The Witch King, Faith, and Sacrifice

"...If all of human civilization were regarded as a living being, then humanity at that time was in the prime of youth—vigorous, spirited, healthy, passionate, innocently believing that tomorrow would be better, believing there was nothing it could not accomplish, believing that a beautiful age would only grow better forever."

"Looking back now, we would say that was a Golden Age."

"It was also in that age that the Ultramar Subsector, stretching from the Great Maelstrom Region in the west to the edge of the galaxy in the east, was born."

"With Macragge at its core and five hundred prosperous worlds, each with its own strengths, as its wings, Ultramar spanned the vast stars. It had already been a land of wealth during the Golden Age. Every world played to its strengths and was linked through trade. Goods were abundant beyond measure; the people were wealthy without indulgence, wise without arrogance, orderly without restraint."

"What a wonderful age it was. Later, when Macragge's religions spoke of that period of history, it was as though they were recounting a heavenly realm."

"But at the very height of humanity's vitality, cancer cells had already begun to develop in silence."

"Unrestrained technological advancement, an increasingly divided society, artificial intelligence gradually replacing and even surpassing human intellect, and the abuse of biotechnology and Warp technology ultimately brought about the Dark Age of Technology."

"Thus, internal strife replaced expansion, passivity overwhelmed initiative, madness became more alluring than reason, war more common than peace. Ambitious men climbed high towers, arrogance flourished, blind worship of technological progress surpassed all else, and increasingly complex knowledge and technology became the exclusive possession of superhumans altered through genetic and cerebral modification."

"But I believe this was not the true reason humanity fell into the Dark Age of Technology... The true reason was that we mastered extraordinary arts capable of turning dreams into reality, yet forgot that our dreams contained both the brightest and darkest things in all existence."

"During the Dark Age of Technology, technology continued to advance, but fewer and fewer people mastered it. Every planet's productive capacity soared, yet the products they made became increasingly uniform. Many new things were created, but even more were destroyed, including humanity's mother, Terra."

"Then, the most terrifying Warp storms in human history... perhaps even in galactic history, obstructed Warp travel. Old Night arrived."

"Macragge's age of Old Night had faded into maddening historical records and contradictory religious scriptures. All we knew was that the Witch King ruled Macragge from a mountain court—some believed the Witch King was an immortal sorcerer, while others believed it was a title passed down through generations. The truth could no longer be verified."

"The only thing we knew was that the War King of Macragge City led his army to overthrow the Witch King's rule and burn down the mountain court, while the Witch King's servants fled into the caves of Elyrium and were never seen again."

Zhou Yun wrote the four words "Witch King" on the blackboard before him with a piece of chalk.

"At the same time, ancient Old Night came to an end. Different religions offered different explanations—the Shattered Lighthouse claimed their god killed the Witch King by crushing him with an obelisk, while the Flying Spaghetti Church claimed their god covered the Warp storms with a giant colander."

At those words, the students below burst into laughter.

The Flying Spaghetti Church had many followers among the poor, while most Grammar Academy students came from wealthy families and had no followers of the Flying Spaghetti Church among them.

"The Flying Spaghetti Church is far older than most religions in present-day Macragge. Perhaps only Catholicism is older."

Zhou Yun smiled and turned to look at his students.

Over the past few days, Zhou Yun had been teaching at the Grammar Academy in order to awaken more of the Scholar's memories, allowing himself to gain more of the Scholar's knowledge and prepare for Marcus Guilliman's upcoming tutor recruitment.

After all, although the original owner of this body had taken first place in the first round of recruitment, if Zhou Yun had nothing in his head, he would probably find it difficult to pass the next stage.

Zhou Yun's gaze paused. He noticed that one seat in the classroom was empty today...

Zhou Yun lowered his head and glanced at the roster on the desk.

"Is Miss Sakofi Paulus here?"

That student had attended class yesterday... Zhou Yun began recalling what he knew about her.

The girl was General Paulus's daughter. General Paulus had three daughters. His eldest, Dacia, now worked at the Grammar Academy; his second daughter had entered the Academy of Rhetoric, but died of illness near the end of last month. Sakofi was his third daughter.

