For Light Breeze Harbor, which had just safely awakened from a nightmare, the collective visit of the four Pilgrimage Arks seed like yet another bizarre and peculiar dream—the events unfolded so suddenly that even the scholars of the Academy of Truth and the Governor seed to have received the news only when the Arks were nearly upon them, so much so that the citizens of Light Breeze Harbor still felt a sense of unreality even as the Deep Sea Church’s Storm Cathedral appeared above the sea level.
The divine churches’ ships of the Four Deities had indeed co.
Aside from the "Academy Ark," which had been stationary beside Light Breeze Harbor since the "Dream of the Naless" event, the first to arrive was the sanctuary of the Storm Goddess Gomona—the Storm Cathedral arrived in the early hours of that morning when the dazzling aureole of Phenonon 001 pierced the sky’s veil, and the imnse pilgrimage sanctuary erged from a mass of coalesced mists at sea level, approaching the City-State from the west and docking at the coastline as the morning bell tolled for the third ti.
Following that, the Fire Transmitter’s Church Ark arrived. As the brilliance of Phenonon 001 gradually ascended, the "Fire Transmitter’s Sanctuary" ca into view atop the ocean, shining like the blazing sun entering the mortal world, erging from a vision of sunlight akin to flas, and docking between the Storm Cathedral and the Academy Ark.
The Church Ark of Death, Bartok, arrived last. The "Sanctuary of Death" manifested from dark, dense fogs to the somber toll of bells, its huge shadow growing within the mists, like a massive graveyard entering the realm of the living from the land of the dead, along with its two escort sister ships—"Closed Eyes" and "Eyes Undying"—docked beside the Storm Cathedral.
The four imnse Church Arks, comparable to small City-States, almost "encircled" Light Breeze Harbor. Had it not been for so of the escort ships being left on the nearby waters, their fleets could have almost filled the entire coastline of Light Breeze Harbor—if one had a nearsighted and astigmatic pair of eyes gazing down from the skies, one might even have confused Light Breeze Harbor with the adjacent Pilgrimage Arks, mistaking them for a single huge, continuous cross-shaped island.
Early in the morning, the City-State’s city hall issued a temporary directive for port lockdown and a ban on nearby sea navigation, while the Academy of Truth announced that the four major divine churches would hold a "special closed eting" in Light Breeze Harbor.
After which, crowds of citizens who loved a spectacle gathered near various ports, scrambling for vantage points, eager to catch a glimpse of the imposing presence of the Church Arks—after all, the Church Arks spent most of their ti plying secret routes upon the Endless Sea, rarely seen by ordinary folks. Yet this ti, not only did they appear at the City-State, but all four Arks did so at once, a sight so rare that even the Elves, with their long lifespans, might not witness it many tis in their lives.
At the City-State’s Academy nearby the western coast, atop its highest tower, Duncan stood on the terrace gazing toward the coastline.
With nothing else to do, he watched the various churches’ Arks make their appearances—one by one, the scene was quite a sight.
"These Church Arks of yours really do each have their own astounding capabilities," he mused aloud.
"Getting such massive ’vessels’ to move swiftly over the sea with just the power of steam engines is hardly sufficient," Ted Riel explained, standing beside Duncan on the high tower’s balcony, enjoying the wind, "Each Church Ark is both a vessel and a ’transcendent object’—those vast churches and academies are not rely for show. They channel the power of the gods into the material dinsion, endowing the Arks themselves with a variety of inconceivable traits such as rapidly traversing storms, weaving through mists and flas, becoming invisible to worldly eyes, or calming the storms upon the seas..."
Duncan, curiously turning his head, queried, "Then by what kind of ’miracle’ does the Academy of Truth’s Academy Ark achieve its swift sailing?"
"...Outstanding engineering craftsmanship, they built two hundred and sixty sets of engines, with a power mighty enough to fling bricks into flight."
Duncan: "...?"
"The operation of machinery, the realization of theory, the effectiveness of paradox, these themselves are part of Rahm’s ’miracle’," Ted Riel apparently noticed the subtle expression on Duncan’s face and couldn’t help but smile, "The sa engine assembly wouldn’t start on any other church ship—considering they don’t explode on the spot is already a testant to their exceptional craftsmanship."
"...The ’miracle’ of the gods truly is incomprehensible."
Duncan shook his head subtly with a complicated expression, and after a quiet sigh, he turned his gaze toward the coastline in the distance.
He had seen the Deep Sea Church’s "Storm Cathedral" and the Academy of Truth’s "Academy Pilgrimage Ark," but it was his first ti seeing Death’s "Death Cathedral" and the perpetual "Fire Transmitter Sanctuary". Just like the other two church arks, these two pilgrimage arks were also strikingly distinctive—
The Fire Transmitter Sanctuary felt ancient and solemn, with a massive ark base covered in a sprawling ensemble of uneven gray stone constructions, completely different from the contemporary City-State styles, resembling more closely the "Ancient Temples" restored directly from historical paintings. The most eye-catching structure was a huge platform in the center of the buildings—majestic stone pillars encircling the platform, with a fierce blaze burning at the top, within which an oddly shaped "great pillar" was visible, resembling closely the "staff" Fenna had received from Tarrikin, evidently the "Chronicle Column" worshipped by the Fire Transmitters.
