Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 280: Chapter 284: The Day of Boarding the Ship

Near the cathedral in the Upper City District, there was a high platform that used to be part of a city park. However, with the transformation project of the steam core, the original park facilities were relocated elsewhere, leaving behind only a solitary platform—as if a forgotten knight was standing on high, watching over the factories and squares below.

From the platform, one could overlook the entire cathedral district and the central factory area.

Fenna would come here to clear her mind during her occasional free time. When her thoughts were in turmoil, she would also come here to think quietly and sort out her emotions.

The afternoon sunlight was pleasant, and even with a slight breeze, it wasn’t very cold on the platform. When the gentle sea breeze swept across the platform, it would lift hair by the ears, tickling slightly.

Fenna tossed her white hair behind her head and silently gazed at the winding and mist-enshrouded steam pipes in her view. After a long while, she broke the silence, “I have to go away for a while.”

“Go away?” Heidi turned her head in surprise, “Where are you going?”

“I’m not sure. It might be a faraway place, and I might be gone for a long time,” Fenna looked into Heidi’s eyes, “I can’t divulge the specifics of the trip, but I should tell you before I leave.”

Heidi blinked her eyes, looking somewhat puzzled, “But you are a City-State Judge—can Judges just leave for a distant place just like that?”

“I…” Fenna opened her mouth, struggling to make her expression appear as a smile, “It’s an arrangement by the Church, a direct order from the Storm Cathedral.”

“Ah… I see,” Heidi nodded in realization. She didn’t quite understand the internal rules of the Deep Sea Church. Still, when the title of “Storm Cathedral” was mentioned, many things no longer needed explanation, “So it seems to be a sacred mission? Are you being sent outside the diocese to fight heretics?”

Fenna’s expression seemed to stiffen for a moment, “…In a sense, it does have something to do with heretics, but it’s not a combat mission.”

Heidi, failing to notice the subtle shift in her friend’s tone, simply sighed suddenly, “Ah, my father also left for a trip recently. There was no sign beforehand; he just suddenly told me he had to go on a business trip, and mother didn’t let me inquire too much—now you’re leaving too, it feels like all of you are being so secretive.”

“Mr. Morris also left, huh,” Fenna muttered, but she soon shook her head with a self-deprecating expression, “He must be going to meet his friends in academia, or attend some event; as a scholar like him, he is often invited to various City-State universities… Anyway, it’s different from the place I’m going to.”

Heidi turned her head, looking at her friend with some confusion, “Why do I feel like you’re acting strange, as if you have a lot on your mind, is it because you’re anxious about going away? You don’t seem to have left the City-State much.”

“It’s not that, I’m probably just a little nervous about being assigned a task I’ve never dealt with before,” Fenna shook her head, “Don’t worry about me.”

“Alright then,” Heidi exhaled and then, as if suddenly having a thought, excitedly suggested, “Right, why don’t we go to the movies together? There’s a new film out, just as a change of mood—You should get in touch with the things that are currently popular. This might even broaden your social circle…”

Fenna paid no attention to her friend’s last two sentences, simply raising her eyebrows curiously, “A new film? What’s it about?”

“It’s a work by the great director Sandoko, called ‘Frontier Frights’. It’s about a border village that falls into heresy, offering the women of the village as a sacrifice to the ‘Cave Evil Spirits,’ and in the end, the brave defenders exterminate the evil. They say this film even uses a new technology called ‘soundtrack’, with voices playing in sync with the images from machines on both sides of the screen…”

Heidi eagerly introduced the “latest popular elements” to her friend but noticed Fenna’s face growing increasingly strange. She paused halfway and after thinking for a moment, waved her hands, “Okay, maybe you don’t like that one. There’s another one, called ‘Nightwatch’, about brave defenders who venture into secret realms but accidentally get trapped in a heretic’s lair. They have to rely on their wits and experience to survive in the lair and try to hold onto their principles… You don’t like that either?”

Heidi scratched her head, searching her mind, “Then let me recommend a book to you, the latest popular novel, called ‘Walking with Shadows’, about…”

Fenna finally couldn’t bear to listen any longer and interrupted her friend’s rambling almost with pallor, “I appreciate it, but really, there’s no need.”

Then she seemed to realize her attitude was a bit harsh. She sighed softly, rubbing her forehead while whispering, “Thanks for the concern, but the mission I’m about to undertake requires a steadfast will and pure thought. It’s best not to be exposed to too many things that could disturb the mind before I set off.”

“Ah, okay, then I wasn’t considerate enough,” Heidi smiled awkwardly, “I forgot that you’re a ‘professional’.”

