The storm raged over the sea, an ancient three-masted sailing ship rose and fell with the waves.
It was not fast, nor was it large; in this disastrous scene where heaven and sea merged into one, it was like a fallen leaf from a tree, but no matter how fierce the hurricane, how terrifying the waves, it sailed safely, without tipping.
Alger Wilson stood on the empty deck, gazing at the towering waves around him like mountains and peaks, lost in thought.
"It's going to be Monday again..." he whispered to himself.
That was the day of the Earth Mother, the beginning of a new cycle of prosperity and decay.
But for Alger, it also had another meaning, one that belonged to a mysterious existence forever shrouded in gray mist.
At least I haven't gone mad yet... He withdrew his gaze and smiled wryly.
At this moment, one of his few crew members approached and respectfully asked:
"Your Grace, what is the goal of this voyage?"
Alger looked around and answered with no fluctuation in his voice:
"To hunt down an 'Listener' of the Aurora Order."
...
The storm dissipated, and fog filled the air. On a strange sailing ship that had cannon emplacements but was still out of step with the times.
A boy of eight or nine, with soft yellow hair, looked terrified at the undisciplined pirates around him, watching them enjoy barrels of beer, swing back and forth on ropes, mock each other, and even punch each other.
He turned to look at the black-robed man standing in the shadows and lowered his voice:
"Father, where are we going?"
Five days ago, for the first time in his memory, he had met his father, who claimed to be an adventurer.
If not for the oil painting his mother left behind proving his identity, if not for the orphanage opening its doors for him, he would never have been willing to leave his hometown to follow this almost stranger.
The man in the shadows lowered his head, looked at his son, and replied kindly:
"Jack, I'm taking you to a sacred place, the 'Sanctuary' where the Creator once lived."
"Is that the kingdom of God? We mortals can only enter if we are given grace..." Little Jack had been well taught by his mother and had enough common sense; he was both surprised and frightened.
The man standing in the shadows had a face with such deep lines that it was unforgettable, like a sculpture by the greatest master.
He put his hand to his ear, adopting a listening posture, and replied in a tone almost like a dream:
"Jack, 'mortal' is a mistaken concept. The Creator created this world, He is everywhere, He exists within every living being, so everything has divinity. When divinity is rich enough, one can become an angel. The seven false gods now are merely more powerful angels."
"You see, I can now hear the Creator's teachings. Ah, what extraordinary revelations! Life is merely a spiritual journey. When the spirit is strong and resilient enough, we can find our own divinity and merge with more divinity..."
Little Jack couldn't understand this complex description; he shook his head and asked another question he hadn't had time to ask before:
"Father, Mother told me that after creating this world, the Creator divided into everything and doesn't actually exist. So why does He have a 'Sanctuary'?"
As a seven- or eight-year-old child, his logic was clear enough.
The man with the sculpted face was taken aback, tilted his head slightly, as if hearing more whispers.
Suddenly, he fell forward, kneeling on the deck. The exposed skin of his body bulged with one after another of dark green things.
He covered his head with his hands, his face twisted in pain, and cried out in agony:
"They are lying!"
....
After lunch, with Old Neil's promise to take him to the underground trading market next time, Klein leisurely returned to the Blackthorn Security Company, considering whether to read documents and practice skills in the office, or take advantage of Captain Dunn not yet forbidding it, continue to wander outside, and play the role of "Fortune Teller" at the Divination Club.
However, before he could make a decision, he saw Dunn Smith entering from outside, wearing a black trench coat and a half-top hat.
"How are things, Captain?" Klein thought about the whereabouts of the Antigonus family's notebook and asked with concern.
Dunn's gray eyes showed no fatigue whatsoever:
"Multiple confirmations indicate that the Antigonus family's notebook is in the hands of Ryle Byrnes, but he has disappeared completely."