Chapter 74 “There’s A Spy!”
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Duncan struggled to recall any more significant memories. Though the original inhabitant of his body had deep concerns about Nina, his memories had been eroded over time due to chronic illness and a lifestyle marred by alcohol and drug abuse. By the time Ron, the cultist whose body he had taken over, drew his final breath, his mind was so numbed that it held little emotional attachment to his family.
What Duncan did remember was a catastrophic fire eleven years ago, which had swept through the lower city, claiming the lives of Nina’s biological parents and altering her life forever. This tragedy seemed connected to something called the “sun fragment,” fervently sought by the cult known as the Suntists.
The sun fragment’s sudden emergence led to a disastrous blaze, resulting in the loss of innocent lives, leaving a child parentless, and pushing her last surviving relative into the Suntists’ sphere of influence. It seemed as though the lives of everyone connected to this situation were bound together by an invisible force, drawn into the gravitational pull of the sun itself.
Duncan’s thoughts were interrupted when a cultist in the gathering spoke up. “I’ve been making inquiries with the local residents,” she said, “and no one recalls a significant fire in the lower city eleven years ago. However, I heard about a chemical leak from a factory. The gas from the leak covered several city blocks, causing widespread hallucinations and mental instability. It even made the headlines at the time.”
Duncan looked up to see a nondescript female cultist speaking. His surprise was cut short as he noticed the cult leader directing his gaze toward him. “Brother, you’re a local here; do you know anything about this event?”
Caught off guard, Duncan realized he had become the focal point of the conversation. To these out-of-town cultists, who were keen on gathering local information, Duncan, being a “local from the lower city of Pland,” was an invaluable source.
Feeling the weight of multiple eyes on him, Duncan quickly improvised an answer. “I wasn’t living in this area eleven years ago, so I can’t confirm firsthand details. However, I have heard stories about the factory leak.”
Turning to the female cultist who had spoken earlier, Duncan asked, “So, you’re saying there was no large fire in the lower city eleven years ago?”
“Based on the information I’ve gathered, no,” she nodded affirmatively. “From what people have told me, the lower city of Pland hasn’t experienced a significant fire in at least two decades. There have been occasional minor kitchen fires, but those are obviously not what we’re talking about.”
Duncan blinked, momentarily stunned but held his tongue. His fragmented memories were crystal clear about one thing: eleven years ago, Nina’s parents had died in a fire, and there was even a scene in his mind where “he” was leading Nina out of the flames.
The discrepancy was baffling. Could there have been a mix-up in the memories he had inherited from this body? Perhaps the fire hadn’t occurred in the lower city as he had thought? Or could it be that the cultist’s investigation had missed this crucial event?
A glimmer of suspicion began to take root in Duncan’s mind. Since the issue involved both Nina and “himself,” he was instinctively more alert and attentive. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice from across the room—Shirley, another member of the cult, was speaking.
“Was the factory leak eleven years ago the one that happened in the sixth district?” Shirley inquired.
“Yes, the sixth district sounds correct,” the female cultist who had initially mentioned the leak responded. “From what I understand, the incident had a lasting impact. The chemicals caused long-term health issues for many, and it’s something residents of the lower city still talk about.”
Several surrounding cultists nodded, signaling that their investigations had led them to similar conclusions.
Standing at the room’s focal point, the cult leader broke the contemplative silence with his resonant, authoritative voice. “This factory leak—or what appears to be a production accident—might well be a veiled supernatural event concealed by the authorities. Given that it occurred precisely eleven years ago, it serves as an important lead. Our next step should be to investigate whether this so-called accident is linked to the sacred sun fragment that we seek.”
The room nodded in unanimous agreement.
He continued, “But our scope of interest shouldn’t be limited to what happened eleven years ago in the lower city. We must also keep an eye on the recent anomalies happening in the city-state of Pland. The sun fragment, although dormant, is nearing its day of awakening. Its energy levels are elevating daily. Four years ago, our brethren attempted to expedite its awakening. Despite the failure of that ritual, which unfortunately provoked a violent backlash from the Storm Church, the effort wasn’t completely in vain. The ritual did manage to enhance the link between the fragment and our reality. This means the fragment could, for brief periods, influence the real world before its full awakening. So, stay vigilant and monitor local news and gossip. Any peculiar incident could be a clue leading us to the sun fragment.”
