Chapter 1 The Arrival of Night

The long dusk had ended, and night had fallen.

Electric lights illuminated, dispelling the darkness in the room. Talan Eil stood by the window, frowning as he gazed out at the streets – the glow of gas lamps lit the way, and occasionally a night watchman of the Knowledge Guard could be seen with a guard dog appearing near an intersection. Other than that, the entire city seemed to have died in the darkness, empty and silent.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally turned his gaze away from the window and looked at the stacks of documents and books arranged on his desk, letting out a barely perceptible sigh.

He had organized these materials before sunset, and now it was time to pack them up and send them to the Academy Grand Library – there was a new office there, blessed by the God of Wisdom and endowed with many sacred protections, which would allow him to safely conduct research and reading within.

But only a few scholars were qualified to obtain a "safe house" in the Academy Grand Library. For most people, "reading" became a taboo after sunset. For safety reasons, all books had to be sealed away during this period of darkness until the next sunrise – this was also part of the "Nightfall Ban" recently issued by the Administrative Office.

At the same time, teaching activities in all schools had to be suspended – young students did not yet have enough strength and experience to deal with the monsters that chased after them from the spirit world and the abyssal deep sea, which was too dangerous.

Of course, some people believed that the situation in Lightwind Harbor was not so bad, because the luminous geometric object next to the city-state possessed power similar to that of the sun. Within the range of its "sunlight," people might still be able to live and conduct research in a normal way – but this was just a guess after all. People had never tested the power of the luminous geometric object in such a long night, and they could not determine its protection limit, so naturally they could not take risks.

As far as Talan Eil knew, a group of scholars were already conducting tests near the luminous geometric object. They were fully armed and protected by equally armed guards. They would try to conduct "reading in the night" at different times and locations to confirm the protective effect of the "sunlight."

But even Talan Eil didn't know how long this test would last or how many times it would need to be verified.

The air near the window suddenly twisted slightly, and the figure of Truth Keeper Ted Lear materialized out of thin air: "I just didn't want to disturb your communication with your apprentice."

"Getting ambitious now?" Talan raised an eyebrow, deliberately using a slightly sarcastic tone. "Aren't you usually clamoring for a vacation all day long?"

"Alright, just kidding," Talan smiled, gently shaking his head. "Go home, don't think about your thesis – those 'safe houses' in the Grand Library aren't that safe either. An experienced scholar like me knows how to cautiously conduct research with the help of those protective measures, but young people like you can't... Even if the safe house blocks the entities of those evil spirits, the whispers from the books will still make you lose your mind."

Ted's mouth twitched, then turned into an awkward smile.

"Go on vacation, get some rest, recharge your batteries, and then we'll have a long day... You won't have such a comfortable vacation then."

Talan didn't say anything, just silently gave him the middle finger.

Talan Eil watched Joshua's leaving figure. After a long while, he suddenly turned his head and said to the window, "How long are you going to watch from over there?"

Hearing his teacher's words, Joshua slowly nodded. After hesitating for a moment, he mustered his courage and asked, "Will it really be bright again?"

"I'm leaving with the next group," Talan Eil said casually, pointing to the things on the table. "The stuff is already packed, just take these things on the table, and leave the rest here... I'll be back after dawn."

"After you finish cleaning up here, go home with the others," Talan said to his young apprentice. "You're on vacation."

The young man's somewhat tense expression seemed to finally relax a little. He silently packed up the remaining things, respectfully said goodbye to his teacher, and then pushed the cart out of the room.

"Okay, teacher," Joshua replied honestly, and began to silently bundle and pack the sorted books and materials on the desk, moving them onto the trolley. He kept his head down throughout the process, seemingly to avoid seeing the words on the materials, or perhaps to avoid seeing his teacher's eyes.

"...It will," Talan said, looking into his apprentice's eyes with a particularly serious expression. "Remember? You and I calculated the speed at which the sun was falling, and it fell below the sea level on time according to our calculations – it will also rise according to our calculations, but it will just take a little time."

"...You still dare to use 'miracles' to travel?" Talan glanced at the Truth Keeper. "Forgot about the last time you swam in the sub-space?"

"Shouldn't you be taking your guards to protect the city at night?" Talan asked casually. "How do you have time to come here and join in the fun?"

Joshua pursed his lips, looking somewhat embarrassed: "I..."

