Engraving
Lu Yuan woke up.
It wasn't a sound that woke me up; it was a feeling.
At the edge of my field of vision, gray and white text seemed to dance.
[Detection Target:? (Knowledge Transcendent)]
[Status: Beyond comprehension...]
The transition from a hazy state of consciousness to full awareness took only a moment.
He reached under the pillow with his right hand and found the Revolver, his thumb resting on the hammer.
Beyond comprehension.
The last time I saw those four characters was in a bookstore.
Lu Yuan did not pull the hammer.
He opened his eyes.
The room was dark, with the curtains drawn tightly, and only the faint light from the bronze patterns on the city wall seeped in through the gaps in the fabric, casting blurry shadows on the ceiling.
A person was sitting in a chair by the window.
Even in dim light, the silhouette is unmistakable.
André Morris.
Lu Yuan's fingers paused on the handle for a moment, then he released them.
Faced with this disparity, guns are meaningless; this was a fact confirmed three days ago.
He sat up and leaned against the headboard.
"How did you get in? Aren't there Night Watcher guarding this area?"
Morris did not answer directly.
His gaze swept around the room before finally settling on Lu Yuan's face.
"Don't worry, this Alchemy Workshop might be a bit difficult for others."
"But to me, all of this around me... is meaningless. As things stand, only a handful of people in this city can detect my presence."
Lu Yuan didn't reply, but simply looked away from Morris.
At this moment, Lu Yuan probably already guessed why Morris had come.
"Of course," Morris added, "the Oath isn't with you. So I have even less to worry about."
He used the Night Watcher's promise on Laurina.
Morris mentions this, he doesn't mean "I know."
"He doesn't value promises. At least not promises that aren't directed at him."
Lu Yuan made a mental note of it.
"So? You came in the middle of the night just to tell me this?"
"Regarding the invitation from last time," Morris tilted his head slightly, "What's your decision?"
"I haven't considered it."
"I'll think about it tonight."
Lu Yuan noticed something.
Three days ago at the bookstore, Morris said, "No need to answer today."
Calm and patient.
Now he shows up in his room in the middle of the night.
Clearly, the unseen circumstances have changed.
"Allen Victor, you saw it too," Morris said calmly.
"What do you mean by bringing him up?"
Lu Yuan countered with a question, the Time Bestower on his chest already prepared.
If Mosley shows even the slightest threat, he will try to escape. Coupled with his previously unused defense, as long as he can withstand one blow and survive...
Morris, seemingly oblivious to anything, continued.
"It has some connection to us, but not much."
Morris's gaze became more serious.
"You want to become like that?"
Lu Yuan remained silent.
"Make a decision as soon as you can still choose."
Morris's abrupt change of topic silenced the room for a few seconds.
The faint glow of the bronze patterns on the city wall pulsated slowly, like a distant heart beating.
Lu Yuan also realized that what happened to Allen was not something Morris wanted to see either.
I didn't agree three days ago because I didn't have enough information.
I don't know what's behind Morris, or what joining means.
There is still not enough information.
But things have changed.
Allen is dead. The Imperial Headquarters personnel arrived and bypassed the Night Watcher to go directly to the Tower of Erudition. The Ascension Society has set up three monitoring points in the Outer City. Things from the Sea of Knowledge are infiltrating the Bronze City.
I'm also acquiring more and more things.
The unusual shadow, the experience of the noble mansion being spat out by the Sea of Knowledge.
Of course, simply getting close to that corpse will continuously increase your Forbidden Studies experience.
Lu Yuan admitted that he was a little tempted.
And those things won't stop just because you ignore them.
He thought of Grim Port.
When the city sank to the bottom of the water, he stood at the end of the broken road, unable to do anything.
From the very first day I stepped into Grim Port, everything was already heading towards that ending.
He never truly "chose".
There was no choice back then.
But at least this time, the person in front of him was asking him a question.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Lu Yuan didn't answer directly, but instead looked into Morris's eyes and asked.
Morris tapped his fingers lightly on his knee.
Time is running out.
"From Bronze City?"
"For everyone."
He didn't continue.
But Lu Yuan gleaned something from his wording.
It's not "your time is running out," it's "everyone's time."
Including Morris himself.
