Chapter 306: The Bell Ringer

"If all the Heaven's Gloom markers explode, won't the Nightblades' stored mental corruption overflow into the minds of the Lady of the Night's followers? Can the Prayer Network handle that much pressure?"

Wang Yu turned to Sieg and Avia, a concerned frown on his face.

"A surge of this magnitude will certainly impact the Prayer Network," Avia began. "Fortunately, the Lady of the Night now has significantly more followers. The burden will be more widely distributed.

"In other words, the network won't collapse outright. That said, the mental corruption sealed within those markers is potent enough to obliterate one's soul. Even if it's diluted, normal people won't be able to bear it without consequence."

Avia stared at the projection of the Tree of the Night that the Lady had conjured for them. Its branches were slowly being stained with unnatural hues that represented the spread of corruption. Once contained within the Heaven's Gloom markers, all that corruption was now bleeding into the souls of the Lady's faithful through the Prayer Network.

"Just perfect." Wang Yu shook his head in disgust. "Old gods awakening, mental corruption leaking... Could we possibly get any unluckier?"

His eyes narrowed as he continued staring at the projection of the Tree of the Night. A blackened hand was emerging from the shadowy surface of the tree in the one region the Lady no longer controlled.

"...Wait. What if we sever the connection to the other followers for now? Redirect all the corruption toward that entity instead."

As always, Wang Yu's plans were impulsive and bordering on reckless.

Sieg hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly. "That could work. Mental corruption isn't like regular energy—it actively seeks intelligent minds to infest. If we cut all the links but one, everything should flood into that remaining channel."

"Then let's do it," Wang Yu said, glancing toward the Lady of the Night. "Better than standing here doing nothing."

The Lady nodded, her hands flashing across the interface Wang Yu had shown her—her rudimentary "operating system." The Tree of the Night immediately obeyed her commands.

In an instant, all links to her followers were severed. The only remaining links came from the zone tainted by the emerging black hand. That segment of the tree had already slipped beyond the Lady's reach.

With no other path to take, the flood of mental pollution was channeled entirely into that blackened zone, where it vanished from sight.

"The corruption... it's gone," the Lady observed quietly.

"No," Sieg murmured, frowning. "It hasn't vanished. Rather, it's been shrouded. It's now imperceptible by any of our senses, as if it's been forgotten by the world. It feels as though it's gone, but..."

He continued, his voice steady. "Given the connection between Heaven's Gloom and this resurgent darkness, I think I know how Heaven's Gloom works now. Wang Yu, do you still remember the prison within the Abyssal Depths? I suspect it operates according to the same principles."

"That void containment facility where they imprisoned void-based aberrations? Markers that can seal mental corruption... I see. No wonder people who find themselves in the Abyssal Depths end up forgotten. "

A chill crawled down Wang Yu's spine as he thought back to that underground prison. "No wonder no one can recall the contents of the lowest level of the prison. People just... forget it exists." Wang Yu's expression darkened. "And those Heaven's Gloom markers don't store mental corruption. They virtualize it, erase it from memory."

"The Lady said it herself," Sieg murmured. "Oblivion and erasure. Whoever this forgotten god is, its dominion over the void is stronger than even hers."

Wang Yu rapped his head with his knuckles. He frowned deeply, his thoughts swirling. How had Aleisterre managed to control this divine power? Could it be cleansed or neutralized?

"Like Schrodinger's cat and quantum superposition, huh... but doesn't that mean we can pin down this mysterious force just by observing it?"

His mind latched onto that half-baked notion drawn from his meager grasp of physics. There was no guarantee it would work, but it was something he could act on.

"Lady Darkness, could you open a small void rift? I'll channel the power of the Chariot into the shrouded region of the Tree of the Night and see what's really there."

He cast a meaningful glance at Avia. She nodded wordlessly, raising her hand and manifesting a Perfect Fractal lens over Wang Yu's right eye.

"Very well," said the Lady.

She summoned her power and tore open a narrow void rift in the middle of the darkness, allowing Wang Yu to examine it with his own power.

He didn't hesitate. Extending his hand, he sent the Chariot's power straight into the breach. Avia's Perfect Fractal shaped his perception and guided his sight...

Far, far away, in a land forgotten by time... "Who are you?!"

Emmon jolted at the voice behind him. Instinct took over. He twisted, sprung backward, and raised his sword, eyes locked on the figure who had appeared from nowhere. His breath came fast. His muscles tensed up.

"Are you a believer in the god of eternal night?"

The stranger who had appeared out of nowhere looked like an ordinary middle-aged human man. His skin was deathly pale, his robe ragged and worn.

His arms were thin, almost skeletal, and his expression was utterly blank. His dull and vacant eyes reflected no light..

"..."

Emmon did not answer. He maintained his stance, his sword raised, carefully backing away while keeping the figure in full view. Fighting spirit swirled inside him, ready to erupt at any moment.

