Chapter 1 From the Car

Stepping out of the car and onto the stone-paved square in front of the museum, Heidi couldn't help but take a deep breath. The cool, slightly salty sea breeze swept in, seemingly carrying away the fatigue and anxiety that had accumulated from her continuous work, bringing her a touch of relaxation.

The young psychiatrist had barely taken a day off in the past month, and recently she had been dealing with manic and insane cultists almost every day. She even felt that the madness in those cultists' minds was gradually infecting her spirit, making her struggle with insomnia and restless dreams every night.

Fortunately, today she didn't have to think about those crazy cultists and their deformed, morbid minds.

Another gust of sea breeze blew from the end of the street, fluttering Heidi's skirt. She raised her hand to hold down her long skirt and the wide-brimmed hat she was wearing, and looked up at the large white building with streamlined domes and beautiful side buildings in front of her. Located in the Cross District, this maritime museum was one of the largest museums in the city-state of Pland—and also one of the most legendary.

Heidi strode towards the museum, while in the crowd not far away, a tour guide was introducing the museum's background to the tourists. The guide's penetrating voice reached Heidi's ears:

"...This large building, built in 1802, was originally the property of the Parr Brothers Ocean Trading Company. During its heyday, it served as Pland's largest warehousing center, handling an astonishing amount of wealth, and was regarded as a symbol of Pland's commercial prosperity reaching its peak. But a sudden change in 1822 completely changed the fate of that building..."

Someone appropriately asked, "What happened then?"

"It is said—only said, that a Parr Brothers' ocean-going cargo ship encountered a strange fog on its return voyage. In the fog, this unlucky cargo ship saw a burning ghost ship and brushed past it... This cargo ship was fortunate enough to escape the fog and even return to port safely, but the shadow of madness remained in the hearts of every crew member at that time and quickly spread throughout the Parr Brothers' fleet."

"In the few months before this, all the ships under the Parr Brothers began to encounter terrible disasters, with constant mutinies, disappearances, and even bloody sacrifices to please unknown gods..."

"...The sailing ships encountered storms on the sea where there should have been calm waters, or crashed into icebergs in cool seas. Mutinous sailors detonated explosives on the ships, damaged the boilers, and even hunted down their colleagues... Similar bizarre disasters repeated themselves time and time again, ultimately ruining the Parr Brothers' business and forcing their ocean trading company to file for bankruptcy reorganization at the end of the same year..."

"After that, the Parr Brothers divided up the remaining assets of their company and donated a portion of them to the city-state authorities, including the building in front of you... It underwent several renovations and its function changed several times. Until 1855, it was finally converted into a maritime museum and has remained so to this day."

"It is said that even today, the shadow of nearly a century ago still lingers in this maritime museum... The ghosts of the Parr Brothers will return to the museum and briefly stay in their former offices, or employees in the uniform of the Ocean Trading Company will appear in the exhibition area, confusedly asking visitors for directions to the office area..."

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Deep Sea Embers

"Of course, of course! These are just rumors. The museum has been inspected and blessed by church priests, and a team of guardians is stationed there to ensure that no supernatural disasters occur. Everyone can visit with peace of mind—but if you are really interested in these frightening and bizarre legends, you can also experience the 'Adventure Escape Room' in the museum's side wing. However, before experiencing the escape room project, you need to go to the church on the square to receive temporary baptism and a test of will..."

The voices of the tour guide and the tourists gradually faded away, and Heidi walked forward through the crowd, but suddenly felt her steps become a little lighter.

An ocean trading warehouse from a century ago, the distant sea fog that brought disaster, a cursed fleet, shadows lingering in the museum...

Having been dealing with cultists every day lately, and having heard a lot of "rumors" through various official channels, Heidi suddenly felt that taking a museum as a vacation sightseeing project might not be such a good idea... With this time, it would be better to stroll through the lower city, or even defy her father's coaxing and visit that strange antique shop.

