“This will be your room from now on. It is fully equipped with basic daily necessities. If you need anything else, you can tell Alice and she will arrange it for you if she hasn’t forgotten.

"Next door is a small utility room, which you are free to use for prayer or meditation. You are a devout believer, so you should have a need for this.

“Don’t go downstairs, and don’t be curious about those locked cabins. Occasionally, there will be strange creaking sounds or the sound of ropes rubbing against the floor from deep inside this ship. Don’t make a fuss. Just leave it alone. If there is really something wrong, I will deal with it personally.

“When living on board, remember the crew rules.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

Vanna stood at the door of the room assigned to her, looking at the simple and normal furniture in the cabin, still feeling a little dazed.

An ordinary bed, ordinary tables and chairs, ordinary cabinets, everything was clean, no suspicious shadows, no blood stains hidden in the corners of the room, and no blasphemous symbols written on the ceiling or floor - if you don't consider that this is inside the Lost Homeland, then this is just an ordinary cabin.

But if you must say, there is something unusual here.

There is a special set of "crew rules" on the ship, there is a "secret realm" deep in the cabin that is forbidden to enter, the entire ship is alive, and even the ropes and buckets on the deck often make disturbing noises - these unusual details more or less fit her imagination of the Lost Homeland.

But compared to all her imaginations, these little weird things were so mild that they were harmless to humans and animals.

"...I remember everything," Vanna nodded slowly and said to Duncan who personally escorted her to the room, "I don't have any more questions for now."

"Very good," Duncan said calmly, "Put your luggage away now. Dinner is about to begin. If you are not interested in the barbecue on the deck after dinner, you don't have to attend. That's just Shirley and Nina's fooling around. But you have to attend dinner. This is a necessary procedure for new members to join."

"yes."

Fanna quietly put away her luggage, and after a little hesitation, she temporarily left the heavy two-handed sword in the room.

In any case, it was too strange to bring a two-handed giant sword to a restaurant.

She was silent all the way as she followed Duncan to the restaurant.

But Duncan could see that she was worried.

"You can ask anything you want to ask at any time," Duncan slowed down his pace and turned his head slightly to look at Vanna who was following him. "There aren't many rules on this ship, and the most taboo thing when sailing on the ocean is for the crew to hide their thoughts. The anxiety and confusion in your heart will be magnified by the vast ocean, and you never know when you will become an uninvited guest."

Fanna's heart trembled. She hesitated for a moment and finally spoke: "It's nothing, it's just that the development of things is not what I imagined. At the moment, I feel a little... at a loss."

"Oh, I understand. I can even roughly guess what you imagined the Lost Homeland to be like," Duncan said casually. "The first day was a lively welcome party instead of a dark and bloody sacrificial ceremony. Isn't it incredible?"

"It's not as exaggerated as... the sacrificial ceremony, but the scene I imagined at first was indeed not as peaceful as it is now." Vanna seemed to smile. At any rate, she was a little relaxed now.

"This is one of the reasons why your Pope asked you to come to this ship," Duncan said slowly, "She needs to know what the real Lost Homeland looks like, and I... also need you as a bridge to rebuild the connection with the civilized world."

We have arrived at the restaurant.

Under the light of the swinging whale oil lamp, the long table was already filled with dishes, with the steaming fish soup placed in the most conspicuous place on the table. The crew were waiting for their captain on both sides of the long table, and low, gentle creaking sounds came from deep in the cabin, as if this ancient exploration ship was humming a ballad as night fell.

Fanna came to her empty seat and looked at the table of delicious food in front of her, which was emitting bursts of aroma under the warm light.

Alice stood up and scooped a bowl of steaming soup and placed it in front of the new crew member.

"Please drink." Miss Doll said politely.

Vanna looked at the bowl of soup in front of her. In her previous conversation with Morris, she already knew the "truth" about this special food, as well as the unique symbolic meaning of this dinner. Now, looking at the fish meat swaying slightly in the thick soup, she felt a little dazed, but it disappeared in an instant.

"Is this my destiny?" she couldn't help but mutter.

"No," Alice shook her head with a simple serious expression on her face, "This is your fish soup."

Vanna was speechless, and then a smile appeared on her lips.

It smells quite good.

※※※

In the cathedral of the city-state of Plande, Helena was standing quietly in front of the statue of the Goddess of Storms, staring at the candles burning at the feet of the statue.

The candlesticks with intricate and exquisite decorative patterns were burning quietly, and the flames on their tops gradually rose in Helena's sight, then swayed, split, spread, and diffused.

