Night Journey

Chapter 113 The Insignificance of Being

Cillian stood on the rooftop, gazing up at the night sky.

It was late at night, another night shrouded in thick fog.

The gray abyss permeated the area around Hel City, like a rising high wall, even affecting the clouds. The two moons became blurred, leaving only two huge halos.

Ciri walked along the edge of the building. The building wasn't very tall, and from here, one could observe the entire street and even hear the general conversations of passersby.

“Elton…”

Ciri looked across the street at the bar, where a familiar figure was sitting at the counter.

He was talking to another stranger, and then the man helped his female companion away.

"Cillian muttered to himself."

You look great.

After that night, given Elton's personality, Cillian thought he would be afraid to go out at night. It seems the opposite was true.

People grow and change.

Elton is also undergoing a kind of transformation.

"Reverse Falcon... Wow, Reverse Falcon..."

Just as Cillian was about to leave to conduct his investigation for the night, he heard a drunken female voice calling out to him.

Oh, it's that couple.

The woman was clearly drunk, her steps unsteady, and the man supported her with a worried expression to prevent her from falling.

"Paul, do you think there's any chance I'll ever see the Reverse Falcon... Ugh..."

The woman had barely said two words when she leaned against a telephone pole and began to vomit.

Paul turned his head away with a helpless expression. No matter how much he loved her, the scene was still somewhat unbearable to look at.

"Hey, Wenxi, you drunkard."

"Haha."

Faced with Paul's helpless sigh, Wensey chuckled foolishly.

After a moment of contemplation, she spoke in a serious tone.

"Honestly, I really want to see the Reverse Falcon in person."

"Is it because of your grandmother?"

Wenxi paused for a moment, whether in thought or dealing with her churning stomach, it was unclear.

"Hmm... a little bit."

As the two walked toward the street corner, talking, they were completely unaware that a figure was following them from above.

Cillian wanted to know what kind of image the Reverse Falcon had in the eyes of ordinary people.

This sudden curiosity somewhat affected Cillian's plans for the night, but fortunately he had plenty of time.

“When I was a child, my grandmother often told me about the reverse falcon. She also said that without the reverse falcon, there would be no father, let alone me.”

As Wensey began to speak in a daze, Paul listened patiently, even though he had heard this story from Wensey many times before.

“Grandmother said it was a very dark night… just like tonight,” Wenxi looked up, “the two moons were blurry and their outlines were indistinct.”

"That night, she stormed out of the house and wandered aimlessly through the streets. Suddenly!"

Wenxi made a funny face, and Paul cooperated by showing a frightened expression.

"She encountered a group of homeless people who blocked her way. In a moment of crisis, a gentleman stepped forward to help her out of her predicament. After learning about her grandmother's experience, the gentleman offered to take her home."

Wenxi and Paul crossed the intersection, the dazzling sunlight illuminating the road in a golden glow, except for the alleyways hidden by buildings, which remained shrouded in shadow and unclear.

Cillian deliberately walked in the shadows to avoid making his figure too conspicuous among the buildings.

He didn't mind being discovered by the citizens, but he was mainly worried about running into his colleagues on night patrol, which would be troublesome to deal with.

From below came Wenxi's intermittent narration.

"And then...and how did it all come about..."

Wenxi drank too much; the alcohol eroded his memory, leaving it riddled with holes.

"Oh, right!"

She suddenly stopped and looked at the street on one side.

The streets and alleys are blocked by dense buildings, becoming blind spots for the beacons of light, with only a few streetlights flickering in a row.

Wenxi gazed into the deep shadows and murmured.

"They chatted happily along the way, and before they knew it, they had entered a dark alley..."

Paul instinctively held his breath; what followed was the turning point of the story.

"The man said many sweet words and invited my grandmother to his home. My grandmother wanted to refuse, but then the man showed his fangs... He was a Chaos believer."

As Wenxi stood still, under the influence of alcohol, the streets and alleys from the story gradually overlapped with the streets and alleys before her eyes.

"Grandmother was in despair when, just then, a bird's chirping sound rang out."

“Coo coo…” Wenxi imitated the strange sound and smiled, “The rest of the plot is very simple. The Falcon descends from the sky, beheads that gentleman, and then, without even glancing at Grandmother, he runs back into the night.”

She asked, "It's a very cliché story, isn't it?"

