Chapter 1 The Shining of the Black Sun

In the days that followed, everyone on the boundless sea saw the Black Sun shining—that false sunlight permeated and covered the entire world, and behind the Worldscar, the last lighthouse on this sea transmitted its radiance to every corner of the sanctuary, and it continued for many days and nights.

People speculated about the origin of that "radiance." Some guessed it was a sign of the world's further collapse, some guessed that some change was occurring in the Worldscar, the last optimists believed it was the sunlight about to descend upon the world again, and the last pessimists believed that all things had reached the time to embrace death—but for more "people"... they did not care about that sunlight.

Having lost their self-awareness, the entities blindly and foolishly wandered through the city in the haze and darkness, gnawing and tearing at what they "recognized" as food. Their low roars seemed to fill the entire world, and layers upon layers of murmuring whispers came from the depths beneath the city-state.

Vast shadows that swelled and contracted erratically appeared on the sea, and they gathered towards the coastline of the city-state. They were fleets of unknown origin returning from every corner of history. Forgotten and invisible sailors and pirates landed in the city-state under the cover of night, but then melted into the darkness with a whoosh. No one knew where they went, but every pier and every intersection seemed to be filled with the sound of low, blurred sea shanties and work songs.

The city's buildings were awakening in the night. After the last conscious person left them, they forgot their original appearance in the fog. Roofs opened up layers of staggered eyes, chimneys curled and grew in the night, windows grew sharp teeth, and every door sang aloud in the darkness, emitting the loudest clamor and noise from the city-state's memories.

And those awakened, true madmen built high walls in the depths of the city.

They maintained contact with each other with the help of the sewers and a small part of the still-functioning urban rail transit, and the survivors of the City Hall and the Church ensured the last vestiges of order.

People took turns sleeping to ensure that at least one pair of eyes was open in every corner of these last sanctuaries, in order to prevent those high walls and roofs from growing scales and flesh.

The watchmen traveled through the night, searching for the last survivors in the completely distorted and fallen city, lest they be swallowed and obliterated by those other entities that had lost their humanity.

Everyone received the final order—that order originated in the distant northern city-states, and then spread to the entire world with the establishment and mutual communication of various city-state alliances. Its core content was only one:

Survival. Survive at all costs. Do not let too many people fall in the final darkness before dawn.

Although the death mechanism had ceased to function, those swallowed by the night and madness would still disappear from this world. They would turn into useless dregs in the sanctuary, unable to usher in that "dawn"—the last protectors of this world had to do everything possible to prevent this from happening.

And those who were protected cautiously, carefully, yet full of hope and expectation, talked about that "dawn" within the high walls.

People were talking about a new world that would appear at the end of this long night.

No one knew how the news first spread, and no one knew whether it was the protectors' deliberate guidance. Perhaps it was just a distant and ethereal hope, but in this night of universal decline, a hope must spread and grow.

Lawrence stood on an old city wall in the western district of Phaeton, quietly gazing into the distance.

This section of the old city wall had recently been repaired and reinforced, and now it was part of the sanctuary in this border city-state. The protective high wall stretched from the port area and converged near the factory buildings of the steam hub. Inside the high wall were nearly all the survivors in this city.

The remaining few survivors were concentrated in two churches and nearby apartment buildings outside the high wall, and the watchmen were trying to connect the underground structures of several sanctuaries to bring everyone under protection.

A terrifying roar came from the depths of the night, interspersed with the sound of steam walkers firing. Continuous flashes appeared in the depths of the flowing clouds several times, and then everything gradually returned to calm—after a long time, a flare rose from that direction, blooming a lasting light in the night sky.

The faint "sunlight" emanating from behind the Worldscar shone together with the light of the signal flare.

"It seems that there are no survivors in that direction, only the monsters bred by the city itself," Martha's voice came from the small mirror on Lawrence's chest. "Now that it has come to this, there should be no more new 'awakeners' appearing in the depths of those long-fallen districts."

"Phaeton is a small city, and the search operation will end soon. In the days to come, the main task of the watchman force is to ensure the safety within the high walls," Lawrence nodded lightly. "But in other city-states, the search for survivors should continue until the end... In those vast, maze-like old districts, there will always be people who are still holding on, waiting for rescue..."

Martha hummed softly and did not speak again.

