Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 698

Chapter 698: Chapter 695: An Unprecedented Situation Chapter 698: Chapter 695: An Unprecedented Situation As the bell chimed, Fenna had just completed her evening prayers on deck–she headed to the corridor, ready to return to her room, only to see Morris rushing to the hallway.

It took only a glance at Morris's solemn expression for her to guess something was amiss.

“Did you also hear the 'Swift Bell's' call?”

“Yes, it seems you heard it too,” Morris nodded upon hearing her, “The bell has tolled thrice–I am preparing to conduct the Psychic Resonance ceremony.”

“…But it is still the Deep Sea Church's turn of duty,” Fenna's eyes widened slightly at this, “How could you have heard the bells?”

Morris exhaled softly, “I do not know, which is why it's necessary to attend the gathering and understand what's happening… It looks like there's an unprecedented situation.”

Witnessing the deep concern on the old scholar's face, Fenna thought of the recent series of unsettling events, then silently nodded her head. The two passed each other by, each returning to their rooms.

The gentle sound of the waves echoed in her ears, and the sensation of being submerged by the sea gradually enveloped her. Hastening back to her room to perform the ceremony, Fenna watched the candlesticks burn and grow in front of her, the flickering flames casting a hazy veil of light and shadow, and her somewhat restless mind calmed with the sound of the waves.

After a brief moment of dizziness and the resetting of her senses, she opened her eyes again to find herself in the form of a spiritual projection, having arrived at the sacred and ancient “gathering place”–lofty and solemn stone pillars stood at the far end of the vast square, chaotic darkness and ceaseless streams of light shrouded above the pillars, while the ground was covered with mottled and broken stone slabs. On this large gathering field, everywhere were hastily convened spiritual projections of the saints.

Fenna stood somewhat dazedly in a corner of the plaza, eyes wide, looking at the countless figures all around–she had never seen so many spiritual projections appear simultaneously in the gathering place before, and without a doubt, not all could be saints of the Storm Goddess.

There were clearly more “Believers of Other Gods” who heard the bells during the Deep Sea Church's duty turn than just Mr. Morris.

All saints from the four great churches had gathered!

The number kept growing, with more and more spiritual projections appearing in the open space of the plaza, many of which seemed to have arrived in haste. Despite the ongoing duty turn of the Deep Sea Church, every saint who received the “Swift Bell's” call did not hesitate to enact the ironclad rule agreed upon by the four Godly Churches, promptly responding after the bell tolled and coming to this gathering place.

The bewildered spiritual projections came together, buzzing and rumbling with discussion about this unusual situation. Fenna's figure moved among her kin, listening to the discussions around her while making her way to the center of the plaza.

A blurry figure approached, greeting her, “Fenna! I've been looking for you–what exactly is happening?”

Fenna looked in the direction of the voice and immediately recognized it as the spiritual projection of Bishop Valentin. She greeted him in return and then shook her head, “I'm not sure either, but it seems all the qualified saints from the four great churches have heard the summons… Mr. Morris should also be in this gathering place.”

“…The 'Swift Bell' chimes from the Pilgrimage Ark, but its source originates from the 'direction' of the Tomb of the Nameless King. If all saints have been summoned, the only explanation is that the Tomb of the Nameless King has actively released a strong signal summoning everyone…” Bishop Valentin's tone was grave, and he turned his head to gaze at the center of the still-empty plaza for a long time before returning his gaze, “This ancient covenant ceremony has been stable for thousands of years and has never had such an occurrence.”

“…Perhaps it's related to the recent 'Sun Extinguishment', a massive change is approaching…” Fenna whispered, then she suddenly sensed something and looked up to one side.

Another hazy figure, exuding a familiar aura, appeared in her sight.

That was Morris's spiritual projection.

Fenna immediately walked toward him, and before she could get close, she heard him take the initiative, “It seems the situation is as I thought, I'm not the only one who heard the extra bell ring.”

“Yes, it looks like all the saints are here… Perhaps we should be grateful that this place is spacious enough,” Fenna breathed out, saying somewhat subtly, “The 'Tomb's' main body has not yet appeared, and when it does… who knows what it will declare to the public.”

Morris did not utter a sound, merely nodding solemnly, and after greeting the long-absent Bishop Valentin, he and Fenna together turned their heads towards the center of the plaza.

At that moment, four distinctive figures appeared one after the other in the vision of the many saints.

Helena, Rune, Banster, Frem–the spokespersons of the four gods entered the gathering place, among the countless hazy and illusory spiritual projections, their distinct figures were particularly striking.

