Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 531

Chapter 531: Chapter 532: The Chase Chapter 531: Chapter 532: The Chase Heidi followed the staff member dressed in a deep blue uniform as they made their way to another ward within the medical facility, listening to her as she explained the situation along the way–
“That 'patient' woke up first, and then found you passed out beside the bed. She ran out to the corridor for help, and that's how we knew something had happened in the ward…
“As per your earlier instructions, we let the church guards and the resident priest check the area around the ward, but they found no signs of contamination by transcendent powers. Only you were still deep in sleep… We've moved you to a ward closer to the small chapel…
“That elf girl is still in the facility. She seems in good spirits, but can't seem to recall what happened in her dreams, nor can she explain why she suddenly fell unconscious. We've asked her to stay a little longer, maybe you would like to ask her something.

“Her family is also here; if there is anything you want to inquire…”

The staff member suddenly stopped, her face showing a hint of hesitation as she turned to look at Heidi, “I'm sorry, I forgot you've just awakened from a deep sleep. You need rest now…”

“I don't need to rest, I've slept long enough,” Heidi waved her hand dismissively, though she couldn't help but constantly sweep her eyes across the staff member's face. Luckily, she quickly controlled her expression and gaze, then asked as if it were an afterthought, “Before you came in, was there any strange noise in my room?”

“Strange noise?” The staff member furrowed her brow in thought, then shook her head, “No. Has something happened?”

There was an uninvited guest who invaded the ward through a crack in the timeline–then left after spouting a bunch of nonsense.

Heidi's mind flashed back to the event that had just occurred, but she quickly shook her head and said calmly, “Nothing, just checking to see if anything unusual happened in my room while I was asleep.”

The “staff member” standing in front of her was just an ordinary liaison, whereas that nonsensical Doomsday Preacher had given Heidi an eerily strange impression. It was best, out of caution, not to let word of that “preacher” reach the ears of the laypeople.

After returning, she should report directly to the church, or perhaps to the City-State's central cathedral.

Maybe she should also tell her father, as well as that Captain… Duncan?

Various thoughts spun through Heidi's head, some of which were rather unsettling, and amidst these tumultuous reflections, she was led to the end of the corridor.

The staff member responsible for guiding her left quietly after a brief handover, and Heidi took a deep breath outside the ward, quickly composing herself before pushing open the door.

In the neat and bright ward, the elf girl who had been asleep before was now sitting up peacefully in bed, leaning against the blanket and pillows with a book in her hands, deeply absorbed in reading, while a plump and kindly looking elderly elf woman sat on the edge of the bed, carefully peeling an apple.

When Heidi entered the room, the young elf immediately looked up, and her face broke into a brilliant smile, “Ah! Miss Doctor! You're awake?”

“I came to see how you are,” Heidi replied with a smile, nodding to the amiable-looking elderly elf woman as she approached the bed, “Hello, may I ask who you are…”
“She is my grandmother!” the girl on the bed interjected.

The elderly woman gave her granddaughter a helpless glance, then turned to Heidi with a smile, “This child is a bit overly familiar… I am very grateful for your assistance with Flority, Miss Heidi.”

A tinge of embarrassment appeared on Heidi's face, “It feels like I haven't been much help, given that I, the 'doctor,' fell into deep sleep myself.”

“But I heard from the staff here that you fell asleep trying to wake Flority from a nightmare,” the old woman handed a freshly peeled apple to Heidi, her warm, sincere attitude far from mere politeness, “And Flority also said that she felt someone protecting her in her sleep–when danger approached, the sound of continuous gunfire dispelled her fear.”

Continuous gunfire? Approaching danger? Was she referring to the moment in the dream feedback, when the would-be intruder trying to use her as an “incantation entry point” neared the bed?

Heidi speculated in her mind, expressed gratitude for the apple offered by the elderly woman, then took a seat on the chair next to the bed, looking earnestly at the elf girl named Flority, “Your name is Flority, right? Do you remember how you fell asleep?”

“I remember… I was reading at home,” Flority furrowed her brow in thought, “The sun had gone out earlier, and my grandmother said it was dangerous outside, so she made me stay put in my room. Then the sun came back on, and out of boredom, I picked up a book to read–after all, the sun was back on. But somehow, I just felt very sleepy all of a sudden, and then I fell asleep…”
“Reading?”

Heidi muttered, her gaze sweeping over the book that Flority had been holding, and a string of elegant letters on a pale purple cover caught her eye–The Crystal Garden of the Prince without Dreams.

