Ashes Of Deep Sea

This scene, so reminiscent of the daily life in an ordinary household, gave him an oddly strange feeling.

Just then, Nina’s voice came from the kitchen, “Uncle Duncan, is there any news in the paper?”

Duncan glanced down at the newspaper, first noticing the date “August 14th of the City-State Calendar, year 1900”, and then the news about the Church’s Judge leading a team to arrest dozens of Heretics: on the entire front page of the paper, this was probably the most significant headline.

“It says here the Judge led a team to capture dozens of Sun Heretics,” he said casually, “and it mentions that this is the largest heretic congregation the Church has cracked down on in nearly four years. There’s also a bit about reminding the citizens to be cautious at night and to identify any heretical beliefs among their associates.”

“Ah, I heard about that on my way here too!” Nina efficiently placed the cleaned dishes in the cupboard, “It’s scary, I remember my teacher saying that those who worship the Sun even sacrifice living people to the Sun God… who would be so crazy as to believe in such a cult?”

Duncan suddenly didn’t know what to say because whatever he said felt too delicate—for should he mention that he had recently had a full experience of being a sacrifice on the altar, or should he admit that his niece’s uncle was such a crazy Heretic?

However, one thing was clear from Nina’s reaction; she obviously didn’t know her “uncle” was a Sun Heretic—she even held the normal values of ordinary people, thinking that the living sacrifices to the Sun God were terrible.

In her eyes, “Uncle” was just a bit of a hot-tempered man due to illness, someone who drank a bit too much and had some “weird friends”.

The body he now inhabited may have once belonged to a thoroughly blood-stained man, but at the least, he had truly raised Nina to this day, and so far, had kept the girl away from the faith of the Sun God.

Maybe one day in the future, a Heretic named “Ron” would indeed degenerate to the last step and drag the last of his kin into the endless Abyss, but at least until today, that had not happened.

And it would not happen in the future either.

“Uncle? Why have you suddenly gone quiet?” Nina was curious about the silence behind her, and she turned her head to look at him with concern, “Feeling unwell again?”

“No, just a bit distracted,” Duncan came to his senses and shook his head, “You’re right, it is indeed a heinous act… The paper also mentioned that citizens should be vigilant and promptly report any heretical activities around them. During this time, you should also try not to wander places other than school and home.”

Nina nodded, but then let out an “ah” of hesitation, her face showing a somewhat reluctant expression, “But… I’ve made plans with classmates to visit the museum in a couple of days…”

“The museum?” Duncan asked casually, “Which museum?”

“The one near our school, by the edge of the Upper City District—the Ocean Museum,” Nina explained, “I heard they recently have an exhibit on offshore mineral samples… is that alright?”

“If you want to go, then go,” Duncan thought for a moment and nodded, “With church guardians and City-State law enforcement patrolling everywhere, those Heretics wouldn’t dare to be so bold as to make a move these couple of days.”

Nina happily nodded, “Okay!”

“Are you going back to school this afternoon?” Duncan asked again.

“Yes, I have history class in the afternoon. I wouldn’t want to miss Mr. Morris’s lecture,” Nina nodded, “He’s quite famous in the field of history… But it’s strange, why would a well-known teacher like him not teach at the university in the Upper City District but come to our public school in the Lower City District? Half the class doesn’t like history; they just sleep through his lectures…”

Duncan shook his head frankly, “How would I know?”

Joke aside, he barely knew Nina, let alone the Mr. Morris that taught history—he would need to dig through several hours of memories just to figure out where the public school Nina attended was located…

And even if the original owner of this body did know something about his niece’s current situation, it probably wasn’t much—by the time Duncan took over his life, he had clearly been mired in the heretical faith of the Sun for far too long and too deep.

Since Nina had class in the afternoon, she didn’t stay in the antique shop long after lunch. She hurriedly gathered her things, grabbed her textbook that she’d left at home, and the girl dashed out of the house—there was nearly an hour’s journey from the antique shop to the public school in the Lower City District, and she couldn’t afford to waste a minute if she wanted to avoid being late for Mr. Morris’s class.

Of course, the city had public transportation, and even in the relatively backward Lower City District, steam-powered trams and trackless buses would pass through the streets, but these required a fare of four to six pesos.

Nina smiled and told Duncan that running more often is good for health.

If she had a bicycle, her journey to school would be much easier—Duncan had seen people riding these vehicles on the streets of the Lower City District.

In a society that had developed steam machinery, industrial products like bicycles weren’t so expensive that ordinary people couldn’t afford them, but to the residents of the Lower City District, they were certainly not cheap. A most ordinary bicycle might require half to a full month’s living expenses for a family of three… It was indeed a burden.

Duncan didn’t know where the identity he currently occupied would take him in the future, but watching Nina jog away and disappear around the corner of the street, he always felt… that if he could afford it, he should probably be kinder to this girl.

Even if it were just for the vegetable soup and salty pancakes from earlier.

Moreover, she was a diligent and studious student.

Perhaps he should seriously consider ways to make money in this “civilized City-State.”

With all sorts of thoughts whirling in his mind, he put down the newspaper in his hands and slowly walked to the end of the second-floor corridor, and after opening the narrow window, he gazed out, somewhat absent-mindedly, at the city streets bathed in sunlight.

In this world, “anomalies” and “phenomena” had long been part of the civilization process, accompanying its development. Neither the authorities nor the Church hid the matters of the Transcendent realm from the public. Even a schoolgirl like Nina could directly learn about anomalies and phenomena from her textbooks.

She even knew about the classification standard for anomalies and phenomena left by the Ancient Crete Kingdom and still in use today; she also knew a portion of those anomalies and phenomena that had their patterns explored and were publicly codenamed and identified.

Yes, this part of the knowledge was even open to the entire society—although not all of it.

The authorities of each City-State and the Church both recognized a list; on this list, the most famous or dangerous anomalies and phenomena had their own special codes. These codes were not permanently unchanging; under special circumstances, some anomalies and phenomena might be eliminated or undergo Transformation, and their codes might be transferred or become vacant. But no matter how they changed, one thing was certain:

Anomalies and phenomena that possessed a unique code and name were definitely either especially dangerous or powerful.

The authorities publicized part of the list of anomalies and phenomena to ensure that every citizen was aware of these specific dangers so that everyone had the basic knowledge to protect themselves. On the other hand… it was because some anomalies and phenomena were just too close to people’s daily lives.

These things had even permeated every corner of ordinary people’s lives and every link in society’s functioning. People could see them at any time; there was no way to hide them, nor was there a need to.

Duncan raised his head and silently observed the sky.

Phenomenon 001, Sun God.

The massive celestial body traversing the sky, the great phenomenon that dominated the heavens during the Endless Sea era, was born on the morning of the second day after the collapse of the Ancient Crete Kingdom.

Influence range—worldwide, units affected—unlimited, self-operating and moving, beyond human interference, fitting the definition of a phenomenon.

Historical records state that on the day the ancient kingdom fell, the seas raged, City-State crumbled, and the first dynasty’s members nobly met their deaths in the dark, their blood saturating the ocean. Consequently, Phenomenon 001 rose from the sea, and since then, there was peaceful daylight over the Endless Sea.

The Ancient Crete Kingdom, the first City-State civilization established by the survivors after the beginning of the Endless Sea era, lasted a mere century but left countless legacies that still benefit the world today.

The word “Crete” in ancient language means “eternal night.”

That was a century-long night.

All of this was written in Nina’s history textbook.