Including the people behind Morris.
Lu Yuan made a decision.
I agree.
Morris raised an eyebrow slightly.
But you have to answer a few questions for me.
"Okay." Morris leaned back in his chair. "Say what you can."
"But you have to join first."
"Can."
Morris looked at Lu Yuan.
"So readily? Hand over the badge."
Lu Yuan offered no explanation.
He took the seashell badge from his pocket and placed it on his lap.
Morris glanced at it and nodded.
"Hold this. Repeat after me."
As the first word was uttered, Morris's voice changed.
He carried an indescribable air of authority, his tone tinged with an unspoken sense of unfamiliarity.
Not Imperial Language.
The air in the room suddenly felt heavy.
Lu Yuan felt as if something invisible swept past his body as the sound rang out.
"In the name of seeking knowledge, I embark on an endless journey."
Lu Yuan read along.
"In the name of seeking knowledge, I embark on an endless journey."
The badge in my palm began to warm up, from icy cold to slightly warm, just noticeable.
"I will bear the weight of knowledge, and I will pay the price for it."
"I will bear the weight of knowledge, and I will pay the price for it."
The warmth spread from my palm to my wrist, then up my arm, faster and faster.
At the edge of vision, gray-white text appeared:
[Warning! You are swearing an oath in an unknown language... You will be subject to restrictions of ■■■■...]
[Imperial Language: +5...231/1000]
Lu Yuan saw it, but had no intention of interrupting the ceremony.
"I will not reach into the Abyss, nor will the Abyss swallow me."
"I will not reach into the Abyss, nor will the Abyss swallow me."
The heat continued to spread. No, it was more like something alive, crawling out of the badge and burrowing into the body along the arm.
Lu Yuan's fingers tightened slightly.
"They're writing this in."
But the ritual had reached a point where it couldn't be interrupted. The warmth within his body seemed to have taken root, intertwining with every word he uttered; he could feel himself being enveloped layer by layer by some kind of rule.
Ignoring my physical discomfort, I continued to follow Morris's recitation.
"The light of those traveling together must not be extinguished, and the secrets of those traveling together must not be revealed."
"... Another promise."
Lu Yuan sighed inwardly.
"Having a lot of debt is not a burden."
"The light of those traveling together must not be extinguished, and the secrets of those traveling together must not be revealed."
The Echo in Morris's voice grew clearer and clearer.
The instant those words fell, Lu Yuan faintly heard something else deep in his ears.
The distant, deep sound of ocean waves.
At the edge of my field of vision, the grayish-white text began to pulsate slightly, but it didn't form a complete prompt, as if it was waiting for something.
The next sentence.
Morris's voice was a beat slow.
"What has been forgotten, I will remember; what has been erased, I will bear witness to."
Lu Yuan's mouth opened.
But the sound didn't come out immediately.
What has been forgotten, I will remember.
What has been erased, I will bear witness to.
What do these two sentences strike at?
Grim Port
That city dragged to the bottom of the sea, those who sang as it sank.
That night I stood at the end of the broken road, watching the entire city disappear from the world.
But he remembered.
[The Hidden Witness]
Memories can never be affected or erased by external forces.
This ability preserved everything in his mind.
This also made him the only one in the entire empire.
Those who were omitted.
Witness.
And these two vows...
Lu Yuan did not hesitate any longer.
"What has been forgotten, I will remember; what has been erased, I will bear witness to."
The moment the words left his mouth, a change occurred.
The heat spreading through my arms suddenly accelerated, wreaking havoc on my entire body.
The sound of the waves deep in my ears suddenly grew louder, then receded in an instant, becoming so distant that it was almost inaudible.
Lu Yuan subconsciously sat up straight, but he didn't stop talking.
"Use yourself as an anchor, and accept being remembered."
"Use yourself as an anchor, and accept being remembered."
The words were finished.
Something was trying to write into his body from the outside.
But just as it was about to imprint itself, that force collided with something.
It is neither resistance nor resolution.
It's more like something else has already taken up that spot.
The seal hovered in mid-air for a moment.
Then it disappeared.
At the edge of my field of vision, the grayish-white text was pulsating violently:
[Hint: Your promise will be remembered by Unknown Existence...]
