Gods of supreme might dwell within the foundations of this world, observing the operation of the universe with a perspective transcending time and space. Devout believers who pledge their spiritual power to a deity can, to a certain extent, glimpse the trajectory of the imminent future or changes occurring in unknown corners of the world through a hidden connection with the divine.
This act of peering is not bound by time and space and carries the risk of being corroded by Subspace, but for those believers with unwavering resolve, such dangerous yet powerful forces are their greatest rely on when protecting the fragile flame of civilization within this endless expanse of ocean.
The devoted Judge has seen a similar vision for several days in a row now.
In a state between sleep and wakefulness, she saw an endless ocean dyed in ink black, followed by thunderous noises rising from the depths of the sea; the ocean split asunder, revealing a terrifying trench that reached down to the seafloor, and from it ascended a huge ship ablaze with flames, floating slowly in the air like an airship, followed by an invisible giant cloaked in starlight, stepping towards the direction of Plunder City-State.
In Judge Vanna's life to date, premonitions of such terrifying scale had only occurred twice.
The first time was in her childhood when she woke from a nightmare soaked in blood, only to lose her parents in an attack by Heretics, leaving a lifelong scar on her face.
The second time was four years ago when she saw a dark Sun God rise from beneath the City-State in her Dreamscape, leading to the eradication of the largest Sun God cult enclave that had infiltrated the City-State—To this day, the undying minions of those Heretics still hide in the massive, complex, and ancient tunnel systems beneath Plunder, entangling in meaningless skirmishes with the Church's guardians.
This was the third time—she saw a ship returning from the deep sea, bringing with it an indescribable giant to this world.
She lied to the priest before her—The omen she witnessed was so vivid that it kept her, a Judge, awake for nights on end.
The priest, after hesitating for a long time upon seeing the calm gray-white eyes of the lady before him, eventually spoke up, "But when you prayed to the gods, it seemed you received no unfavorable response?"
"...The Goddess doesn't necessarily warn of all risks, sometimes trials are exactly the test," Vanna replied calmly. "Let's not talk about this; is there any news from the Explorers' Association?"
The priest immediately nodded, "The liaison from the Association just sent a message; the Sacred Relic at the Association's headquarters has sensed the appearance of that ship in the southwestern waters. However, there seems to be a problem with the ship's telegraph equipment, and now it's out of contact. We can only confirm that the ship is approaching the outskirts of Plunder at a normal cruising speed and heading."
"...Having vanished from the Sacred Relic's perception for a while, then mysteriously reappeared far from its scheduled course, currently uncontactable, heading straight for the City-State... and it was carrying out a mission escorting abnormal items before losing contact," the Judge's brows knit tighter, her intuition honed by years of dealing with the strange and eerie was pulsating, prompting her to be on guard, "I recall the name of that ship is the Oakwood, right?"
"Yes, the Oakwood, with Captain Lawrence Creed of the Explorers' Association at the helm, an experienced captain. Due to the special nature of its cargo, the ship had reported to the Church before setting sail from Rensa," the priest recalled as he spoke. "That's right, the accompanying priest on board is a registered cleric of the Deep Sea Church."
"A brother of the Church... I hope the situation isn't too dire," Vanna said with a grave tone. "Anyway, something is not quite right with that ship. The entire route from Rensa to Plunder is within the 'stable zone' controlled by the Explorers' Association, yet the ship had disappeared from the Sacred Relic's perception... I suspect the Oakwood might have briefly left the real world, and may have even... ventured to places it should not have."
"Notify the port guards, as soon as the Oakwood docks, to keep a close watch on the ship; no person or object is to leave the vessel until all inspections are completed—Have there been any reactions from the security forces?
"Rest assured, your uncle... The Governor has already ordered the security officers to lock down the area around the port and raised the port's alert level. From now onwards, until the alert is lifted, all ships entering or leaving Plunder will temporarily dock at the reserve harbor on the west side."
