Chapter 129: Aether and Mr. Shadow

Chapter 129: Aether and Mr. Shadow

Aether let out a relieved sigh. Upon hearing that Layman Vichard was safe and sound, a flicker of relief rose in his heart. Even in this wretched era, good things still happened.

He sheathed his sword. The man before him was a Shadow Transcendent who had fought the Waking Nightmare on Noville Island—coming and going without a trace, his true strength an enigma. Compared to him, Aether's sword was probably about as threatening as a toothpick.

Aether suddenly felt foolish. He had planned to lure "Minister Lutz" to a derelict house in the middle of nowhere and kill him, disposing of the body discreetly. Who would've thought he'd be the one nearly losing his life...

Since the Shadow Transcendent had shown his true colors (well, not exactly his "true face," but still), it meant he bore no hostility—at least not for now.

If he had wanted Aether dead, he would have struck the moment he stepped into this house. Aether would've been baffled to his dying breath as to why "Minister Lutz" was so formidably powerful.

Seeing Aether sheathe his sword, Lyman breathed a sigh of relief as well. He truly did not want to be Aether's enemy. In the murky, corrupt Dawn Church, Aether was practically a rare flower blooming unstained from the mud. People like him deserved to live longer.

Besides, he always felt Aether had some hidden card up his sleeve. He'd once used his authority as Research Department Director to pull Aether's personnel file—which had been personally written and archived by the Chief Inquisitor, never passing through Minister Lutz's hands—and discovered that the "Supernatural Ability" column had been burned with a hole, burning the text away. That was no coincidence.

Though Aether had abandoned resistance, his gaze remained wary: "When did Layman Vichard become one of your people? Was it back on Noville Island?"

Layman pounced on the opening immediately: "Heh heh, as expected of Your Eminence, Cardinal of Sacred Rites—so sharp."

Aether pressed his lips together. The Shadow Transcendent was clearly ribbing him. He'd shared a ship with Layman Vichard for so long and never once caught on that the man had already been turned by the mysterious organization. Where exactly was the sharpness in that?

"I still haven't asked your name," he said.

"You may call me Mr. Shadow."

"What exactly is Mr. Shadow's organization trying to achieve?"

The shadow-wrapped transcendent chuckled softly: "The great work of the Lord of the Abyss—how could it be explained to mortals in just a few words?"

—Well, to be honest, I don't even know what I'm trying to do myself.

Layman thought to himself.

At first, he wanted to recruit some followers to break out of prison. Then he figured sticking close to an Inquisitor would get him plenty of intel. Later, he killed Minister Lutz in self-defense and took his place... How did this spiral so out of hand?! Who even remembers he just wanted to bust out of prison in the first place!

—He won't tell me. Or maybe he's just another pawn of the Lord of the Abyss, clueless about that dark god's grand scheme?

Aether pondered.

The only thing certain so far was that the Lord of the Abyss was at odds with the Black Sun Cult.

Aether suddenly remembered that Layman Vichard had been locked up in Cape Prison precisely because he was mistaken for a Black Sun Cult member. At the time, Aether had pegged him as an innocent civilian fooled by the cult. But now, linking the Black Sun Cult's feud with the Lord of the Abyss, and how Mr. Shadow—the Abyss's emissary—had recruited Layman as his agent...

A sudden realization hit Aether!

Layman Vichard was never innocent. He really did have some connection to the Black Sun Cult—he'd either lost his memory or found some way to fool the Mouth of Truth. (If even Antonella could fool that relic, others could surely pull it off too.)

The Black Sun Cult's attack on Cape Prison was to silence Layman, to keep the intel he had from falling into other churches' hands.

But the cult hadn't counted on the divine emissary of the Lord of the Abyss showing up at Cape Prison and wrecking their plan.

Afterward, Mr. Shadow turned Layman, brought him into the fold, and successfully squeezed the Black Sun Cult's intel out of him!

No—maybe it was the other way around. Layman saw the Black Sun Cult's cruelty and madness, and to save his own skin, willingly pledged allegiance to the cult's enemy—the Lord of the Abyss!

