Chapter 70 “I’m One Of You”
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In a world where the supernatural is a reality, and the Boundless Sea encompass the lands, ordinary people strive to navigate their lives amidst continuous conflicts between city-states’ guardians and otherworldly anomalies.
Duncan, though new to this particular city-state, had observed that the daily lives of its citizens were marked by order and stability. They engaged in typical activities such as working, studying, and relaxing. They operated businesses, shared resources, and enjoyed leisure activities like visiting cinemas, dining at restaurants, exploring parks and harbors. Evenings often found them at museums or engaging in neighborly chats post-dinner. Their lives might not be thrilling, but they were generally predictable and secure.
The city was serviced by steam-powered buses that halted both at designated stops and along the roadsides, ready to pick up or drop off passengers. The bus driver, usually silent, would occasionally exchange brief words with the conductor but mainly focused on his driving duties. The young conductor, while performing her tasks, occasionally glanced upward, her thoughts seemingly preoccupied with a dove she had noticed earlier.
As Duncan sat observing, he noted that the locals, aside from having to familiarize themselves with the various supernatural occurrences and treating this knowledge like a set of “safety rules,” led lives not too dissimilar from those he had witnessed on Earth.
At the Crossroad junction, the bus paused again to admit new passengers. Duncan’s attention was drawn to the external environment—the distant chimneys, the network of steam pipes above the buildings. Suddenly, he experienced a peculiar warmth near his chest.
The source was the sun amulet concealed beneath his clothing.
While he was lost in the scenery, Duncan instinctively touched the amulet and felt not just warmth but a slight vibration as well. Unsure of what was transpiring, it became apparent that the amulet was responding to something in the vicinity. Linked mentally to the amulet, he detected the source of this resonance. His gaze quickly shifted to a figure navigating through the crowd outside, a man in a black coat who might have appeared ordinary, yet the amulet’s guidance was directed unmistakably toward him.
Reacting swiftly, Duncan rose from his seat, and as he approached the door, the dove named Ai, upon receiving Duncan’s mental cue, descended from the bus’s roof to perch on his shoulder.
The conductor observed this with a hint of amazement and remarked under her breath about the dove’s training. But her attention was soon redirected towards the incoming passengers, dealing with a ticket issue involving a child purportedly over the age limit for a child’s fare, muttering skeptically about the child’s alleged age and height.
By this time, Duncan had already blended into the crowd, skillfully navigating through the throng of people densely packed on the platform and at the intersection. He was in pursuit of an individual clad in a black coat.
The person dressed in black moved swiftly, utilizing the dense afternoon crowd to obscure himself and evade being tracked by sight. Indeed, within just a few minutes, he had vanished from Duncan’s view.
Nevertheless, Duncan continued to be guided by a persistent sensation emanating from his sun amulet. This ‘sense of direction’ seemed to flow from the very depths of the amulet, unwaveringly leading Duncan toward his target.
As he moved, Duncan considered the situation. The individual in black was certainly suspicious, and the sudden activation of the amulet indicated that it had perhaps detected a force linked to the “Black Sun.”
Duncan had learned from Goathead that the amulet possessed the capacity to identify those related to it and guide those bestowed with “sun blessings.” Normally, only adherents of the Black Sun cult could utilize these capabilities or sense the amulet’s guidance.
Though Duncan had initially seized control of the amulet using his ghost fire, he had assumed that his actions had disabled most of its functions. However, it now seemed that the amulet’s ability to recognize kin was still intact and at his disposal.
Heeding the amulet’s directions, Duncan veered off the bustling main streets and, after navigating a few turns, entered a quieter alleyway.
There, he spotted the elusive figure again, briskly crossing an intersection ahead, seemingly oblivious to Duncan trailing behind.
Duncan noticed the amulet growing warmer against his chest, its vibrations becoming clearer and more intense.
He discreetly activated his ghost fire to decipher the influx of information from the sun amulet. A flood of detailed sensory data filled his mind.
Though the amulet lacked the capacity for thought, Duncan sensed an almost palpable excitement from it as it relayed information about the whereabouts of other believers—despite Duncan himself not being a follower of the Black Sun.
He humorously thought to himself that the amulet should contain its enthusiasm. It had been a sacred relic of the Black Sun not long ago and should not be behaving like an eager hand warmer.
His suspicions were confirmed as he realized he was drawing near to a clandestine meeting place for the cult’s followers.
Indeed, Duncan had concluded that the group he had previously encountered in the sewers was merely a fragment of a larger congregation of these ‘Sun heretics’ lurking within the city-state, much like hidden cockroaches.
While the ultimate intentions of these cultists remained unclear to him, Duncan was aware that they possessed deeper knowledge of ancient history, sun worship, and the age of order than Nina’s teachers ever could.
To unearth the deeper mysteries of this world, Duncan knew he had to engage with these supernatural forces. Approaching church and city-state authorities conventionally was challenging, but infiltrating or confronting the cultists was straightforward—either blend in or confront them directly.
Duncan was deep in thought when he abruptly halted his steps.
He had reached the termination of a narrow street just as a mysterious figure dressed in black darted into an adjacent alley. The sun amulet he carried emitted a strong and unmistakable signal, and the area was devoid of other passersby.
Using the sun amulet, Duncan detected increasing numbers of “kin signals” converging on his location.
In response, Duncan discreetly raised his coat collar to shield half of his face. Almost immediately after he completed this action, he began to hear multiple sets of footsteps emerging from the shadows of the surrounding buildings.
One after another, individuals appeared.
About a dozen in total, these people were dressed like typical townsfolk. Indeed, no member of a cult would parade around in a ceremonial robe in broad daylight in the city, just as a seasoned assassin wouldn’t don a strikingly white hooded cloak while stirring up trouble on crowded streets.
It was only the persistent warmth and clear directional cues from the sun amulet that affirmed to Duncan that each person appearing was indeed a disciple of the True Black Sun.
Glancing toward the end of the alley, Duncan spotted the man in black he had been following, now among the group, eyeing him with caution. Standing next to him, a tall, lean young man murmured something to his companion before shifting his gaze toward Duncan.
“This is private property, what are you doing sneaking in here?” the tall, lean man inquired, his tone suggesting a pretense of normalcy to paint Duncan as the interloper. Since he was uncertain of Duncan’s background and motives, he neither attacked precipitously nor let down his guard.
Internally, Duncan lamented his lack of aptitude for the sophisticated demands of tracking. He wondered how these cultists might react if he feigned ignorance—whether they intended to pose as a menacing, yet industrious, evil group to drive him away, or if they were genuinely intent on expanding their sinister activities and intended to use him as a sacrifice to their Black Sun.
“Didn’t you hear me?” the tall, lean man pressed, frowning with impatience. He advanced slightly as the others subtly formed a semi-circle around Duncan, “I’m asking you a question…”
Duncan nonchalantly shrugged and withdrew the sun amulet from his chest, declaring earnestly, “One of our own.”
His strategy was simple: first blend in, perhaps gather more information.
If they remained unconvinced, then he would be prepared to fight.
Among us?
“just as a seasoned assassin wouldn’t don a strikingly white hooded cloak while stirring up trouble on crowded streets” LOL, assassin creed reference