"If it's something that really happened, there's no need to make it dramatic or unpredictable."

Paul embraced Wensey, their skin touching, their body heat dispelling the chill of the night.

"Alright, Wenxi, wake up, we should go home."

Wenxi nestled against Paul's chest and responded softly.

"Ah."

The two walked and stopped, chatting as usual.

"Paul, you've always seemed rather uninterested in the Reverse Falcon... Don't you like him?"

"It's alright, it's just that we weren't as enthusiastic about him as you were."

Paul maintained a rational and objective attitude towards the Falcon from beginning to end, and his attendance at this gathering was solely to accompany Wensey.

Paul rarely attended such gatherings unless absolutely necessary.

"Actually, sometimes I'm very afraid of the reverse falcon."

He stopped and looked at the wall to one side, which was covered with a huge, narrow graffiti with six eyes.

Driven by fear and anxiety, people need solace and place their sense of security in something; it can be anything.

Just then, the Falcon appeared, and everyone cheered his name.

Ultimately, expecting others to save you is a form of escapism; only you can save yourself.

Cillian stood on the rooftop, listening quietly.

"As times become increasingly turbulent, people's sense of unease rises. In order to seek a bit of peace, they have no choice but to become more and more fanatical about their spiritual sustenance, until it turns into a kind of morbid faith."

Paul paused for a long time, looked at the drunken Wenxi, and then spoke.

“Winsey, have I mentioned my grandfather to you?”

"Huh? What grandfather?"

Wenxi's body went limp, and she slumped against Paul.

The two sat down on a bench by the street, where it was shrouded in shadow. A few meters ahead, golden light shone down, its sharp edges as distinct as blades.

The golden light and the dim shadows fragmented the city of Hel, with the light appearing intermittent and the shadows appearing incomplete.

“My grandfather also had a past with the Falcon, but the story was not pleasant.”

This was the first time Paul had discussed these things with Wenxi, and his tone was somewhat heavy.

“My grandfather hated the Reverse Falcon. The arrival of the Reverse Falcon did bring a period of peace to Hull City, but correspondingly, more and more people became fanatical believers in him, painting his graffiti in the streets, wearing his mask, and marching in groups on the avenues.”

In an instant, Hull City was no longer the Hull City of the City Council, but the Hull City of the Rebel Falcon.

Hearing this, Wenxi sobered up a bit and stared at Paul's face.

"Originally, the Reverse Falcon and the City Council maintained a delicate balance until the Reverse Falcon hanged the first City Council member."

The fanatical believers stormed the city hall, chanting the name of the Rebel Falcon and hurling insults at the city council. My grandfather, a sheriff, was also present and stood against the believers.

Paul recounted the story calmly.

"The believers easily broke through the sheriffs' defenses, punching and kicking him and cursing him incessantly... After this incident, my grandfather resigned."

Even in his later years, he still couldn't understand why he, as someone who was also protecting the people, was treated this way.

The story ended, the evening breeze brushed against their skin, the joyful passion dissipated, and a chill permeated the air.

Wenxi had sobered up considerably. Having known each other for so long, this was the first time she had heard Paul talk about these things, and she had absolutely no idea what to say.

Don't be too nervous.

Paul broke the silence, saying casually, "Like I said, I don't dislike Reverse Falcon, I just don't like him that much."

“I admit that the Reverse Falcon brought long-lost peace and tranquility to Hull City, which is an undeniable achievement… but he never thought of establishing a stable order. He simply acted like a violent maniac, dragging out and hanging everyone connected to Chaos.”

Paul wondered, “The Reverse Falcon will grow old, get tired, and get injured. He can’t keep killing forever. When he leaves, who will take over the mess he’s left behind?”

He shook his head. What his grandfather couldn't understand, he still couldn't understand now. Not to mention, he was just an ordinary person, and maintaining basic food and clothing had exhausted all his energy.

"We all live under the protection of the Reverse Falcon to some extent. I have no right to criticize any of the Reverse Falcon's actions."

I just... often feel lost.

Paul asked Wenxi, who was standing next to him, with a helpless expression.

"It's stupid, isn't it?"

Wenxi nodded. "A little bit."

The lingering alcohol lingered in Wenxi's thoughts, and she spoke as if possessed.

"Since you can't figure it out, why don't you ask Reverse Falcon yourself?"

(End of this chapter)