Secret: The years I served as a foreign aid for the Aurora Club

928
The night is like water.

Anderson stared ahead, watching the world in front of him being swallowed up by the night.

Thanks to his good view from the top of the mountain, Anderson could see everything: there was no light in the sky or on the ground, and darkness poured down from the sky, like mist, landing on the earth, silently engulfing the mountains, plains, houses and cities along the way. And this country had already prepared for it, no matter what happened, it would be no different from before.

The curtain of night falls, and the wings of death descend upon everyone equally.

Under His mercy, lovers who loved each other fell into sweet dreams hand in hand, a homeless man slept soundly in a shabby house with half of the roof collapsed, and a demigod who was sitting by the window gazing at the sky in a luxurious mansion slowly closed his eyes and fell into an eternal sleep with his head against the wall... No matter whether they were extraordinary people or ordinary people, nobles or homeless people, descendants of the god of death or half-blood children of the northern continent, enemies with blood debts or caring family members, they all died at the same time.

At the moment when consciousness disappeared, they seemed to hear a voice humming a song softly, like a lullaby in their memory.

The starlit night quietly passed over the city, and in an instant it passed through half of the Balam Empire.

The lights still stayed on, but no living thing ever made a sound again.

Anderson watched all this, and all he felt was emotion and admiration in his heart. This had nothing to do with beliefs or personal preferences. It was purely because in the face of this extremely silent and beautiful death, he did not feel sad for a moment, but only felt full of a sense of art.

Countless chaotic and divine compositions appeared in his mind, but he could not draw any of these scenes related to God.

Just then, the northern sky brightened after a moment of darkness.

Although Anderson couldn't tell the exact time, he roughly guessed that it was the second half of the night, or even around 2 a.m. when the night was darkest. At this moment, the dawn arrived early, and the sun rose again, appearing over the northern continent.

The sunlight only encompassed the northern continent and some islands in the sea, leaving the night to continue to rule the southern part of the world, clearly divided.

"The two sources of essence entered at different times..."

On the island in the sea, the original witch looked up at the dark sky, and her right hand gently stroked the hideously protruding red blood vessels on the left half of her body.

"Don't they want to run into each other?"

"This proves that His conjecture is correct. As long as the two essences collide, even if that happens, it will be enough to break the 'seal' a little... However, since they appeared one after another, does that mean there is no effect at all?"

He didn't dare to stand in the darkness, nor did he want to stand in the sunlight, so he chose a cave on the island and hid in the shadow of a huge rock. In his hand, he held a Beyonder characteristic, which was being slowly absorbed by those blood vessels and integrated into his body.

Chick was in a good mood, and as this characteristic disappeared, the red hair on his temples seemed to grow a little longer.

……

Boom!

The giant ship moved forward slowly but unquestionably. The previous river construction and the current mass death were undoubtedly a huge ritual. Millions of souls voluntarily sacrificed themselves to the incarnation of the gods who were about to descend.

As a result, the barrier between the real world and the spiritual world was further broken, and the ship continued to invade the material world, gradually turning from a phantom into reality.

In the spiritual world, the seven lights of the spiritual world hanging high in the sky also began to tremble.

Seven human-shaped phantoms appeared near the light. They looked in the direction of Calderon from afar, but it had become as dark there as the outside world - a hidden power enveloped the place, and no one could see what was going on inside. They could only feel that the spiritual world was shaking as if it was being hit by a hammer.

In the trembling of the spirit world, the seven lights gathered together at a loss. All the creatures in the spirit world related to the three paths of "Death", "Darkness" and "Warrior" entered an unimaginable frenzy. They kept gathering in that direction, like a huge school of fish in the deep sea. And the seven lights, who only had status but little power, could only watch here.

At this moment, a group of data in the spirit world converged into an eye, which widened and narrowed, with the outline of Calderon reflected on the iris.

But no sooner had the outline appeared than the eye quickly lost its luster and began to decay and rot.

"Hide... Your Highness the Demon of Knowledge!"

Another eye opened, and the Seven Lights quickly circled around it, greeting the eye one by one, and then asked in unison:
"The tributary of the 'Eternal Dark River' in Calderon was summoned by Balram and has now entered the real world!"

"I can see it."

The Demon of Knowledge answered. Its eye without eyelashes stared into the pitch-black distance. Soon, it began to rot and ooze pus and blood. But this time, it remained stable and did not disappear due to erosion.

