Chapter 105 “After the Dissolution of the Assembly”
Anomaly 099 – Puppet Doll.
This was the only information on the parchment after Vanna returned from the tomb of the unknown king.
The moment she saw those scrawled letters, the lady’s expression visibly slowed to a crawl due to how lacking it was. On top of this, she could feel Bishop Valentine and several others beside her appear stunned as well.
After a short silence, the black shadow of one of the saints suddenly spoke in a deep voice: “An existing ‘anomaly’ has been changed… Out of the civilized world’s awareness. ”
“It fell into the hands of the Vanished,” the other saint nodded afterward, “It could be that the ghost captain did something…”
“But what kind of change will this produce as a result?” The saint who spoke before looked worried, “The difference between puppet coffin and puppet doll is not just a few letters… This change directly alarmed the tomb of the unknown king, and even caused the gravekeeper to summon the listeners to convey this information…”
Several saints solemnly discussed this in low voices, their eyes converging on Vanna, who had gradually recovered by now. She got up with the help of Bishop Valentine and eyed the only piece of paper left in her hand: “… I don’t remember anything about what happened in the tomb. I only remember walking through the tomb myself.”
“It is normal to forget the experience of being in the tomb. This is the reason for the parchment and quill from the gravekeeper, to record useful information from the experience,” Bishop Valentine said slowly. “But there are only these few words on the remaining parchment… it’s abnormal and not right…”
Vanna looked at her hands stunnedly, and for a long time, she didn’t know what to say: “Was the parchment torn by me…?”
“Theoretically, it could only be you,” Bishop Valentine firmly looked at his peer, “there will be no one else in the mausoleum. The gravekeeper never interferes with the listener’s communication with the tomb owner, and the tomb owner will not do anything superfluous except to convey the intended detail.”
Vanna’s heart was full of confusion, but before she could continue speaking, a low and solemn feminine voice suddenly interrupted from the edge of the square: “The time for the end of the assembly is approaching.”
The saints immediately stood rigid and turned at the source. Likewise, Vanna swiftly corrected her mindset and took on a formal stance at the woman wearing a gorgeous dress.
The female figure was not followed by any entourage, instead she stood alone with an air of authority. In addition, this person wasn’t just some shadowy silhouette like the other souls present, rather her image was condensed and faintly showed the outline of her face.
Vanna respectfully bowed in awe at the leader of the Storm Church, the papal crown of the main Storm Cathedral. Not only was the lady the representative of the storm goddess in the mortal world, her very soul had undergone qualitative changes, hence the ability to take on the complete human appearance here.
“Well done, Saint Vanna,” the pope nodded and spoke with her majestic but gentle voice that soothed the lady’s frustrated mood. “How much information a listener can bring out of the tomb has always been an uncontrollable thing, and many times, the information that listeners bring out is not limited to the parchment.”
“You mean…” asked Vanna with a bewildered but curious face.
“The less detail that remains on the parchment, the more dangerous the conveyed message must be from the tomb owner. It is your soul’s instinctive drive to protect yourself and everyone here. Do not blame yourself for this outcome…. The pieces of information are sufficient for the Storm Cathedral to use as a reference for charting the next voyage and to pray for guidance from our Lord.”
Sure enough, Vanna’s heart and mind gradually settled down after listening to the pope’s soothing words.
She knew that this was not an unintended effect, rather it was the pope’s deliberate act of helping herself through the power of words and blessing.
“Disperse first,” the graceful lady said softly, “and this gathering is over. The Storm Cathedral will carefully assess the message conveyed by Vision 004 this time. If necessary, I will issue a parable order or re-summon the saints at a later date.”
Vanna quickly bowed in gratitude before dissipating into the chaotic space, followed promptly by the others who disappeared one after the other from the square.
In the huge assembly ground, the only one remaining now was the Storm Pope Helena and the crumbling pillars supporting the chaotic skies. She did not move, only standing there motionlessly until a rippling effect occurred to her side – a tall, thin figure appeared in her line of sight.
The new arrival seemed to be wearing a robe. Like Helena, his appearance was faintly recognizable and not just a vague shadow. It’s that of an old and serious old man.
Immediately afterward, another figure appeared next to this old fella, a short and old gramps as well with a kind smile.
“Banster,” Helena nodded at the tall, thin, serious old man, then looked at the smiling and chubby old fella, “Lune—what, when did the two of you get so free? Don’t the Death Church and Academy of Truth have to patrol the border?”
“The border has been stable recently, with reliable surveillance.” The tall, thin old man known as Banster said succinctly.
“For the time being, we have entrusted the task of patrolling the border to a reliable person to do it for us,” the short and chubby old man named Lune also nodded. “This time I mainly came to see the situation on your side… It seems that the civilized world is not very peaceful.”
“The last time a similar situation occurred in the mausoleum was also when the Storm Church was in charge of the tomb,” Banster said expressionlessly, “about a hundred years ago?”
“That’s obvious,” Helena said lightly, “the last time would of course be a hundred years ago. That time I was the listener who entered. I wasn’t helming the Storm Cathedral yet so I remember it very well.”
“Yes, I remember it very well too when you went in,” the short and chubby Lune stroked his beard and recalled with emotion. “You were also ‘thrown’ out of the mausoleum immediately after you entered, and it took a long time to wake up just like the little girl today. The parchment you brought out of the tomb was only a small note too, and there were only a few scrawled letters on it… Helena, remember what message you brought out of the tomb a century ago?”
The helmsman of the Storm Cathedral went silent for a moment before replying softly: “I remember it very well: Vision 005 – the Vanished.”
Lune nodded: “That’s right, you were the first to bring back news that the Vanished turned into a vision… The few letters you brought back at that time were confirmed in just one month when the phantom ship whistled past the necropolis of the Death Church. Poor Banster here had to watch his newly built ships back then be swallowed into the void without getting the chance to cut the ribbon for their maiden voyage….”
The leader of the Death Church, Pope Banster, glanced at Lune expressionlessly after having the sore subject brought up.
Helena didn’t seem to hear Lune’s last words, only standing there in deep thought before speaking: “Whether it is ‘puppet’ or ‘puppet coffin’, it is just an ‘anomaly’ ranked in the lower hundred, there’s no comparison with something ranked fifth on the list.”
“Yes, there is no comparison between the two, but you also know that the crux of the matter is not the information left on the note – but the parts that were left out.” The expression on Lune’s face finally became serious, “The name of Anomaly 099 changed from being puppet coffin to doll puppet is nothing special in itself, but we all know it’s never that simple. The details that are missing are always the most fatal…”
“The clue to go on is that the matter’s related to that phantom ship,” Helena said, “but the other day when I asked the Lord for enlightenment…”
Speaking of this, she suddenly stopped and shook her head, seemingly not planning to continue the topic.
“Why didn’t Frem come today?” She looked at the two figures in front of her, “Isn’t he always the nosiest of us here?”
“Frem and his Church of Flame Bearers are busy with a very important matter,” the short and chubby Lune said with a smile, “The leaders of the four Orthodox Churches can’t all come here at the same to make a splash…”
“Something important?” Helena raised an eyebrow, “What is he doing?”
“Patrolling the border,” Banster said succinctly.
Helena: “…”
