Chapter 1

The old cemetery keeper didn't like days when it snowed like this—not just because the cold weather made his already overburdened joints ache, but also because snow days always reminded him of
some things from long ago.

Some not-so-good things.

Like the rebellion fifty years ago, the freeze disaster thirty years ago, the great collapse of the South District seventeen years ago… When it snowed this heavily, nothing good ever came of it.

The old man rubbed his hands and glanced back at the cemetery, which was also covered in snow.

The cemetery paths were blurred by the snow, and only footprints outlined the routes to the mortuary and the keeper's hut on the white expanse. The gas lamps were extinguished, and the dark lamp posts stood like dead tree trunks in the snow, looking rather lonely.

Several steam cars were parked in the open space inside the cemetery, completely covered in snow. Black-clad guardians were laboriously clearing the snow from the vehicles and trying to clear a path through the snow for the vehicles to pass through—looking quite pathetic.

They had to complete this task before the snow froze hard and the road became more difficult to clear.

After a lot of effort, the guardians finally cleared the snow and started the steam core of the cars. Two dark gray steam cars drove out of the cemetery and soon disappeared on the road leading to the district.

A whistling wind blew from nearby, and gray smoke arrived in an instant. Agatha's figure emerged from the wind and smoke. This young gatekeeper came to the old keeper's side: "Half of the people will be withdrawn today, leaving only two squads to help you guard the cemetery."

"They can all withdraw, and I can have some peace," the old keeper raised his eyelids and glanced at the gatekeeper. "So many people are a waste here."

"This is not a waste of manpower—and you don't have to worry about me not having enough manpower."

The old keeper watched the two cars leave, shook his head, and prepared to return to the cemetery.

He had established a certain connection with the unnamable guest because he had been in contact with it many times and had fallen into a state of madness under the influence of incense!

But just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar little figure at the end of the path.

"Grandpa Keeper, I'm here again!" Annie greeted the old keeper happily.

Annie blinked, a smile appearing on her face, and then reached into her small bag, took out a package, and handed it to the old man in front of her.

"What is it?"

"Cookies again?" The old keeper raised his eyebrows.

"It's ginger tea powder. I made it with my mom. It also has herbs to dispel the cold and warm the stomach!" Annie said proudly, stuffing the things into the old man's hand, "You're always guarding the cemetery alone, and now it's snowing. It must be very cold at night, right?"

"Going out in this kind of weather, and coming to this kind of place!" The old keeper glared, his tone very gentle. "You'll make your family worry."

Let the young gatekeeper and guardians handle it.

The experienced old keeper instantly realized what had happened—it was this "visitor."

"...Stay at home with your friends, it's better than running to the cemetery in snowy weather," the old man said in a cold tone. "The cemetery is not open today. There's too much snow inside. Go home."

The old keeper quietly watched the child's eyes. For a brief second or two, he even regretted that he shouldn't have made the promise to this child three years ago that "your father will return here." In the final analysis, his heart was… a little softer back then.

However, the girl didn't seem to hear him. She just craned her neck to look behind the old man and then looked up expectantly, "My dad…"

"I told Mom that I'll be back soon today," Annie said with a smile, her face flushed with cold. "School's out, and I was going to find friends to play, but they didn't want to go out, so I came to find you!"

Annie seemed to be stunned by the old man's suddenly gentle tone. She paused for a moment before nodding calmly, "I… I understand."

"I don't have so much free time to worry about you," the old keeper muttered, then mentioned as if casually, "You sent an elite squad out in the second half of last night. Did something happen in the city?"

After a long silence, the old man finally opened his mouth, "…Perhaps, one day in the future, he will hear from me."

The old man looked at the things in his hand.

Annie was stunned for a moment, but she wasn't very disappointed. She pursed her lips, "Then… I'll ask again when the weather gets better… He'll always come, right?"

"…Were any innocent civilians injured?" Agatha seemed to know what the old man was worried about. "But according to the squad's report, there's more than one strange clue over there. I may have to go see the situation myself."

