Chapter 514: In the Dark
Chapter 514 In the Darkness
In Prand, the extinguishing of the sun rightfully brought about a great chaos that rippled throughout the city – but before the chaos could grow to dangerous proportions, the timely appearance of the city-state guards and Guardian forces had taken control of the situation.
The melodious sound of bells from the chapel echoed over the neighborhoods, as if the bells held the power to calm the mind and restore courage, steam-powered walking machines clattered through the streets, the latest orders from the city hall were broadcast over the radio units, the gas lamps along the roads had been urgently lit, and panicked passersby were doing everything they could to get back to the safety of their homes as quickly as possible, or to burrow into the nearest The panicked passers-by are doing everything they can to get back to the safety of their homes or into the nearest “night shelter”.
Heavily-armed guards were moving quickly through the crowds, checking the status of the various night shelters and checking to see if the sudden darkness had created any “filth” that shouldn’t have appeared in the real world.
Heidi lit all the lights in the house at once – from gas and oil lamps with divine power to electric lamps bright enough to dispel the darkness of the sun’s absence and the tension in her heart.
Mother’s voice came from the direction of the couch, “Relax, Heidi, you’ll fall if you run around, the end of the world isn’t here yet.”
Heidi turned her head and saw that her mother was sitting on the sofa as usual, in her hands she had already picked up again the several letters that she had temporarily put down just now due to the darkness descending, the expression on this old woman’s face was still gentle and calm, as if no matter what happened in this world again, it had little effect on her.
“The sun is out! That’s something!” Heidi was surprised at her mother’s calmness at the moment, she could not be at all down to earth at this point, “You can still read the letters, can’t you?”
“If I put the letter down, will the sun come back up?” Mother finally turned her head, a helpless expression on her face, “There’s only the option of trusting in the town hall and the cathedral now – there will be a powerful presence sheltering the city.”
Heidi pursed her lips and subconsciously grabbed the pendant hanging from her chest, “Damn …… If only Vanna were here, I could ask her what’s going on …… Father’s not at home either ……”
She didn’t notice that her mother, who was sitting on the couch, instantly had a somewhat subtle expression on her face after hearing these recitations from her.
The next instant the old woman shook her head.
“If the sun did go out, it must have been a sight for the whole world to see, and Vanna and your father must have seen it as well – they must have been thinking of ways to do it in their respective areas of duty, and you, it’s time to calm down and think about your own duties.”
Heidi finally calmed down a bit, and she frowned, her gaze turning to the table not far away.
A delicate and sturdy suitcase was resting quietly in one corner of the table.
It was filled with various tools and potions that she used in her practice of medicine – since even the nights in the city-state seemed unusually calm in recent times, it had been a long time since she had used some of the most potent items in that suitcase.
“There’ll be a lot of people in need of psychiatric help,” her mother’s calming voice came from behind her, “I don’t expect it’ll be long before the Town Hall sends someone to fetch you – the sun’s only dimmed for a while, but our city could be not be sinking yet.”
Heidi exhaled softly and slowly made her way to her medical kit, “Well, you’re right, the end of the world isn’t here yet – so my overtime won’t be over.”
“Don’t forget to bring your gun with you when you go out to the clinic,” her mother warned in a gentle tone, “While Prender is a lot safer these days than it used to be, mentally disturbed people are always so dangerous – if necessary, you’ll have to use some drastic means against the ‘foci’.”
“Of course,” Heidi casually replied, opening a hidden compartment at the bottom of the suitcase, a beautifully crafted revolver and several spare nests of bullets lay quietly in front of her, and she quickly examined the condition of the firearms before speaking with a hint of a sigh, “after all …… gunpowder is also medicine.”
……
“I’ve already dispatched the city-state guards, so there’s no need to worry about order within Frost City for a short while,” Tirian stood in front of the large floor-to-ceiling mirror in one corner of the domed office, and said to that mirror with a serious face, “The tension that the Mirror Crisis that happened a short while ago brought to the city hasn’t yet faded away, and the good news is that under that tension, the various emergency programs are being implemented relatively quickly.”
Eerie green flames burned silently on the surface of the mirror like a light veil, and Duncan’s figure stood in the dark depths of the mirror, nodding after Tirion’s words fell.
“Very well. Have there been any anomalies in the city so far that point to the Transcendence?”
“Nothing yet,” Tirian said immediately, “but I’ve deployed additional manpower to focus on facilities like the asylum, and the Cathedral is arranging for people to focus on various night shelters, cemeteries, and neighborhoods that are more lacking in light… …”
“Theoretically, ‘darkness’ itself is no longer a danger within the visionary Frost, only straight-up mental breakdowns and widespread panic need close attention,” Duncan reminded, “Also, the cemetery area doesn’t need to be staffed, I’ll keep an eye on that side myself.”
