Chapter 529: The Wind Rises

Harvey sprang to his feet in an instant. Pulling a coffin from a spatial card, he opened it to wake Alice. "The gunshot."

Iger frowned slightly. "Infighting? An invasion? Unless someone is specifically here to rescue us, this will only delay our escape. As long as that leader eventually questions us about the Blood Moon and Gospel's technical system, the three of us, as Sacred Realm sorcerers, will have plenty of opportunities to break out. But if she is too busy dealing with the disturbance to bother with us, or worse, forgets about us altogether, or simply dies, we could end up imprisoned here forever."

Ashe muttered, "Imprisoned here forever..."

"Scared?" Iger asked.

"I was just thinking..." Ashe said. "If we are really going to live here for years, how should we divide up the space? Into thirds, or quarters?"

"There are only three of us. Why would we..." Iger stopped halfway through the sentence when he noticed Alice staring at him. He immediately fell silent.

"If we are staying here for a long time," Harvey said seriously, "I would like a research area. Maintaining and modifying Alice also requires space."

"Even if we gave you the space, where would you get the materials?"

Harvey blinked in confusion. "Are we not the materials?"

For a moment, Iger did not know whether he should counter with "No, only you think that," or "Why would you harvest materials from living people?"

Every time Iger thought he had finally found Harvey's moral bottom line, Harvey quietly dug a new one beneath it. Always young. Always bringing tears to his eyes.

Ashe raised a hand. "In that case, I want a bathtub. Not being able to bathe would drive me crazy."

Iger finally snapped. "Even if we gave you the space, where are you going to find a bathtub?"

Ashe pointed at the coffin.

Harvey considered it for a moment. "That could work. As long as we dry it afterward, Alice will not mind."

For the first time, Iger felt completely out of place. "Are you people actually serious?"

"If we are stuck here for days," Ashe asked, "would you not want to wash too, Iger?"

"Of course I would... wash!" Iger twitched his lips before giving up entirely and joining the discussion. "Fine. Then I propose we hang up a curtain for privacy!"

As one, Ashe, Harvey, and Alice rejected the idea. "No."

"Why? You can seriously discuss ideas this absurd, but my perfectly reasonable suggestion gets voted down unanimously?"

"Because there is no room," Ashe said, spreading his hands helplessly. "A bathtub, a research area... We are definitely going to have to sleep huddled together. We might even have to share the same blanket. And you still want curtains?"

Ashe stood up and patted the padded wall. "Come to think of it, we can all fly, so there is no reason to confine ourselves to the floor. For example, we could attach all the furniture to this wall, and then—"

A deafening explosion interrupted him as the padded wall burst apart.

Ashe instinctively stepped back half a pace, raising an arm to shield himself from the dust. Through the hole in the wall, he saw a figure standing there.

His expression immediately shifted. Drawing the Honeyed Tongue Sword, he moved to stand beside the others.

Iger and Harvey likewise braced themselves for battle.

Alice embraced Harvey from behind. A green glow radiated from the Ghost King's Shackles around Harvey's hands, clearly preparing to merge into one.

Iger slipped behind Ashe, his lips parting slightly as a psychic screech gathered in his throat, ready to erupt at any moment.

Their caution was only natural.

The newcomer looked utterly bizarre. He wore a vicious black crow mask with razor-sharp contours. Draped over his shoulders was a cloak that looked as if woven from human hair. Around his neck hung a necklace strung together from fingernails. Beneath the cloak, he wore a black-and-crimson coat stained with the heavy scent of blood. His chain belt carried hatchets, daggers, throwing knives, ropes, and all manner of tools, while his black steel boots bristled with spikes.

In a Gospel drama, this outfit would never make it past censorship. Even by Blood Moon standards, it was an aggressively avant-garde aesthetic, the sort of appearance that practically guaranteed first place in the Blood Moon Tribunal.

A low voice emerged from behind the crow mask, "Is the Gospel's First here?"

Ashe asked, "Why are you looking for him?"

