Blind fools wandered outside the power plant in a trance. The low roar of the port's power facilities came from the thick fog. The cold steam core was running hollowly. The steam itself had become part of the distorted vision, and the protection of the flames had disappeared.

But "shelter" itself is no longer necessary in today's world. The boundary between "normal" and "abnormal" has long been blurred. When all minds fall along with the world, "reason" has become a madman and pollution in the eyes of this world. Now, the madmen gather within the high walls, build the last shelter, and watch anxiously as the outside world gradually sinks into darkness.

"We will prepare sufficient supplies for the Brilliant Star," Helena said to Vanna and Lucrecia standing beside her, standing on a platform high above the power plant. "You can move to the western dock, which is one of the external channels we can currently control."

"Can this 'lighthouse' still provide supplies now?" Lucrecia looked at the Pope in surprise. "Do you have so many resources?"

"Yes, there is no shortage of supplies. This may not match your first impression of this place," Helena smiled, "but in fact, the 'operation' of the whole world is continuing. The production and transportation of various major supplies, and even the 'commercial activities' in the city-state... Every half a month, a cargo ship loaded with supplies will sail from the border base to refuel and other things for this lighthouse. Those compatriots who are in a trance will take over as usual, and we 'awakeners' will use the licenses found in the old documents to transfer some of the supplies to other warehouses. In the same way, we can also use many facilities and equipment here."

She turned her head and looked at the vast platform outside the power plant.

"Yes, this world is still running. Every part of it...is running along the old track in a trance, just like a large ship that has collapsed internally, but is still driven by inertia to drift on the sea along the original track. We who woke up on the ship are powerless to repair the ship, but at least we can all 'sail' with it before it capsizes."

Vanna and Lucrecia didn't say anything for a moment, and they didn't know how to start.

This world has become something they don't recognize at all.

But Helena obviously didn't care about it. She just waved her hand and continued, "Thank you very much for telling me what happened at the end of the world. In this way, those of us waiting on the ship will finally know what is happening outside. Now waiting at least has meaning, and it is no longer just a matter of struggling to survive.

"The Lost Homeland...is still sailing at the end of the world, right?"

"Yes, the captain and Alice stayed at the end of the world, and they are still moving further away," Vanna said softly, "The captain is preparing for the new world. When everything is ready... you can 'blink'."

"Okay, then I won't delay your journey," Helena's incarnation turned around and exhaled softly, "I'll go arrange for supplies, and someone will take you two back to the dock later..."

She suddenly stopped, stared into Vanna's eyes, and spoke after a long time.

"Vanna, have a safe journey - see you in the new world."

Vanna nodded solemnly: "Yes, Your Holiness, see you in the new world."

※※※

The howling wind had stopped at some point, and now what remained on this ice field was only pure and extreme "cold" - the cold penetrated the flesh and blood, soaked through the bone marrow, and froze the soul. The fire bearers in this cold wind had long forgotten the warmth of "fire".

The undead trudged across the ice field. In the cold night, the lanterns on their chests stretched out in a winding manner, forming a faintly flickering and wriggling line deep in the ice field.

Frame stood on a hastily built platform, gazing at the ice in the distance. At the end of his vision, the majestic silhouette of the Church Ark stood silently in the distance. The lights on the Ark formed a flickering "mountain" in the night, and the star-like light formed by the lanterns flowed between the "mountain" and the ice under his feet, constantly and tirelessly.

After the icebreakers became completely unusable, the Firebringers used the explosives they carried on board to break through the next section of ice. After the explosives ran out, the Ark used its tremendous power and sturdy armor to break through another section of the road. After that, its power system finally shut down completely - even though the steam core was still whistling hollowly and air was surging in the pipes, the giant ship still stopped between the ice layers, on the last section of the road before its destination.

But fortunately, it is not far from the final "focus", and is even within the influence of the focus - at this moment, the last "archive" of civilization is being established in this ice field.