“Yes, “Tirion hurriedly nodded, then he hesitated and spoke while being careful with his wording, “How is the …… situation on your side? Nothing went wrong on the Lost Country, right?”
“There is no need to worry about this side, nothing can threaten the Lost Country ship,” Duncan said lightly, “Nina has already lit a round of temporary sun in the sky, and now we are still sailing to the south according to the plan, and the surrounding waters …… are calmer than expected. calm as expected.”
Tirian breathed a small sigh of relief, “Then it seems I was overly concerned.”
“Have you been able to contact the Lightwind Harbor side?” Duncan’s voice came back out of the mirror immediately afterward, “What’s the situation over at Lucrecia?”
“I just made contact, she just returned to the Radiant Star, no safety issues at the moment, she said she observed the sun go out in Lightwind Harbor as well, but the chaos in that city-state is much better than Frost – due to that mysterious ‘falling object ‘ influence, most of Lightwind Harbor is still covered by ‘sunlight’ right now, and the vision in the sky, while disturbing, isn’t as horrific as it looks on the Frost side.”
“That’s good, keep in contact at all times and pay close attention to the changes in the city-state.” “Yes,” Tirian nodded, then he hesitated and slowly spoke, “Also, there is another situation ……”
“Speak,” Duncan in the mirror frowned, “any situation at a time like this should be spoken of.”
“…… We’ve lost contact with the other city-states, both those that are far away and Cold Harbor, which is nearby,” Tirian said cautiously, “the telegraphs are down, the towers on the sea aren’t responding, and even the the church’s psychic communications can’t be reached, and only two city-states are still barely in contact, one in Prand and one in Lightwind Harbor.”
“Communication with the other city-states is down?” Duncan’s expression instantly became serious, “How long has this situation been going on?”
“We noticed the break in communication with Cold Harbor when the sun went out, and later confirmed that the other city-states were doing the same,” Tirian said immediately, “I have urgently recalled all ships in the waters near Frost and banned all ships from going out to sea. ”
Tirian said this, but in fact there was something he didn’t say all the way out – after the contact with the other city-states was broken, a different kind of worry surfaced in his mind, he feared that beyond the city-states, in those places where the sun couldn’t shine, the Boundless Sea had been turned into something beyond the comprehension of people ……
“Keep trying to contact the other city-states,” Duncan’s voice came through the mirror, interrupting Tirion’s thoughts, “Also, if there’s any new information from Lucy’s side, contact me first.”
“Yes, Father.”
The communication with the Lost Country ended, and silence once again returned to the large domed office.
Tirian raised his hand and rubbed his somewhat sore brow vigorously.
He then rang the electric bell on his desk.
The office door was pushed open and Aiden walked in.
Tirion looked up and instructed his most loyal subordinate:
“Be wary of ships returning from the darkness, and don’t let them approach the Citadel until the sun has re-lighted – set up a ‘buffer zone’ in the offshore area, and have returning ships stop there for a while, pending inspection and release.”
……
As the mirror in front of him gradually regained its composure and the ghostly green flames temporarily retreated into the corners of the mirror’s edge, Duncan exhaled softly and turned his head to look out the window.
The bright “sunlight” still shone on the deck of the Lost Country and the surrounding sea, but beyond the range of the sunlight, the entire infinite sea was still shrouded in a strange darkness.
This is a very disturbing moment, even the usually noisiest goat head, at this moment also in the chart table into a quiet.
Alice was the only one who was still happily sunning her quilt on deck at this time ……
Duncan rubbed his forehead and tried not to pay attention to the figure that was sunning her quilt on the deck, then focused his mind and called out in his mind to the flame that was hovering in the sky.
“Nina, how are things on your end? Tired?”
“Not tired,” with the resonance of the flame’s power, Nina’s voice resounded in Duncan’s mind almost immediately, “I’m not flying very high, I can stay in this position for a long, long time!”
“Can you see anything on the sea around you?”
“Well …… no, there is nothing on the surrounding sea, not even a little wind and waves. Uncle Duncan are you thinking of something?”
“Nothing for now, but keep an eye on the sea at all times-especially those located at the junction of light and darkness,” Duncan said slowly, “and let me know at the first opportunity if a ship or something like that appears in the vicinity. ”
Nina’s voice responded immediately, “Hey! Okay!”
Duncan hmmm’d, ending his conversation with Nina, then he looked at the mirror in front of him, settling slightly, and stepped forward to reach out and brush his hand across the surface.
“Lawrence, how are things on your end?”
(End of chapter)