Broken History

The next day.

Xilian arrived at the public library early and picked up the books he had yet to finish.

After learning the broad outline of the world's history, he focused on the mystery of the Noonday Calamity. He wanted to understand how the world had fallen into such ruin and where Chaos had come from.

"Ah..."

After going through several books, Xilian sighed helplessly.

Almost every book mentioned the Noonday Calamity only in passing.

His investigation had made no progress, but he had gained a deeper understanding of Chaos.

At last, he knew what an "Abomination" was.

The power of Chaos could corrupt not only ordinary people and Transcendents, but even the exalted Giant Gods, causing them to fall.

In an age so distant that no books recorded it, countless Giant Gods had stood upon the earth. They had anchored the Origin Sea with Miracle Creations and built magnificent divine kingdoms across the land.

It had been a prosperous age when humans and gods lived side by side, until the Noonday Calamity erupted and destroyed all its glory.

Giant Gods fell, Miracle Creations sank into the Origin Sea, and divine kingdoms collapsed. All that remained were endless stretches of ruins.

After one dark millennium after another, only a handful of Giant Gods had survived to the present day. Some had withdrawn from the world, others remained active in it, and still others had vanished without a trace, almost forgotten.

Beyond them, some Giant Gods had been utterly corrupted by Chaos and had fallen.

People no longer honored these fully corrupted beings as Giant Gods. Instead, they called them "Abominations."

When Giant Gods became Abominations, their Fated Paths twisted beyond recognition, and they joined the ranks of Chaos. Countless followers rallied around the Abominations, forming one terrifying Chaos faction after another.

During the expeditions of the Renaissance Era, the Expeditionary Pathfinder had led teams to slay several Abominations and burn their remains until not a trace was left.

The Secret-Speech Sage had sealed the Abominations' Fated Paths on the Sourcebinding Long Stair to keep more people from following them astray.

Xilian closed the book and murmured,

"Three Sages, six Giant Gods, twelve Abominations."

These were the supreme powers known to stand in the world. Those who lived in seclusion or whose fates remained unknown were not counted among them.

Because the subject involved the Chaos Evils, the public library held no detailed information on the twelve Abominations.

Clearly, if Xilian wanted to learn more, he would have to turn to the Transcendent powers that controlled the Civilized World.

His thoughts returned to where it had all begun: the Noonday Calamity.

Were people today truly unable to uncover its cause, or was the truth so terrifying that they chose not to speak of it?

But... even if Xilian learned the truth, what could he do?

He was only a Rank One Torchbearer, newly embarked on his Fated Path.

"Forget it. One step at a time."

There was too much to deal with. Xilian reassured himself and returned the book to its place.

Before he could hunt Tania, advance to Rank Two, or take revenge on the Abominations, Xilian had a more pressing problem to solve.

He needed a job to ease his financial troubles.

Otherwise, before he could even draw his blade against an enemy, his landlord would throw him out of the apartment and onto the streets.

The good news was that Xilian was a Torchbearer. In this mad age, Torchbearers were never short of work. The only question was what kind of work he would do.

Several possibilities crossed his mind. After weighing and discarding them, only one remained.

Xilian stopped and looked at the imposing building at the end of the street.

The City Guard Bureau.

After spending some time learning about it, Xilian had a rough grasp of the City Guard Bureau's duties.

The City Guard Bureau was a Transcendent organization under the direct authority of the City-State Council. It handled every aspect of Her City's safety, including night patrols along the high walls, public order in the city, and investigations into Chaos corruption.

Dailin and Anya, whom he had met earlier, were both members of the City Guard Bureau.

In all his time in this world, the only work Xilian had become good at was patrolling the high walls at night. It suited the City Guard Bureau perfectly. And with a position there, he would have every reason to investigate Chaos.

That left Xilian with a new question.

How could he join the City Guard Bureau?

Still pondering it, Xilian returned to the apartment.

In the living room, Bruce was, for once, not hammering away at something. He sat quietly reading a newspaper.

"I don't remember subscribing to a newspaper," Xilian said.

"I picked it up outside," Bruce said without looking up.

