The terrifying phenomenon of "slumber" and disappearance is spreading throughout the world, from the distant northern waters to the southern oceans, from the foggy eastern border to the western islands. In almost every city-state, elves suddenly fall into sleep, as well as strange and inexplicable "dissipation" phenomena begin to appear.

And the message that Ted Riel sent from the depths of the Nameless's Dream was spread to the whole world through the mouths of those sleeping elves.

Church bells rang, telegraphs and psychic communications began to transmit messages between city-states, archons and archbishops communicated about real-time situations, and the joint monitoring and defense system that had been established not long ago under the leadership of the Four Gods Church began to operate in a hurry.

People thought that this system would be used to monitor the deep sea beneath the city-state, but they didn't expect that the first time it was used was because of a dream that went out of control.

A whirlwind of flying colored paper pieces flew through the layers of vines, leaves, and roofs, and swirled into the governor's office in the city hall.

Governor Sarah Meier, who was communicating with several city hall officials, immediately raised her head and looked at the "Sea Witch" who walked out of the colorful paper.

"It suddenly occurred to me that I should check on the City Hall situation," Lucrecia walked towards the large oval desk, "You seem very busy."

"You're in a mess, ma'am," Sarah Meier said, waving to the city hall officials around her to step aside. "I heard you just lent a hand to the troubled sheriff's force - thank you very much for your help."

"What's the situation now?"

"The city is in chaos. Sixteen blocks have completely lost contact. Dense vegetation has blocked all roads. A large number of residents are missing. It is difficult for security forces and guards to penetrate those areas. The steam hub has stopped working. For safety reasons, we have also shut down the gas supply in the entire city. Thank God, that thing can still be turned off, but no one knows what to do tonight," Sarah Meier said in one breath. "As for outside the city... I believe you also know what is happening in other places. Countless news is coming through various channels, but I am afraid I don't have the extra energy to pay attention to the situation in other city-states."

"What about the news from Ted Lear? Did you know about it?"

"Yes, I know," Sarah Meier nodded. "First, two hours ago, the task force that Taran El was a part of sent a message saying that after the task force left the dream, the Keeper of Truth did not return to the real world. Half an hour ago, I received the latest intelligence that the Keeper of Truth was trapped in the deepest part of the Nameless One's dream..."

He paused, an indescribable complex expression on his face. He seemed to want to let out a long sigh, but in the end he just twitched the corners of his mouth. “The elves are proud of our long and complete heritage. We firmly believe that those ancient legends and myths are real history that once existed and are the symbol of our ancient civilization. Now, our legends and myths are coming to kill us.”

Lucrecia stared at the respected archon silently. After a moment, she slowly spoke: "But until last night, the information we had was that Silantis wanted to protect all the elves - even until now, I still have reason to believe that this 'protection' is still in effect, but... in an extremely dangerous way."

Sarah Meier frowned: "...Yes, because Silantis is crazy."

"I want to meet Taran El and the other knowledge guardians who entered the Nameless One's Dream with him," Lucrecia said. "I didn't find them at the Polis University."

"They are being observed and questioned in an isolated facility. I'll tell you the location..."

※※※

The majestic Storm Cathedral stands quietly at the highest point of Plande, and the square in front of the cathedral is as lively as usual - on every open day, many citizens gather here, either to worship in the church, or to receive blessings and treatment in the facilities near the church, or simply to visit.

Duncan, wearing a plain brown coat and black trousers, followed the other visitors into the church, crossed the magnificent archway, and then walked along the path that Vanna had pointed out in his mind, all the way to the depths of the church.

He passed through the main hall and worship path open to tourists, through the shortcut corridor next to the sermon, and walked along a route that even many church staff were unfamiliar with.

"...Go forward through the small black door, then turn right. About 20 meters away, there will be a fork in the road. The path on the left leads to the inner courtyard...

"This road is the quietest. When you reach the end, you can see the side door of the inner chapel. I have already made an appointment with Bishop Valentine to wait for you in the chapel. Everything has been arranged along the way. No one will stop you. The guards on the road don't know your identity... Yes, only Bishop Valentine knows the real situation...

"If you want to come to the cathedral again in the future, you can take this route. By the way, the room where I used to rest in the cathedral is next to the chapel. You can also go there... I know you won't need it..."

