Ever since discovering this survivor camp, Aaron had all but abandoned everything in his territory. Every day, he entered the dream and devoted himself to observing everything.
That day, he witnessed the biggest dispute in the Shelter.
The argument seemed to have been sparked by the monsters' evolution and the shortage of food.
"We can't go on like this!"
A blond man screamed in agitation, flailing his arms as if to make his point more forcefully. A few times, his arms swept right through Aaron.
"The monsters are getting stronger, and there's less and less food to be found. If this keeps up, everyone in this Shelter... will die!"
He had stated a cruel truth.
"Soren, what do you suggest we do?" Xiu asked calmly, pulling the two children behind her.
"Move! We should head north. I've heard there's a much bigger settlement up there, and they've mastered extraordinary powers! It's safe, and there's plenty of food!"
Soren answered without hesitation.
"The people from the north?" The Shelter's residents stirred uneasily. It seemed they had heard this rumor before.
"That's right. Some of them can even fight dangerous species with their bare hands!" Soren said. "If we join them, we can gain the same power!"
"Those heretics who call themselves the 'Black Sun Cult'?" Xiu sneered. "I heard they burn people alive as sacrifices!"
"So what? To survive, you have to give something up." Soren suddenly grinned savagely. "He's right there, up in the sky, watching us... Don't tell me you've never heard those... divine revelations!"
Aaron was taken aback. He had heard some muttering only when the Black Sun and those terrifying beings first appeared, but had received no further messages since.
Yet from the looks on the Shelter residents' faces, they seemed to hear them from time to time?
"Yes, the Black Sun is right above us, but I've never heard any 'calling.' All I heard was incoherent howling and muttering like that of a madman... When I resisted it, I never heard it again."
Xiu sneered. "Are you sure you want to worship those mad things? I can guarantee that the black sun in the sky doesn't even know there's a Black Sun Cult down here..."
"You're right. The Black Sun doesn't need us, but that doesn't stop us from worshiping him."
"Just as the sun never intended to nourish all things—it simply shines. The gods never intended to call their followers, either. They merely radiate power by nature, while we pursue their path and their light, praying for their protection."
A solemn voice suddenly sounded from outside the Shelter.
Aaron looked over and saw three black-robed figures standing outside. All were gaunt as skeletons risen from the dead.
The one who had just spoken was the leader of the three: an old man whose bald head was covered in strange tattoos.
"People from the Black Sun Cult? How did you find us? Soren! Did you betray us?"
At some point, Xiu had drawn a flintlock pistol and pointed it at the old man.
"My child, put down your weapon. The Black Sun will forgive you."
The old man smiled warmly. "You're right. The Lord of the Eclipse doesn't care about the faith of ants. But a being like him need only radiate light and heat by nature to protect us. We are all just... pitiful people doing whatever we can to survive in this cruel world."
"Lies!"
Xiu shifted toward the window, apparently looking for a chance to escape.
But the old man didn't draw a weapon. He simply smiled at everyone. "The Black Sun needs worship. The Black Sun needs sacrifices! Only through hardship can great deeds be accomplished! You ignorant lambs will understand one day: the Black Sun is the savior of all!"
"The radiance has passed, never to return; the Black Sun descends, the bells toll on; all things perish, yet I remain!"
Behind the old man, the other two black-robed figures spread their arms and began chanting strange incantations.
Their language seemed to be from another world, yet it also seemed to contain strange words—words Aaron had once heard in the Black Sun's muttering. They were supernatural words, and anyone who heard them could fully understand their meaning.
Now, it seemed, those words carried a strange power.
A black wind blew toward the Shelter.
The wind seemed alive. It restrained Xiu as she tried to escape, even preventing her from pulling the trigger.
Xiu's expression twisted in agony. Her eyes were bloodshot, and veins writhed along the edges of her ears, as if she were enduring some kind of torture.
As for Aike and Lin, they fainted in an instant.
"Is this... a spell?"
Aaron felt nothing. Watching the scene, his eyes grew complicated. "A true supernatural power, an extraordinary force that people can wield! These cults... are interesting!"
Though these mysterious cults sounded like spontaneous organizations formed by people who had received a calling, there was no doubt they had made some progress along the path toward those terrifying beings.
When the chanting stopped, no one in the Shelter was left standing.
Even the traitor Soren had been knocked unconscious.
The old man's gentle gaze swept over the room. For some reason, the empty Shelter gave him an eerie feeling.
It was as if someone—or something—were still there, watching them.
He didn't linger. "Take everyone with us. Our cult will soon have a new batch of brothers and sisters."
Before long, cultists in black robes arrived from all directions. Their expressions were solemn as they carried off the unconscious survivors and their supplies. The occasional glimpse of their arms and necks revealed hideous burn scars...
A fully loaded convoy set off at once. Even the high priest failed to notice the invisible Ghost following behind it.
Back in reality.
Aaron woke, his expression amused.
Suddenly, he opened his mouth and uttered a string of strange syllables: "The radiance has passed, never to return; the Black Sun descends, the bells toll on; all things perish, yet I remain!"
It was the spell he had memorized. A few of its sounds seemed to push the limits of what a human could pronounce.
But thanks to [Extraordinary Memory], he had still managed to record them.
"My lord?"
The door opened, and the maid Daili rubbed her eyes as she looked at Aaron in confusion.
"It's nothing. You can go."
After sending the maid away, Aaron sighed. "Even if I learn it, it's completely useless? Could it be... that this really is a world without magic?"
He felt a little discouraged.
Perhaps becoming immortal in this world was impossible.
Before you continue