The furnace roared, and no one spoke again. Mr. J stopped pretending to smile. He did not know the stories of Dawn, Gus, and Laurent, but what he had seen were three old men willing to face death to fulfill their convictions.
Black powder leaked from beneath the Furnace. There was no more than ten grams of it in total. This was the "iron" inside the Ancient Gods—or rather, the extraordinary substance formed after their bodies, energy, and souls had been burned away.
"Laurent, it's your turn."
Gus opened the Furnace's front panel. Laurent had just risen from the ground when Gus placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Leave me one arm. That's enough."
"Got it."
Gus had said earlier that he would never lie inside the Furnace again, and that was indeed the truth. He did not climb inside personally. Instead, he had Laurent swallow and absorb his two legs and one arm before entering the Furnace.
"This time, I won't owe you anything."
Gus crawled to the Furnace with one arm and slammed it shut. His smile was somewhat manic, but it held more relief and ease than anything else.
The flames burned inside the Furnace. Laurent did not make a sound, calmly enduring the flames as they consumed him.
"Puppet, come here."
Gus leaned against the Furnace. At his call, the Lady of Sorrows, who had been standing quietly by the door, stepped forward.
The Lady of Sorrows had never left the House of Slumber, yet she had taken the initiative to come to the Old God Church. Based on Su Xiao's guess, this had probably been arranged by Laurent.
"Go to the secret room inside and get the pure silver."
"Understood, Lord Gus."
The Lady of Sorrows' voice remained as gentle as ever. She