As the cult leader finished his speech, the other cultists bowed their heads in deference, acknowledging their orders. Duncan, however, was captivated by another detail that had been briefly mentioned: an attempt to awaken the sun fragment four years ago. This new piece of information piqued his interest and raised more questions. What happened during that failed ritual? And how was it connected to the sun fragment’s increasing influence on reality? All of this painted a larger, more intricate picture that Duncan felt he needed to understand, not just for his curiosity but possibly for Nina’s safety as well.
Four years ago, the Storm Church of Pland had led a significant assault against the city’s largest stronghold of the Sun heresy. This monumental event had weakened the Suntists to a point from which they never fully recovered and cemented the reputation of Vanna, who would later become the city-state’s renowned inquisitor. Duncan had always assumed this was the whole story, public knowledge that everyone was aware of. Now, however, he realized the underlying truth could be more complicated: the Suntists’ primary objective at the time may have been to awaken a dormant sun fragment.
As Duncan mentally pieced together this newfound information, contemplating how to extract more insights from the cultists around him, an unusual smell abruptly invaded his senses. The odor was a strange mixture of burning sulfur and some pungent, acidic chemical.
Almost simultaneously, others in the room also picked up on the acrid aroma, glancing at each other in search of the source. The leader of the gathering responded with lightning speed. He yanked a sun-shaped amulet from his chest—identical to the one Duncan wore, except this one blazed with an ethereal, semi-transparent flame. It became apparent that the acrid smell was emanating from this flame.
“Dirty impurities… the flame has been deceived!” The leader’s eyes narrowed as he inspected the burning amulet, his voice tinged with urgency and wrath. “There’s a heretic among us!”
Pandemonium erupted in the room. Duncan’s immediate thought was that he had been discovered. Somehow, it seemed the leader’s amulet had exposed him as a non-believer in their Sun-centric religion. Resigned, Duncan sighed slightly, preparing to release his carrier dove to send a message. But before he could make his move, another sigh resonated from across the room.
The sigh came from Shirley, a young woman dressed in black. She shook her head in apparent disappointment. “I knew Dog was unreliable. The disguise wouldn’t hold for even three hours.”
As her words lingered in the air, a sphere of pitch-black fire spontaneously ignited beside her. The flames, although shaped like traditional fire, were dark as shadows. Within a second, the fire spread, enveloping nearly a third of Shirley’s body. What happened next was astonishing: the fire seemed to consume her right side as if she were mere kindling. The flames then split into two forms—one part became airborne and transformed into a chain of dark fire, while the other part that touched the ground instantly solidified into a skeletal creature ablaze with the same black flame.
The room’s atmosphere shifted from confusion to utter shock and awe. Duncan knew he had to think quickly. The ensuing chaos could either be an opportunity or spell his ultimate downfall, especially now that the stakes were dramatically escalating.
The creature that materialized was a massive black demon hound, standing roughly half the height of an average adult. Its body appeared to be a grotesque construction of countless twisted bones, serving as its skeletal framework. Where one would expect to see flesh and muscle, there was only an unsettling display of burning black fire and writhing shadows. The hound’s skull was jagged and menacing, almost as if it were eternally snarling. Its eye sockets were vacant but filled with a swirling, blood-red mist that seemed to pulse with insatiable hunger and malevolent intent.
From the demon hound’s neck stretched a pitch-black chain that seemed to seamlessly blend into Shirley’s arm as if they were one continuous entity. The disturbing integration suggested a deep, perhaps even symbiotic, connection between the summoner and her beast.
The cult leader, who stood at the room’s center, couldn’t hide his astonishment and outrage. “A dark hound? Are you a summoner from the Annihilation Sect?” His voice dripped with incredulity and indignation. “What is the meaning of this intrusion? Are you acolytes of the Annihilation Sect intending to declare war on us, the devout followers of the Sun?”
Huh
There’s no way Captain Duncan can get detected as heretic, when the reality itself says “Capt. Duncan right now is a thorough Suntist zealots”