Chapter 1 The Uninvited Guest

Those figures in robes and hoods naturally noticed Duncan, who stood in the middle of the road, neither dodging nor avoiding them.

Duncan was still in the same state he'd been in when he left the cavern: a thin, withered figure in tattered clothes, a scrap of cloth haphazardly covering the gaping hole in his chest. He stood brazenly in the middle of the road, yet seemed to be startled by the sudden appearance of the "hooded figures"—who were themselves clearly taken aback. After a moment of obvious hesitation, the leader shouted, "A sacrifice has escaped!"

Immediately, Duncan saw them running towards him. Another one shouted as he ran, "Quick! Stop him! Don't let him get away!"

Duncan shrugged, merely watching the figures rushing towards him with a blank expression. They certainly didn't look like good people. After weighing the situation, he had no intention of running, but the others kept yelling as they charged, "Don't let him get away!" "A sacrifice has escaped!"

Duncan's behavior—standing obediently in the middle of the road, neither dodging nor avoiding—made the atmosphere awkward. The figures running and shouting clearly realized something was wrong halfway there, and their shouts died down involuntarily. But they had no choice but to keep running. Duncan could almost smell the embarrassment and annoyance emanating from beneath their dark hoods. Then, those embarrassed and annoyed people surrounded him from all sides.

At this point, Duncan finally surveyed the figures around him. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Should I have run away just now? The atmosphere was certainly building to it..."

The hooded figures acted as if they hadn't heard Duncan's dry humor. They merely glanced at him warily, then looked in the direction behind him. Two of them quickly lowered their heads and exchanged a few words. Duncan faintly heard what they were saying:

"Why did one escape?"

"Did the church's hyenas discover this hideout... But he doesn't look like he was released..."

"In any case, take him back. This escaped sacrifice is strange... We need to get rid of him quickly."

"Let the envoy decide."

Duncan had no idea what these people were up to, nor did he understand what they meant by "envoy." But considering what he had seen along the way and the word "sacrifice" they had used, he had a vague idea of some of the truths hidden here.

He didn't know what reaction would be considered "normal" for a sacrifice, and he had no intention of cooperating with their "performance." Outside the Ghost Ship, and using a temporary body, there were obviously few things for him to worry about. So, after observing his surroundings for a moment, he simply asked, "Where are you taking me?"

The hooded figures were clearly surprised that the "sacrifice" before them had spoken calmly. Although their hoods had veils that completely concealed their faces, Duncan could tell that they were taken aback. One of the hooded figures glared at the "sacrifice" through the veil, his voice low and harsh, "You are not qualified to ask—take him away!"

Several hooded figures immediately stepped forward, but before they could touch him, Duncan took a step forward himself. "No need to lay your hands on me, I'll go with you."

The hooded figures exchanged glances, probably thinking that the "sacrifice" before them was mentally unstable. But the leader waved his hand. "That's for the best. You can't escape anyway... Come with us, and perhaps you can face glory with dignity."

The hooded figures surrounded Duncan, blocking all his "escape" routes from all sides, and led him deeper into the sewers.

The reeking, foul odor in the sewers was nauseating, but the hooded figures walked casually on the filthy, moldy road as if they hadn't noticed it at all. Duncan was silent, expressionless, following the hooded figures forward while listening carefully to their conversations—they didn't talk much, but in their occasional exchanges, Duncan heard useful words like "Pland," "Consul," and "Church."

"This is the Pland City-State?" Duncan suddenly asked, as casually as if he were chatting with an acquaintance.

"Obviously..." One of the hooded figures replied subconsciously, but then he realized what he'd said and glared at Duncan as if he'd seen a ghost. "You're very calm, kid. Do you know what's going to happen next?"

"I can probably guess," Duncan nodded, even smiling slightly. Then he tentatively asked, "The true Sun God... Right?"

The hooded figures visibly paused for a moment. They seemed to have misinterpreted Duncan's unusual reaction, and one of them whispered to his companion, "Wait, could he also be a believer of the Lord?"

"Impossible, he's obviously an escaped sacrifice..." Another hooded figure whispered, then glanced at Duncan. "You're quick-witted, but don't think that will spare you from the sacrifice... The Lord has already decided your fate. You'd better accept it willingly."

Duncan remained noncommittal. He knew that his overly calm reaction had led these seemingly cultist guys to jump to the wrong conclusions. They probably thought he was pretending to be calm and disguising himself as a "believer" to try and survive. But only Duncan knew the truth.

This temporary body was so difficult to control that even normal movement was difficult. The muscles in his face were stiff, like they were undergoing necrosis... Of course, all that was left was a calm, expressionless face!

But he didn't care what these cultists thought. He just wanted to gather as much information as possible during this "one-time exploration," so he casually asked, "You believe the current 'sun' in the sky is a false sun? You think it will fall sooner or later?"

"The false sun will, of course, eventually fall!" This was clearly a topic that stimulated the cultists. Duncan was gratified to hear one of them react eagerly and fanatically. "Even the Church's lackeys must acknowledge in their history books that the sun in the sky is a twisted, grotesque thing that only appeared after the Great Annihilation! What truly brings life and order to the world is the Sun God, but our Lord's authority was usurped by that vile imposter... That vile imposter will one day fall from the sky!"

Then, Duncan heard the surrounding cultists respond, "The false sun will fall sooner or later!" "The true Sun God will soon be resurrected!" "The world's excess seawater will be driven back into the void by the Sun God's power, and the earth will return to an era of fertility and stability!"

Listening to the cultists' increasingly excited words, Duncan's mind was racing. He knew that these fanatical cultists couldn't be reasoned with by normal logic, and what they believed was mostly distorted and altered information. But some of the intelligence they revealed was still worth considering—

The "sun" hanging in the sky is a false object...

The true sun has been usurped of its authority...

They believe that the true sun is a fallen god, and they believe that that god will "be resurrected from blood and fire"...

They also mentioned the world's excess seawater, and an era of fertility and stability... What do those words mean?

Duncan's mind was filled with thoughts, and the cultists calmed down after a while. They remembered their mission, remembered that they were escorting an escaped "sacrifice." So, the ones closest to Duncan fell silent, while the two at the back of the group whispered to each other:

"Do you think this 'sacrifice' is a bit weird?"

"He seems a little off... I feel uneasy."

"Could it be that this sacrifice stayed too long in the lightless underground when he escaped earlier, and his mind was affected by something..."

"That's fine, the Lord's power will purify him."

Duncan listened to the conversation behind him, paying particular attention to the words "lightless underground." But just as he wanted to gather more information from this conversation, the leader of the hooded figures stopped.

"We're here."

The cultist in the black robe said in a low, cold voice.

Duncan felt a tinge of regret, but then he was drawn to the scene before him.

Ahead was the end of a road, where several sewers converged. And in this wide space, like a small underground hall, was a gathering of black-robed cultists!