Night Journey

Chapter 131 Lost
The torrential rain cut the city into blurred patches of color through the iron-gray curtain of rain.

Citizens fell asleep to the sound of rain, completely unaware of the undercurrents in the city. Countless black silhouettes emerged from the shadows of the buildings, stepping through puddles, their skirts brushing against rusty iron railings, their leather boots shattering the lamplight reflected in the puddles, yet making not a sound.

The sound of rain swallowed everything—the clatter of gears turning, the hiss of leaking pipes, even one's own breathing.

The crowd moved up the sloping street like a silent swarm of ants, crawling toward the hazy halo of light in the city center. Rainwater flowed down their hat brims and cloak hems, forming tiny streams at their feet.

They deliberately avoided the falling light of the soul essence, constantly moving through the shadows until they reached the towering beacon of light.

The lighthouse's glow was invisible in the vast shadow, yet the air was still filled with the power of the soul. The damp cold of the rain and mist was driven away, replaced by the scorching heat that burned the skin.

The crowd embarked on the upward corridor, making a long and silent ascent until, in a level resembling ruins, a large door blackened by fire came into view.

The leading man stepped forward and gently stroked the gate, his fingertips brushing over the symbol of the City of Convergence, feeling the roughness of the rust.

Pushing open the door, a conference room comes into view.

The walls of the conference hall were blackened by smoke, and the only remaining light sources were temporary candles, casting murky glows in the dusty air.

A major fire once occurred here.

The round wooden table in the very center had been mostly eaten away by the fire, and twisted splinters remained at the charred break, the exposed growth rings resembling an empty eye.

"I thought this place had been cleaned up by the city council long ago."

The leader of the group spoke up, "I never expected they would leave behind this humiliation."

"According to official records, this place was indeed cleaned up; it was I who kept it on my own."

A response came from behind the round wooden table.

"For the city council, this is a pillar of shame; for me, it is irrefutable evidence of blood debt."

Hearing that calm yet menacing voice, the man forced a smile onto his face.

A quick glance around revealed that the surrounding seats were all makeshift wreckage. Three-legged oak chairs were propped up with bricks by wire, leather armchairs were burned down to their frames, and several metal folding chairs were leaning in the corners, their rusty surfaces covered with charred scraps of cloth.

Scattered on the ground were pieces of charred paper and ashes, which made a slight cracking sound when the man stepped on them. The air was filled with a pungent musty smell, mixed with the lingering smell of smoke and fire. Every breath felt like swallowing tiny grains of sand.

"Oh, damn it, look at this dark shadow, could it be the mark left after someone was completely burned?"

The man squatted down and vigorously rubbed the twisted marks on the ground.

"Back then, Reverse Falcon was truly insane. Everyone thought that your father's death would be the end of his atrocities, but no one expected that it was just the beginning of his madness."

"After failing to completely restore Hel City through individual efforts, Reverse Falcon actually planned to restore order... and dismantle the entire city council."

The man spun around, recalling the tragedy that had occurred here.

On that day, the city council was holding its usual meeting when the Rebel Falcon launched a surprise attack, killing almost all the councilors and burning everything to the ground.

"It's a pity that the Falcon was too young and too full of enthusiasm back then."

The man sighed helplessly, "Even if we kill these councilors, what then? In less than half a day, the forces behind them will put a new councilor in power."

"I guess Reverse Falcon realized this and, powerless to change it, chose to disappear without a trace, right?"

As the man spoke, he looked toward the head seat in the conference room, where someone was sitting quietly, the dim candlelight barely illuminating that gloomy face.

"What do you think, Director DeKarl?"

Dekar shook his head, his face expressionless, and said, "We're not here today to discuss the Reverse Falcon."

"Haha, yes."

The man agreed with De Karl, pulled out an old chair, and sat down.

Immediately afterwards, those who had been following the man also rushed into the conference hall, found their own chairs, and sat down neatly.

The once empty conference hall suddenly became crowded.

Decal spoke first.

"How are the preparations going?"

The man replied, "The Gray River, the Merchant River, and the Flower River are all ready and can be put into use at any time."

Decal raised a question: "What about the water gate system controlled by the spirit craftsmen? Once they open the gates, they actively increase the river's flow rate..."

The river is the lifeblood of Hull, but also its Achilles' heel.

To prevent the Chaos Enemies from launching an attack along the river, the Spirit Craftsmen divided the river channel with countless sluice gates and placed massive water gates at the gaps where the river passed through the high walls.

Thus, all of this was called the Water Gate System, which was a high wall built for the city of Hull on the river.

“That is a problem. As you know, the spirit craftsmen are only loyal to Rolf, and Rolf is a troublesome fellow.”

The man spoke eloquently, "We paid a heavy price to infiltrate the water gate system."

"The bad news is that those pawns are all junior staff members, and their influence is minimal. The good news is that we already have enough junior staff members."

"The collapse of a towering tree often begins with the rotting of its roots."