[... Remember the failure... Your Oath cannot be written...]
Lu Yuan remained expressionless.
But a turbulent wave of emotions surged within me.
It was something I had a premonition about but had always been unwilling to confront, which was once again brought to the forefront.
Not only have they attracted the attention of certain beings, but they also do not allow other beings to leave even the slightest mark on them.
"... I don't want to think about it anymore. At least tonight, it didn't make the ceremony a success, which isn't a bad thing for me."
Lu Yuan suppressed his anger.
Morris sat opposite him.
The silence lasted for a few seconds.
"Alright."
Morris's voice returned to normal, the Echo disappeared, and the air in the room felt lighter.
When he said "It's done," his tone was casual, and it was clear that he hadn't really noticed anything.
"From now on, you're one of us." Morris's tone returned to its usual unhurried pace. "Keep the badge; you'll need it for contact. We'll discuss the details later."
Lu Yuan put the badge back into his pocket.
The metal has been restored to its original state, and there is no difference from before.
In any case, he's now considered "one of us" by Morris and has access to more information.
As for what he's hiding, we'll talk about that later.
Lu Yuan snapped out of his thoughts.
"It's my turn to ask."
Morris raised his hand and made a casual gesture.
"First question," Lu Yuan's gaze fell on Morris's face, "Are you from the Empire?"
Morris's expression remained unchanged.
"Yes."
One word.
Authored by Lu Yuan et al.
Morris did indeed add to the list.
"But not the kind you know."
He looked at Lu Yuan, as if considering how much to say.
"The empire is vast. Some departments can't be found in any roster."
He paused.
"Because even its own people don't know why they're there."
Lu Yuan's brow twitched slightly.
Morris did not explain this statement, but continued speaking.
"The West District numbers 02118 to 02150, more than thirty consecutive numbers, have all disappeared from the archives. All memories have also vanished."
He spoke slowly, but every word was clear.
"No one in the entire empire remembers who those numbers corresponded to, not even the person in charge of the archives."
Silence.
Only three copies still have traces. One of them is yours.
Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged.
It is clear that someone within the empire discovered these "holes".
They didn't know who those numbers corresponded to, what was originally filled in those blank spaces, or even why they were investigating a bunch of empty numbers.
But they still went to investigate.
Because the "blank space that shouldn't exist" is itself a clue.
That's probably how Morris's department came about.
A group of people affected by the Taboo Entity grope along the edge of the void, trying to piece together the truth.
And I... am one of those few remaining traces.
"So from the very beginning, I was his target."
A chance encounter at the bookstore, a seashell badge left behind. A deliberately opened copy of "North Sea Nautical Records".
It wasn't a random encounter driven by curiosity.
It was a planned approach that revolved around these distorted files.
"To achieve this level of elimination..." Morris looked at Lu Yuan, his gaze changing, no longer an assessment but more like confirmation, "Is something no human or Transcendence could accomplish."
He paused for a moment.
You should know better than I do.
Lu Yuan opened his mouth.
Grim Port
Three words welled up in my throat.
Then it blurred.
It wasn't that it was blocked; rather, the words became like a reflection in water the instant they appeared at the exit. He could see the outline, but couldn't grasp the shape.
His lips moved, but what came out was a muffled, breathy sound.
It's not that he doesn't want to talk about it.
It was that force of elimination that forbade even the name of this city to be passed on.
The silence lasted for a few seconds.
Morris looked at him, unsurprised.
"It seems you can't say it either..."
"Hmm." Lu Yuan nodded.
Morris did not press further.
His reaction was calm, as if he had expected it.
"We've seen this before."
Lu Yuan's heart sank slightly.
It wasn't the empire's preparations that surprised me, but something deeper.
Morris's department traced the missing serial numbers back to him. But even they couldn't explain what those numbers corresponded to.
They, like themselves, were affected by the Taboo Entity.
The difference is that they may not even be able to "know what they have lost".
And I know it myself.
I remember everything, but I can't utter a single word.
Both of them were holding half a map.
Lu Yuan knew the answer, but couldn't express it. Morris knew the answer existed, but couldn't see it.
"That's why he brought me in. Not so he could find out anything now, but so he could piece together the truth later."
Having figured this out, Lu Yuan calmed down a bit.