Chapter 115: The Nameless Intruder
Intruder.
Truth be told, long before he heard that accursed term, Yu Sheng’s heart had already begun to churn with unease. Ever since he learned the Dark Angels could appear in the Civilized World, ever since Song Cheng had uttered the words “another planet,” he had sensed that these warped beings—bearing the mockery of the name “angel”—might be far stranger and far more powerful than he had ever imagined. But never did he expect that such entities could originate from… Beyond The World.
He had always assumed these abominations, like the Entities in the Otherworld, were just another anomalous phenomenon of this world. Perhaps more dangerous, yes—supercharged versions of the usual horrors.
“No wonder Little Red Riding Hood warned me not to get involved with the Dark Angels…” he muttered under his breath, almost without realizing.
Song Cheng heard the murmur but chose not to respond. Instead, he placed several more documents on the tea table before them. “These are additional profiles of other Dark Angels, though not a complete set. Some of them possess the trait of ‘leakage’—simply uttering their name can induce anomalies. Those can only be studied within the Special Affairs Bureau’s ‘safehouses.’ Others are outright forbidden knowledge, even I lack clearance. But what I’ve brought… these are safe. You may look.”
But Yu Sheng didn’t immediately reach for the new files. Instead, curiosity took hold, and he asked, “Why are you investing so much in me? I’m guessing you don’t offer this level of intel to every Spirit Realm Detective, even those who’ve come into contact with Dark Angels.”
Song Cheng paused, then said carefully, “Because we suspect… you may possess the power to banish angels.”
Yu Sheng had instinctively sensed this might be part of the reason—but not the whole truth.
Still, he didn’t press further. He simply offered a solemn correction: “That thing in Night Valley, the giant eye, it wasn’t banished by me—it left on its own.”
“Yes,” Song Cheng replied, a hint of resignation in his voice. “But it left after seeing you. There were others present, true—but you were the most… anomalous. I know it sounds unconvincing, but the truth is, we’re utterly at a loss when it comes to the Dark Angels.
“No one has discerned their weaknesses or patterns of behavior. No one has ever truly communicated with one. Across the globe, whether within or beyond the Borderland, successful cases of Dark Angel repulsion are vanishingly rare, and none follow a consistent pattern. Every departure feels like… they simply got bored and left. So we gamble. Perhaps that ‘eye’ leaving had nothing to do with you. But—what if it did?”
He hesitated briefly, then added, “That’s also the judgment of Director Bai Li Qing. Without her approval, I couldn’t have shown you these.”
“Bai Li Qing?” Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, then finally turned his attention to the documents.
He skimmed them rather than reading deeply—just a glance at the pages packed with abstract horrors and chaotic imagery was enough.
“So many… absurdities,” he murmured, eyes flicking from the annotated sketches. “A shadow… a flame… a massive cube gliding silently through the night sky… wait, is this a sphere?”
“It is. Its diameter is approximately four thousand kilometers.”
Yu Sheng stared blankly. “…What?”
“You heard me. Heka’s Star, named after its first discoverer and victim. Roughly four thousand kilometers across. Currently confirmed as the largest Dark Angel in terms of physical size. Its surface is covered in perfectly aligned hexagonal crystalline lattice—like a honeycomb. There are intense signs of life within.
“It appears without warning in star systems harboring life, always maintaining a ‘safe’ distance, from which it constantly broadcasts strange radio signals. Though we lack definitive proof, we believe these broadcasts trigger madness in intelligent beings. Several infamous wars and bloody coups throughout history likely correlate with Heka’s Star’s proximity.”
Yu Sheng dropped the file, wide-eyed, staring at Song Cheng like he’d just asked him to punch a god. “You want me to fight that?! Seriously?!”
“No, no!” Song Cheng waved his hands frantically. “We don’t expect you to fight something like that. It’s not the kind of thing that can be ‘fought’ anyway. We just… hope you’ll know more about Dark Angels. Just in case. Better to be prepared, right?”
Yu Sheng snorted, brushing off the topic. “Fine, talk about something else. What else do you know about these ‘angels’?”
Song Cheng’s tone turned grave. “Their influence. That’s what we understand best. Though Dark Angels vary wildly in form and traits, they almost all share one thing in common: a deep link to the Otherworld, and their ability to alter it.