The "Death Cathedral" was much more somber, with gothic architecture in black as its main color the, the most prevalent "scenery" on the ark. Its core facility was a pitch-black temple reminiscent of a huge pyramid, located in the center of the ark on high ground, surrounded by tall towers, exuding an atmosphere as gloomy as a tomb—an impression so strong that Duncan instantly understood why many directly referred to Death’s pilgrimage ark as the "Great Graveyard."
Regardless of which ark it was, Duncan saw those floating in the air, invisible to the naked eye of ordinary people, ethereal projections like spiritual bodies.
He lifted his head, his face as still as water, watching these "spiritual bodies floating above the mundane world."
Like smoke, like fog, the phantom limbs spread out from those spiritual projections, silently drifting over Light Breeze Harbor, akin to confused and chaotic lost souls. They did not interfere with one another, but occasionally a phantom "tentacle" would suddenly extend from its "main body" to touch other tentacles emanating from a different ark—
Duncan noticed this kind "touch," and instinctively sensed that these abrupt contacts... seed not coincidental but rather deliberate.
He even felt that so of the phantom tentacle touches were, quite frankly, like... a high-five.
So "spiritual bodies" emanating from the direction of the harbor drifted close to the high towers of the academy, hovering around the terrace.
Duncan hesitated for a mont, glancing back at Ted Riel, who seed to be paying no attention to this side; then he quietly rubbed his fingers together.
A wisp of ethereal Spectral Fla appeared in the air and silently touched those "Spirits of the Ark" wandering through the air, invisible to mortal eyes.
In his cautious perception, he brushed against the "thoughts" that flowed between those "spirits."
So weird, low noises echoed in Duncan’s mind, followed by actual intelligible information amidst the bizarre undertones. He heard non-human whispers trembling through ti and space... they were "communicating"!
The tremors penetrated deep into his consciousness—
"...The weather’s nice, isn’t it."
"It’s okay, this place is really hot."
"Better than up north, my tentacles froze stiff..."
"Weren’t your tentacles gone a long ti ago?"
"Phantom limbs."
"What are they going to talk about today?"
"How would I know—I just woke up."
"...Ah? I just woke up too. What exactly are they going to talk about today?"
"...Stop asking, we all just woke up."
Duncan: "...?"
Ted Riel finally noticed Duncan’s suddenly nuanced expression, and also noted the fleeting wisp of illusory fla in the air, which made the Truth Confidant grow tense: "What’s wrong?"
The question made Duncan’s facial expression even more nuanced.
But before the Truth Confidant could get so anxious as to suffer from gastrointestinal discomfort again, Duncan finally managed to control his completely slackened expression and pushed the bizarre sensations to the back of his mind—holding a composed look, he looked up at Ted Riel, "...Do Arks talk to each other?"
"Arks talking to each other?" Ted Riel repeated, puzzled, "What do you an?"
The sincere expression on the Truth Confidant’s face told Duncan that this must be another special "secret" known only to the core mbers. Rembering that Fenna also didn’t know many secrets of the Storm Cathedral, he decisively waved his hand: "If you don’t know, then it’s nothing."
Ted Riel instinctively wanted to ask more, but a split second before he could speak, a sense of warning surfaced from deep within him.
He wisely shut his mouth.
Duncan then tily steered the conversation elsewhere, "The Four Arks have already gathered, where exactly is the eting place? Inside Light Breeze Harbor City?"
Ted Riel shook his head and explained patiently, "Light Breeze Harbor is not suitable for the eting—for one thing, such a congregation might affect the commoners in the City-State, and on the other hand, the City-State hasn’t made any preparations for this sudden event, plus there are considerations for confidentiality.
"The ssage I received was to wait for notification, because the matters we are going to discuss this ti point directly at the Great Annihilation and involve the foundation of the world; so much so that even a word spoken casually by soone during the eting could have unpredictable consequences, and even the Sovereign Pontiffs must carefully consider the location of the eting—
"They are currently communicating divine will through Psychic Echoes on their own Arks, seeking revelation; the final eting place will likely be chosen from among the four Arks."
Duncan waved his hand nonchalantly upon hearing this, "Alright, then I’ll wait patiently. I hope it won’t be too long."
Ted Riel nodded, but in the next second, the Truth Confidant’s brow suddenly furrowed—as if he heard so voice coming from afar, his expression turning odd.
"What’s wrong?" Duncan noticed the shift and asked curiously.
Ted Riel fell silent for a few seconds, his expression tinged with bewildernt: "...On The Fifth Ark..."
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