The gods live in a kingdom of God far away from the real world. People believe that this special dimension is the cornerstone of the world. However, contrary to common sense, this "cornerstone" is not located at the bottom of the world, but at the top of all dimensions.

The ancient Kingdom of Crete described the world structure they knew in the following texts:

〖The foundation of the world is at the top, guarded by eternal truth and order. The kingdom of God is in the foundation, and it has always existed.

From the Kingdom of God downwards is the reality where all living beings exist. In this layer, all living beings in the world enjoy the afterglow of order and can survive in a relatively stable and abundant real world.

From reality downward, there is the spiritual world that gradually deviates from the mortals’ cognition. In the spiritual world, the blessings of the gods have become thin, and twisted and bizarre forces begin to prevail;

From the spiritual world downwards, there is a deep ocean that is no longer suitable for living things and is dominated by strange forces. It can no longer be considered a part of the material world, but more like a reflection of nothingness;

Beyond the deep sea is the bottom of the world - the depths of the subspace where the shadows of all things are entrenched. The extremely dangerous ancient gods and the bodies of various sinister things are entrenched in the subspace.

In the records of the ancient Kingdom of Crete, the gods made a contract in the cornerstone. This contract is the source and standard of all laws in the world. This order flows down, defines the laws of the world's operation, and permeates all things in the world. As the "depth" continues to decrease, the power of order will begin to weaken and will gradually be dominated by the subspace - the "cornerstone" where the gods are located and the subspace are like the upper and lower ends of the world, and "order" flows unidirectionally between these two ends.

This is an ancient gift left to the world by a brilliant civilization that pioneered the deep sea era ten thousand years ago. Over the long years, countless scholars have devoted their time to studying this "layered structure" but have not found any errors in this model. Today, it has become the "world standard model" recognized by the world.

In this standard model, mortals on earth will fall into deeper depths, but few can return from the "deep layer" to the "shallow layer". Even if one or two lucky people occasionally return to reality from the spiritual world, it has never been heard that any extraordinary being can reach the "foundation" dimension where the gods are from reality.

It is for this reason that the Homelander returning to reality from the subspace has become the most outrageous phenomenon in the world - its return voyage violates the world's understanding of the standard model of the world.

But on the other hand, the existence of the Lost Homeland conforms to the classic statement about anomalies and visions:

[The Law of Permanent Inaccuracy of Anomalies and Phenomena]

But no matter what, Bishop Valentine and Vanna did not think that the ghost captain had the ability to take revenge on the Goddess of Storms - even if he had the heart to do so, he could not do such a thing.

Because the "foundation" is not continuous with the real world, it is not like the relationship between the real world and the spiritual world, or the spiritual world and the deep sea, where there is a continuous fall and material exchange. So far, no scholar has found evidence that the "foundation" and the real world are directly connected. Even the gods can only indirectly exert their influence through methods such as projection and commands. How can a ghost ship... possibly counterattack the kingdom of the gods?

Since it is impossible to seek revenge on the Storm Goddess herself, the only option left is of course the Goddess's believers on earth.

The Storm Cathedral, the headquarters of the Deep Sea Church, is a "pilgrimage ark" that sails secretly on the boundless ocean, coming and going without a trace. His Holiness the Pope who sits on the ark has the power to control the storm on behalf of the Lord, and is not a good target.

Then the city-state of Plande, which is fixed on the sea, has a clear purpose and is open to the outside world, naturally becomes a better choice: eighty percent of the people in this city-state are believers of the Storm Goddess.

Vanna has already determined that the ghost captain came for revenge - after all, the Lost Homeland fell into the subspace in a storm a hundred years ago. She can't think of any other reason to explain why the Lost Homeland, which has disappeared for so many years, would suddenly return to the real world and point the finger at the city-state of Pland.

But what exactly does the ghost captain plan to do?

Vanna frowned and spoke slowly while thinking: "Bishop Valentine, do you think... the Lost Homeland has anything to do with the recent movements of the Sun Believers in the city-state?"

After she finished speaking, she paused and added, "In my dream last night, I saw the burning sun and the Lost Homeland appear together in Plande. The simultaneous arrival of these two disasters may be the omen given to me by the goddess..."

