Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Incomplete Memories

Duncan quickly drew his gaze back from the Golden Mask that carried the gaze, lowered his eyes slightly like the other cultists around him, and put on the look of someone ready to listen devoutly to the teachings of the rite.

He had not heard anything useful yet; he could not draw that twisted cult entity’s attention too early.

And in the instant he lowered his head, that feeling of someone’s eyes sweeping over him came again.

Duncan frowned slightly and looked in that direction, following his sense. Sure enough, it was that girl in the black dress with the strange bell on her neck secretly watching him again—and the moment his gaze turned toward her, she quietly turned her head away once more.

This made Duncan even more puzzled.

He was sure he did not know her. In the memories of this body’s original master, there was no trace of this girl either. Why would a follower of the Sun he was meeting for the first time keep watching him like this?

[Is it really just because the pigeon on my shoulder looks so special?]

As he let his thoughts run wild like that, he suddenly heard the believer leader’s voice from the front. After putting on the Golden Sun Mask, the leader had already become some sort of avatar form of divine authority. Even his voice now sounded deeper and more imposing. Duncan could not tell whether the man was forcing his tone lower on purpose, or if the mask had truly mixed another consciousness into his voice:

“The benediction is over. The Lord has witnessed our devotion and awe. Grace has already shone upon our souls. Brothers and sisters, be grateful. For every extra day we endure in this harsh, dark world, we draw one day closer to the time when the blazing Sun is reborn and order is reforged.”

The “priest” wearing the Golden Sun Mask spread his arms as he spoke in a highly seductive tone. Then his gaze suddenly fell on a corner among the believers, and his voice turned gentler and more friendly.

“But before we continue with today’s gathering, we must first welcome two comrades. In these harsh times, they were once trapped in darkness, but thanks to the Lord’s guidance, they have returned to the flock… Introduce yourselves. Just briefly is enough.”

[Two comrades?]

Duncan suddenly remembered that this leader had indeed told him earlier that he was not the only unfamiliar face in this assembly ground. Then he looked toward the direction that the leader’s gaze was fixed on—and saw the girl in the black dress.

For some reason, he did not feel surprised.

“You can call me Shirley,” the girl stepped forward half a pace and spoke easily. “Both my parents were believers, but four years ago they were killed by the Deep Sea Church’s lackeys. I have been hiding in the Crossroad District all these years and have never contacted any other brothers and sisters… I am lucky you came.”

Her voice was not loud. She sounded quiet and well-behaved. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, it would have been hard to connect such a child with blood-soaked cultists.

“Welcome back among us, young sister,” the leader nodded, then looked around at the cultists. “Shirley’s parents died in the great purge by the Church four years ago. We found their names on the list from that year. Next is the other comrade.”

The leader’s gaze finally fell on Duncan.

“Duncan, I live in the Lower City,” Duncan had already prepared and stepped forward calmly. “A few days ago, the Deep Sea Church destroyed a sacrificial ritual in the sewers. I am one of the survivors.”

His introduction was very brief, but his attitude was honest and open. And the news about the Deep Sea Church raiding a cult stronghold in the sewers was already widely known. It had taken up the front page of several newspapers. So as soon as he finished speaking, a few cultists nearby began whispering to each other. The leader in the center of the assembly nodded and added: “He is also a comrade who has endured many trials. Even after suffering at the hands of those Deep Sea Church hyenas, he still tried every way to return to the Lord’s embrace. He carries a token that bears the divine blessing, so he can be trusted.”

As the leader finished speaking, the cultists who had not known the details all turned their eyes toward Duncan. Some nodded, some sighed. Duncan kept most of his face covered and recited the multiplication table backwards again…

“The brief introductions are over,” the leader finally moved on to the part Duncan cared about. “Next, I will announce the latest situation.”

Duncan’s ears pricked up at once.