The "sunlight" behind the Worldscar slowly dimmed, and reappeared after a moment, illuminating the entire sky.

"...Who would have thought that the 'Black Sun' would be the one to light up this sky in the end," Martha broke the silence softly. "Even a year ago, even the sun worshippers wouldn't dare to say such crazy things."

"But now no one in this world remembers what the 'Black Sun' is except for us," Lawrence shook his head with a sigh. "All the fear and worship of Him have been folded into the abandoned history."

He raised his head and looked at the dim yellow sunlight that filled the sky.

The "Black Sun," which had been forgotten by the entire world, was still slowly blinking behind the Worldscar, and there was no longer any living being in this world that needed its sunlight to shine.

It was only lighting the way for the last ship in this world that was still sailing far away.

Footsteps came from behind, and Lawrence withdrew his gaze from the sky. He turned around and saw a thin, ugly figure wearing an ill-fitting sailor uniform walking through the haze, stepping onto the city wall, and coming to him.

"Captain, I'm back to report." The sailor tugged at the hem of his sailor uniform and revealed an ugly and terrifying smile.

Lawrence looked the sailor up and down, and the corner of his eye twitched. "...Could you not smile like that every time you see me? It's kind of scary."

The sailor immediately grinned: "I observed the outside of the high wall on the way here. My appearance is already above average in today's city-state."

Lawrence spat to the side, but did not continue to tease the dried corpse. Instead, he took two steps forward and patted the sailor on the shoulder.

"How's it going on the Forsaken?"

The sailor thought for a while, and the deep ravines on his face slowly relaxed: "It's a good place."

"That's good," Lawrence smiled, then shook his head with a smile. "Then now the wonderful field work is over..."

He opened his arms, making a welcoming gesture: "Welcome back to the White Oak."

The sailor also laughed, opened his arms and greeted him: "It's an honor."

Lawrence dodged to the side: "I'm just showing my appreciation, I'll pass on the actual hug—go back and wash yourself properly, your rotten flesh smells sour."

...

"Teacher Morris has taken his family to the sanctuary, and now he has signed up to join the city wall guard team... It is said that the person in charge of the city wall guard initially refused him when he saw an old man signing up, and then the teacher beat up everyone on the scene...

"Miss Vanna is now staying at the cathedral—she is commanding the Night Watch force there. It is said that there are still many out-of-control clerics imprisoned in the cathedral. She is very busy every day, but the last time I saw her, I felt that she was quite happy... She told you too? Yes, she is very happy to be able to help when she returns to the city-state...

"The sailor and Miss Agatha have both arrived at their destinations safely? That's good... I heard that there are fewer and fewer fleets going north. It is said that the situation is not good on the Frigid Sea. I was a little worried before... It's good that they arrived safely, that was probably the last fleet.

"How is Miss Lucrezia doing? Trying the cuisine of Breezy Port? Really... As expected of the Witch..."

Nina's chattering voice echoed in his heart. Duncan sat on a large wooden barrel on the edge of the deck of the Forsaken, listening to the voice from afar, with a faint smile on his face.

"Do you and Shirley have any plans?" he asked suddenly.

Nina was quiet for a few seconds: "...Shirley and I decided to stay in the antique shop."

"Aren't you going to the sanctuary or the cathedral? The situation is a little better there."

"No, we don't have any other relatives, and we are not worried about safety issues, so it is not very meaningful to go to the sanctuary—now A'gou and Shirley are responsible for patrolling the shop, and I am responsible for maintaining the light and temperature in the antique shop. This small shop can be regarded as a small 'sanctuary' in this street. Occasionally, Night Watch troops pass by here and can come in for a rest. They are all under Miss Vanna... By the way, they also said that this antique shop is 'the safest night shelter in the city-state'..."

Nina's voice sounded cheerful and proud. She seemed very satisfied with the current situation, and Duncan felt a little less worried when he heard it.

It seemed that the two girls had "managed" that small antique shop in another way, and they had managed it well.

And just in Nina's gossiping chatter, Duncan saw layers of light and shadow emerge at the end of the warp tunnel.

The outline of the clouds appeared in the depths of the gray-white background, and the "sunlight" that filled the entire warp tunnel covered the distant clouds, outlining the silhouette of the Eternal Veil.

Duncan slowly stood up.

"Nina."

The girl who was chattering immediately stopped: "Hmm?"

"Get ready to look up—"