The iron-black coffin with its strange patterns lay quietly in the center, and there seemed to be hidden shockwaves in the air that seemed to be silently colliding.
Emlyn White stood in the corner and lit the candles according to the normal ritual procedures, burning the essential oils and corresponding herbal powders.
A dense and unsteady atmosphere emanated, and after recalling the requirements of "artificial sleepwalking," Emlyn lowered his head, began to enter Cogitation, and repeated the honorific name of The Fool.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era.
"The mysterious ruler above the gray fog.
"The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."
...
Amidst his monotone voice, Emlyn gradually entered a magical state. His body felt relaxed and reserved. It felt like he was in deep sleep, but his spirituality was light and energetic as it constantly spread outwards.
At this moment, he had a feeling that he was continuously drifting upwards.
In the ancient palace above the gray fog, Klein was sitting at the end of the long bronze table, tapping his fingers on the rippling light screen to his side. He was expressionlessly watching the praying figure in amusement.
Although it was vague, Klein could tell at a glance that it was Vampire Emlyn White.
Very courageous, having the drive akin to buying a doll... Klein sighed and didn't respond.
He had previously tried to divine the purpose of the Sanguines, but he was unable to obtain any effective revelations. The only thing he was sure of was that it had nothing to do with the Aurora Order.
This piqued Klein's curiosity, but he wouldn't take the risk of responding to Emlyn White when a lofty Sanguine was beside Emlyn.
He didn't know if he could grasp traces of the mysterious space above the gray fog and threaten it like Blasphemer Amon. He had no intention to confirm it since he was dealing with an avatar of Amon back then. Yet, he was now facing a powerful Sanguine's true body.
There's no need to take risks on matters of no importance, even if I want to know the real purpose of the Sanguines... And it's not like there's no other way... Klein looked at Emlyn White in his state of "artificial sleepwalking." He said to himself with a smile, "I can delay my response..."
He planned to wait until tomorrow or the day after. He would suddenly respond when Emlyn White was without protection and when the Sanguine had given up!
However, there was a premise, which was to first use divination to confirm the degree of danger.
...
"Tail Devourer... Just like that river?" Derrick Berg suddenly thought of something.
Demon Hunter Colin solemnly nodded.
"Yes.
"It means that we may have stepped into a river that runs from its mouth to source, preventing our departure.
"Fortunately, this should only be remnants of that Angel of Fate's power. ‘He' isn't hiding here."
No, it's definitely certain, and it has long since been the case... Derrick silently said to himself.
At this moment, Colin took out a dark red metal tube. He unscrewed the cap and gulped it down.
His light blue eyes quickly turned lighter, tinged with silver. In the end, his pupils seemed to turn vertical, reflecting Jack's figure.
A few sparks of silver light lit up in his eyes. They circled or collided at random in an extremely intense manner.
Ding!
Demon Hunter Colin first stabbed his sword into the ground, and with a flip of his hand, he pulled out his other sword, smearing it with golden, sun-like oil.
Noticing this action, Jack's expression immediately changed, as if he was shrouded in a thick shadow.
Before he could open his mouth, Demon Hunter Colin moved. He pulled out his sword from the ground, leaving behind a blurry figure.
The golden and silver light shone brightly, illuminating the entire underground hall. The light before the little boy was the most intense.
After a mournful scream, the darkness once again shrouded the altar.
Jack stood in his original spot, without taking even a step. However, the face on his chest had disappeared, leaving behind only a hole where his pulsating internal organs could be seen.
A few meters to Jack's side, Demon Hunter Colin genuflected, his two swords hanging down at an angle.
In front of him, the face was torn apart, reduced to scattered eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
These organs spasmed and bounced like electric shocks, and soon they were still, rotting rapidly like they were supposed to.
In an instant, Derrick felt an invisible, aqueous barrier around him silently shatter.
Almost at the same time, he seemed to have left the swift river and returned to the bank.
Looking at the gloomy underground hall and the upside-down deity statue, and at Jack, who had a distorted expression and had fainted due to the pain, Derrick felt a sense of joy and relief.
He knew that he and the others had finally escaped the cycle of repeating their lives.
Derrick was well aware that although the final solution didn't seem complicated, it might've taken dozens or hundreds of repeated attempts to find the clues and solution, without knowing any clues or the problem beforehand.
In the process, the slightest carelessness could lead to death, and Derrick had no way of knowing if a life that was lost could experience a redo, or if they would still "revive" by the bonfire but would end up dead after escaping this predicament.
What's even more serious is that people would always repeat the same choice, which was to say that they wouldn't be able to discover the problem in the first place. Without the corresponding memories and experience, they wouldn't detect any abnormalities even if it was the thousandth time, and they would completely lose themselves in the circular river until they reach the end of their lives due to the normal flow of time in the outside world.
