Breeze Harbor, one of the cities closest to the civilized border among all the city-states, has been the most important stronghold of the Academy of Truth and the Explorers' Association since its construction.

Thousands of years ago, an expedition team led by an elven scholar got lost in a storm and sailed to the border. While searching for a route, they discovered this large island that was not mentioned in any records.

According to records, the fleet was chased by storms for seven whole days. On the morning of the eighth day when all the members were exhausted, land suddenly appeared in the sunlight between the storms. The explorers were ecstatic and used their last bit of strength to bring the ship closer to the coast. But just as they approached the strange island, the power of the storm suddenly weakened. By the time the fleet members could see the lush vegetation on the island, the storm had dissipated completely, and only a breeze remained in the offshore area. So the explorers named the big island "Breeze", and later turned it into the name of the new colony.

Many city-states were discovered by explorers during their sea voyages, and these discoveries were accompanied by more or less thrilling stories or legends. Some legends were true, and it was difficult to tell the truth from the false. However, the discovery and construction process of Breeze Harbor has always been considered "detailed and reliable" - the reason is simple, because this is a city-state established by elves.

The explorer captain who discovered the island is now the governor of this city-state and also serves as the president of the Explorers' Association.

Sarah Meier stood on the terrace of her official residence, gazing at the distant streets bathed in the "sunshine", at this city-state that was built bit by bit by her and her colleagues and has gradually prospered to this day. Patrol steam walkers were marching through the streets, bicycle bells were ringing, and citizens were preparing to start their day's work. On the "tower" not far away, the elf-like dome was slowly opening under the drive of a mechanical device, and a heavy filter lens group rose from the top of the tower, slowly adjusting the angle, tracking the sun that was gradually rising into the sky.

The Elf Archon narrowed his eyes slightly, and wrinkles gathered at the corners of his eyes.

Even with the longevity of the elves, Sarah Mel is no longer young. Wrinkles have been creeping up his forehead little by little since three hundred years ago, and the elves' iconic blond hair is now covered with white frost. He has changed from a vigorous expedition captain to a steady but frail old man, but one thing has remained unchanged - he is still curious about the world.

"Your father was a respectable explorer. Even by the strict standards of the elves, he could be described as 'extraordinary'. It is certainly worthy of attention for such an explorer to warn the civilized world, but I hope you can understand that our doubts are also normal."

Sarah Meier turned and spoke to the dark-haired lady who was sitting demurely at the tea table on the terrace.

"Of course I understand, but my mission is just to convey the message. How to deal with it is your business," Lucrecia said calmly. "Father has also thought about your possible reactions, and his attitude is the same - give a warning, and don't care about anything else."

"...I will take charge of the Explorers' Association. In any case, the news from Captain Duncan is valuable information and should alert the captains on the route," said Governor Sara, then frowned. "But I'm really curious... Can we really dive into the deep sea and see the 'original blueprint' of our world using a spherical submersible?"

"The risk is high, but the Frost People have indeed succeeded," Lucrecia nodded. "Of course, the pioneers half a century ago paid a heavy price for this. The minds of mortals are ultimately too fragile to completely avoid the influence of the 'truth' in the deep sea. My father... is more or less special. I don't recommend you to imitate him."

"If I were 700 or 800 years younger, I would have already started planning my dive." Sarah was silent for a few seconds and shook her head with some regret. "If I could witness those scenes with my own eyes, I would be more confident in convincing others in the association."

Lucrecia smiled. "It's okay. More people will be warned soon. Father has already arranged to send a warning to the Four Gods Church and various city-states. I believe this is enough to show the seriousness of the matter."

Sarah Meier nodded, then he hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but speak: "I'm still very curious... Lady Lucrecia, has your father really fully recovered his humanity? I have lived for more than two thousand years, but I have never heard of anyone who can return from the warp and even recover his humanity after returning... How did he do it?"

"Who knows?" Lucrecia shook her head. "If you are really curious, you can ask him directly when the time comes. He will be here in person soon anyway."

Sarah Meier's calm and composed face twitched visibly.

"Ma'am, you don't need to emphasize this news again..." The Elf Archon said in a strange tone, "This is not good for the heart - please be kind to the elderly."