The man explained his preparations: "The pieces altered the water quality readings to cover up the anomalies, and we also successfully planted several bombs in the water gate system."

If necessary, we can detonate bombs to destroy the water gate system's control over the river. Once the river's flow is blocked, everything is under our control.

De Karl nodded, acknowledging the man's series of preparations.

The man looked up at Dekar, who was high above him, and exclaimed, "I must admit, Director Dekar, you are simply a genius. You actually thought of combining the two paths of Return to Silence and Devouring to cultivate the existence of the Lost Spore."

Through their collaboration, the Lost Spore was born in a putrid culture tank. It possessed the terrifying ability to spread through the Devouring Fate Path, and at the same time, it also possessed the power to initiate the Return to the Silent Fate Path. Anything touched by the spore would be annihilated until it was forgotten by the world.

"Now, everything is ready."

The man began to describe that magnificent future with fervor.

"We can launch the plan at any time to dedicate the entire city of Hel to Mother, and you can also advance your rank by completely annihilating the city of Hel."

He said enviously, "To turn a city-state into nothingness, along with everything related to it... My God, you didn't advance two or three levels in a row?

The only response the man received was the rustling sound of pen strokes across paper.

Tonight's meeting is far too important; it is not only the beginning of Decal's dream, but also a turning point in the fate of Hull City.

From the moment they met, De Karl began to record the man's expression, tone of voice, and what he said.

If conditions allowed, De Karl would have loved to bring a camera and record everything that happened here.

But... what happened here shouldn't be recorded, or even remembered by anyone.

"A promotion in rank?"

De Karl, unusually, stopped writing.

"Yes, you might break through the shackles and directly advance to Rank 4, or even Rank 5."

The man said excitedly, "Oh, maybe it will even attract the attention of the Sleeping Lord... if he still has self-awareness."

After saying that, he burst into laughter.

Each path has its own unique characteristics. Torchbearers need to purify the soul essence in their blood, Spirit Craftsmen need to replace their flesh and blood with mechanical prosthetics when necessary, and scholars constantly recreate old knowledge and engrave it deep into their minds...

The path to Nirvana also has its unique aspects. All those who seek advancement through illusion need to erase something from the world. The greater the impact of erasing something on the world, the further they can go on the path of destiny.

The civilized world has a very complex opinion of the Sleeping Lord, but considering his sacrifice in the face of the Dayless Cataclysm, he is still listed as one of the six Titans.

But only the extraordinary beings who are delusional understand that while the Lord of Sleep's sacrifice is undeniable, he also had his own selfish motives beneath that spirit of sacrifice.

If the Sleeping Lord can successfully erase the fact of the Dayless Catastrophe, its enormous impact on the world might, in a slight way, allow the Sleeping Lord to break through the end of its destiny and become an existence surpassing even the giants.

But he failed, and everything became just speculation in idle gossip.

Dekar shook his head, rejecting the idea.

"I'm not that eager for power, and I'm not interested in continuous promotions either."

Is it a fear of being further nihilized?

The man said mockingly, "But isn't this a good thing for you? You're going to betray Hel City and destroy everything with your own hands."

"You should have been despised and cursed by everyone, but by becoming nothingness, in just a few years, no one will remember your existence, just like the existence of the city of Hel has been forgotten."

Despite such mockery, Dekar remained calm, as if the power of silence had devoured even his emotions over the years.

"What does the Claw plan to do after the plan is completed?"

Dekar tried to gather more information: "Are we going to welcome the legendary blazing sun? But what exactly is this so-called blazing sun?"

"The blazing sun..."

A hint of confusion flashed in the man's eyes, and he said helplessly.

“I don’t know, but I am certain that a terrible storm will sweep across the outer border. If it weren’t for your cooperation with us, in our original plan, the city of Hel would have been razed to the ground and turned into a burning ruin.”

He added, "The 'we' here does not refer to the Claws."

Decal knew who he was referring to: the Chaos forces loyal to the Evil Mother, one of the threats to the civilized world, the Spore Sanctuary.

"But even after we cooperated, the fate of Hull City seems to have remained unchanged."

"How could that be? All citizens will receive the Mother's blessing and, under the power of Chaos, gain eternal life."

The man countered, "Isn't this wonderful?"

Then, the man spoke again.

"Be thankful, Director Dekar, it's not just Mother's gaze that has fallen upon this place; the Eternal Lord has also long since turned his attention here."

"Lord of Eternity..."

Decal quickly recalled that the one who could be called the Eternal Lord was naturally the giant of the Eternal Path, now the Evil Ruins.

"But what's truly terrifying is that newly arrived figure. For some reason, he's also become concerned about the changes on the outer frontier."

Upon hearing the man's account, De Karl was momentarily puzzled, but then he recalled the group of guests who had suddenly arrived long ago.

That man named Deathbird.

The man said.

"That scarlet sun."

(End of this chapter)