"But don't forget that in the underground sacrificial field, the contaminated 'sacrifice' killed the Dark Sun priest. That was a baptized 'messenger'." The bishop shook his head. "At least at that sacrificial site, the positions of the Lost Homeland and the Black Sun seemed to be hostile."

Vanna did not speak for a while, but fell into deep thought because of the bishop's words. The old man opposite her continued after a brief silence: "Regarding those believers who worship the Dark Sun, I got some information from the city-state of Lensa this morning..."

Vanna immediately raised her head: "Tip?"

"The resurgence of the Sun heretics is not limited to Plande. They have recently been active in many city-states. A large number of them have recently passed through the ports of Lunsa and Moko and are gathering in Plande. Some of them have been arrested," the old bishop nodded. "During the interrogation, those heretics mentioned the 'Sun Fragment'."

"Sun fragments... the remains of the 'real sun god' that fell off after it disintegrated in the minds of those heretics?" Vanna suddenly realized, "Do they think there is a piece of sun fragment hidden in Plande?"

"It seems like this now. I don't know where those heretics got the information from. It could be a 'revelation' they got when they were crazy. Anyway, now they firmly believe that part of their 'Lord' is hidden in this city," Bishop Valentine said calmly, "and they see this as hope for the revival of the Dark Sun."

“…those lunatics,” Vanna couldn’t help but curse under her breath, “how many lives have they killed in order to revive that dark and blasphemous sun!”

"Dark Sun is our name. The sun god in their minds is radiant with light and represents the truest order. You can't expect those irrational cultists to have any conscience when their hands are covered in blood," Valentine shook his head. "They firmly believe that everything they say and do is just. When dealing with them, there are only two languages ​​that are most effective: caliber and poundage."

Listening to the bishop's speech, which was quite in the style of the Deep Sea Church, Vanna couldn't help but twitch her lips: "It seems that we will be busy now."

"There is never peace on the vast sea, and the city-state is also in the vast sea," Valentine said. "Captains have to face the storms in the ocean, and we have to face the storms brought by the fools of the world. Inquisitor, be prepared, the city-state of Plender may face a challenge."

"Two challenges," Vanna corrected seriously, "In addition to the followers of the Black Sun, there is also a mysterious and terrifying ghost captain. If the Lost Homeland and the Black Sun are really not on the same side, then our troubles will become two from one."

Bishop Valentine hesitated for a moment and said, "Perhaps there is another possibility. Based on the situation at the sewer sacrificial site, the Lost Homeland might fight with the followers of the Black Sun?"

"...the two problems have merged into one devastating problem, Bishop Valentine," Vanna looked at the old man in front of her whose mind was clearly wandering, "the ghost ship returning from the warp and a group of cultists fighting for the sun fragments are fighting in the city-state of Plande, and there may even be the descent of the Dark Sun. I can't think of a worse situation than this."

Valentine sighed and admitted that Vanna was right.

"In short, we should work together with the sheriff's forces to arrest all the solar heretics who have infiltrated the city-state and eliminate the threat of the Black Sun before the situation becomes serious. This is a relatively easy goal to achieve," said Vanna. After removing the mental interference of the Lost Homeland and entering the field she is good at, her mind became obviously active. "As for the ghost ship... we don't know its next move, so we have no way to start. We can only monitor the spirit world and the sea area around the city-state..."

At this point, the young judge couldn't help but shook his head, his expression serious and helpless: "Damn, who knows what a ghost captain will want to do next..."

※※※

"I want some more ketchup..." Duncan waved to Nina across the table, "Just pass it to me and I can do it myself."

Nina immediately handed over the ketchup: "Okay Uncle Duncan."

It was already noon, and Duncan and Nina were having lunch in the small kitchen on the second floor. The food in the antique shop was simple - a kind of salty pancake, a local specialty of Plande, served with ketchup or hot sauce, and vegetable soup. It was not a delicacy, but both Duncan and Nina ate it with gusto.

Duncan hadn't had such a normal lunch for a long time, and Nina hadn't had such a normal lunch for a long time.

Duncan felt that he was beginning to like this place.