“…At present, many comrades are still converging on this city-state. They include ordinary believers with firm faith, as well as powerful Envoys and priests. Our strength in this city-state is steadily growing. The day when order is reshaped is drawing near…

“But it cannot be denied that the Deep Sea Church’s lackeys have also reacted. In recent days, the city-state’s authority has been checking outsiders more and more strictly. Several of our gathering points have already been destroyed by the authority. Therefore, all brothers and sisters moving in the city must be extremely careful. The work of collecting sacrificial victims can be slowed down for now. The Lord’s Spawn has already given us instructions. The power we have gathered recently has passed the halfway mark. For what is still lacking, the Spawn will personally make up the rest…”

The cultists around him seemed deeply moved and began praising the Sun God’s mercy and greatness. Duncan immediately thought of the sacrificial ritual he had seen in the sewers before. These cultists really were using that kind of ritual to gather power. And from the sound of it… the hidden manipulators called the “Sun Spawn” were going to take part in person this time?

For now, it seemed the power this group had collected was still not enough, since Pland’s City Hall and the Church had already noticed their movements. But if those Spawn joined the field themselves… the cultists’ plan would probably still go forward!

Just then, he heard the leader continue: “…Our main task now is still to confirm the exact location of the Sun fragment. Remember, our goal is always to bring the true Sun God back into the world, and recovering the lost Sun fragment is the most crucial step!”

Duncan’s heart skipped a beat—Sun fragment? What was that supposed to be?

[If you piled up enough Sun fragments, could you fire a big shot with Aton’s Spear?]

He felt the pigeon on his shoulder suddenly grow restless. AI shook its body hard while letting out a low coo from its throat.

Through the link carried by the fire of his spirit form, he could vaguely sense what the pigeon wanted to do.

It wanted to rant, to shout at the top of its lungs, to tell Duncan to grab the Sun-powered battle-axe and muster the troops again.

But it could not speak. Here, it was only a pigeon.

This left it terribly frustrated.

“Quiet,” Duncan could only mutter under his breath, rubbing the pigeon’s head with the back of his hand to calm it down. At the same time, a cultist standing closer to the leader spoke up: “Can we now at least determine the Sun fragment’s rough location? Is there any way to… detect it?”

“The Sun fragment is currently in a dormant state and cannot be detected by any means yet,” the leader shook his head. “But the Lord has given us guidance. The fragment should be hiding near Pland’s Lower City. Also, since we have new comrades joining us today, I will explain the situation once more:

“Based on the intelligence we already have, the fragment first appeared in the mortal world eleven years ago. It very likely triggered some kind of large-scale extraordinary phenomenon—perhaps a major fire, perhaps abnormal high heat across an entire block, or perhaps mass spontaneous combustion or shared hallucinations. This is the direction of our current investigation.

“The city-state’s authority keeps detailed records on extraordinary incidents over the years. The great God-Touched are already trying to seek out those records. Among the ordinary people living in the Lower City, some may also still remember the ‘strange events’ that happened here eleven years ago. Our task is to gather clues of this kind in order to infer the Sun fragment’s location.

“But remember, all such inquiries must be done with extreme care. Although the authority’s control over the Lower City has always been lax, the Deep Sea Church’s hyenas sometimes have an unusually sharp nose… They are already on alert.”

As the leader explained the current situation to the surrounding congregants, Duncan’s mind was also racing. He paid special attention to that time point of “eleven years ago.” According to the leader, eleven years ago was when the extraordinary object known as the “Sun fragment” first appeared in the world. But Duncan noticed that date because of something else.

Eleven years ago, Nina had been only six years old when she lost her parents.

It seemed to have been because of a fire.

Was that really just a coincidence? Could there be such a perfect coincidence?

Duncan tried hard to sort through the messy, broken memories in his head, but more than half of them had vanished along with this body’s original master. No matter how hard he tried, he could only recall one or two vague fragments: the original master of this body charging out of the flames, holding his dying niece in his arms; a building he could no longer clearly see burning fiercely and collapsing behind him; and, in the distance, city streets twisted and dim like a mirage, with countless frantic people screaming and running through them…