Chapter 37

Chapter 37: The Cycle of Life and Death

The dusk Bell and the steam whistles that marked the change of day and night echoed faintly through the deep, damp ramps and shafts. In the cramped darkness of the sewers, that signal of the approaching veil of night made the cultists hiding in the abandoned rest room even more depressed.

One of them was seriously ill, with no clear cause. Now he was about to die—die here, in this dimly lit underground world.

“He’s still alive… for now,” one cultist said hesitantly. He glanced at the “brother” lying on the floor and saw that the man’s eyes were half?open, the eyeballs slowly rolling in their sockets. The poor fellow could still hear what was happening around him, but he no longer had the strength to open his eyes.

“He’s only alive for now,” another cultist said in a low voice. “The dusk Bell has already rung. He cannot die in this room. The Lord’s protection will grant him rest in the darkness.”

The man on the makeshift bed twitched his fingers twice. He clearly understood his situation. He did not want to die like this, but death had already sunk its teeth into his shadow. From the sound of it, his dear “brethren of the Sun” were already thinking about removing this “hidden danger” from their Sanctuary World before true death arrived.

An unbearably heavy silence filled the room. The dying man’s faint breathing sounded loud in the stillness. After an unknown stretch of dead quiet, the black?robed man who had cursed the Storm Church finally broke the silence: “Wait a little longer. At least… a person doesn’t change the instant he breathes his last.”

“…Then we’ll wait a bit more,” the black?robed cultist with the low voice said, softening slightly. He glanced at the man who was still struggling to breathe, then could not help muttering, “But why did he suddenly fall ill? Are you sure this is just an ordinary sickness?”

“I know him… He runs a failing antique shop in the Lower City, the kind where everything on the shelves is fake,” said another cultist who had barely spoken before. “He was already sick. His health was never good. Maybe staying in the sewers too long, and the fright from earlier, made his condition worse.”

Hearing this explanation, the low?voiced cultist finally relaxed a little. He was not a high?ranking priest, but he had followed the Sun for many years and, by now, could be considered an “expert” who knew quite a bit about occult studies. He knew very well how many long?lasting, hidden dangers could remain after a failed sacrificial rite, and any believer who had taken part in that rite might become a “carrier” of those hidden threats. This man who had suddenly fallen into extreme weakness… could very well be one such carrier.

If it were not for the rule that “all children of the Sun are as brothers,” and for the fact that several soft?hearted cultists were watching, he would long ago have thrown this unlucky fellow out into the endless darkness outside.

After a long silence, the black?robed cultist suddenly moved. He took a pale golden charm amulet from his robe and tucked it into the chest of the dying “brother.”

“What are you doing…” one of the cultists beside him asked curiously.

“This sacred charm amulet cost me dearly. I traded a great deal to get it from the Envoy,” he said in a low, earnest voice. “May the Lord’s grace protect our brother. The light of the Sun may keep him from further corruption in the darkness.”

The two cultists beside him did not doubt him at all and looked at this Church senior, who had “given away” his charm amulet, with admiration. They pressed their fists to their brows and murmured devoutly: “All children of the Sun are as brothers…”

The low?voiced robed man also pressed his fist to his brow and whispered after them: “All children of the Sun are as brothers.”

…

After the Sun sank completely below the horizon, the starless, moonless sky appeared once more before Duncan. The Pale Rift stretched across the heavens, its cold light shining down on the Boundless Sea and on the Vanished sailing upon it.

Duncan stood near the stern deck. He pulled his gaze back from the sky and let out a small sigh.

No matter how many times he looked, he would never see stars in that pale, cold glow, because they simply were not there.

But compared to the last time he saw this starless night, his mood was much better now.

On one hand, he had already accepted the many strange things about this world and was actively adapting to his new life. On the other hand, today’s fish had truly been excellent.

He was an optimist. Any tiny improvement in life was enough to make him happy—and the gifts of nature had turned out to be more plentiful than he had imagined.

If things kept going at this pace, even if he could not build stable contact with the lands on shore for a while, he could at least improve the living conditions on this ship.

Lost in these wandering thoughts, he turned his head to look at the pigeon standing on his shoulder and joked: “Tell me… would it be easier if I just did what a pirate captain is supposed to do? Like find a busy sea route and rob whoever passes by…”

The pigeon tilted her head, her two eyes looking in who?knew?what directions. “Does that sound right, does that sound right, does that sound right…” she muttered.

