This time, the sun went out close to dusk - so not long after the sky was relit, the sunlight gradually faded from the sea level.

The brilliant double rune ring of Vision 001 slowly sank into the sea, and disappeared into the sky as the last ray of sunset glowed. Night fell - in the urban area that the "luminous geometry" could not directly illuminate, the cold glow of the Creation of the World and the night enveloped everything as usual.

The city fell silent. The gas lamps on the streets emitted a slightly hazy light in the night. The patrolling guards passed through the streets, leaving long shadows at the intersections. The experience of the sun going out was like a dream that was not real enough, and was gradually melting into the night.

However, Duncan could feel that this "nightmare" had not really subsided as it seemed on the surface - a certain oppressive atmosphere still lingered in the city, and in these quiet neighborhoods, tension and anxiety grew like sticky mud in the night.

"...Every household has turned on all the lights, and there is a tense atmosphere everywhere," Shirley muttered as she lay in front of the living room window, looking at the street outside, "I definitely don't want to go out on the street now...I feel like I can't breathe."

Ah Gou shook his head beside her: "Today there are at least twice as many guards outside. If you go to the street now, you will be held down by the night patrol guards the first time. You will still be gasping for breath. When the time comes, the captain will have to go to the police station to bail us out. Then you will really be unable to breathe..."

Vanna leaned against the window and glanced down at Shirley who was lying on the windowsill: "I didn't expect you to be so sensitive to 'smell'."

"I am familiar with this feeling. The gas lamps in the downtown area always light up later than in other neighborhoods. When night falls, many people cannot afford to turn on the lights at home. This tense atmosphere will appear as the sky darkens. When the gas lamps are turned on, the whole street will breathe a sigh of relief. It's like a 'whoosh' feeling. We know that we can sleep peacefully."

"But even if the whole city is brightly lit today, many people are bound to have sleepless nights," Duncan came over, stroked Shirley's hair with one hand, and rubbed Agou's head with the other. "After the sun goes out for the second time, even the most optimistic people will probably start to worry about one question - whether the sun will rise again the next day."

Shirley tilted her head to the side, then suddenly looked up at Duncan with a horrified look: "...Ah?! You really won't be going up tomorrow?!"

Duncan looked strange: "...How would I know? My words don't count."

"Oh," Shirley scratched her hair, "It seems so..."

Lucrecia came over at this time and said, "We've received news from the 'Observation Station' that the signal emitted by the light object has indeed completely stopped. Now they are preparing to send a team into the light object to check if there are any changes in the 'stone ball'."

Duncan raised his eyebrows. "Night work?"

"For the sea area where the 'Luminous Geometry' is located, it is always daytime," Lucrecia spread out her hands. "The sun can calm the abnormal forces on the vast sea. Research work around the Luminous Geometry has always been carried out in a 24-hour rotation."

Duncan nodded, then suddenly turned around thoughtfully and glanced at Alice who was winding up Runie not far away.

The doll lady noticed the gaze and raised her head, giving this side a harmless smile.

After the sun came out again, the fault signal in Alice's "eyes" disappeared, and she returned to her normal state as if nothing had happened.

But Duncan suddenly became curious... What would happen if he brought her to the "stone ball" at this time? Would this puppet, which was theoretically a "creation" of the Deep Lord, see something that ordinary people could not see again in front of the fragments of "Vision 001" also created by the Deep Lord?

In fact, Duncan had taken Alice to see the luminous geometric object before, but no one realized at that time that there was actually an almost "homologous" connection between Alice and Anomaly 001, so he had not conducted any special tests in this regard, and Alice herself did not focus on the luminous geometric object - but this time, he wanted to do some purposeful "tests".

"...Lucy, I need you to help me arrange something." Duncan turned his head and looked at Lucrecia. "I want to take Alice to see the 'stone ball'."

Lucrecia was startled, but soon understood what Duncan meant and nodded immediately: "Understood."

Duncan hummed and looked up at the air beside him.

A dark green flame ignited out of nowhere as his gaze focused, and a fat pigeon with spiritual fire burning all over its body flapped its wings and appeared in front of him: "Transmission successful! Transmission successful!"

"It's time to pick up the unfortunate 'Keeper of the Truth'," Duncan said casually. "Go to Lawrence. The White Oak can be used as a beacon. Do you know the way?"

Ai tilted his head, thought for a moment, and then flapped his wings vigorously: "Air wife! Fantasy wife! Air wife! Fantasy wife!"

"...Lawrence's wife is no longer a fantasy - don't say this in front of Martha, or she will stew you." Duncan's eyes twitched, staring at the pigeon that was getting fatter day by day. "I think about it, you should leave later, and then send Ted Lill directly to the stone ball, so I can talk to him."