The appearance of the four Pontiffs caused a short disturbance at the scene, but it quickly subsided, the saints restored order, and they quickly calmed down because of their leaders' appearance.

Today's situation was extraordinary, and many who had heard the extra bell were somewhat confused and uneasy, but nevertheless, the appearance of the leaders was a comforting signal, at least indicating that the situation was still within the church's control.

Then Fenna noticed that the four Pontiffs had come directly towards her.

Her expression suddenly became a bit subtle.

Under the gaze and salutations of many around her, Helena and Rune, among the four, approached Fenna, with Helena being the first to speak, “Has the Tomb not yet appeared?”

Fenna was slightly startled, “Uh… not yet…”
“Okay,” Helena nodded, “then we'll just wait a bit longer.”

Fenna, still not quite grasping the situation, dazedly followed suit with a nod, “…Uh, okay.”

Then, the four pontiff crowns turned around and began to wait patiently with Fenna for the appearance of that ancient and mysterious tomb.

Fenna felt a peculiar sense of emotion as she sensed the somehow doubtful gaze from Mr. Morris beside her, yet not knowing how to explain the situation, she could only smile awkwardly–she didn't even know if Morris could see her somewhat complex smile in this dim and vague projection of her soul.

Just then, an especially tall figure had arrived unnoticed beside Fenna and casually patted the Judge's shoulder, “Will it take a long time?”

Without turning her head, Fenna casually replied, “Not sure, but usually, the tomb appears a few minutes after all the saints have arrived at the gathering…”

She suddenly stopped talking.

Around her, there seemed to be an instant of quiet.

Banster and Frem had expressions of frozen shock, while Helena and Rune slowly turned their heads with stiff necks. Fenna gradually turned her body to look in the direction of the voice–
Duncan stood there, with a harmless (or so he thought) expression, looking at the several acquaintances in front of him.

After a moment of silence, Fenna finally broke the quiet with an exclamation, “Captain?! Why are you here?!”

Her exclamation was like a pebble dropping into water, the brief silence on the gathering field instantly turning into a torrential uproar–the surrounding shockwaves of exclamations, the booming discussion, many spiritual projections recoiling in astonishment, while tension, alertness, and amazement instantly spread throughout the crowd.

The expected disturbance.

Duncan looked back at the plaza's commotion, then turned with a hint of helplessness, spreading his hands, “Honestly, I didn't expect this many people.”

Fenna felt her mind wasn't quite catching up, while the several pontiffs present had quickly reacted. They immediately commanded in unison at the top of their voices–
“Silence!”

Tremendous authority was released from their words–Helena, Rune, Banster, and Frem's will sweeping across the entire gathering field. Duncan didn't know what they had done, but he could feel that the “crowd” which had been descending into chaos just a second ago seemed to instantly understand and grasp the situation. Even though there was still unease flowing in the air, order had been restored on the gathering field.

After order returned to the field, Helena was the first to turn around and stared into Duncan's eyes, “How did you get here?”

Duncan pondered for a moment, then lightly waved his hand through the adjacent air.

A skeletal giant bird wrapped in bleak green flames flashed through the darkness.

“I came by dove.”

Helena: “…?”

“I heard the tolling of the bell,” Duncan noticed the precious and subtle expressions on the pontiffs' faces, thought for a moment, and then added, “Don't ask me for the specific reason–when the bell rang, I heard it. Then I noticed the gathering of spiritual bodies, and it may be because the four Pilgrimage Arks happened to be at Light Breeze Harbor, this 'gathering' was very distinct to me, like a light in the night… I've always been quite interested in your 'gathering,' so I tried following it, mainly trying to trace Fenna's spiritual starlight, and here I am.”

Helena was dumbfounded, “…Is that possible?!”

Duncan thought seriously, then nodded, “I think so.”

Helena: “…”
Fenna, seemingly used to such occurrences, readily accepted the current state of things (mainly because of her sports student's strong adaptability) as Duncan said, “I think so,” and casually asked, “What's your take on today's special situation?”

“I don't know,” Duncan said quite frankly, “this is my first time. What do you usually do after the gathering? Is there a process?”

“Waiting for the apparition 004–Tomb of the Nameless King–to appear,” Frem's deep voice rose from aside, his demeanor forever calm and collected, even in moments like these, speaking clearly and methodically, “Afterwards, a Tomb Guardian will appear, and the chosen one will be led to the burial chamber.”

Duncan listened with interest, nodding slowly.

And as if to confirm Frem's words, just then, a deep rumbling sound finally rose from the center of the plaza, interrupting everyone's conversation!

Chapter end

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