Beneath the Night

If the chair had been carved with some symbol Li Wei didn't recognize, he could have accepted that. After all, in his experience, that was how movies, novels, and games always went. Resurrecting some obscure evil god that had vanished from the world-wasn't that the usual plot?

But the carving on this chair was actually the All-Seeing Eye, too?

There was no way Li Wei could mistake it. It was carved over church doors all over the city. One more hardly made a difference.

After that, Li Wei found nothing else and had no choice but to leave the Pink Lady with Katie. Before leaving, of course, he sought out the burly doorman again and asked about the Pink Lady's origins. The doorman told him the building had been abandoned for a long time before Lady Claytie arrived and converted it into the Pink Lady.

That confirmed Li Wei's suspicions. Clearly, Lady Claytie hadn't opened the Pink Lady here by chance. The mysterious little underground chapel showed that she had chosen this location only after discovering the hidden space beneath it.

Unfortunately, Li Wei had no idea what the chapel represented or why Lady Claytie had chosen it. For now, he could only guess that it was closely connected to her conspiracy. Otherwise, she would have had no reason to go to such lengths to renovate the Pink Lady above it.

In other words, she might have chosen this place specifically for the chapel. As for why-that remained unclear.

In the end, Li Wei decided... to go back and read.

After saying goodbye to Katie, Li Wei returned to the Clock Tower and opened his history book again. This time, he focused on the Golden Era.

He still remembered the apparition he had seen earlier. He didn't know what it was, but since all of this involved religion, investigating myths and legends first was clearly the quickest approach.

As he reread the accounts of the Golden Era and examined them closely, Li Wei discovered a few interesting things.

According to the records, countless gods had existed during the Golden Era, wielding all manner of powers: the sky, the earth, day, night, raging winds, towering waves, and more. None of these gods would submit to the others. Each wanted to prove that they were the strongest and the rightful ruler of the world.

And so the gods went to war.

Among them was one god who possessed neither great power nor outstanding wisdom, but who had a compassionate heart. Seeing innocent creatures perish after being swept into the divine war filled him with anguish. And so he made his choice: he would protect this world and all the countless creatures within it!

He resolutely joined the divine war. Though he was neither powerful nor clever, he possessed courage!

First, he challenged the god of fire, exploiting his weakness while he was blinded by arrogance to destroy him. Then he challenged the god of water... In short, after a long string of one-against-many battles, reckless charges, and clever schemes, he finally defeated the other gods and won the divine war.

Afterward, he made a wish: that the creatures ravaged by the divine war might return to life, and that the land destroyed by the gods' greed might be reborn!

Then the god's flesh and blood became streams and fertile soil, his bones became rolling mountain ranges, and his eyes became the sun and moon... Well, in the end, those creatures returned to life in the world formed from his flesh and blood.

The age of gods ended, and the age of heroes began.

That was also why the Holy Lord Church had ultimately chosen to recognize Emperor Arthur. He had unified the chaotic continent, a feat no different from that of the deity they worshipped-the God of All Knowledge, who had sacrificed himself to save the world. Thus, they proclaimed Emperor Arthur the divine emissary, the king of heroes who would guide humanity into the future!

At first, Li Wei had indeed treated it as nothing more than a fairy tale.

The reason was simple.

Assuming all of this was true, how had mortals learned about it and recorded it?

The book itself said that by the end of the divine war, the entire world had been on the brink of destruction and every living creature had died. Who had written all this down, then? It could only have been the God of All Knowledge. But hadn't he dissolved his entire body to become this world?

So either someone had communed with the creator god, learned everything from his memories, and written it down, or someone had taken too many drugs and recorded their wild imaginings as reality. Or perhaps the creator god hadn't died at all and had written it himself to stroke his own ego: "Look, I'm just that powerful. I'm just that awesome."

Like an urban legend, it could neither be proven nor disproven. It was like those stories that went, "I had a friend who offended an evil spirit and got killed." They were packed with detail and dramatic twists, even describing how the friend had been seduced by a female ghost while home alone. How did the storyteller know that? Was that friend actually them? Or were they the evil spirit?

But after the strange events earlier, Li Wei decided to set aside the question of how these myths had been recorded. He would treat them as real for now and look for clues within them.

And he actually found one.

It was an account from the Golden Era of a confrontation between the god who served as this history's "protagonist" and a goddess.

"The goddess had long hair as dark as night. Her cloak covered the heavens, bringing endless darkness. Her eyes shone with clear moonlight, illuminating the world beneath the dark sky, while points of light glittered among her hair like stars. She was-the Goddess of Night!"

Reading the description in the book, Li Wei furrowed his brow, closed his eyes, and carefully recalled the vision.

Honestly, everything had happened so suddenly that he hadn't gotten a clear look. The only thing that had left a strong impression was how she seemed to be wrapped entirely in a pitch-black cloak, her two eyes shining brightly as she gazed at him like a sovereign.

As for whether starlight had glittered between the strands of her hair... Li Wei had no recollection of that at all. Of course, it could simply have been artistic embellishment. After all, the book said her eyes shone as brightly as full moons, but to Li Wei, they had looked more like two glowing LED bulbs.

Surely the goddess didn't have dandruff, with those supposed stars in her hair actually being her... Well, that wasn't very polite. Better not dwell on it.