"That's good to hear—my uncle has always been careful," Vanna's tense face finally relaxed a bit. "As long as he doesn't involve the ordinary people from the security forces in this matter, it should be fine."
The priest looked into Fanna's pale grey eyes and, after choosing his words carefully, said, "Do you think... that ship has been 'contaminated'?"
"We cannot be certain now, but ships that leave the real world, even if they eventually return, are seldom completely normal. It could be that some items on the ship have unknowingly transformed into 'anomalies', or it might be a mental illness hidden deep within the crew's hearts, or even an extra sailor and a replaced captain... For any ship that has exhibited abnormal phenomena, it's never wrong to be exceedingly vigilant."
"Alas... I hope that the ship and its crew are all well," the priest couldn't help but place his hand crosswise over his chest, chanting the name of the Storm Goddess, "May the Storm Goddess protect those who brave the sea."
"May they all be well," Fanna likewise lowered her eyelids, softly offering her blessing, followed as if to remind the priest before her, "But if they are unfortunate enough not to be 'well', we must be prepared."
"Yes, I understand."
Fanna nodded, but just as she was about to redirect her attention back to the district outside the window, a rush of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the stairs.
The next moment, a guardian wearing a black uniform with silver trim, a badge of waves and a dagger emblazoned over his chest, hurried up from the stairway.
"Your Excellency Judge!" the young guardian gasped for breath and immediately spoke with urgency, "We have found a Sun God-worshipping heretical sacrificial stronghold in the sewer, and we've caught a bunch of believers!"
Fanna's expression turned extremely serious in an instant, "Those who worship the dark sun, the heretics? Wait, you said you found a sacrificial site... not a hiding spot? They dare to carry out sacrificial rites again?!"
"Yes, it's a site for performing sacrificial rituals, and we've found evidence of sacrifice ceremonies," the guardian spoke quickly, "Moreover, we discovered a large number of victims in a cavity not far from the ritual site—most of whom had already been sacrificed their hearts. However... there's something off about the site of the ritual."
Fanna read an absurd and puzzled look on the guardian's face. She picked up the heavy longsword blessed by the Storm Goddess and slung it over her back as she swiftly made her way toward the stairs, "Lead the way, I will inspect the scene personally."
"Yes!"
The heavy blessed longsword clashed against the metallic shoulder plates with a crisp sound. Quick steps passed through the long staircase inside the bell tower, and as Fanna reached the small square in front of the bell tower, she saw several members of the guardians already assembled there on standby. Two steam-powered walkers were parked at the edge of the square, their spider-like mechanical bodies emitting continuous clicking sounds.
Without lingering, Fanna simply gave the guardians a signal to move out and headed straight for one of the walkers—a huge machine the size of two double-wheeled carriages, resembling a mechanical spider crouching on the ground. Its steel limbs were fitted with wheels for gliding on flat surfaces and steel hooks for dealing with special environments, while the upper shell of the walker was equipped with rotating barrel guns in the firing cockpits on either side.
Pure technological creations have little effect on "anomalies" or "phenomena," but overwhelming firepower can kill those heretics manipulating anomalies from the shadows—of course, these things can't be fully utilized in the sewage system, but they are quite useful for blocking doors.
Holy 8mm bullets scatter, and in the blink of an eye, they can send a large group of heretics fleeing to the Subspace to serve their gods.
The grey-haired, grey-eyed Judge jumped onto the shell of the walker, standing steady with her longsword against the night sky. Two other guardians swiftly climbed into the firing cockpits on either side of the shell. Following a sequence of hissing sounds from the pressurizing and depressurizing cylinders and conduits, white steam blew out from the joints of the walker's limbs. The massive mechanical spider promptly rose and leaped onto the nearby main road, then rushed towards the nearest sewer entrance in gliding mode.
(It's time to recommend a book again. The title is "Stepping into the Unscientific," a tech-savvy novel. It's been plugged several times and is still bouncing around lively. Now at 1.4 million words, it's fast approaching ten thousand subscriptions. If interested, you could check it out.)