"If you're asking me how to stop it, I can only say there is a way, but I don't have any idea of ​​stopping it."

The River of Eternal Darkness had nothing to do with the Demon of Knowledge, and He was not so humanitarian as to think that the unanimous self-destruction of this country was worth stopping. Therefore, He had a premonition and watched it all happen calmly.

It doesn’t matter, the earth will explode and my spaceship will be launched.

"However, He will indeed have a certain impact on the spirit world..." His big eyes turned 360 degrees, looking all around, "The spirit world will not collapse, but the spiritual activity here is very high now. Moreover, the overlapping area between the spirit world and reality is constantly expanding. The Balam Empire may become the largest intersection between the spirit world and reality in the future. Children born in the southern continent and the waters near the Rorsted Islands will be born with an affinity for these three paths and exceptionally high inspiration. This may not be a bad thing."

Isn’t that a bad thing?
The seven lights looked at each other, and they discussed the answer given by the Demon of Knowledge among themselves, and found that it did not seem to be a bad thing.

"Red Light" and "Orange Light", who often communicate with humans, still have a sad look on their faces.

"But the humans of the Balam Empire..."

The Demon of Knowledge answered them directly:

"You can't stop His will. This is also the expectation of the group. You are just the incarnation of some spiritual symbols, not human beings, and you don't need to take these things on yourself."

As they spoke, a pair of red eyes with flames appeared near them. The mist gradually thickened, and they circled around the eyes of the Demon of Knowledge. "Orange Light" remembered something and asked quickly:

"Your Highness, Demon of Knowledge, may I ask, what is that Highness doing now..."

The Demon of Knowledge avoids the encirclement of Fulgrim's Hounds.

"His condition is still pretty good. It's a miracle that he can maintain this condition."

The Demon of Knowledge spoke:
"His ritual is progressing steadily, and the anchors are gradually increasing. Although it is a consensus that Weird is destined to return, He still has the qualifications to be him before that. I will soon hand over another 'Servant of Weird' to Him. I am not familiar with the War Angel, and I have no grudges against the City of Disaster. Since He wants to save it, I support Him, so this Beyonder characteristic can be regarded as my spiritual and material assistance to Him."

The seven lights looked at each other and expressed their gratitude to the Demon of Knowledge.

...Bang, bang, bang!
A series of hurried footsteps were heard, and several lights were turned on on the "Golden Dream" that was staying in the private port of the rebels in the Rorsted Islands. Edwina, who was awakened from her deep sleep by the observer's violent knocks on the door, walked down quickly in her coat.

She had no time to wash and comb her hair, which was draped over her shoulders in a mess and was blown around by static electricity.

"The ceremony started early?!"

As soon as she entered the captain's room where she worked, she couldn't help but ask:
"According to the church's calculations and the information revealed by the Death God Church itself, there should be six days left, or at least 150 hours. Why did they suddenly bring it forward to this time? Shouldn't such a huge ceremony be impossible to adjust the time?"

Normally, the crew would not see the captain speak loudly even if she got zero points. She rarely lost her temper like this. But if Edwina couldn't figure it out, naturally no one else on the ship could figure it out.

Therefore, the first mate, the second mate, and the third mate all looked at the captain in confusion and shook their heads.

"Captain, the mission statement requires us to observe the grand ceremony and make certain records to send back for analysis and archiving." The first mate looked at Edwina's frowning eyebrows and was worried. "Should we set sail now to observe?"

Edwina took a deep breath, glanced at the clock, then glanced into the distance, and said regretfully, "It's too late."

“We are now 1,500 nautical miles away from Balam. Even if we use extraordinary abilities to travel faster, it will take at least five hours to reach the designated observation point... When we get there, we can only observe Balam after the ceremony.

She flipped through the telegram, and a short line of words on it made her frown even deeper:

"How could this happen? This is too sudden... If this mission fails, the next time the Golden Dream sets sail, it will be even more difficult. We may even need priests from the Thunder Church to accompany us... The mission book must not be handed in like this. First mate, go and notify them to set sail! Wake up everyone, and we will use extraordinary power to hurry on! In five hours, we will appear outside the port of the Balam Empire to observe the results of this ceremony."

The first mate stood up immediately: "Yes!" He left quickly.

"Then I'll make arrangements as well." The second mate followed him out.

The third mate walked a step slower, as he had nothing to do. He looked at the captain, scratched his head, and asked in a low voice:

"That Anderson Hood..."

