Chapter 1 The Lonely and Silent Clock Tower

The Spirit Realm Clock Tower floated in a dark, silent void, like a soundless tombstone at the apex of the Corpus space. As the strongholds of the Order's demon hunters fell into fiery ruin one after another along the front lines, and the distant darkness flickered with the light of collapsing energy nodes, this bizarre tower remained silent, as if the saints within had completely ceased paying attention to the events at the front.

It was an edifice unlike any other ruin in Corpus—though it undoubtedly originated from the Star of Creation, its twisted form stood in stark contrast to the elegant and ornate temples. The Spirit Realm Clock Tower looked like a haphazard pile of building blocks, a jumble of inexplicable geometric shapes stacked into the shape of a tower. If it weren't suspended in this strange space, you'd hardly believe such a structure could stand upright on the ground. Hao Ren was not only amazed by the tower's scale and peculiar shape but also drawn to the bizarre state of its surface.

The Spirit Realm Clock Tower was covered in large patches of darkness—not ordinary shadows, but the purest, unadulterated blackness. This black color was so deep that the details within the darkness were impossible to discern with the naked eye. Only a silhouette like a paper-cut picture stood out against the starry background. These large swaths of blackness covered almost two-thirds of the Spirit Realm Clock Tower's surface, making the already bizarrely shaped tower even more somber and terrifying.

The moment Hao Ren saw the black "matter" covering the Spirit Realm Clock Tower, he felt an inexplicable chill creep into his heart. His sixth sense went into overdrive, warning him to retreat. He stared at the Spirit Realm Clock Tower, which had been almost completely consumed by the dark matter and transformed into a silhouette of thick ink, and he couldn't believe this was how the building was supposed to look: "Is this normal?"

Master Tutanin reacted almost identically, the demon hunter taking a few steps back: "What... what's going on?!"

"Lanina's previous reports didn't mention this phenomenon..." Izhaks' muscles tensed, even he felt a sense of danger from the object before him. "...This probably changed after the last offensive began."

Hao Ren pulled the data terminal from his pocket: "Scan it and find out what this is."

The data terminal emitted a lazy blue glow, scanning the surface of the black "matter" on the Clock Tower's exterior several times before returning: "Somewhat similar to the Shadows of Chaos we encountered before, but not quite the same. They don't seem to be active, as if they're static on the building's surface."

"Shadows of Chaos?" Hao Ren's teeth ached at the name. He remembered how much trouble those black shadows had caused—those black shadows, stripped from the Original Sin of divine blood, were the original cause of the innate hostility between the various alien races, as well as the culprit behind the Ankatelo territory incident. Countless demon hunters and descendants of the Tanar had died in that chaos.

But after the initial shock, Hao Ren immediately realized that the appearance of Chaos Shadow-like phenomena on the Spirit Realm Clock Tower's surface made perfect sense: Corpus was the site of the Creation Goddess's fall!

The golden disc that carried divine blood could turn into a vessel of Original Sin; the ruins of the goddess's fallen palace had probably undergone a similar transformation.

Coupled with the information Bai Huo had brought earlier, the Thirteen Saints had suddenly changed their temperaments after Hasu returned from Ankatelo and reported on the Original Sin of divine blood. So, this demon hunter civil war was probably an extension of the Chaos Shadows incident!

The black shadows covering the surface of the tower seemed to confirm these associations. Hao Ren felt a chilling sensation from the shadows similar to that of the Chaos Shadows, making him deeply uneasy. Although the data terminal believed that these shadows were somewhat different from the Chaos Shadows, the two were probably of the same origin. Hao Ren remembered the "crime scene of the god-slaying" that he and Vivian had found earlier. The divine blood at that scene had vanished. Could it be related to the changes in the Spirit Realm Clock Tower?

"Are we still going in?" Bai Huo drew his sacred silver short sword, the blade burning with a pure white holy flame. "My holy flame can ward off the shadows."