Duncan raised his eyes as he listened to the Inquisitor's voice in his mind.

They arrived at the inner chapel - this facility, which was not open to the public, was only used by high-ranking priests of the Deep Sea Church. A plain black wooden door stood quietly at the end of the path, and two fully armed church guards stood there tall and straight, like two gloomy sculptures.

Duncan walked toward the door.

The guard at the door didn't even move his eyes, as if he didn't see Duncan at all, and still maintained a serious look as he looked straight ahead.

This was obviously the result of advance arrangements. Duncan could almost imagine what kind of orders the guards along the way received -

A special "guest" will visit the cathedral today.

Don't listen, don't look, don't ask, don't think.

He smiled at them politely, then walked past the two guards and gently pushed open the black wooden door with many sacred runes painted on it.

There was a slight sound of waves, and a damp and cold breath seemed to appear briefly and then quickly fade away. Duncan felt that he had crossed an invisible barrier and walked into a spacious room with bright lights.

Valentine, the supreme bishop of the city-state of Plande, was standing in the center of the room.

The old man with sparse white hair was wearing a black priest robe with gold patterns. He had his back to the door and was facing the statue of the Storm Goddess in the room, which was surrounded by a mysterious and holy atmosphere. He seemed to be praying devoutly. When he heard the sound of the door opening, he turned around and looked at the special "guest" standing at the door.

It can be seen that the old man seems a little nervous - although he is trying hard to control it.

"Hello, Bishop Valentine, we meet again," Duncan said with a smile on his face, walking towards him, "but this should be the first time for you to see me like this."

Valentine looked curiously at "Duncan" as he walked into the room.

All he saw was an ordinary middle-aged man wearing a plain old coat, neither tall nor strong, like one that could be seen anywhere in the city-state.

But just a second later, a strong warning from his mind urged him to shift his gaze and stop staring at the "shell" that looked like a human.

"I know this is the 'avatar' you use to move around in the city-state. I heard Vanna mention it," Valentine lowered his eyes slightly, "I also heard her talk about the current situation. Everything you want is ready."

The old bishop raised his hand and pointed to a large wooden box next to the icon.

There are stored the original data from the construction of the Lost Homeland a century ago, as well as... the most important "sample".

Several bright candlesticks were temporarily placed around the wooden box. The phantom light that occasionally rose from the candlestick flames showed that they had been endowed with the power of blessing. Seals such as stone slabs and iron chains could be seen on both sides of the wooden box, which was obviously part of the safety measures.

It seems that even though it was taken out of the sealed room and placed in this chapel under the direct gaze of the goddess, this box of "Shipbuilding Archives" has received great attention. Bishop Valentine was guarding here in advance, probably to prevent the things in the box from getting out of control.

"...Is it really that dangerous?" Duncan walked towards the big wooden box and couldn't help but turned his head and asked, "Are these sealing measures effective?"

"It's actually useless - because this box of things has never been 'moved' before." Valentine said quite bluntly.

Duncan was stunned when he heard this: "So what are you doing..."

"I feel at ease," Valentine said calmly. "The things in the box haven't moved, but everyone knows there must be a supernatural connection between them and the Lost Homeland, so we just use all kinds of sealing methods. What you see is a simplified version. In the sealing room where the wooden box was originally stored, there are many more 'safety measures' than this."

Duncan was speechless.

After a moment, he shook his head, ignoring the sudden awkward atmosphere, and walked forward to open the wooden box.

The box was unlocked—the lock had been removed when it was delivered here.

"The original design blueprints, technical parameters, and engineering logs of the Lost Homeland - in fact, there is much more complete information, but those less relevant things have been burned to ashes in the fire at the shipyard. Only these are left, sealed in this box..."

Valentine's voice came from the side. The old bishop came to Duncan, looked at the things in the box and said in a deep voice.

"Of course, I guess what you really want is not just these drawings, but... the thing in the middle of the box.

"A preserved sample of a keel, built according to the custom of sailing ships a century ago."

Duncan's eyes were fixed quietly on the gray-black square wood lying in the middle of a piece of black satin.

That was a "sample" cut from the original keel material of the Lost Homeland.