"Outside?" Xilian was surprised. "You actually went outside?"

"Is that a problem?" Bruce said. "To everyone else, I'm just an ordinary stray dog. I'm less likely to draw attention that way."

Bruce raised his head and went on. "People in Her City have been on edge lately."

"Did something happen?"

Xilian came over and looked at the newspaper.

"Look at this."

Bruce set his paw on the front-page headline. A line of bold lettering underscored the gravity of the news.

"Her City's Starwatchers have confirmed, after repeated observations, that a Torchlight Lighthouse near the city has gone out."

Bruce chose his words carefully. "In other words, Chaos has swallowed a city-state. The city has probably been reduced to ruins. No word has come from there, and there's a good chance no one survived."

Xilian took the newspaper. The more he read, the quieter he grew, until he sat on the sofa without a trace of expression.

The paper did not say which city-state had vanished into the darkness, but Xilian had guessed as soon as he finished reading.

White Cliff Town.

Her City had always been able to see White Cliff Town's Torchlight Lighthouse. But in an age when every city stood isolated, it had shown no interest in making contact with the unknown city-state.

They had merely watched its light in the night, until that light disappeared into the darkness.

"Out here on the Outer Flame Frontier, every Torchlight Lighthouse that goes out sparks panic. And this one was so close to Her City."

Bruce did not notice anything unusual about Xilian and continued.

"When I picked up the paper on the street, everyone looked worried. Some people had started buying up supplies. Others wanted to leave Her City and live in one of the city-states in the Inner Flame Outer Ring."

"But getting to the Inner Flame Outer Ring isn't easy."

"Only a few powerful caravans can cross the Wilderness. They do take passengers, but every ticket costs a fortune."

Bruce shook his head. "Most people couldn't save enough for a ticket even after years of work."

Xilian picked up the newspaper and read it again. "What do you think the City-State Council makes of this?"

"A Chaos threat."

Bruce answered without hesitation. "Under normal circumstances, the Interstice Gray Domain can't swallow a city-state. Even a swarm of demons can't pass through the light of Soul Marrow."

"For a long-standing city-state to fall so suddenly, there's only one possibility: a Chaos faction was involved."

Bruce sounded gleeful. "The City Guard Bureau will have its hands full. A threat this close is enough to keep most people awake at night."

Xilian agreed. He murmured,

"This is a good opportunity."

"For what?" Bruce asked curiously.

Xilian had barely spoken when a knock came at the door.

Bruce immediately went on alert. They had made no friends since arriving in Her City and had no ties to anyone here. Who would come calling out of the blue?

Xilian remained calm. "Don't talk. Act like a dog."

"Do you know who it is?"

Xilian picked up the Boiling Sword. "I'm not sure. I have a guess."

He carefully opened the door a crack and saw a familiar face.

Dailin stood outside, a friendly smile on his face.

"Good to see you again, Xilian."

"Mm," Xilian replied evenly.

Xilian opened the door fully and invited Dailin in. Dailin strode inside without ceremony.

As soon as he entered, Dailin noticed the mechanical parts piled in a corner of the living room. He asked no questions and merely kept smiling.

Once they were seated, Dailin asked curiously,

"Is someone else here? I thought I heard you talking to someone through the door."

Xilian gestured toward Bruce. "I was talking to him."

Dailin froze for a moment. Bruce came over to Xilian's feet and wagged his tail vigorously.

"Right... of course."

Xilian's unexpected answer threw Dailin's prepared approach into disarray.

While Dailin was still wondering how to steer the conversation back on course, Xilian spoke first.

"Are you here to invite me to join the City Guard Bureau?"

Dailin blinked. "Wait... how did you know?"

Xilian sighed.

"If I were in trouble, the City Guard Bureau would have broken down my door already. Since you didn't come armed, and given the news in the paper... I can't think of any other reason."

Xilian laid out the situation in Her City. "The disappearance of a city-state has alarmed the City-State Council. The City Guard Bureau needs to tighten security and recruit more people."

"A Torchbearer who just arrived in the city and has a clean background is an obvious candidate."