Deep Sea Embers

After slightly hesitating, she cautiously asked, “From the looks of things… the incident is a big one?”

Vanna nodded, “A big problem.”

Heidi thought about it and replied quickly while packing up her medical kit, “I’m off tomorrow, so for the next while, I might not…”

“Ms. Heidi, you may have established a connection with this matter already,” Vanna stared deeply at her friend, “I’m sorry, but including me, all the people who were at the scene back then were exposed to some kind of cognitive pollution. The mental problems you found in these cultists must’ve happened to each of us as well, but… thanks to the goddess’s protection, we were able to avoid being deeply polluted. It’s the main reason we could wake up from it.”

“…… Damn, I knew sooner or later this kind of thing would happen to me,” Heidi finally stopped packing the medical kit and facepalmed herself. “I really should have listened to my father’s advice to inherit his career as an antique appraiser or perhaps listen to my mother’s advice and become a history teacher in the local public school…. That’s far safer than dealing with cultists.”

“Relax, at least your job now is enough to give you a decent living standard in the upper parts of the city,” Vanna shook her head disapprovingly that this life was bad. Compared to her usual uptight attitude, the inquisitor’s tone was far more approachable to Heidi since they’re so close of age and have been friends for many years. “Why don’t we discuss your findings instead? Perhaps that will help the church and city hall grasp the situation better.”

“…… It’s actually quite simple, an obvious violation of the norm,” Heidi sighed as she explained the clues she dug out of the cultists’ subconscious. “On the ritual night, a sacrifice got out of control in front of the sun totem and turned things around on the priest. But according to the many clues we found on the scene, the “sacrifice’ was actually a ‘corpse’ that had already been killed, am I right?”

Vanna nodded, “That’s right, I remember it well.”

“Then the problem comes… Since this sacrifice had already been sacrificed once, why didn’t any of the cultists at the scene recognize him? Why didn’t even the priest himself recognize the sacrifice in front of him?”

Vanna slowly frowned at the contradiction, “… The cultists at the scene watched as the sacrifice that had been killed once not long ago reappeared in front of their eyes, yet no one noticed the abnormality… Clearly, their memories had been tampered with and their cognition distorted beforehand.”

“That’s right Vanna, even we didn’t notice this obvious contradiction at the time, did we?” Heidi smiled bitterly and spread her hands, “In fact, even an hour ago, I didn’t realize that I had taken this matter for granted until you brought it up just now.”

Vanna didn’t speak for a moment, then turned around and came to the cultist, who was still in a state of confusion due to the double large dosage of neurodrugs and powerful incense.

Vanna suddenly swung back and asked, “Are these cultists hacking and slashing each other after the ritual the results of their cognitive confusion too?”

“Yes, I ‘saw’ some flickering images in their memories,” Heidi replied, “and these images seem to imprint a very strong impression on them, convincing them that everyone else at the ceremony scene is possessed and controlled by evil spirits or something similar. They do not think they are slashing and killing their compatriots, but that they are expelling the evil spirits in the bodies of other compatriots…”

“This is mostly a warning from their souls – cultists are also believers, and there is a dark sun to ‘bless’ them from the rear. When a huge and strange danger appears, these blessings are very likely to perceive something,” Vanna analyzed empirically, “Hence, their crazy illusions had more or less revealed the truth. Still, unfortunately, these untrained ordinary folks did not know the meaning behind the warnings. It’s how they fell into collective madness.”

Heidi looked at Vana with a severe face, and after a few hesitations, she finally opened her mouth cautiously: “So… what’s behind this? Is it something more evil than the ancient sun?”

Vanna thought for a moment and shook her head slightly, “Don’t inquire, Heidi, your connection with this matter is not deep, but if you dig it further, some irrevocable ties will probably be established as a result.”

“Well, since you say so. I value my life a lot so I will trust in your judgment,” Heidi said, picking up the medical kit that had been packed. “I really want to give myself a holiday… Don’t worry, I’m not running. In two days, the Oceanographic Museum will have an exhibition. I am quite interested in what they have on display.”

Vanna nodded, “A visit to the Oceanographic Museum is a great way to relax, and the blessings of the goddess are also filled in with those exhibits.”

Heidi smiled and walked to the door, but just as she was about to push her way out, she suddenly stopped and swung back at Vanna uneasily: “I say… has the pollution really subsided?”

“Don’t worry, of course it has subsided,” Vanna waved her hand helplessly, “we only got caught up in some ‘residual’ remnant. You’ve been in the underground church for so long. Any corrupt influence would’ve been cleansed by now from the goddess’s power.”

“Then I’m relieved,” Heidi breathed a sigh of relief and finally stepped through the exit, “then see you next time, Inquisitor Vanna.”

Vanna watched as her friend gradually left the room, leaving only herself and the sun heretic inside the interrogation room muddled by the scent of incense and nerve potions. However, unbeknownst to the strong and faithful inquisitor, her current image reflected in the eye of the cultist wasn’t so holy at the moment. Standing behind Vanna’s tall figure, a hazy and almost transparent illusion with a fiery green flame was burning overhead, giving the lady a near sinister look.

……

Duncan sat expressionlessly in the mapping room as he watched Alice the doll in front of himself – she had brought a tray of bright cutlery and a large bowl of steaming soup.

It smells like fish soup.

Apparently, after gaining a better familiarity with the environment aboard the Vanished, Miss Doll here had come up with a new idea to “do something for the captain in her own way”.

“Dinner?” Duncan observed the doll curiously while also eyeing the arrangement on his table, “How did you suddenly come up with doing this?”

“I was finishing up cleaning the kitchen storehouse when I saw the bucket of… “fish,” Alice smiled and looked proud, “I can’t help with a lot of work on the ship, but cooking should always be OK. So from now on, I can take care of the cooking.”

“It’s good to have this heart,” Duncan didn’t know how to evaluate this strange doll. It’s just that in the face of Alice’s sincere smile, he had no courage to refuse the kindness and discourage her enthusiasm. “But as a doll, do you know how to cook?”

“I can learn it. It feels quite simple,” Alice said as a matter of course. “The most basic thing is to ask Mr. Goathead. He told me a lot of cooking things before…”

Duncan glanced expressionlessly at the goat head next to him and then at Alice.

A wood carving, a doll of unknown material, and now they dare to study the art of cooking when the two didn’t even have a digestive system? Just listening to them was frightening.

He didn’t know what mood fitted the situation, but he just picked up the soup spoon and stirred the fish in the bowl.

At least this thing smelled right….

But the next second, his hands froze at the sighting of a long silvery-white hair hanging off the spoon.

“Your hair has fallen in,” Duncan said expressionlessly.

“Ah, I didn’t drop my hair in it,” Alice immediately waved her hand, “I dropped my head in… But don’t worry, I caught it immediately, and I didn’t need anyone to help!”

Duncan: “…?”