The pigeon suddenly became excited again: "Talk therapy, abbreviated as talk therapy~~"

Duncan: “…”

※※※

Ted Lear put on a warm thick coat and walked slowly on the stern deck. The cold night wind blew from the sea, carrying a fishy and salty smell. The sound of waves hitting the hull rose and fell in the night, gradually calming his mood.

After the sun was relit, it ushered in the sunset normally. After the usual dusk was the quiet night. At this moment, even the cold light of the creation of the world seemed a little friendly.

"For a guy who just came back from the Warp Butterfly Stroke, you've recovered pretty well."

A hoarse and unpleasant voice came from the deck not far away. Ted looked in the direction of the sound and saw the ugly mummy in a sailor's smock sitting on a coil of rope near the side of the ship, smiling at him in the night.

That smile is enough to give people nightmares.

Ted frowned, walked towards the corpse and leaned on the guardrail beside him.

"You don't actually need this thick coat, Mr. Secret Keeper," the "sailor" glanced at the coat Ted Riel was wearing and said casually, "As far as I know, the physique of the 'Saint' is different from that of ordinary people. Soaking in the sea water for a while shouldn't make you feel cold... Or is the chill of the warp still soaking you?"

"...This is Captain Lawrence's kindness," Ted said casually after looking at the clothes he was wearing. Then he frowned and said, "Why do I feel...you seem to know a lot about the 'Saints'?"

"I have a rough understanding of it," the "sailor" grinned and laughed hoarsely, "I know that no matter what you were like before, you are no longer completely 'living people' after receiving the blessing. I also know that your skin is strong enough to resist swords, your bones can be shattered and regenerated, your heart can be broken but the blood can continue to flow, and you can survive for several days without breathing. Even a 'scholar' like you, after being promoted, will not be afraid of cold, heat, disease, and various poisons..."

He paused, then casually pulled out a bottle of beer from the side. He shook his head and continued, "Strictly speaking, you 'saints' are essentially a group of 'anomalies' that have been unsealed. It's just that ordinary anomalies go out of control after being unsealed, but you... those who blessed you are still controlling you."

Listening to the mummy's chattering, Ted Riel's expression suddenly became a little serious: "How do you know so much?"

"I'm a 'sailor', and sailors should know a lot of strange things, because we are the ghosts wandering on the vast sea - either wandering in life or wandering after death. The longer we wander, the more we know. There is nothing new on the vast sea." The "sailor" pulled the corner of his mouth and raised the beer in his hand and shook it. "Would you like a sip? Pure Storm Brew, a good wine produced by the Deep Sea Church. I secretly took it out from the captain's collection."

"...You dare to steal the captain's things?"

"Stealing wine from the captain's collection is also a necessary part of being a 'sailor' - and then being hanged on the mast is another part," the mummy laughed hoarsely, raised the bottle and drank it down his throat, and then the wine flowed out from his broken chest and a big hole on the side of his neck, dripping onto the deck, "hiss - good wine."

Ted Riel didn't care about the mummy's interruption. He still looked at the anomaly numbered 077, which was marked as "special out-of-control state" in the official data, with suspicion. After a while, he suddenly asked, "You were supposed to be a human?"

"How would I know?" The sailor shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, 'humans' can become abnormal under certain conditions. If you think I am, then that's it."

Ted Riel noticed that the sailor did not answer his question directly, so he did not ask any more questions. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly changed the subject: "Where is this ship going?"

"Lensa, the captain has received a large order. He needs to go there to pick up twelve sealed objects and transport them to another northern city-state."

"……How many?!"

"Twelve pieces."

"...A large transport ship escorted by a Saint can only transport eight 'anomalies' at a time - don't you consider the strict containment conditions of anomalies and the possibility of conflicts and influences between them?" Ted Riel was stunned. "Who signed the permit for you?!"

"It's signed by the Deep Sea Church. What's wrong?" The sailor glanced at Ted. "Don't make such a fuss. This is the transportation of the 'Lost Homeland Fleet' with all our heart. We transport twelve at a time because there are only twelve seals in Lensa that meet the transportation conditions. As for the seals getting out of control..."

The mummy stopped and pointed at itself. "I'm the only 'out of control' anomaly on this ship. I'm on duty 24 hours a day. I have to fight when I get off the ship, clean the deck when I get on board, and I have to go into the sea to rescue people when I meet them returning from the subspace butterfly stroke. If you give me a chance to start over, I'll rot in the shroud and never wake up. Anomalies that need to be 'transferred and transported' to enhance the sealing effect must have a certain level of thinking ability. When they see me like this, they become as quiet as quails after getting on board. Those who are naturally mobile have learned to help close the door after the captain inspects the sealing room..."

Ted Lear: “……?”