Unfortunately, the book didn't explain in detail how the creator god had defeated the Goddess of Night. It merely said, "After a fierce battle, the great Creator God defeated the Goddess of Night and seized her authority."

Well, that left plenty of room for imagination. Back in Li Wei's entertainment-obsessed era, that one sentence would have been enough to inspire a post-defeat scene.

With Li Wei's "extensive experience," he could offer countless theories, such as stealing the Creator God's authority to resurrect the defeated gods. The problem was that none of it meant anything. Every theory needed evidence to support it, and at present, Li Wei had no clear evidence to substantiate his guesses.

Perhaps he could start with the property transaction and find out how Lady Claytie had bought the place. But property dealings in the Lower City had always been a chaotic mess. For all he knew, the place still hadn't been registered in the official Difference Engine...

By late that night, Li Wei still hadn't come up with a good approach. He could only set the investigation aside for now and go to bed.

Tomorrow would be another day!

"Clang-clang-clang!"

A piercing bell rang out.

What the hell? Can't a guy get some sleep?

Li Wei groggily opened his eyes and was about to complain when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

The Clock Tower's bell had been broken for ages, hadn't it?

Where was that ringing coming from?

At that thought, Li Wei shuddered and hurriedly opened his eyes wide. Once he saw the scene before him, he froze in astonishment.

He was standing on a dim, fog-filled street. In the distance, he could see only the deep darkness of night, a red moon, and the Clock Tower illuminated by its light.

It all looked so much like the moment when he had first crossed over that Li Wei wondered whether he had crossed over yet again.

"What is this...?"

Li Wei blinked and looked down at his clothes, utterly bewildered.

What was going on?

He looked around. He was the only person on the entire street. What struck him as strange, however, were the windows. Although he couldn't see clearly, he could make out figures standing behind them, watching him. It felt deeply unsettling, and he had no idea what was happening.

"Aah-!"

Just then, a scream suddenly shattered the silence of the night. Li Wei's expression tightened, and he immediately ran toward its source.

He still had no idea what was going on, but after hearing someone scream, he certainly wasn't going to stand by and do nothing.

As Li Wei dashed across the street and reached a nearby corner, he saw a young woman running out, panting for breath, her face filled with terror. Behind her floated a bizarre figure!

Yes, a bizarre figure!

The fellow was wrapped in a black cloak, wearing a black top hat and a ghastly white mask with a clownlike smile outlined in blood. Both hands raised, he held sharp daggers as he floated through the air like a bat and lunged at the young woman. At the same time, the dark figure let out a shrill, eerie laugh.

"Hahaha! Scream! Run! No one will come to save you! I'll slice you open and turn you into a miserable corpse!"

What the hell was that thing?

Watching the bizarre fellow bob through the air like a bat, Li Wei was utterly baffled, with no idea how to react.

Were all the criminals in this world this unhinged?

Was this guy sane?

Whatever the case, he obviously couldn't watch the young woman be murdered by that strange lunatic. Li Wei immediately raised his pistol and fixed his gaze on him.

At that moment, time slowed!

Death's Eye!

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Li Wei fired four shots in total. Two bullets struck the daggers in the figure's left and right hands, while the other two hit his head and chest.

In an instant, the daggers shattered, and the bullets struck the figure's mask and chest as well. But to Li Wei's surprise, there was no flesh or blood. Instead, its mask and body seemed to be those of a puppet, and his bullets smashed them into fragments too!

"Bang-!"

The next moment, the bizarre figure broke apart like a shattered mirror, disintegrating into fragments that vanished into the air.

That was way too supernatural! What the hell was that thing?

Li Wei stared at where the figure had vanished, utterly bewildered and unable to make sense of it.

The previous monster had at least obeyed basic physics to some extent. Now they weren't even pretending anymore?

Just then, Li Wei felt a slight weight against his chest. He looked down to find that the young woman had thrown herself into his arms, trembling and sobbing.

"It's all right, miss. I've dealt with that fellow."

Li Wei gently reassured the trembling young woman. At the sound of his voice, her shaking subsided, and she lifted her head to look at him with eyes full of gratitude.

"Really, Mr. Li Wei? Has that monster been destroyed?"

"Of course. I guarantee you're safe now."

Li Wei smiled faintly at the young woman as he answered.

"Thank you, Mr. Li Wei."

At his reply, the young woman seemed to relax. She leaned into his arms again and closed her eyes.

"I knew you would come to save me..."

Wait, miss, who are you?

Li Wei stared blankly at the young woman nestled in his arms. She was quite cute, but he was certain he didn't know her at all!

What did she mean, "I knew you would come to save me"?

"Miss..."

Just as Li Wei was about to ask who she was, his expression suddenly changed. He realized that the young woman who had been in his arms had vanished!

Almost simultaneously, Li Wei sensed a dazzling light pierce the darkness of the night, turning everything before him a brilliant, pure white...

"Mmm..."

Li Wei opened his eyes to see morning sunlight streaming through the enormous stained-glass window and falling over him.

He sat up, stretched, and yawned. Then he recalled everything that had happened, and his expression became indescribably complicated.

So he had been dreaming?

What kind of dream had that been?!