The deities of supreme might dwelt within the foundation of this world, watching over the operation of this world with a perspective transcending space and time. Believers who were devoted to the gods could glimpse the future of reality or changes occurring in unknown corners of the world to some extent through their secretive connections to the divine, empowered by spiritual power.
This ability to peek was not bound by time and space but also implied a risk of being eroded by the subspace. However, for those believers with strong resolve, this dangerous yet powerful force was the greatest reliance when protecting the fragile civilization's light within this vast ocean.
The devoted Judge, Fenna, had seen a similar vision for several consecutive days.
In a state of half-dream, half-awake, she saw the boundless ocean dyed in ink black. Then came a thunderous rumble from the depths of the sea, splitting the ocean in two. A terrifying trench leading to the seabed emerged, and a giant ship on fire rose from the seabed. It floated slowly in midair like an airship, followed by a colossal figure draped in starlight, striding toward the direction of the Plunder City-State.
In Judge Fenna's life up to now, such immense and terrifying "premonitions" had only occurred twice.
The first was in her childhood when she woke up from a nightmare soaked in blood, afterward losing her parents in an attack by heretics, leaving a scar on her face that would accompany her for life.
The second happened four years ago when she saw a dark sun rise from beneath the City-State in her dreams, leading to the destruction of the largest stronghold that the Sun God cult infiltrated into the City-State. To this day, these heretics' elusive claws still skulk around in the vast, complex, and ancient tunnel system beneath Plunder, entangling in meaningless fights with the church's guardians.
This was the third time; she saw a ship return from the deep sea carrying an indescribable giant into this world.
She lied to the priest before her—the vision she saw was actually very clear, clear enough that it kept her, a Judge, sleepless for days.
The priest looked into her calm gray-white eyes and hesitated for a long time before speaking, "But the prayers you've offered to the gods don't seem to have brought any negative feedback?"
"… The Goddess does not necessarily alert us to every risk; sometimes, tribulations are indeed tests," Fenna said calmly, "Let's not dwell on that. Is there any news from the Explorers' Association?"
The priest nodded immediately, "A contact from the association just transmitted that the Sacred Relic staying at the headquarters has sensed the ship appearing in the southwestern waters, but the ship's telegraph apparatus seems to be malfunctioning; it's currently unreachable. All we know is that the ship is approaching Plunder nearshore at normal speed and heading."
"… It disappeared from the Sacred Relic's sensing then inexplicably appeared far from its predetermined route, and is now uncontactable, heading straight toward the City-State… and it disappeared while carrying out a mission to escort anomalous items," Judge Fenna's brow furrowed increasingly, her intuition honed from years dealing with strange entities tingling with vigilance, "I remember the ship is called 'White Oak,' right?"
"Yes, White Oak, its captain is Lawrence Creed, a member of the Explorers' Association and an experienced captain. Due to the special cargo, the ship had reported to the church before sailing from Rensa City-State," the priest recalled as he spoke, "Oh, and the accompanying priest on the boat is a registered official from the Deep Sea Church."
"A brother in the church… I hope the situation isn't too dire," Fenna said gravely, "Anyway, something seems off about that ship. The route from Rensa to Plunder is supposed to be under the controlled 'stable zone' of the Explorers' Association, yet it once disappeared from the Sacred Relic's sensing… I suspect White Oak might have briefly left the real world and may have even ventured to places it shouldn't have.
"Notify the guardians at the port to keep an eye on that ship upon its arrival and ensure no person or object leaves the ship before all inspections are complete—is there a response from the security forces?"
"Rest assured, your uncle… the Governor has already ordered the security officers to take control around the port and increased the alert level at the port. From now on until the alert is lifted, all ships entering and exiting Plunder will temporarily dock at the western auxiliary port."
"That's good—my uncle has always been cautious," Fenna's tensed expression finally relaxed slightly, "As long as he doesn't involve the ordinary people from the security forces in this matter, it'll be fine."
The priest looked into Fenna's pale gray eyes and, choosing his words carefully, said, "Do you think...that ship has been 'contaminated'?"
"It's hard to be certain right now, but ships that briefly depart from the real world—even if they eventually return—rarely remain completely normal. Something aboard may have unknowingly transformed into 'the aberrant,' perhaps it's items on the ship, possibly hidden mental illnesses within the sailors, or even an additional sailor and a replaced captain. For ships that have experienced abnormal phenomena, it's never wrong to maintain the highest vigilance."
"Ah... I hope that ship and its crew are all right," the priest couldn't help placing his hand across his chest, reciting the name of the Storm Goddess, "May the Storm Goddess protect those who bravely challenge the seas."
"May they be well," Fenna likewise lowered her eyelids and quietly blessed them, then as if reminding the priest in front of her, "But if they are unfortunate enough not to be 'well,' we must also be prepared."
"Yes, I understand."
Fenna nodded, but just as she was about to refocus her attention on the cityscape outside the window, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the staircase.
The next moment, a guard wearing a black uniform trimmed in silver, a badge depicting waves and daggers embroidered over his heart, rushed up from the stairwell.
"Your Honor Judge!" the young guard gasped, immediately speaking urgently, "We found a hideout for worshippers of the Sun God in the sewers and captured a group of believers!"
Fenna's expression turned extremely grave in an instant: "Those worshippers of the dark sun? Wait, you said you found a ritual site... not a hiding spot? They dare to conduct ritual activities again?!"
"Yes, it's a site for rituals. We found evidence of sacrifices having been performed," said the guard rapidly, "and also discovered numerous victims not far from the ritual site—most of whom had their hearts sacrificed. However... there's something off about the situation at the ritual site."
Seeing a mix of absurdity and confusion on the guard's face, Fenna picked up the heavy longsword blessed by the Storm Goddess from beside her, slung it on her back, and quickly headed toward the stairs: "Lead the way, I'll go to the site myself."
"Yes!"
The heavy, blessed longsword clanged against the metal shoulder plates as urgent footsteps echoed through the long staircase inside the belfry. Fenna arrived at the small square in front of the belfry and saw several members of the guard already assembled, awaiting orders. Two steam-powered walking machines were parked at the edge of the square, their spider-like mechanical bodies making clicking noises.
Fenna didn't linger, but simply gestured to the guards to move out and walked straight to one of the walking machines—a colossal machine the size of two double-wheeled carriages that resembled a mechanical spider squatting on the ground. Its steel limbs were fitted with wheels for gliding on flat surfaces and steel hooks for navigating special terrains, while its upper shell had gunner's cockpits with revolving rifles installed on each side.
Purely technological creations could hardly affect 'anomalies' or 'apparitions' significantly, but overwhelming firepower could eradicate those heretical followers manipulating anomalies from behind the scenes—of course, this gadget wouldn't perform well in the sewers, but it was quite useful for blocking doors.
The holy 8mm bullets scattered, instantly sending a large group of heretics, attempting to escape, to subspace to serve their lord.
The gray-haired and gray-eyed Judge jumped onto the shell of the walking machine, standing firmly with a longsword on her back in the night, while two other guards nimbly climbed into the gunner's cockpits on either side of the shell. Then, with a series of hissing sounds from cylinders and compressed tubes pressurizing and depressurizing, white steam sprayed from the joints of the walking machine's limbs. The colossal mechanical spider rose, leapt onto the nearest main road, and swiftly glided toward the nearest sewer entrance.
(Recommendation time again, the book titled "Entering the Unscientific," featuring a nerdy Black Technology story. It has been vigorously promoted several times and is now at 1.4 million words and nearly ten thousand subscriptions. Those interested might want to check it out.)