Night Journey

Chapter 41 The History of Fracture

The next day.

Cillian arrived at the public library early in the morning and began browsing through the books he hadn't finished reading before.

After learning about the general history of the world, Cillian focused on investigating the mystery of the Dayless Cataclysm, trying to figure out why the world had collapsed into such a state and where the chaos came from.

"Ugh……"

After flipping through several books, Cillian sighed helplessly.

Almost all books only briefly mention the Cataclysm of No Day and then gloss over it.

The investigation made no progress, but Cillian gained a deeper understanding of chaos.

I finally understand what "evil" means.

The power of chaos can corrupt not only mortals and superhumans, but even the highest gods can be affected by chaos and fall into depravity.

In that distant era, before even books could record it, countless giants stood, anchoring the Sea of ​​Origin with miraculous creations and building magnificent divine kingdoms on the earth.

That was a prosperous era in which humans and gods coexisted, until the outbreak of the Dayless Catastrophe destroyed all its glory.

The giant god fell, the wondrous creations sank into the Sea of ​​Origin, the divine kingdom collapsed, leaving only endless ruins rising and falling.

After one dark millennium after another, only a handful of giants have survived to this day. Some have gone into seclusion, some are still active in the mortal world, and some are of unknown fate, almost forgotten.

Besides these, some giants were completely corrupted and degenerated by chaos.

People no longer refer to these utterly corrupted beings as giants, but instead call them "evil."

The giant god fell into evil, and his fate was completely distorted, becoming a member of chaos. Countless followers, led by the evil, built up terrifying chaotic forces.

During the expedition of the Revival Era, the explorers led their troops to kill several evil creatures and burned their remains to ashes, leaving no trace.

The Sage of Secrets then sealed the path of evil from the Long Steps of Binding Source to prevent more people from going astray.

Cillian closed the book and whispered.

"The Three Sages, the Six Giants, and the Twelve Evils."

These are the top powers that clearly stand in the world, while those who live in seclusion and whose fates are unknown are not included in this list.

Because it involves the evils of chaos, the public library does not provide detailed information about the twelve evils.

Clearly, to obtain more in-depth intelligence, Cillian needs to start with the extraordinary forces that control the civilized world.

Cillian then thought of the beginning of it all, the starting point known as the Dayless Catastrophe.

Are people today unable to uncover the truth behind the endless catastrophe, or are they choosing to remain silent because the truth is so terrifying?
But... even if Cillian knew the truth about the Dayless Cataclysm, so what?

Cillian was merely a Rank 1 Torchbearer, and had only just embarked on his destiny's journey.

"Forget it, let's take it one step at a time."

There were too many things to deal with, Cillian comforted himself, and put the books back in their place.

Compared to hunting Tania, advancing to Rank Two, and taking revenge on the evildoers, Cirion has a more important problem to solve right now.

Cillian needs a job to solve his dire financial straits.

Otherwise, before Cirion could even draw his sword against the enemy, he would be evicted from his apartment by his landlord and left homeless.

The good news is that Cillian is a torchbearer, and in these crazy times, torchbearers are never short of work; it's just a matter of which position they hold.

Many options flashed through Cillian's mind, but after filtering and eliminating them, only one option remained.

Ciri stopped and looked at the imposing building standing at the end of the street.

City Guard Bureau.

After a period of time, Cillian roughly understood the functions of the City Guard Bureau.

The City Guard Bureau is a supernatural agency directly managed by the City Council, and is fully responsible for the security of Hel City, including patrolling the high walls at night, maintaining order in the city, and investigating the Chaos Contamination.

Previously, Dailin and Anya were both members of the City Guard Bureau.

Having been in this world for so long, the only job that Cillian is good at is patrolling the high walls at night, which fits perfectly with the work of the City Guard Bureau. Moreover, with the identity of the City Guard Bureau, he can also rightfully carry out an investigation into Chaos.

Then, a new problem arose before Cillian.

How can he join the City Guard Bureau?
After a long period of contemplation, Cillian returned to his apartment.

In the living room, Bruce, unusually quiet, didn't make any noise and instead started reading a newspaper.

Cillian said, "I don't remember subscribing to a newspaper."

Bruce, without looking up, said, "I picked this up outside."

"Outside?" Cillian was quite surprised. "You actually went outside?"