“If you ask me, it's all because she reads these strange books,” the plump elderly elf began to murmur, “Her head's filled with unreliable fantasies, and reading this stuff is bound to get her contaminated eventually. The gods surely won't protect a love between two men…”

“”
Flority immediately expressed her dissatisfaction, “It's not two, it's several!”

Heidi then shook her head at the elderly woman, “Don't worry, it wasn't caused by the content of this book.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Flority showed a look of surprise, “Doctor sister, you read this too?!”

Heidi: “…”

With the superb skills she had honed over many years, the psychiatric specialist ignored the suddenly different expressions on Flority and her grandmother's faces and seriously turned to the elf girl, “In any case, during the period when the sun went out, you didn't try to observe its surface or look up at the sky, right?”

“Of course not, who would dare?” Flority stuck out her tongue, “Who in their right mind would dare to look around when the sun goes out?”

Heidi, expressionless, went on to ask, “Do you remember anything that happened while you were asleep? Even a little impression would do–besides the 'gunshots,' I know about that.”

“…Besides those few gunshots, I really only have a little impression,” Flority seriously recalled for a moment, saying with uncertainty, “I just remember lying in the darkness, groggy and unable to see or hear clearly around me, and there were many, many shadows in the dark, like other people, all standing around me…”
Heidi's expression immediately became serious, “Many, many shadows?”

Deep in the Endless Sea, in a City-State far from Prand and Light Breeze Harbor, a figure cloaked in a black coat hurriedly darted into an alley.

The figure moved briskly, his steps slightly staggered, seemingly panicked and desperate as he dodged potential prying eyes at the entrance of the alley, and after slinking through one fork after another in the maze-like lanes, he finally dashed into a house.

It was nearing dusk, and the sunlight was quietly retreating from the city; the gas lamps on the streets had not yet been lit, and darkness had already arrived early, gradually engulfing the houses in the City-State.

The scratch of a match sounded, and an oil lamp within the house was lit.

The man threw his thick black coat over the arm of the sofa, then walked to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a full glass of strong alcohol, and took it to the couch. After downing half the glass in one gulp, he finally took a long breath of relief in the slight sense of security provided by the oil lamp.

The strong effect of the alcohol stimulated his taste buds and nerves, easing the thrill of terror that seemed to burrow deep into his bones. Once again, he felt courage and vitality return to his body, and his somewhat chilled hands and feet warmed up again.

A faint sound of chain friction reached his ears. Behind the man, a pitch-black chain slowly materialized out of the air, one end attached to him, the other binding a smoke dust jellyfish that floated in midair, seemingly made of condensed smoke.

This nearly mindless demon revealed its form, unconsciously flexing and pulsing in the air, sending restless signals to the man.

“I know, I know, we almost ran into big trouble,” the man grumbled irritably. He knew the Profound Demons had no heart and did not understand human language, but after years of Demon Symbiosis, he had unconsciously developed the habit of talking to his own Profound Demon, as if this dangerous clump of smoke were a trustworthy family member or friend, “Who knew that cursed captain would show up out of nowhere… Damn it, what does this have to do with him…”
He put down his glass, leaned back on the sofa, and tilted his head upwards, his eyes unfocused as he looked at the ceiling, his tone filled with disgruntlement.

“Those moronic remnants of the sun are useless, not even that 'witch' could deal with them… Pssh, the lowly Believers are idiots, those called 'messengers' are just a bunch of brainless remnants, and the so-called Scions of the Sun are nothing but unthinking puppets… Those sun followers, from top to bottom, you'd be hard-pressed to find a few with intact intelligence, almost got killed by them…”
Muttering, he got up, grabbed his glass, and took another two hearty gulps, feeling his heartbeat gradually calm. Then he turned his head and glanced at his Symbiotic Demon.

“Calm down, we're safe now. We'll find another opportunity later. If those preachy Doomsday Preachers are right, soon there will be more elves affected by the 'original flaw,' and we'll always have the chance to find our way into that Dreamscape…”
He suddenly stopped.

The smoke dust jellyfish continued to pulse and wriggle in the air, transmitting increasingly restless signals to its symbiote, while the man also seemed to gradually feel something–his sluggish Transcendent intuition finally began to signal an alarm, and amid a growing wave of fear, his perception breached his subconscious self-preservation and began to detect… that presence, nearly within arm's reach.

With a gulp, the man swallowed, his gaze slowly drifting downwards.

He looked toward the glass in his hand.

The remaining liquid swayed slightly in the glass, reflecting the flickering glow of the oil lamp. Beneath the eerie green light of the lamp, a somber and imposing face was reflected in the liquid, calmly watching him.

“Continue,” he heard a phantom voice echoing in his mind, as if it were his own thought, “I like those who are accustomed to talking to themselves.”

Chapter end

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