Ted's expression twisted for a moment, then he forcefully suppressed the twitching in the corner of his eye: "I naturally confirmed that it was safe... Do you have to be so resentful?"

"Can I go to the Grand Library with you?" Joshua hesitated for a moment, then looked up. "I... I still have a thesis to finish."

The door opened, and the young apprentice Joshua walked into the room, pushing a small cart. He was a little stunned when he saw his teacher: "...You haven't gone to the Grand Library yet?"

"I finally don't have to face the patchwork assault theses put together by those rookies. I'm in a good mood now, so I came to chat with you – is that a good enough reason?"

Talan didn't say anything, just silently looked at the Truth Keeper in front of him.

"...Okay, I'm here to personally escort the second batch of scholars, including you, to the Grand Library," Ted shrugged. "A company of Knowledge Guards is already waiting downstairs. When the others are ready, you can come with me."

"Is that necessary? A Truth Keeper personally escorting?" Talan frowned. "It's only a ten-minute drive from here to the Grand Library. I can just drive over myself..."

"In Mocha City-State, two scholars disappeared into thin air on their way to the library to seek refuge – the night devoured them," Ted interrupted him, the Truth Keeper's expression gradually becoming serious. "The night has become more dangerous than we realize, and the 'knowledge' in your head... is especially sweet to 'them'."

Talan Eil was stunned for a moment, then silently turned and walked towards the short cabinet to the side.

"What are you going to do?" Ted asked curiously when he saw this.

"Bring my revolver, as well as a self-defense dagger and amulet."

...

The sound of pages turning echoed in the room. Morris compared the notes he had written earlier, scribbling in a thick notebook, pausing from time to time to think and adjust his train of thought.

His large notebook was filled with dense text records and abstract symbols, as well as many dazzling diagrams, outlining the appearance of this world.

He was completing his most important research – attempting to construct a "model" that could explain the entire world, from the Great Annihilation as the beginning, to the opening of the Deep Sea Era, to the current state of this "sanctuary," and its possible future.

This research had been going on for a long time, and only as the world approached its end did he see the possibility of it being completed.

Not far from Morris's desk sat Sherry, who was dozing off, and A' Gou, who was intently flipping through documents.

After an unknown amount of time, a low, muffled murmur suddenly appeared in Morris's ear.

And with the sound of this murmur, a cold current suddenly filled the entire cabin! The room seemed to suddenly turn into an ice cave, the coldness condensing like a tangible substance on the roof, turning into streams of white mist that hung down. In the white mist, invisible shadows gradually seeped out, reaching out a tentacle towards Morris...

Morris didn't even look up, continuing to write in his notebook while casually saying, "Knock it down."

Before his words could fade away, A' Gou had already suddenly transformed into a whirlwind composed of broken bones and black smoke – bone fragments and black mist howled across the roof, instantly devouring the twisted thing that had come to chase knowledge.

In the next second, A' Gou's figure returned to its original state, and fell back to the floor.

Sherry woke up with a start: "Ah... Ah?! What happened?!"

"Another shadow chasing after knowledge," A' Gou mumbled casually, turning his head to look at Sherry. "...You can keep sleeping, it wasn't coming for you."

Sherry thought for a moment, then nodded: "Oh."

She simply climbed over to A' Gou and leaned against him, half-lying down, and the next second she was snoring softly.

Morris stopped what he was doing, raised his head and looked at Sherry with a helpless expression. After a sigh, he lowered his head again, solemnly leaving one last footnote on this page of notes.

And just as he wrote the last letter, a strange voice suddenly entered his ears –

"Excellent research... You have already lingered before the last door of truth."

Morris was instantly shocked, and suddenly looked up in the direction the voice came from.

A figure wearing a tattered white robe was sitting quietly beside him, looking at the notebooks and documents spread out on the table with a gentle smile.

His muscles tensed instantly, and Morris reached for the revolver under the desk in the blink of an eye. A' Gou also reacted immediately and stood up instantly – Sherry yelped and fell to the ground, followed by seeing the uninvited guest who had appeared in the room, and her eyes widened suddenly. A bone spur shot out from behind her like a sharp arrow, as if it would stab the figure of the uninvited guest in the next second –

However, the figure wearing the tattered white robe just sat there quietly, seemingly unaware of the sudden surge of vigilance and hostility around him, still immersed in Morris's manuscripts.

After two or three seconds, he slowly raised his head, with a gentle smile on his face: "I want to talk to your captain."

(End of this chapter)