"I've accepted the things. Hurry home. Try not to go out in the next two days."

"Okay, let's go home then," the old man took a breath and issued an eviction order, "While it's still…"

"I'm just asking." The old keeper shrugged.

But this was something outside the cemetery, not something a retired "gravedigger" like him should be concerned about.

Agatha looked at the old man, "Are you still concerned about things outside the cemetery?"

The situation on Hearth Furnace Street was probably not as light as he was making it out to be—and it was definitely not just a battle between transcendents. An elite squad of guardians went to investigate, but in the end, the gatekeeper had to go deal with it himself. This was no small matter.

The old keeper's eyebrows twitched obviously, and his tone became more serious, "Hearth Furnace Street?"

"…There was a situation on Hearth Furnace Street. High-level transcendents broke out in battle. The commotion was not small. The patrolling guardians rushed over but found nothing," Agatha said slowly. "Now we can only determine that one of the parties involved was an Annihilation Cultist—they died miserably, and one of them died strangely, not conforming to any known transcendent power."

The old keeper didn't say anything, just nodded lightly, but the look in his eyes became serious.

Agatha was a young gatekeeper, but even if he was young, his identity as a "gatekeeper" was obtained through training and difficult tests. As the highest representative of the Church in the city-state, his actions themselves showed the seriousness and urgency of the situation.

He raised his head, and the second half of his sentence stopped abruptly.

An exceptionally tall and burly figure appeared near the cemetery gate at some point, looking up at this side—this figure was wearing a light-colored long trench coat, a wide-brimmed hat, and bandages wrapped around his face, hiding all the details of his body under the clothes, hat, and bandages.

But almost all of the old keeper's attention was focused on this tall and burly figure—he stared at that direction, his eyeballs seemingly anchored by an invisible force, making it difficult to turn. Slight noises began to clamor in his mind, and subtle tremors and offsets began to appear at the edge of his vision, which was clearly a sign that his spirit was suffering from severe pollution and interference.

But this was only a preliminary and almost harmless connection, so the old keeper did not almost lose his ability to act as before.

Today, he changed into a thick black coat and equally black boots, plus a black woolen hat on his head, as if he was about to melt into the snow-covered city.

"Child, don't look this way."

Next to that burly figure was another person, a petite lady wearing a deep purple gorgeous dress, with golden hair like a waterfall, a soft hat on her head, and a veil covering her face. Her appearance could not be seen clearly, but she exuded an elegant and mysterious aura.

Then, his expression turned cold again.

He was still able to move—so he reached out and pulled Annie behind him.

A small boy in a thick coat was walking towards the cemetery with some difficulty.

He didn't need this—the medicine supplies issued by the Church to the cemetery keeper were ten times more effective than this thing. His seemingly thin keeper's hut was actually covered with protective spells and special materials. Not to mention resisting the mere cold wind, even if the cemetery really went out of control, this hut could withstand external shocks like a steel fortress.

"...The city is not safe recently," the old keeper said seriously. He thought of what Agatha had just mentioned to him, and the transcendent event that happened on Hearth Furnace Street last night. "Go back and tell your mother to reduce going out recently. If you find anything wrong, ask the nearest church or sheriff for help—Annie, this is a very serious matter. Do you remember?"

A seventeen-year-old child should have understood this long ago.

The old keeper immediately stopped moving. He watched the big figure approaching that side, and the expression on his face seemed a little angry. At this moment, the small figure also saw the old man standing at the cemetery gate. She stopped by the road, raised her face, and waved her arms happily, then continued to walk towards the old man, one foot deep and one foot shallow.

"Thank you," he accepted Annie's gift. Perhaps he hadn't smiled for too long, the corners of his mouth were a little stiff, "This is very useful to me."

Finally, he walked to the ruts left by the two steam cars when they left earlier. His pace became a little more nervous. He bent down and patted the snowflakes on the hem of his clothes and pants, came to the cemetery gate, and looked at the old man in front of him with a smile on his face, who was serious and even a little angry.