“True, it doesn’t really fit my personality,” Duncan said with a laugh. “And it’s easy to say, but to rob people you first have to find a sea route where merchant ships actually pass.”

The vast sea around them was empty. He had no idea how far the Vanished had drifted from civilized waters. Ever since the collision with the ship that had been carrying Anomaly 099, he had not seen another vessel on the horizon. Even if he wanted to become a robber, he would not know where to find victims.

Just then, a voice came from the side and interrupted his wandering thoughts: “Captain, are we going to rob someone?”

Duncan followed the sound and saw Alice sitting on a high plank nearby, looking this way with curiosity.

Under the glow of the Pale Scar in the sky, the Doll in her court dress sat high on the ghost ship. Her mercury?like long hair shone with a cold luster in the night. She sat with proper poise, curiosity in her eyes. The whole scene looked like a classical, mysterious painting.

For a moment, Duncan was a little taken aback. After all the chaotic “Mortal Realm chores” they had gone through lately, he had almost forgotten the elegant, mysterious impression this Miss Doll had given him when she first lay in that wooden crate. Seeing Alice so quiet now actually left him a little stunned.

Alice had no idea what the captain was thinking. She simply asked again with curiosity: “Captain, are we going to rob someone?”

That line did quite a bit of damage to her image.

Duncan looked at the Doll, half amused, half helpless, and asked: “Do you like robbing people?”

“No,” Alice shook her head. “It doesn’t sound very fun.”

“But I ‘robbed’ you onto this ship,” Duncan reminded her with a smile.

“…That’s true,” Alice thought for a moment and nodded, then asked again right away: “So are we going to rob someone now?”

“No,” Duncan waved his hand and walked unhurriedly toward his captain’s cabin. “I also think robbing is pretty boring. Compared to that, a walk is a much better after?dinner exercise.”

Duncan returned to the captain’s cabin. After briefly telling Goathead to take the helm, he went into his bedroom as he had last time and closed the door.

He had decided to make his second walk into the Spirit Realm tonight.

But unlike last time, this time he would test this ability through the pigeon, AI.

A wisp of ghostly green flame danced at Duncan’s fingertips. As it flared, the pigeon that had been pacing on the table vanished in an instant and then reappeared on his shoulder.

Feeling the faint, subtle link between himself and AI, Duncan slowly calmed his mind. He recalled the “feeling” he had when he activated the brass spirit compass last time, and began to use the fire of spirit form in his hand to reach out to AI—

The invisible green fire turned into a thin line that wrapped around AI’s wings. In the next second, the White Dove was suddenly engulfed in flame!

As the flames burned, the White Dove’s feathers turned ethereal. The rising green flame seemed to reshape her flesh and bones. AI spread her wings within the fire, and the brass spirit compass hanging at her chest snapped open. The dial, carved with countless occult studies runes, glimmered faintly, and the pointer at its center spun wildly before snapping to a stop, pointing straight into the distance.

The surrounding scene broke apart and scattered. The familiar dark space appeared before Duncan’s eyes, followed by the familiar streams of light and countless spark?like “lamps.”

Following the feeling in his heart, Duncan looked toward those lights, searching for the next suitable “target” to contact.

Suddenly, one cluster of light drew his attention.

He did not know if this was what Goathead always called “Captain Duncan’s intuition,” but he chose to follow this feeling. Whoever was behind that light, they were now fated to cross paths with Captain Duncan.

…

In the abandoned sewers at the edge of the city?state of Pland, the Suntists who had narrowly escaped the Church Guardians sat in wordless silence.

The world above had already fallen into deep night. Down here, only one weak light protected the abandoned room.

Even the most brutal, inhuman cultist felt nervous and afraid as the darkness drew closer.

On the rag bed beside them, the dying man was about to breathe his last.

As his breathing grew lower and more labored, several pairs of eyes turned to the dying man at the same time.

They stared hard at the “brother” on the floor. Every one of them knew the man would not survive the night.

Under the gaze of those eyes, the man’s chest rose and fell one last time. He breathed out the final breath of his life.

“May the Sun continue to shine on your soul in the dark,” the low?voiced black?robed cultist said slowly. Then he waved his hand. “Take him…”

The next second, his words stuck in his throat.

Before his eyes, the body with its eyes tightly shut began to breathe again.