“Like I said, while Dark Angels do appear in the Civilized World, they more often ‘descend’ within the Otherworld. Wherever they take root, the Otherworld becomes ‘activated’—Entities grow more feral and dangerous, the very rules of the realm warp and shift. Even the depth itself may change.
“You remember what happened in Night Valley, don’t you?”
“I remember it vividly,” said Yu Sheng, throwing up his hands. “In theory, a Hunger Entity should manifest only one at a time. But that day… they swarmed across the entire mountain, spreading like wildfire. By the end, the entire Valley had turned into one colossal Entity. Lucky for us, we escaped unscathed.”
“Most aren’t so fortunate,” Song Cheng said grimly. “Once trapped in the Otherworld, the odds of survival drop sharply. Encounters with the Dark Angels rarely end well. Even if the ‘angels’ don’t directly attack, the catastrophic shifts they bring to the environment lead victims to perish—either by the rules of the Entities or those of the Otherworld itself.”
He continued, “We’ve long studied the patterns of the Dark Angels. Their presence in the Otherworld is significantly higher than in the real world. Some Scholars theorize that something in the Otherworld draws them… or…”
“Or what?” Yu Sheng leaned forward.
“Or the Otherworld itself is a kind of dimensional weak point within our reality. A fragile boundary where the powers of order falter, creating natural breaches—ideal entryways for these Intruders from Beyond The World. I’ve said it before: the Dark Angels drill holes into our world. But to them, the Otherworld might just be one gigantic, ready-made hole.”
Yu Sheng looked contemplative. That’s when Irene, who had been listening silently all this time, suddenly chimed in, “What about those Angel Cultists? Why would anyone willingly worship such malevolent, incomprehensible beings? These ‘angels’ don’t even communicate—do they even acknowledge their followers’ prayers?”
“We’ve captured plenty of Angel Cultists,” said Song Cheng, his expression darkening. “And you might not believe this, but their numbers are far greater than expected. They aren’t confined to the Borderland. Anywhere a Dark Angel has descended, you’ll find their deranged worshippers. Some fell due to obsession with power and forbidden knowledge. But the most zealous among them—those at the cult’s core—insist they were ‘guided.’”
“Guided? By who?” Yu Sheng gestured toward the documents on the coffee table. “By those abstract… Dark Angels? I thought they couldn’t communicate.”
“They can’t, not in any conventional way,” Song Cheng replied. “But the Heretic Cultists swear they can hear them. Not just chaotic whispers, but actual ‘guidance’—teachings, even. During interrogations, the most devout describe it like this:
‘Gentle. Compassionate. Full of love and mercy. These voices reveal to them the inevitable downfall of the cosmos. But instead of despair, they offer resolve—teaching the listener how to seek salvation and urging them to stand alongside the angels in pursuit of redemption.’”
He paused, gathering his thoughts. “Through mental analysis and hypnotic suggestion, we’ve reconstructed some of the influence these Dark Angels exert. The ‘guidance’ seems to be an immersive, overwhelming hallucination that forcibly drags the recipient’s consciousness into a non-Human perspective. The illusion stretches over what feels like centuries. Most Human minds can’t withstand such immersion. Once it’s over, they’re completely transformed. Outwardly still Human—but their minds are no longer of this world.”
“That’s the part Scholars find most troubling,” Song Cheng added. “Dark Angels vary wildly in form and abilities—they don’t even look like they belong to the same species. And yet, their Cultists, no matter which ‘angel’ they follow, always report hearing the same themes: a murky apocalypse and a path to salvation. Even the details line up across cases. So now we’re forced to reconsider two fundamental assumptions: ‘Do the Dark Angels possess reason?’ and ‘Are they, perhaps, truly one unified race?’”
Yu Sheng couldn’t help but mutter, “Sounds like dangerous research to pursue.”
“Extremely dangerous,” Song Cheng confirmed. “That’s the catch—study them too little, and you’ll never unravel their secrets. But delve too deep, and you risk becoming one of them. Even interacting with Heretic Cultists can be perilous. If you’re not careful, you might accidentally ‘see’ the guidance embedded in their minds. Many Scholars who once fought the angels have unknowingly been converted into new Angel Cultists themselves.”