Chapter 1229

The text recorded in the journal made Sai Fei'er's brows furrow:

……

【Balanced Month ██ day】

Today another three households moved away from us, the tide rose higher than before, already flooding up to the fifth step of our residence's stone stairs. The priests say this is just a seasonal tide and will soon recede, but I have lived in Stikokisia for thirty years and have never seen such a water level.

Leinand from the harbor said that three days ago he went out to sea to fish and discovered that the seawater had turned abnormally murky, as if mixed with ink. Underwater he saw a strange shadow, not human-shaped but with a vague outline. After returning he developed a high fever and has been bedridden ever since.

【Balanced Month ██ day】

The city's banquets have become increasingly frenzied. Previously only held during Joy Month, the grand feasts now almost everyone is holding. Yesterday at the Anzuo family's gathering, I personally saw two usually law-abiding women barefoot stomping grapes, laughing strangely as they did, and finally drinking the juice mixed with mud. They said they were imitating Fajina's sacrificial rites, but I have never heard of such an absurd sacrificial practice.

Market prices have risen by thirty percent. The vendor selling honey wine says the brewing process has recently become abnormally difficult; the yeast always inexplicably spoils, and only by using seawater taken directly from the port for distillation can one possibly produce fine liquor.

Fortunately our family's Duolisi is still sober, and she advises us to drink less of the city's water and alcohol.

【Long Day Month ██ day】

Last night, the harbor transmitted a strange melody. It did not come from any instrument, but seemed to rise from the deep seabed. The low tune seemed to narrate an ancient story, making one involuntarily want to draw near the shore. Several children from neighboring families sleepwalked to the dock, saying they saw the 'goddess in the water' playing something and wanted to go see.

The priests announced a ban on any form of musical performance and dispatched soldiers to patrol the dock. For some reason, I always feel they are afraid of something, rather than genuinely wanting to protect us.

——

Attack on Titan

The seawater that looks like ink mixed in is Heichi... This, this is the earliest record of Heichi!

Looking at the refugee journal in Sai Fei'er's hand, the person who wrote this journal seems to have suffered a great shock. The handwriting of the text suddenly changed here; starting from the Long Day Night records, each character looks as if it were drawn in a spasm. The pen tip pierced the paper in seven or eight places, and the ink, mixed perhaps with sweat or tears, blurred into a blotch, illegible.

Heichi does not turn people into black monsters from the start; instead, it begins by affecting the mind, causing people's behavior and demeanor to become strange and abnormal. It is like a slowly approaching dark cloud, within which incomprehensible monsters lurk in the seawater, watching over them in the vast, ancient ocean that surrounds humanity's tiny creations, no different from observing a herd of deer.

Armin suddenly thought of Jean and Connie.

These two, upon seeing the stars in the sky just arrived at Wengfalusi, saw KefaLe's believers kneeling before the "Conflict" monsters, praying for divine blessings, and repeatedly mocked the believers' superstition and absurdity. Unbeknownst to them, the power of nature and the unknown in such an apocalyptic backdrop is how awe‑inspiring. Even if everyone regards the aberrant species as dangerous, in this pressure they seem insignificant.

So, is the other side of the sea Heichi? Eren frowned.

Armin shook his head: "Unclear, but this refugee's record is clearly more credible than the mythic accounts circulating among the bards of Wengfalusi. By this time Heichi has already emerged from the seabed, subtly influencing and changing people's lives and mental states, yet it seems that in the dark there is also a force holding it back—"

Who?

Look, Eren, take a look at this passage—"The neighbors' children all sleepwalked to the dock, saying they saw a goddess in the water playing something." I think this so‑called "goddess" is most likely Fajina of the Sea. Of course, at this time Fajina is probably also affected by Heichi, but even so she still guards the waters near the harbor.

—

【Long Day Month ██ day】

Today I met Nora, the cloth seller, at the market. She told me the situation there is far worse than we imagined. Three days ago the holy water pool of Fajina's temple suddenly dried up; the priests tried every method but could not refill it. Worse still, strange cracks have appeared on the wall behind the statue, like some pattern or writing, yet no one can decipher them.

Nora also brought a strange rumor: someone claimed to have seen in a dream a woman playing a stringed instrument, draped in black gauze, her eyes glowing with seawater‑like light. She told the dreamer that Stikokisia is about to undergo a great change, and only those who "hear her song" can be saved. Some people in the city have already begun calling her the "Sea's Prophet Musician"—despite the priests' efforts to suppress this rumor.

【Freedom Month ██ day】

We ultimately decided to relocate the whole family. The seawater has reached the pier's highest water line, yet some people turn a blind eye, continuing to indulge in endless revelry. Our family and the neighboring Milonda household have decided to head together to Aohema. It is said that there the World‑Titans' protection prevails, and the black tide has not yet contaminated that place. We plan to slip out quietly tonight through the north exit of the pier. We pray that Fajina will keep our family safe.

【Freedom Month ██ day】

We have been on the road for three days. Last night the Milonda family's young son suddenly came down with a high fever, constantly muttering strange words as if singing an old ballad. His father decided to take him back to town to seek a doctor, even though we all know there is little hope left there.

This morning, from the hillside, looking back at Stikokisia, we were shocked to find the entire city seemingly encircled by an eerie halo, the seawater glittering with an unnatural blue light in the sun. From afar, the splendid buildings appear to twist and warp in the water, like some kind of illusion.

【Gleaning Thread Month ██ day】

We encountered several more fleeing compatriots, who brought even more terrifying news: the seawater of Stikokisia has begun to show an abnormal color and texture—sometimes thick as honey, sometimes like solidified glass. Those who remain in the city are starting to exhibit strange changes, ███████.

What is even more eerie is that at night the whole city is bathed in an indescribable light, as if covered by some gigantic amniotic membrane. They say this is Fajina's punishment, but I cannot help wondering: is this the Titans' wrath, or a force greater than the Titans at work?

—

Dragon clan.

Fajina's punishment… how pitiful; those people back then didn't even know what Heichi meant.

Su Enxi curled her lip; when she uttered the two words "Heichi", her tone slightly twisted, as if her tongue had accidentally touched something dirty it shouldn't have.

Long Legs, you know? This diary reminds me of a novel I read once, from the last century.

Oh? You still have that hobby? Jiude Maiyi raised her eyebrows, giving her a sideways glance that was half‑smile, half‑not, "I recall your reading only extends to some romance novels and the cracks between various financial weeklies and corporate financial reports."

You don't know shit. Su Enxi rolled her eyes contemptuously, then, absent‑minded, balled up the empty chip packet at hand and tossed it into a nearby trash can, "Back when I stayed up all night writing my thesis, I also needed some mental nourishment to stimulate my brain cells. Besides, I was researching 'the audience psychology of early‑20th‑century Western occult literature'—that's academic investigation, get it?"

So, what novel is it?

"The Shadow over Innsmouth" is a Lovecraft‑style novel that also tells the story of a seaside town. The refugee's diary in the sky feels much like the book, giving off a sense of… Su Enxi paused, seemingly searching for the right adjective in her mind, "…how to put it? …a despair that seeps out from the cracks in one's bones, namely the feeling that 'you think you're resisting, but you've already been assimilated by Heichi.' Got it?"

Sounds disgusting. Jiude Maiyi slowly set down her drink.

It really is disgusting. Su Enxi continued in her vein, her voice carrying a chill that makes one's teeth ache, "The Heichi of Wengfalusi feels to me like some viscous amniotic fluid. It is more like a gigantic womb gestating monsters, and those so‑called refugees are merely embryos steeped in that fluid, slowly undergoing deformity."