Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 835: The Clouds

in a world blanketed by fog, wanderers roamed aimlessly outside the boiler where deep roars echoed from the harbor’s fog-enshrouded facilities. the core of cold steam hummed vacantly as it merged into eerie mirages. the once-thriving sanctuary of flames had vanished, and with it, the distinction between “normal” and “abnormal” blurred into oblivion. as minds and the world itself deteriorated, sanity ironically became synonymous with madness and contamination. those labeled insane had gathered within high walls, constructing their final stronghold, watching anxiously as the world outside succumbed to darkness.

“we will prepare ample supplies for the bright star,” helena declared from a high platform atop the boiler room, addressing vanna and lucretia who stood beside her. “you can move to the western dock—it’s one of the few external channels we currently control.”

“can this ‘lighthouse’ still provide supplies?” lucretia asked the pope in astonishment. “do you really have that many resources?”

“yes, we’re not short on materials, which might surprise you,” helena responded with a smile. “in fact, the ‘operation’ of the entire world continues, including the production and transport of major supplies, even ‘commercial activities’ within the city-states... every fortnight, a cargo ship loaded with supplies arrives from the border base, refueling this lighthouse and more. those engulfed in trance handle the exchanges as usual, while we ‘awakened ones’ use old permits dug up from files to move some of the materials to other storages. likewise, we can utilize many of the facilities here.”

she turned, her gaze sweeping over the vast platform outside the boiler.

“yes, this world is still functioning, every part... operating in a trance along old trajectories, like a massive ship internally collapsing but still drifting on its original course in the ocean under inertia. us awakeners on board are powerless to fix the ship, but at least we can ‘sail’ with it before it capsizes.”

vanna and lucretia stood speechless for a moment, unsure how to respond.

the world had become unrecognizable to them.

however, helena appeared unconcerned, simply waving her hand and continuing, “thank you for informing me about the events at the world’s end. now those of us waiting on the ark finally understand what’s happening outside; our wait now has a purpose, no longer just a desperate struggle to survive. is the vanished still sailing at the world’s end?”

“yes, captain and alice are at the world’s end, still advancing further,” vanna whispered. “they are preparing for the new world. when everything is ready... you can ‘blink your eyes.'”

“good, then i won’t delay your journey any longer,” helena’s avatar turned, softly exhaling. “i’ll arrange the supplies, and someone will escort you two back to the dock...”

she suddenly stopped, gazing intensely into vanna’s eyes for a long moment before speaking.

“vanna, safe travels – we’ll meet again in the new world.”

vanna solemnly nodded: “yes, your holiness, we’ll meet again in the new world.”

...

the howling wind had unknowingly ceased, leaving only the sheer, extreme “cold” on this icy plain—a cold that penetrated flesh and bone, freezing the soul. amidst this icy wind, the flame bearers, who had long forgotten the warmth of “fire,” continued their journey.

“civilization needs carriers, needs evidence.

“it’s foolish to cling to ‘carriers’ while abandoning ‘essence,’ and it’s equally foolish to recognize the essence but think carriers are unnecessary. without carriers and evidence, even the most brilliant memories will erode over time, eroding before people have a chance to rebuild civilization. and even without considering this... delice, we also need to leave some evidence, so that many years later, future generations can understand what happened to this world. the significance of artifacts and archaeology lies in this ‘informing.'”

the veiled priestess, delice, faced frem’s gaze squarely. her once bright eyes, which had turned murky and dim days ago, now held a firm resolve.

“i understand, and i will also tell others your teachings...”

frem nodded.

a thin “fog” had unknowingly appeared around them.

delice looked up in surprise at the white fog fluttering around.

since entering the ice plain, they hadn’t encountered “fog” for a long time.

though the eternal curtain’s majestic fog wall was visible on the horizon, unlike other border seas, this ice plain almost never saw fog.

“the weather has changed...” she raised her hand, touching the insubstantial fog, “is there fog on the ice plain now?”

frem frowned, looking up at the sky, observing the flowing, drifting wisps of white, finally realizing.

“no, this isn’t fog,” he suddenly declared, his voice filled with surprise. “...this is cloud!”

“cloud?” the priestess paused, as if recalling what “cloud” meant after a moment of thought, then her eyes widened in astonishment. “the clouds have fallen from the sky?”

“...the altitude of the clouds has lowered,” frem spoke gravely, but he quickly realized this explanation didn’t make much difference and added, “it’s not so much that they’re ‘falling,’ it’s more like...”

he paused, and delice had already understood his meaning. the priestess blinked, her tone tinged with unease, “the sky itself is lowering...”