A Son's Concealment

Curze's heart was bleeding. Even his brain couldn't process a problem like this.

What could he do?

What on earth could he do?

His father would grow old and die.

Why?

Why could those nobles cling to life while his father had to die?

No, it wasn't fair!

Things weren't supposed to turn out this way!

Father said everyone's life was equal.

But why could those worthless wretches live for so long?

Kill them. Kill those nobles clinging to their miserable lives and have them buried with Father!

Boom!

A battle raged in Curze's mind. Deep within his consciousness, the Night Haunter watched it all.

The door that had been shattered before appeared once more.

Open this door, and you will have the power of a god. You can save your father.

A door?

Right!

That bat had said the same thing back then.

At a thought, the door appeared before him.

"Stop, Curze!"

Curze stood before the door. The Night Haunter appeared behind him and called out to stop him.

"You can't open that door."

"Heh. Back then, you wanted me to open this door, and I refused. Now I want to open it, and you won't let me."

"Why? Do you want to stand by and watch Father die too?!"

The Night Haunter didn't answer his question directly. Instead, he took out a bracelet.

It bore the same five words.

Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness.

"Give that back to me!"

Curze remembered clearly. That was the second lesson his father had taught him.

"What did Father teach you?" The Night Haunter looked at Curze, his gaze more serious than ever.

"I've always remembered what Father taught me, but I'm human. I can't just stand by and watch him die!"

"Everyone dies someday, my brother."

"But... but Father shouldn't die like this. He shouldn't die that way. He was so outstanding, so good. He deserved more."

It wasn't that Curze couldn't understand death. He couldn't accept the disparity.

In fact, when Curze awakened, he had already thought it through.

With his efforts, Han Mingxuan could live for thousands of years.

There should have been a place for his father in the vast galaxy.

But now, the world had played a cruel joke on him.

Five hundred years.

It was as fleeting as an oil lamp.

"Father is great. We are his sons, an extension of him."

"As long as we're alive, as long as we're still thinking, Father's spark will live on."

"I want some time alone."

Curze crouched in front of the door, his eyes full of pain and sorrow.

The Night Haunter walked up to Curze and placed the bracelet in front of him.

Magos Angrak was still waiting, and Nostramo's future couldn't be put on hold.

"Magos, tell me your plan."

The Magos had said so much so that he would make his own decisions instead of waiting for his old father to decide everything.

Angrak looked at Curze, whose demeanor had abruptly changed, full of doubts.

But he didn't ask. Everyone had their secrets.

"Use the bare minimum of resources to rebuild Nostramo, at least enough to give the Father of Night an answer."

"Devote all the remaining resources to converting the moon into a massive cargo ship."

"Once the conversion is complete, Nostramo can relocate directly. I've already chosen a new planet."

"This is a major undertaking, Magos Angrak. How many years will it take?"

"Accounting for the voyage, twenty years."

Twenty years?

They couldn't wait that long.

His father's life was far too precious to waste twenty years on a move.

"What if we travel through the Warp?"

A possibility had occurred to the Night Haunter.

"An ordinary person can easily fall prey to the dangers of the Warp."

"How long would it take?"

"If everything goes smoothly, one month."

Such was the wonder of the Warp.

A person might arrive before his death, or he might arrive after it.

"Put everything into converting the moon. After that, we need to wait."

"Wait?"

"Yes. We need to wait for calm weather. When that time comes, it won't be too late for anything."

The four regions of the Warp had already come together.

The storm caused by the birth of the fourth region had gradually calmed the storms sweeping across the galaxy.

There was little resistance to Warp travel now, but the time hadn't come yet.

He was waiting for the False Emperor's army.

The best opportunity would come only when they were close to Nostramo.

Then, using the entire planet as a ship, it might even be possible to charge straight through without a Geller Field.

"Leave the nobles to me. You focus on converting the moon."

"Yes, my lord."

The Night Haunter didn't call a grand meeting. Instead, he personally visited each family.

"Grand... Grand Inquisitor, you've graced my humble home. Forgive me for failing to welcome you properly!"

"Don't be so nervous, Viscount. I'm no tyrant. I've brought you a proposal today. Take a look first."

The Night Haunter had gathered the relevant materials and handed them to the noble.

Interstellar migration was fine, but this migrant ship was rather unconventional.

"My lord, if you can make sure there's nothing wrong with the ship, you have my unconditional support. Nostramo really isn't a place to stay for long."

Since the Grand Inquisitor dared to do this, there was no doubt that the Father of Night knew about it.

Given the Father of Night's character, since he hadn't stopped it, there was no need for them to stop it either.

"A wise choice. I'll go inform the others next. Do what you need to do."

"Understood."

Everything went smoothly for the Night Haunter along the way. Almost everyone assumed Han Mingxuan knew.

Everyone except Pationa.

"Grand Inquisitor, does the Father of Night know about this?"

"No." The Night Haunter made no attempt to hide it. "There's no benefit in letting Father know about certain methods."

Pationa's expression changed.

Could there be a rift between father and son?

"Put those dangerous thoughts away, Warp creature."

Pationa's face went deathly pale.

How did he know?

"From the first moment I saw you, I could smell that rotten stench of the Warp on you."

"I don't know how a Warp creature like you can remain so stable in the real world. I don't even know whether you have any connection to that freak."

"But believe me, if you dare harbor any crooked intentions, I'll turn you into a carpet."

"Then you'll know exactly what it feels like to be trodden underfoot every day."

"I... I understand, my lord."

"Too bad Nostramo isn't the only thing that's changed. Otherwise, you wouldn't live another three minutes."

With those words, the Night Haunter left the Tempatio Family.

"Have you recovered?" the Night Haunter asked.

"Yes. There are some things we have to face."

"Good. We do have to face these things. It'll be painful, and it'll take a great deal of courage and determination."

"People have to learn to grow up. They have to let go of some things."