"Her sister, Teacher Dacia, requested leave for her today. She said she wasn't feeling well and would need to stay home for an extended period." Tita, who had been taking notes, raised her head and spoke to Zhou Yun, concern on her face.

Zhou Yun gave Tita a slight nod. As he recalled, Tita had a fairly good relationship with Miss Sakofi. Sakofi's sister had recently died of illness, so naturally Tita would worry about Sakofi's condition.

After finishing the lecture, Zhou Yun sorted through the lesson plans on his desk while sensing the psychic power born from his students' admiration.

Those pale golden strands of psychic power slowly gathered into Zhou Yun's body, making him sigh inwardly once again—this damned skill's requirements for faith are ridiculously low.

He had deliberately used psychic power to increase his charm and induce the students to respect him, and he could actually obtain psychic power from it... though not much.

However, this psychic power was somewhat different from the psychic power Zhou Yun generated himself.

Zhou Yun finished arranging his lesson plans, left the classroom, and headed deeper into the Grammar Academy toward Lucretius's office.

These past few days, Zhou Yun had been helping Lucretius translate the clay tablets excavated near Odin City.

It was not just for the money. More than that, he wanted to figure out certain things.

He arrived before the office and gently turned the doorknob.

The door was locked.

"Teacher Zhou Yun?" A somewhat delicate female voice sounded behind him.

Zhou Yun turned around and smiled as he nodded in greeting. "Teacher Dacia."

This Teacher Dacia was Sakofi Paulus's sister, the one who had requested sick leave for her today. She was a literature teacher at the Grammar Academy.

The petite female teacher, about five feet tall and dressed in a white shirt, lowered her gaze to Zhou Yun's hand gripping the doorknob.

"Ah! Didn't Professor Lucretius go to Odin City? I heard he went to receive newly excavated clay tablets." Dacia blinked as she spoke.

"Oh! I think that did happen." Zhou Yun slapped his forehead, an expression of regret appearing on his face. "I left something in his office..."

Of course Zhou Yun knew Lucretius was absent. He had been waiting for Lucretius to be gone. He had come to play Blood Raven.

The old man was generous enough with money, but as for the things that truly held value... he guarded them with utmost vigilance.

"Then you'll have to wait until Professor Lucretius returns." Dacia shook her head. "Only he has the key."

"Who knows how long that will take? It's something very important." Zhou Yun scratched his head. "It concerns my debt."

"Ah!" Dacia gave a soft cry. "How are things on your end? If you're still having trouble, I can ask my father to help you speak with someone. He has some friends in the Temple District."

"No, no, it's fine. I've basically resolved it already. I just need a document I left inside before." Zhou Yun spoke helplessly as he moved his hand away from the knob.

Zhou Yun had just used his psychic power to crack the lock—only a few seconds after he moved his hand away,

With a bang, the doorknob suddenly fell off, and the door slowly opened.

Dacia stared at the scene in utter confusion.

"Looks like this old lock has fallen into disrepair." Zhou Yun scratched his head and put on an innocent expression. "In that case, I'll go in and retrieve my things first, then apologize to Professor Lucretius afterward."

"Ah, emergencies take priority. I'm sure Professor Lucretius will understand." Dacia smiled reassuringly at Zhou Yun.

Her gaze swept over Zhou Yun. For some reason, she felt that he had developed a unique quality recently, as though he were faintly glowing, making it hard not to feel some affection toward him.

"I need to hurry home today too—my younger sister isn't feeling well, so I won't keep talking with you." With that, Dacia bid Zhou Yun farewell.

Zhou Yun watched Dacia's retreating figure and clicked his tongue softly.

Ever since realizing that Macragge was not as safe as it appeared, Zhou Yun had quietly been making use of his psychic power, maintaining a degree of suspicion toward everyone.

He had just silently examined Dacia's surface thoughts and body.

She was lying. "My younger sister isn't feeling well" was a lie.

And there were whip marks and needle punctures on Dacia's body.

It seemed he needed to tell Tita not to visit her friend.

To make someone disappear without a sound, and in all likelihood the daughter of one of their own believers... What were these followers of Slaanesh trying to do?

Zhou Yun frowned.

One possibility came to mind.

That was sacrifice...