In the blink of an eye, the church disappeared, the statues disappeared, and the candlesticks disappeared. All that remained in Helena's vision were countless flames - large and small, far and near, high and low, candle flames filled her surroundings, jumping and burning in the dark and chaotic endless space, like stars.

Each cluster of flames represents a saint and represents the support for the prosperity of the Deep Sea Church to this day.

Helena raised her head, and the countless flames in her vision moved rapidly. A large number of flames floated away into the distance. Only a cluster of bright candlelight came in front of her, burning quietly in the darkness.

The Pope gazed at the flame and waited patiently.

In her sight, the flame finally began to tremble gradually, and the amplitude of the trembling became larger and larger. Then at a certain moment, it suddenly burned violently, the flame rose several times, and a dark green glow suddenly rose in the firelight.

The whole process lasted only two or three seconds.

The flame returned to calm, emitting a faint green color, burning brightly and silently in the darkness.

"...It's really been completely transformed." Helena couldn't help but mutter softly, and then subconsciously raised her hand, as if she wanted to touch the quietly burning flame with her fingertips.

But she paused at the last step.

Countless candles in the darkness faded away in an instant, and the scenery in the church returned to normal.

Helena raised her head and looked at the veiled statue of the goddess, which was quietly overlooking the church.

Light and shadow floated slightly on the surface of the statue. The hard shell carved from rock seemed to have gained elasticity like a living thing. Under the thick veil, a pale and illusory aura dissipated bit by bit.

The statue lowered its head, and translucent, spirit-like tentacles condensed from the pale and illusory smoke, winding out from the edge of the veil and slowly falling in front of Helena.

The tentacles curled and expanded, waiting for Helena to speak.

"Your messenger has boarded the ship and was completely transformed two minutes ago. She is now part of the Lost Homeland," Helena said calmly and respectfully, looking at the tentacles. "But like before, she still retains her humanity and rationality, and maintains a psychic connection with the group of believers."

The tentacles swayed slightly, making a low, strange rustling sound, mixed with the sound of gentle waves.

"Yes, I will always keep an eye on her condition," Helena said, "but if there is really something wrong with her mental state... For example, if there are signs of being eroded by the warp, then..."

Two phantom tentacles swayed even more vigorously, and the strange rustling sound was mixed with a series of grunts that were impossible for humans to make and recognize.

"I understand," Helena exhaled softly and said with her head down, "I will try my best to 'pull' her back, and if things are really irreparable, I will try my best to let her return to your country with her humanity preserved."

The tentacles swayed gently and uttered soothing whispers. Then, these illusory limbs once again turned into pale, thin mist and rose into the air little by little.

The mist returned to the goddess' veil, and the statue began to move little by little, returning to its previous appearance of calmly overlooking the world.

※※※

As night falls, the cold light of the creation of the world hangs high in the night sky.

Ice floes occupy the sea surface, and sinister sharp ice edges lurk in the sparkling waves. The steel battleship with a towering bow splits the waves during the night voyage and advances head high in the boundless sea of ​​ice floes.

The large and small pieces of ice seemed to be intimidated by the majesty of the steel battleship. They retreated to the sides before the Sea Mist approached. Under the cold light of the World Creation, a path seemed to be broken open on the sea surface, and the steel behemoth was moving through the path.

Tirian stood at the bow, looking out at the dark and cold sea in the distance, his brows furrowed.

"We have entered the cold sea, Captain," the voice of the first mate Aiden came in the night wind, "We will probably be able to return to the home port by this time tomorrow."

Tirian didn't look back. "Any news from Frost?"

"According to the spies, the Frost authorities moved the submersible to Dagger Island near the city-state. There is an old ocean observatory there, which is now being used as a temporary research facility for the 'Eighth Submersible No. 3'," Aiden replied. "They don't seem to have opened the hatch of the submersible yet - perhaps out of caution, or perhaps they are waiting for orders from a higher level."

"Well, at least those idiots have the most basic caution," Tirian exhaled softly, but his brows did not relax at all. "Besides that, is there any new information?"

"Frost City is still very peaceful for now. The authorities seem to have blocked the news about the submersible. In fact, it doesn't matter whether it is blocked or not. Few people know about the Abyss Project half a century ago," Aiden said, shaking his head. "Compared to this, another thing seems to have nothing to do with the submersible, but it seems to be worthy of attention."

"Another thing?"

"Yes, rumors about... the return of the dead."