Hao Ren looked up at the Spirit Realm Clock Tower, which remained eerily silent in the darkness. He had imagined that they would face a fierce battle when they arrived at the tower, but he hadn't expected to be standing at its base like this. The tower was deathly silent, like the corpse of a monster in the shadows, quietly awaiting visitors. No guards rushed out, and no defensive mechanisms were activated. The battlefields still raging in other parts of Corpus seemed to have nothing to do with this place. Hao Ren suppressed the unease in his heart; he trusted the data terminal's assessment that the shadows on the tower's exterior were inactive. So he nodded firmly: "We've come this far—everyone, be vigilant. Once we're inside, watch out for attacks on your minds. If you feel any psychological abnormalities, signal immediately!"

Led by Tutanin, the group found the Spirit Realm Clock Tower's gate. The gate was inlaid with large, dark red crystals, tilted at a strange angle on the wall. A third of the gate's surface was covered in dark shadows, while the uncorroded surface still showed exquisite patterns and symbols—not any known language of the present world, but the writing left behind by the Creation Goddess.

The data terminal immediately scanned and archived these valuable rune materials, while Tutanin lamented, "We've spent a long time deciphering the various runes in the Corpus ruins, trying to master the powerful forces of this super-civilization. In the end, we've only been able to decipher a fraction of them. The runes on this gate, for example, remain undeciphered."

Lily stared at the gate for a moment: "The left side says 'Open the door inward,' and the right side says 'Close the door behind you.'"

Tutanin and Bai Huo stared blankly at Lily, and Hao Ren quickly pulled the husky girl aside when he saw this: "Uh, don't listen to her; her brain short-circuits sometimes..."

Lily protested: "Hey, don't pull me! Really, that's what it says on the door. Don't you have a translator too..."

"Shut up."

Hao Ren forcibly ignored Lily's protest and confirmed the status of his shields. Then, he stepped forward and placed his hand on the seemingly heavy door.

The door opened silently.

The faint sound of crossbow mechanisms came from behind, and dozens of demon hunter masters instantly raised their crossbows and aimed them at the doorway. Hao Ren also ducked down and pulled out his pistol, pointing it forward, but the expected enemies did not appear.

Behind the door was an empty round hall, the dim candlelight flickering deep within, casting mottled shadows at the entrance. There were no Order demon hunters, no traps or mechanisms. Like an old castle abandoned for hundreds of years, the Spirit Realm Clock Tower was deathly silent and still.

"No one..." Vivian threw a small bat into the hall, then said softly, "But there's a scent of blood... and signs of living creatures, all on the upper floors. Everyone, be vigilant."

Hao Ren, shielded, took the lead into the Spirit Realm Clock Tower, Lily followed closely behind with her two claw blades, then Vivian and Izhaks and his daughter. Bai Huo and Tutanin led dozens of demon hunter masters in a single file. After everyone had entered the tower, Lily nervously looked back: the atmosphere was strange, and she was afraid that something like a horror movie would happen, and the tower door would automatically close after everyone was inside.

The door did not close, as if everything here was unattended.

Hao Ren looked around. This was a dimly lit hall, all the walls and floors lacking color. Faded murals and reliefs could still be vaguely seen on the curved walls of the round hall. Although the style of the reliefs was consistent with other temples, the deathly, silent tone made people feel particularly uncomfortable. Around the round hall, there were many wooden racks placed haphazardly. Those racks must have been moved in later by the demon hunters, and they held weapons like warhammers and longswords, as well as some magical artifacts and ornaments whose purpose was indiscernible.

Like the state of the entire hall, the things placed on the racks also lacked color.

"Like faded old photos..." Looking at the dim environment before her, Vivian couldn't help but mutter.

Lily blinked, she didn't react much to the scene before her: "What's wrong... are the colors very faded?"

Hao Ren glanced at her: "Can't you tell?"

Lily nodded as a matter of course: "I'm colorblind."

Hao Ren: "..."

Tutanin looked around with a grim expression and waved to the elite demon hunters behind him: "Search separately first. Ivien, Kalud, watch the spiral staircase, and signal immediately if there's any movement."

"There's a..." Vivian mumbled, "...a very uncomfortable atmosphere."