At the thought of such a possibility, Derrick thanked Mr. Fool wholeheartedly for restoring his memory and giving him a hint.
Turning his head to the side, he saw that Joshua and the other members of the exploratory team didn't show any abnormal reactions as they checked the surrounding area in a way that was similar to the sixth exploration.
Perhaps it will only be after returning to the City of Silver that they would realize that they've lost a part of their lives from the difference in dates... Derrick thought silently.
At this moment, Demon Hunter Colin stood up, walked back to the boy's side, and took out another small metal bottle. He then poured the thick black liquid inside onto the boy's empty chest.
The liquid quickly condensed into a translucent membrane, sticking to the wound and stopping the flow of blood.
"Haim, Joshua, the both of you are in charge of him," Colin suppressed his throbbing hand and ordered in a low voice.
To him, this was the City of Silver's hope for ridding the curse and defeating the prophecy of the apocalypse!
Phew... Derrick wanted to covertly thank The Fool, but he realized that there was no corresponding prayer gesture.
...
In Empress Borough, the opulent villa of Earl Hall.
The sumptuous dinner glistened under the light of the candles in an alluring manner.
Unlike what was imagined in the newspapers and magazines, the dinner for a great aristocratic family wasn't serious, and there was no need for silence.
This was a rare occasion for family members to gather together. While eating, they would casually chat about a variety of relaxed topics in order to communicate and solidify their relationship.
Audrey sliced a piece a steak which was produced from her ranch, observed Earl Hall's expression, and, without hiding her curiosity, she asked, "Father, did something happen to Prince Edessak recently?"
If nothing had happened, then her plan was to pretend that she had heard irresponsible rumors that didn't correspond to reality. It wasn't uncommon for this to happen among the aristocracy.
Earl Hall paused, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "What did you hear?"
There really is something! Gleaning information from her father's reaction, Audrey replied with a faint smile, "Some rumors, but they seem to be true?"
Earl Hall rubbed his temples and said, "It's not a very serious matter.
"Audrey, I know what you're thinking, so I don't have to hide it from you. This involves a relatively ordinary scandal of the royal family. To put it simply, Prince Edessak has fallen in love with a commoner girl.
"This led to the death of an aristocratic descendant. The royal family has blocked the spread of this matter, not wanting to cause too much of a commotion."
His wife took a sip of champagne and said, "It seems he isn't mature enough."
Mother is being very tactful with her criticism... It does sound suspicious... Has Prince Edessak really gotten himself involved in a dangerous situation that would bring about terrible changes to Backlund? Audrey put on a look of sudden understanding and said with a smile, "This makes me wonder, why would the story of freedom and love involve the death of an aristocratic descendant?"
Hibbert Hall kept his head lowered while slicing the tender steak and guessed with great interest, "It reminds me of the complicated love stories that are so common among the believers of the Lord of Storms. It's very common to fight for honor and for a lady."
"It's a tradition that has been placed into a museum," Earl Hall denied his eldest son's statement.
Audrey seized the opportunity and thoughtfully said, "I don't think Prince Edessak is that kind of person, and rumors have already proliferated... Maybe that's not what they really want to cover up."
"Perhaps not..." Earl Hall ruminated over these words, unconsciously frowning.
Knowing when to stop, Audrey didn't say anything else, and she naturally led the conversation in a different direction.
She planned on "probing" her other noble friends about the matter. As a girl that Prince Edessak had once courted, it was absolutely normal for her to want to know the details of the matter. Whether it was curiosity or indignation, they were enough to motivate people to make such an attempt.
...
Being unable to maintain a state of "artificial sleepwalking" for long, Emlyn White returned to reality in exhaustion. Opening his eyes, he stared at the iron-black coffin, then he said with a mixture of relief and disappointment, "Lord Nibbs, there's no response."
After a long moment of silence, Nibbs finally said in a rather hoarse voice, "Okay.
"Stay here tonight to prevent any accidents from happening."
"Alright!" Emlyn didn't try to insist otherwise.
He spent the night in worry and trepidation, but the night was so serene and unremarkable. It silently faded only when Backlund's rare winter sunshine scattered across the window.
"What bad weather," Emlyn left Odora's villa, lowered his hat, and mumbled while he got onto a rental carriage.
His destination was the Harvest Church south of the bridge.
After the carriage continued steadily for some time, Emlyn's vision suddenly blurred and he saw an endless gray fog.
Then, to his amazement, he found himself in a mysterious and majestic palace, sitting at a long, mottled bronze table.
At the very end of the long table, there was a figure shrouded in a thick gray fog, looking down at him from above.