Fenna waved her hand.

Some time passed, then she heard Heidi’s voice again, “My break is almost over. I have two appointments with patients this afternoon.”

“Go on, you should be busy. I should start preparing for departure too,” Fenna breathed softly.

Heidi hummed a response but stopped abruptly before leaving the platform. She turned her head, her expression a mix of hesitance in the afternoon sun and breeze, “Can I see you off when you leave?”

“…No, this is a special mission.”

“Then, will you write back?”

Fenna hesitated.

She looked at Heidi, the white strands of hair fluttering with the breeze, as if a floating curtain had already set between herself and her friend.

“…I don’t know,” Fenna said softly, “But I will… try. Maybe it’s not so strict there.”

“Good, then I’ll wait for your letter,” Heidi’s face suddenly beamed with a bright smile. Then she stepped forward, pulling out the crystal pendant from her neckline and twirling it in the air before pointing at Fenna’s chest, “The same amulet—you’ll have good luck.”

My good friend had left.

Alone on the windy platform, only Fenna remained.

The young Judge bowed her head, looking at the delicate pendant at her chest.

“…Such luck,” she muttered softly, her expression turning slightly peculiar, “I hope that what the antique shop owner sold me really does bring some good fortune.”

A loud peal of bells suddenly rang out from the direction of the church, interrupting Fenna’s thoughts.

She lifted her head to look towards the source of the bells, seeing the enormous clock face atop the bell tower indicating the time, as the brilliance of the sun gradually passed the sky’s zenith, slowly moving toward the west side of the cathedral.

She pulled out the parchment, reading the words on its back—her “induction notice.”

According to the instructions on the notice, a messenger would come to fetch her in an hour, and before that, she was to wait in the cathedral’s courtyard, where the handover process would not be disturbed by any unrelated individuals.

What kind of messenger would it be? And how would she be transported to the Homeloss on the distant Endless Sea?

Fenna’s mind was filled with tremendous questions, but she still took steps towards the cathedral.

She had many more plans, before leaving the City-State where she was born and raised. She wanted to visit her favorite shops, take a trip to the theatre, go to the harbor one more time, meet a few friends, pray at the sanctuary one last time…

But time wasn’t sufficient, she didn’t have that luxury.

In the cathedral’s courtyard, Archbishop Helena and Archbishop Valentin had already been waiting for her for some time.

“The messenger hasn’t arrived yet,” Valentin nodded to Fenna as she entered the courtyard, “Are you ready?”

Fenna glanced at the things she carried.

Besides the great sword that never left her side, there was only a packed suitcase—her personal belongings weren’t many; aside from essential changes of clothing in the suitcase, the most significant items were her prayer book and some blessed church texts.

Those were things that could be read safely on the Endless Sea, perhaps to alleviate the boredom of living aboard a ship.

“They are all here,” Fenna nodded, then looked up at the silent Archbishop next to her, “I can still pray on the ship, right?”

“Of course, you can,” Helena smiled, “Captain Duncan even promised that you could set up an extra cabin to look like a small sanctuary.”

“…Then I suppose I’ll look forward to my upcoming ‘crew life’ a bit more,” Fenna sighed, “I can’t entirely imagine what it will be like.”

Helena opened her mouth, as if to say something, but just then, the sounds of crackling flames and flapping wings suddenly came from the sky, interrupting the conversation in the courtyard.

The messenger had arrived.

Fenna lifted her head in surprise, but only managed to see a streak of green flame falling from the sky like a meteor, within which huge bony wings spread open abruptly, and the next second, that flame “fell” onto the courtyard’s pathway, turning into a spiraling ascending doorway.

“It’s time to leave,” Archbishop Helena’s voice came from beside her, with a hint of reminder and urgency.

“Yes,” Fenna nodded slightly, casting aside the last of her hesitation in that moment, taking a step forward.

She took a deep breath and crossed through the spiraling door of fire. Her mind was bubbling with thoughts at that instant.

What kind of scenery lay behind the door? What life awaited her on that ship? Would she first see that frightening Ghost Ship captain or perhaps some… sailor on the Homeloss?

What would the crew on that ship look like – an eerie visage?

The flames roared to life and then died down just as quickly; crossing the threshold took but a moment.

Fenna felt dizzy for an instant, then the cool, moist sea breeze was directly upon her, with the sound of the waves roaring in her ears.

She blinked her eyes and patted her forehead firmly.

She thought there might have been a problem with the transition.

Or perhaps an issue with her own eyes.

Because she saw… Morris standing in front of her, smiling in her direction.