Footsteps sounded from the side, and a veiled priestess walked onto the platform. She stopped beside Fram and bent down slightly: "Another eleven people have been 'awakened'. They have been settled in the camp and are currently receiving psychological comfort and counseling."

Frame nodded slightly: "Well, how are they doing?"

"It's better than the last batch," the priestess replied. "It's useful to keep giving hints and reminders to those in a trance in advance. After they wake up, most people will almost immediately realize that this is a situation that is still under control, and seek help from the nearest contact person... These experiences can be passed on to the city-state."

Frame nodded slightly and said nothing more. He just raised his head and looked quietly at the archive building under construction.

The engineering machinery transported from the Ark was busy working on the ice field, and a group of simple, even ugly buildings had taken shape.

Compared with the majestic Ark ships and the quaint and solemn shipboard churches, those buildings that are almost indistinguishable from rough factory buildings have basically no aesthetic appeal, because they are designed with only one goal - to strive to build the most sturdy storage space possible in an unfamiliar environment in the shortest possible time.

A soft murmur came from beside him: "Doing this... is it really meaningful?"

Frame turned his head and looked at the priestess standing next to him.

"I'm sorry, Your Holiness. I'm not shaken. I just..." The priestess shook her head and explained, "I just thought about recent events - more and more people have woken up from their 'trance'. For many of them, their last memory even went back to the day they set out. Many people asked me what happened along the way. Many questions..."

"I understand what you want to say, Delis," Frame interrupted the priestess's explanation softly, his eyes still on the "construction site". "Many people believe that as long as humans are preserved, everything is preserved, because civilization is created by humans. Humans can create civilization once and rebuild it countless times... I understand, yes, and I agree more - as the Pope of the Fire Bearer, I understand how civilization is established and continued better than many people."

He paused for a moment, then continued softly, “Civilization without people is meaningless, but Delis, there is also the second half of the sentence—the same is true for people without civilization.

“Civilization is indeed not just those cold stones and books, not just those silent sculptures, music scores and crafts. Those things are just the carriers and forms of expression of civilization, not the abstract civilization itself. These are all true, but——

“Civilization needs a carrier and evidence.

"It's foolish to cling to the 'carrier' and abandon the 'essence'. It's also foolish to only know the essence and think that there's no need for a carrier. Without a carrier and evidence, no matter how glorious the memory is, it will always erode with time, eroding before people have a chance to rebuild civilization. Even if we don't consider it from this perspective... Delis, we also need to leave some evidence so that people many years later can understand what happened in this world.

"One of the meanings of cultural relics and archaeology lies in this 'information'."

The veiled priestess met Frame's gaze calmly. Her once bright eyes had become cloudy and dark many days ago, but now these cloudy eyes were still firm.

"I understand. I will tell others about your warning..."

Frame nodded.

And a thin layer of "fog" quietly appeared around them at some point.

Priestess Delis looked up in surprise and looked at the white mist floating around.

After entering the ice field, they hadn't seen "fog" for a long time.

Although the end of the sight is the magnificent fog wall of the Eternal Veil, unlike other border seas, there is almost no fog on this ice field.

"The weather has changed..." She raised her hand and touched the intangible fog. "Will there be fog on the ice field?"

Frame frowned, he looked up at the sky, at the wisps of white that were floating and flowing like fluid, and after a moment he finally reacted.

"No, this is not fog," he suddenly said, with surprise in his voice, "…this is cloud!"

"Cloud?" The priestess was stunned for a moment, as if she had just thought about it and then remembered what "cloud" meant. Then she widened her eyes in astonishment, "Clouds fell from the sky?"

"...The clouds are lowering in height," Frame said solemnly, but he soon realized that this statement made no difference, so he added, "All the clouds are descending synchronously. Rather than saying they are 'falling' down, it's more like..."

He paused, and Delis understood what he meant. The priestess blinked and said with a hint of uneasiness: "The sky itself is getting lower..."