“Is there a problem?” Bruce said. “To other people, I’m just an ordinary stray dog, and I don’t attract any attention.”

Bruce looked up and continued, "Recently, there's been a lot of panic in Hull City."

"Did something happen?"

Cillian leaned closer and started reading the newspaper. "Read this part."

Bruce's claws rested on the front page headline, a striking line of large text emphasizing the seriousness of the incident.

"According to repeated confirmations by stargazers in Hull, a lighthouse near Hull has gone out."

Bruce carefully considered his words and explained, "In other words, a city-state was swallowed by chaos, and the city was mostly reduced to ruins. There has been no news from the outside world so far, and it is highly likely that no one survived."

Cillian picked up the newspaper, and the more he read, the more silent he became, until he sat on the sofa with a blank expression.

The newspaper did not specify which city-state had disappeared into the darkness, but based on its contents, Cillian guessed it the moment he finished reading it.

Baiya Town.

Hull City has always been able to observe the Lighthouse of White Cliff Town, but in this era of isolation, Hull City has no interest in making contact with this unknown Lighthouse.

They simply stood silently in the darkness, watching until a ray of light disappeared into the night.

“In this outer frontier, the extinguishing of every torch lighthouse causes panic among the people, not to mention that this torch lighthouse is so close to the city of Hel.”

Bruce, oblivious to Cillian's odd behavior, continued speaking.

“When I picked up the newspapers on the street, the citizens all looked worried. Some people started to hoard supplies, and others wanted to leave Hull City and live in the city-states in the inner and outer ring areas.”

"But getting to the outer ring of the inner flame is not so easy."

"Only a few powerful troupes have the ability to travel in the wilderness. Although they will take in some travelers, each ticket is extremely expensive."

Bruce shook his head. "Most citizens, even after working for several years, can't save enough for a train ticket."

Cillian picked up the newspaper and reread it. "How do you think the city council views this matter?"

"The threat of chaos."

Bruce stated succinctly, "Under normal circumstances, the Gray Zone cannot engulf a city-state. Even if demons swarm in, they cannot penetrate the light of the Soul Essence."

"For a long-standing city-state to collapse, there is only one possibility: the intervention of chaotic forces."

Bruce gloated, "The City Guard is going to be busy. A threat this close is enough to keep most people up at night."

Cillian agreed with Bruce's idea, he murmured.

"This is a good opportunity."

Bruce asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

Just as Cillian finished speaking, there was a series of knocks on the door.

Bruce immediately became alert. Since arriving in Hull City, they had not made any friends or had any social connections. Who would suddenly visit them?
Cillian remained calm and reminded him, "Don't talk, just act convincingly."

"Do you know who's here?"

Cillian picked up the Boiling Sword. "I'm not sure, I'm just guessing."

I carefully pushed open a corner of the door, and a familiar face came into view.

Dai Lin was standing outside the door, a friendly smile on his face, as he greeted them.

"We meet again, Cillian."

Cillian responded calmly, "Mm."

The door was wide open, and Cillian invited Dalin inside. Dalin didn't stand on ceremony and strode in.

Upon entering, Dai Lin noticed the mechanical parts piled up in the corner of the living room, but he didn't ask any questions and simply kept smiling.

After the two sat down, Dai Lin asked curiously.

"Is there anyone else in the house? I was outside the door just now and I heard you talking to someone."

Cillian gestured to Bruce, "I was just talking to it."

Daelin paused for a moment. At that moment, Bruce approached Cillian's feet and wagged his tail vigorously.

"Okay... okay."

Cillian's bizarre move completely disrupted Daelin's prepared rhetoric.

Just as Dalyn was pondering how to continue the conversation, Cillian spoke first.

Are you inviting me to join the City Guard Bureau?

Dailin blinked, then stammered, "Wait... how did you know about this?"

Cillian sighed helplessly.

“If I had a problem, the city guards would have broken down the door long ago. Since you didn’t bring any swords, and considering the news in the newspapers… I think that’s the only reason.”

Cirien explained the current situation in Hel City: "The disappearance of a city-state has made the city-state council feel threatened, and the city guard needs to strengthen its vigilance and recruit more manpower."

“A torchbearer who is new to the area is obviously a good candidate for recruitment.”

(End of this chapter)