"I heard from followers of the Calamity Flame that the Temple of Calamity Flame summoned the Gospel's First, a figure capable of hosting any Grand Law. But he was ambushed by the evil Four Pillars Cult and defeated through underhanded means. The Four Pillars Cult both fears and covets the Gospel's First's power. They have taken him captive and intend to use his strength to conquer the Myriad Continent."

The crow-masked man continued, "First, I want to see for myself what the Gospel's First is capable of. Ideally, I would like to spar with him."

Ashe glanced at the massive hole behind the man. "I do not think there is any such thing as the Gospel's First."

"Second," the crow-masked man said as if failing to hear him, "I am here to rescue the Gospel's First and will devote my sect's full strength to protecting him from the Four Pillars Cult." He looked directly at Ashe. "Are you the Gospel's First?"

"I can be," Ashe replied without the slightest hesitation.

The crow-masked man leaped down first. "Let's go."

Ashe and the others followed one after another. The third floor was fairly high, but with their virtual wings, it posed little challenge. Unfurling their wings, they hovered briefly before landing safely.

The surroundings were eerily deserted. There did not seem to be any patrols, and despite the tremendous commotion caused by the crow-masked man, no one came to investigate.

Not far away, bonfires blazed throughout the camp. Laughter and joyous shouts filled the air. From just a single glance, Ashe felt an inexplicable urge to join them.

The crow-masked man seemed unsurprised. Leading them through the shadows between the buildings, he skirted along the camp's perimeter.

Only as they neared the center did Ashe and the others realize just how frenzied the believers were. Some danced. Some embraced one another passionately. Some fought. Some mutilated themselves. Everyone was shouting, laughing, crying, and screaming. Around the bonfires, the crowd resembled a great whirlpool, drawing everyone into its ecstatic frenzy.

No wonder there were no patrols. No wonder nobody had come to investigate. Everyone here was far too occupied.

Only after Iger tugged at him did Ashe realize he had unconsciously drifted several steps closer to the center. Cold sweat instantly broke out across his back. "Hey!"

The crow-masked man shot him a glance. "If you are not a believer, do not approach the worship ceremony."

A worship ceremony?

Ashe stared at the people reveling without restraint. Nothing about the scene had anything to do with worship.

Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on the bonfire.

Iger almost wanted to slap him. Grabbing Ashe by the arm, he hurried him onward. "You are still looking around?"

Ashe withdrew his gaze. "Mmhmm."

A moment ago, he had spotted a solitary figure standing quietly beside the bonfire, someone so calm that they seemed utterly out of place amidst the surrounding chaos. It piqued his curiosity, yet now was clearly not the time to satisfy it.

Soon, the crow-masked man led them to the edge of the camp and into an abandoned house. He said, "We'll wait here until dawn before leaving. If the Four Pillars Cult comes after us, this place will give us enough cover to hold them off until sunrise."

"Why?" Iger asked, puzzled. "Are there guards outside? With our strength, ordinary guards shouldn't—"

"There aren't any," the crow-masked man said, shaking his head. "No camp posts guards at night. There's no one outside in the darkness."

"Then why don't we just leave now?"

"Because..." The crow-masked man sat down by the doorway, carefully pronouncing each word. "Out there in the darkness... there's no one."

***

Beside the bonfire, the night's revelry was gradually winding down.

Silver Lamp stood among the collapsed crowd, her tranquil bearing like a demonic lotus blooming in an age of chaos.

A squirrel poked its head out from beneath her round hat, only to be promptly shoved back inside by the Blazing White Tiger.

The soft-spoken woman beside her remarked, "At this point, your timeline has completely diverged from mine."

Standing beside Silver Lamp, she joined her in staring into the flames. "I stayed with the Four Pillars Cult until the very end, so I never needed the contingency plan."

Silver Lamp let out a soft sigh. "I wish my path had been that simple. Maybe I should have spared the Temple of Calamity Flame, or helped it rebuild. Too late for regrets now."