"It's too late." Edwina shook her head decisively. "According to the church's estimation, there won't be a single person left alive in Balam after this great ceremony. Even the land will be completely contaminated by spiritual power. So we can only observe and record from afar. We can't even go in and collect the bodies."

"Oh."

People who make a living at sea are generally not prone to sadness. The third mate just lamented that Anderson had such bad luck. Then he asked, "Then there's no need to tell Danitz that I'll be on board. I'll send him a telegram tomorrow morning."

Edwina nodded: "Yes." Danitz originally wanted to show off his current status to Anderson, so he took the initiative to ask to go with him to pick him up. Since the other party had died in Balam, he had no one to show off to, so he didn't need to go out to sea.

Ten minutes later, all the crew members of the "Golden Dream" were in position and sailed towards the night in the unusual morning light.

……

With a soul-shaking roar, the front third of the giant ship entered the real world.

It was not as shabby as Anderson imagined, nor was it as eerie as all the ships associated with the "dead" in plays and novels.

Every plank of the ship fits perfectly, and the ship is hung with gold jewelry in a strong Balam style, as well as countless extraordinary items that cannot be seen clearly. The gaps between the planks are inlaid with clean white bones without a trace of flesh or blood. The skulls face outwards, and there seems to be pale flames in their eye sockets, quietly watching everything around them, their teeth moving up and down, as if they are saying something silently.

Countless undead creatures coiled in the air, seemingly chaotic but with a certain order, they were ecstatic about entering the real world.

Human-shaped shadows knelt silently on the deck. They also wore gold ornaments and looked luxuriously dressed, but they looked towards the only standing figure. It made people feel fear and awe for him and what he represented.

Not only is it not dilapidated or gloomy at all, but it also has an indescribable majesty and solemnity.

Anderson lowered his head, and his spiritual intuition outlined the figure of the god on the boat. It was a giant as tall as a mountain, and seemed to be a god with four arms. The night was beside Him, and the river was at His feet. Instinct told him not to raise his head anymore. There was even a voice in the dark telling him to kneel down, to press his head heavily on the soil, kneel down devoutly, and then turn into a lifeless corpse.

Kneeling will kill you, but standing will also kill you.

He faced death head-on, he saw the symbol of the end, and this was the only path waiting for him.

Anderson's Adam's apple rolled, and he touched his waist with trembling hands and felt the knife he used for self-defense.

He slowly pulled out the knife. Even in such a dark environment, he could still see the faint starlight reflected on the sharp blade. Anderson raised the knife with both hands and pointed the tip at his throat.

If I must die...

Anderson smiled wryly.

"After all, I was once the number one hunter under the demigods in the Misty Sea. The ruins of the God War and so many dangers did not kill me. Even if I cannot decide my own fate, I should at least be able to decide how I die."

At this moment, Anderson saw that the imperial capital in the distance suddenly lit up with rays of light. The places where the sacrifices were buried in pairs on both sides of the river emitted light, which became the guide for the route forward. Then, Anderson heard an old sigh, and an extremely powerful spirit appeared from the direction of the imperial capital and plunged directly into the big ship.

In an instant, the ship, which was originally somewhat illusory, immediately became solid, and the bow of the giant ship slammed into the mountains at the landing point with a loud bang.

The feathered serpent skeleton wrapped around the bow ram raised its head, with pale flames burning in its eye sockets. It spread its wings, which still had feathers on them, and looked down at the land ahead.

The huge impact and shock caused Anderson to fall to the ground, rolling far away. He didn't dare to look at what was happening in the sky anymore. He could only hear the whistling sound of the wind echoing in his ears. The cold feeling had made his limbs begin to lose feeling.

He almost couldn't hold the dagger, but couldn't help laughing a few times:
"...Ha, I can actually live to see the gods coming, it's worth it even if I die!"

Without any hesitation, he stabbed the dagger into his neck and then pulled it horizontally with force.

TBC
------

With another loud bang, the boat entered the designated river channel.

Under the dim sky, one could vaguely see that this extremely wide river had been filled with water at some point in time, and it was even much deeper than when it was dug. Not only could it carry a ship that was larger than one could imagine and move freely, but it was also impossible to see where the riverbed was.

The moment He completely entered the world, there was no living thing left in the entire Balam Empire.

Then, the huge figure of the god as big as a mountain seemed to raise its head and look towards the direction of the northern continent shrouded in sunlight.