"I invoke your name," he prayed silently again.

But the Lady of the Night didn't respond. There was no answer. No power flooded into his body. He exhaled soundlessly.

"You should not worship that dead god," said the man. His tone grew heavier with every word he spoke.

"Start by telling me who you are," Emmon replied calmly. "Explain why you dragged us into this fog. How do I find my companions and get out of here?"

"I am the Bell Ringer of the Lightless Order," he said. "I brought you into the fog to sever your link to the God of Eternal Night so that He cannot rise again from His own corpse. As for how to escape... I'll tell you after you answer my question."

Emmon blinked. The mysterious man's answer was more forthright than expected—and deeply unsettling.

"I serve the Lady of the Night," Emmon replied. "I don't know anything about this God of Eternal Night."

The Bell Ringer nodded to himself, murmuring. "Then those who arrived here with you must also be her devotees. I was right... Night cloaks all of you."

"Now, how do I leave?" Emmon demanded.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave. The God of Eternal Night must remain forgotten. Your faith could allow Him to be reborn anew. Therefore... I must ensure that you cease to exist."

The Bell Ringer shook his head slightly, his expression unchanged. His words carried a faint, almost regretful tone.

"I'll make you spit out the answer," Emmon growled.

He had anticipated the Bell Ringer's betrayal—that his promised way out was just a lie. The moment the man finished speaking, Emmon surged forward, fighting spirit igniting from his body as he slammed a foot into the earth and launched himself forward in a furious bolt of green.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

If this man intended to trap him here forever, then there was no need for him to hold back. Perhaps the truth would be laid bare if he were to kill him.

Augmented by fighting spirit, Emmon's speed was terrifying. His hulking figure blurred through the air. In a blink, the edge of his massive greatsword was right by the Bell Ringer's throat.

He deliberately checked his strength—just enough to threaten the man, not to kill him just yet. If he wanted to live, he would speak. Otherwise, he would send the man's head flying into the fog, detached from the rest of his body.

A deep, resonant bell tolled just as Emmon's off-hand reached out to brace the Bell Ringer's shoulder, just as Emmon's blade reached the man's throat.

"!"

Emmon's hand phased right through the Bell Ringer. His momentum carried him forward; he skidded several meters across the ground before coming to a halt. He spun, eyes wide with disbelief. He'd touched him. He had!

"You'll remain here within this town," the Bell Ringer said softly, his form beginning to fade. "You've done nothing wrong. You were simply unfortunate to have followed the wrong god."

His voice was low, almost gentle. Then he turned and began to walk toward the village entrance.

Emmon's heart pounded. The Bell Ringer wasn't just elusive—he was intangible. For a knight, that was very bad news.

Even so, Emmon didn't hesitate. With a snarl, he charged forward again. Whatever this supposed Bell Ringer was, he couldn't simply allow him to walk away.

"No need to waste your strength," the Bell Ringer called out over his shoulder. "Settle down. Your companions will join you soon enough. I intend to bring all of the Lady of the Night's followers here. You won't be alone."

Once again, Emmon's greatsword slashed through the Bell Ringer harmlessly. Yet something about the sensation felt different.

It wasn't just a matter of evasion or intangibility. This was some greater power.

Like the village around him, Emmon realized, he was being severed from reality. He was somehow being made... unreal.

Once more, the bell tolled. Emmon suddenly lost all control over his body. His soul had become untethered, incorporeal, unable to interact with the world. That intimate, essential connection between spirit and body had snapped.

"Wh-What's going on?!"

He struggled to move his limbs—but to no avail. He could only watch as the Bell Ringer vanished into the fog at the edge of the village.

Emmon didn't give up, but as the Bell Ringer's outline began to dissolve, he couldn't help but lose hope.

Then came a footfall.

Emmon's eyes widened. That sound—the solid stomp of a running body—had come from his own flesh. His body... was moving? But how?

The Bell Ringer likewise paused. Surprise flickered across his face as he turned to see the orc's body barreling toward him.

"How strange. In that case, I shall erase your flesh along with your soul."

He raised a hand. The bell chimed for the third time. Invisible force surged forth, prepared to sever Emmon's body from reality, just as it had done to Emmon's soul.

But this time, it failed. The orc's hand closed firmly around the Bell Ringer's throat, lifting him cleanly into the air.

The Bell Ringer gaped at Emmon in stunned disbelief. The orc's body was now immersed in a foreign energy, a power that he couldn't interfere with. And covering the orc's right eye, glimmering faintly, was a Perfect Fractal lens.

Though Emmon's soul could no longer control his flesh, something else had taken his place. Wang Yu had sent the Chariot's power into this mysterious domain through the Tree of the Night. He was the one who had taken over Emmon's body.

Remote assistance enabled.