But after hesitating for less than two seconds, the young psychiatrist suddenly made up her mind and strode towards the main entrance of the museum.

Telling some appropriate scary stories when introducing scenic spots is a common trick of tour guides. More than half of the scary stories in this world are inseparable from sea fog, ghost ships, and mutinous sailors. There are ghost stories in the museum, and there might be something even scarier than ghost stories in the antique shop—how can a psychiatrist who deals with lunatics all day be afraid of this?

No one can stop me from enjoying this hard-earned vacation! Not even the evil gods of the Warp!

With determination firm and steps like the wind, the psychiatrist sister passed through the ticket gate like a warrior preparing to go into battle, passed through the museum's gate, and stepped into the ancient building with nearly a century of history. There were fewer visitors in the museum than expected. Perhaps because it was not a public holiday, the hall on the first floor even seemed a little deserted.

Several hall guides were pointing out the route to the main exhibition area for some lost tourists. At the end of the hall on the first floor, huge tuna skeletons and exquisite models of various sea ships were fixed on the towering walls. A docent dressed as a captain was introducing the knowledge of early sailing warships to some children.

Two boys who looked only eighteen or nineteen years old, probably still in school, were walking towards the door leading to the main exhibition area together. They were chatting and laughing all the way, and looked like they had a good relationship. The lights in the hall were bright and the atmosphere was comfortable.

Heidi breathed a slight sigh of relief, followed behind the two young boys, walked towards the hall where the main exhibition area was located, and prepared to enjoy this quiet time. Then, she smelled a strange smell.

It smelled like... something was burning...

...

Far away in the Cross District, Duncan stepped out of a steam bus. He bought a leisure magazine from a nearby newsstand, preparing to pass the time.

The investigation into the factory ruins hadn't made much progress. After Shirley and Agou left, he wandered around Eighth Street for a long time and inquired about some things from the locals, but obviously, ordinary citizens could not glimpse the truth behind the "veil." The residents of Eighth Street only remembered the information disclosed by the authorities, and everyone believed that the decline of the district was due to the chemical pollution left by the factory and the neglect of the city-state authorities—which was no different from what the old man of Selenium Sun had revealed.

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Deep Sea Embers

The truth was covered by a veil, the records in reality were tampered with, and the information disclosed by the city-state authorities was only the information after the tampering. However, Duncan could not simply determine that the "veil" was set up by the Pland city-state's city hall or church—because in this world where supernatural phenomena existed, a powerful abnormality or anomaly could blind everyone's eyes.

In the face of powerful abnormalities and anomalies, even the so-called "reality" was a canvas that could be smeared and tampered with.

Now it seemed that the source of this "veil" was not in the factory, and may even be outside of Eighth Street. If this so-called "source" was the Sun Fragment, then it should be hidden even deeper. Without more clues, the investigation could not continue.

Duncan sat down on a bench by the roadside, casually reading the contents of the leisure reading material while considering future matters.

The Sun cultists were looking for the Sun Fragment, and they were disrupting the city-state; Nina's memories and dreams vaguely pointed to the Sun Fragment, and there was likely a certain connection between her and the fragment; he glimpsed the appearance of the real sun through the Sun Mask, and this indescribable thing that looked like an evil god seemed to see him and ask him for help...

Unknowingly, he seemed to have fallen into a messy tangle of threads.

The city-state of Pland, his first landing point in this world's civilized society, was originally thought to be a peaceful, prosperous, and tranquil place, but he did not expect that this "first stop" would be so uneasy. Duncan sighed and shook his head slightly. At that moment, the corner of his eye suddenly saw an unusual cloud of smoke rising in the distant street.

Faint flames were rising in the smoke.

Duncan was stunned for a moment and stood up from the bench. He noticed that many people on the street had also seen the smoke and flames. Many pedestrians stopped, and then he saw someone running frantically across the street and heard someone shouting in a low voice:

"Fire! The museum is on fire!!"