. "We may find corresponding records in the archives. In addition, I will contact some friends in the academic world to see if they recognize this thing."

Vanna's gaze returned to Tirian. She looked at the "pirate captain" in front of her curiously: "Did your father have any unusual things before he had a secret conversation with those strange 'ascetics'? For example, did he suddenly obtain a mysterious book, or explore some secret places?"

"It's hard to say," Tirian shook his head. "You should know that a century ago, he was one of the most outstanding explorers in the world. Dealing with all kinds of strange relics or secrets was his daily job. He was in contact with the things you just mentioned almost all day long. Lucrecia and I had just started to help my father share some things at that time, and we didn't have much opportunity to learn about his "collection" in detail, and..."

Tirian paused here, then sighed softly.

"And at that time, Lucrecia and I had no idea what would happen later. Although those strange 'visitors' were a bit strange, my father often received all kinds of strange 'guests'. By the time we realized that my father was becoming more and more abnormal, it had been nearly a year since that 'secret conversation'. It was impossible to investigate anything now."

Vanna nodded slightly, and at this moment, a loud bell and whistle sound suddenly came from outside the window, interrupting the conversation in the living room.

"The evening bell has rung," Bishop Valentine looked out the window and saw that the sun bound by the double runes had gradually sunk into the sea level. The shadow of the Creator of the World could be vaguely seen in the sky. "Let's stop here today."

Then he looked away and nodded to Tirian: "If you don't mind, you can rest in the cathedral tonight. We have prepared dinner and guest rooms for you so you won't be disturbed."

"Thank you very much," Tirian agreed, and then said, "I plan to stay in this city-state for a few more days. I lived here briefly a hundred years ago, and I am still very interested in its changes now."

"Of course," Valentine smiled, "The Sea Mist is already Plunder's friend, and we are always ready for friends - you can stay here as long as you want."

Vanna stood up from the sofa and nodded to Tirian: "I will take you to the guest room."

After this special meeting, Tirian left the reception room with Vanna, and joined several accompanying sailors who were resting in a nearby room, and the group walked towards the depths of the cathedral.

"I didn't expect the Inquisitor to personally lead the way," Tirian said on the way to the guest room. "For a 'pirate', this is a great honor."

"Just a 'pirate'?" Vanna turned her head slightly with a smile on her face, "Your identity is not that ordinary - son of Duncan, general of the Frost Queen, commander of the Sea Mist Fleet. If all pirates on the Infinite Sea are like this... then we don't need any city-state authorities."

"…'Pirate' is just a convenient identity. It makes it easy for me to cause trouble for certain people on the Frigid Sea. They also like my identity. It allows them to issue more wanted warrants to pretend that I am still useful," Tirian said calmly. "But what you just mentioned is all in the past, Your Excellency the Inquisitor."

After a brief silence, Tirian continued: "I have never revealed so many things about him to outsiders. I hope you understand this."

"Of course," Vanna nodded slightly, "If I were in your position, I would not be willing to reveal my family's...'curse' to outsiders. Sorry, I can't think of any other words."

"It doesn't matter. This is indeed a curse." Tirian sighed. "If it weren't for the strange and bizarre situation that happened to Plande, and you mentioned his abnormality just now, there are some things I really don't want to recall."

As he spoke, his eyes inadvertently swept across Vanna's eyes, and the next second, he lowered his gaze involuntarily.

That vague pressure reappeared, and it was even more obvious than before at the dock.

Thinking of the young Inquisitor's recent experiences of communicating with "that person" several times, Tirian even had some terrible guesses about this indescribable pressure.

Vanna noticed the other person's strangeness.

"You seem a little nervous, Captain Tirian," she asked directly. "Do I make you nervous?"

"No, Your Excellency the Inquisitor," Tirian shook his head, and then hesitantly said, "I just suddenly remembered what you mentioned just now. You said that you communicated with my father several times... In addition to communication, did he give you something else, such as power?"

Vanna suddenly stopped.

"Why do you ask that?"