Lucretia laughed and looked quite happy - she felt that she had experienced Tirian's happiness, so she stood up contentedly and waved to Archon Sara.

The next second, the figure of the "Sea Witch" suddenly turned into flying colored pieces of paper, swirling into the air by a gust of wind and disappearing on the terrace.

"This 'witch' really comes and goes freely..." Sarah Meier couldn't help but mutter, and turned around to return to the room - next she should consider contacting the Explorers' Association of other city-states, and how to convey the terrible "warning".

However, the moment he turned around, the city-state governor suddenly stopped moving.

It was as if a gust of fear suddenly blew across the boundary of consciousness, and unspeakable terror and despair surged in his heart. Sarah Meier felt as if this "emotion" was directly injected into his brain, gripping his mind in an instant, making his blood cold and his muscles tense!

He raised his head with difficulty, looking in a direction that seemed to be deeply engraved in his mind and gave him a strong sense of attraction. He looked towards the center of the city-state, towards those towering buildings.

However, he did not see the city-state he was familiar with, nor did he see any other familiar scenery.

There was only a blinding fire and a giant tree. It was so huge that it was hard to describe. Even its boundaries could not be seen. It was like a huge mountain range, burning at the end of his vision!

The giant tree was like the World Tree "Silantis" that existed in the ancient legends of the elves, but it was far more magnificent and amazing than what poets and scholars imagined. It seemed to cover the entire mountain range and plains, and sheltered a kingdom in the shade of the tree. It was larger than any city-state or island that Sarah Meier had ever seen, and the land under the giant tree was so vast that he could not imagine it.

However, all of this was shrouded in a doomsday-like flame.

The red flames were devouring everything, burning the giant tree and the forest around it to ashes. Huge flashes of light that seemed like some kind of energy release kept bursting out from the edge of the flames, igniting the air and tearing the sky apart.

Sarah Meier raised her eyes with difficulty, following the strange huge flashes.

He finally found the source of the fire that consumed everything.

It was the sky—the entire sky was filled with a terrifyingly hot light, swelling and glowing like a steam core reactor that was about to melt out of control, and in the middle of that constantly swelling light, one could see a dark red, ominous color gradually seeping in.

Afterwards, the dark red color began to spread rapidly until it swallowed up the scorching light in the sky, shrouding the entire world in a horrible, dark red dusk. The heat of the sky subsided, but everything on the earth had been burned to ashes. The forest turned to scorched earth, and the miraculous giant trees collapsed in the ashes, making a roar that shook the earth and the sky.

The dark red sky became darker and darker, and some black stripes gradually spread out. It seemed that a very long time had passed, or it might have been only a moment. Sarah Meier saw the night fall. The strange night sky mixed with darkness and dark red covered the world that had turned into a scorched earth. In this extremely short "tranquility", he seemed to hear someone talking in his ear.

Those were a few unfamiliar voices.

"...I still remember them, and their appearance..."

"Memories can come in handy... We have a plan..."

“A sanctuary, or a cage of lingering survival—the future is not optimistic.”

"But at least there is a future..."

Sarah Meier looked around in horror, trying to find the source of the sound, but she only saw the world burning up and everything annihilated. Then, the dark red night sky began to break apart, and chaotic light and shadows "poured" in from the cracks in the sky. The ashes and debris on the earth were assimilated and decomposed by the light and shadows in an instant. Everything was disappearing rapidly. A strong thought of unknown origin roared in her mind, as if hundreds of millions of thoughts were speaking and resonating at the same time:

Torn doomsday.

Sarah Meier staggered.

Something was receding like the tide. The remaining intense emotions and horrific impressions in his mind were melting away as quickly as snowflakes in the sun. The previous second, he felt as if he had seen something, or even remembered something strongly. The next second, he felt as if he had just been stunned and was in a trance for a moment.

Those things disappeared, like dreams that fade away in the morning.

Sarah Meier stood there, frowned subconsciously, and looked back in the direction where the "Sea Witch" had disappeared just now.

"This 'witch' really comes and goes freely..."

Sarah Meier couldn't help but grumble and turned back to the room.