"Isn't this outcome just as good?" the woman said with a smile. "You've already learned from me what the future looks like if the main plan succeeds. Now you can witness the contingency plan with your own eyes. That way, you'll unlock both endings."

"You have a point," Silver Lamp couldn't help glancing at her. "The way you think really is just like mine. You're nothing like the other versions of myself brought to me by the Phantom Mirror Dragon.

"I used to think the Phantom Mirror Dragon simply fabricated alternate versions of me based on different choices I'd made. They were different, yes, but only superficially, like labels pasted onto the same person. You, however... You feel real. It feels as if I truly lived for many years on another timeline."

"You think I'm real because you see your own reflection in me. By that logic... Do you also think everyone around you is fake?"

"Yes."

The woman swept her gaze across the camp. "So... Are you really going to use that? More than eighty percent of the people here are sorcerers, including the entire elite force of the Four Pillars Cult in the Calamity Flame Zone. If you do this... Mercury Trojan Horse is going to resent you."

Silver Lamp shrugged. "I won't be staying with the Four Pillars Cult anyway. "If she has the nerve... she can come after me."

As she spoke, Silver Lamp withdrew a crystal key carved into the shape of a skull.

She infused it with mana, then pushed it forward as if inserting it into an invisible keyhole, turning it clockwise.

Click.

A crisp locking sound echoed through space.

Shortly after, threads of light spread through the air like glowing circuitry, unfolding into a luminous screen.

This was Silver Lamp's greatest gain over the past few years, a relic from the Age of the Gray Fox Gods.

It was one of the cultivation tools used by sorcerers during that glorious era.

[Dear User, welcome to the Dragonblood Cultivation System!]

[No user login detected. Would you like to log in now? Guest Mode allows selection of only one basic Dragonblood. Remaining system uses: 1/3.]

[...Collecting user data.]

[...Collecting environmental data.]

[Please select the Dragonblood Factor you wish to condense.]

① Silver Dragonblood

② Gold Dragonblood (Not Yet Unlocked)

③ Rainbow Dragonblood (Not Yet Unlocked)

④ ...

[Silver Dragonblood selected.]

[Please designate the Life Energy collection area. Note: Fish-Slaying Dragons, Foxlamp Dragons, or other Virtual World creatures are recommended as Life Energy sources.]

A map of the surrounding area appeared on the light screen, complete with a movable red circle.

Silver Lamp expanded the circle until it encompassed the entire hospital camp. Then she confirmed the selection.

[Base Life Energy required for one drop of Silver Dragonblood: 100 units. Current Life Energy within collection area: 54,111,300 units. Estimated Silver Dragonblood yield: 541,113 drops.]

[Warning: Certain lifeforms exhibit energy signatures consistent with intelligent beings. Continue?]

[Confirmation received. Dragonblood Cultivation System initiating three safety inspections.]

[...No registered citizens detected.]

[...No registered citizens detected.]

[...No registered citizens detected.]

[Cultivation commencing. Please remain still while the system condenses the Dragonblood and performs the blood replacement.]

The wind began to rise. It brushed gently across the believers' necks, carrying away every ounce of Life Energy within them and leaving behind nothing but shriveled husks and weakened souls.

A new vortex was born. Silent, gentle, and cruel.

One by one, exhausted believers closed their eyes. One by one, sorcerers collapsed within the Virtual World.

Everything they possessed dissolved into streams of silvery energy, converging around Silver Lamp.

The vortex continued to expand. It spread beyond the bonfire... to the residential houses... to the kitchens... until it reached the camp's outermost edge.

At last, the largest camp in the entire Calamity Flame Zone became another captive of the vortex.

"Deaths on this scale..." the girl murmured with a sigh. "In the life I have lived, this would still rank among the top ten. It's rare to extinguish so many lives all at once."

"Compared to the eternity of the Virtual World," Silver Lamp replied, "this fleeting moment called reality is merely an illusion. Death isn't an endless sleep. It's waking from a dream."

A faint smile appeared on her lips. "Since they're returning home... they may as well leave everything behind for me."