"I don't mean anything else," Tirian suddenly realized that his question might be a bit offensive to a devout and steadfast saint, and immediately explained, "I just want to remind you that my father... the power he brought back from the warp is very strange and difficult to remove, and like other Chaos erosions from the warp, that power is extremely polluting. If you accidentally get too deeply involved..."

"Thanks for the reminder." Vanna took a deep breath and thanked sincerely.

But in fact, she was thinking that the other party's reminder might be a little late - Captain Duncan's influence was more serious than everyone imagined. Now she could only hope that the captain would really knock on the door next time he came to see her...

Tirian had no idea what the Inquisitor was thinking, but he felt the atmosphere had become much more awkward. However, the awkwardness did not last long - Vanna took the initiative to break the silence.

"I'm curious about one thing," she suddenly asked, "regarding the 'countdown' your father mentioned before he went crazy... do you know more information? Did he mention any other details?"

When she asked this question, Vanna recalled her previous communication with the storm goddess Gemona, and the incomprehensible words the goddess had conveyed to her -

【Time is limited and critical. 】

This sentence, which she could not understand at all at that time, now seemed to be inextricably linked to the "countdown" mentioned by Tirian!

Tirian met Vanna's gaze.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke in a deep voice: "In his last days, he suddenly said something to Lucrecia. He said - 'Our world is just a pile of dying embers.'"

The corridor came to an end.

"Thank you for leading the way," Tirian nodded to Vana, "I would like to stay with my men for a while."

Vana woke up from her thoughts, with Tirian's words still echoing in her mind. She nodded subconsciously and said goodbye to the big pirate.

The door of the guest room was closed, and only after the surroundings became quiet did Tirian breathe a sigh of relief.

He recalled his last conversation with the young judge, and the vague pressure he felt from him. A belated feeling of palpitations came over him at this moment.

In a trance, he recalled the last moment he made eye contact with the judge...

At that moment, he actually felt like he was standing under the gaze of his "father"!

"Captain, are you okay?" A trusted sailor looked at his boss with some concern. "You have been nervous since you came ashore."

"...I'm fine," Tirian calmed down, waved to his subordinates, and walked towards the table not far away, "Bring the things here."

A sailor immediately came forward and placed a briefcase brought from the Sea Mist on the table. Tirian opened the box with a key and revealed the contents.

It was a complex lens device, consisting of many small lenses and curved connecting rods, with a large crystal ball placed in the center.

"Keep watch on the door and don't let anyone disturb you," Tirian ordered his men.

After several sailors left, he focused his attention on the crystal ball, gently adjusted the angle of one of the lenses, and whispered, "Lucretia."

After a long while, the lens group began to vibrate slightly and began to move. The crystal ball in the center began to emit a faint light. With a burst of interfering noise, the vague figure of Lucrecia emerged in the crystal ball: "I'm here."

"Why is it so blurry?" Tirian frowned. "Where are you now?"

"I... the border..." Lucrecia's voice came from the crystal ball, with crackling interference, but it was barely distinguishable, "Here... the environment... the interference has become stronger, I... adjusted... Is it okay now? Can you hear it clearly?"

The interference sound finally disappeared, and Lucrecia's figure gradually became clearer.

"The environment here has changed a little. The spirit world has caused strange disturbances in the real dimension," the voice in the crystal ball explained. "What's the matter, brother? The Brilliant Star is passing through unstable waters. If it's nothing important..."

"I am in Plunder now," Tirian said straight to the point. "The Seamist was badly damaged in the battle with the Lost Homeland, and things seem to be going wrong in this city-state."

The figure on the other side of the crystal ball was stunned for a moment.

A few seconds later, Lucrecia's slightly nervous voice came: "Did you really encounter the Lost Homeland? Are you okay now?"

"...To be honest, I got beaten up pretty badly, but things are okay now," Tirian said in a low voice, "The problem is...something seems to be wrong with 'him'."

"Is 'him' not in good condition?" Lucrecia frowned. "Did you see him up close?"

"Um."

"Then..." Lucrecia opened her mouth, seeming a little hesitant, "Then the person you saw this time was our 'father'?"

“…Not all of them.”