Then Mr. Shadow, posing as Minister Lutz, sent Layman to the First Temple of the Dawn Church. Using the Lutz identity to vouch for Layman, and the Layman identity to gather intel for Lutz.

Yes! Thinking about it this way, everything made sense!

A chill went down Aether's spine. The Lord of the Abyss had pulled off so much with just a single pawn like Layman Vichard. And how many more pieces sat on the Abyss's chessboard!

His reach extended even to the colonies—even the elves and dwarves had become his allies. What kind of big game was he playing?

And now Mr. Shadow had shown his hand and laid everything bare. With all these secrets now known to him, did Aether even stand a chance of survival?

Layman watched a series of expressions flicker across Aether's face: the shock of sudden realization, the awe of dawning comprehension, an indescribable grimace, and finally the resignation of someone who'd seen through it all.

"You've told me all this—you don't plan on letting me live, do you?" Aether smiled bitterly.

"You planning to die like this?" Layman asked. "Surely you still have unfinished business?"

Aether gripped his own arm, turned his face away, and stayed quiet.

Layman pressed on: "I have a proposal. How about we cooperate?"

"Cooperate?"

"I'll help you kill Grand Master Antonella. Of course, you'll also have to help me—with our great undertaking. Don't forget, I saved your life. You wouldn't stiff me on that debt, would you?"

Aether said bitterly, "I do owe you one."

"Two, actually." Mr. Shadow reminded him. "You think it was a coincidence that Cleran Bellax and his crew found you in Seven Lamp City?"

Aether was startled: "You sent them?"

"Of course. I claimed our organization—er, I mean the 'mysterious organization'—had been spotted in Seven Lamp City, and rounded up the nearby Inquisitors so they could get to you in time. Otherwise, the knights would've silenced you long ago."

So that was it. Aether had wondered why Cleran and the others had shown up there. He'd assumed the God of Dawn was truly watching over him from on high. Never did he imagine that the one "watching over" him was the Lord of the Abyss...

How ironic. How laughable!

"Now you understand?" Mr. Shadow spread his hands. "As they say: a friend in need is a friend indeed. When you were at your lowest, who came to save you? And who sold you out? Who you should side with, and who you should fight—surely that's crystal clear now?"

Aether bit his lip hard. He definitely had plenty of grievances with the Church as it stood now, but...

He was born into a devout, working-class family. After his parents died in an accident, the Church's orphanage took him in, and he spent a peaceful childhood there. Orphans of common birth like him normally had no right to enter the Seminary, but Archbishop Mavo had reformed the admissions system, giving him the chance to enroll.

It was there he met the closest friends of his life. Together they spent glorious years full of light and passion. He'd believed unwaveringly in his faith and the cause of his god.

He'd experienced betrayal, witnessed corruption, suffered setbacks. He'd sworn to punish the sins that even the gods wouldn't punish. He'd even started to wonder whether these sins flourished because the gods had stopped caring about them. But...

How could he possibly turn his back on everything he believed in and fought for?

Yet alone, he could never take down Antonella. Not unless he was willing to throw his own life away. He needed—no, he craved—Mr. Shadow's help!

"You're hesitating, Aether Orolan." Mr. Shadow's voice had a note of amusement in it.

Aether shut his eyes in agony. What should he do? If Nashel were here, what would he want Aether to do?

Did Nashel send him to find Layman Vichard hoping he'd cooperate with the Lord of the Abyss's Apostle, or hoping he'd firmly resist temptation?

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly: "First, I want to know what you need me to do."

"You're pretty greedy, Aether Orolan. In negotiations, you never let the other side show their cards first." Mr. Shadow chuckled. "However, I'm willing to make an exception for you. Layman Vichard speaks highly of you—says that despite being on opposite sides, you're a worthy opponent. I'll trust his judgment for now."

Mr. Shadow tossed a little straw effigy to Aether.

"I want you to be my informant, gathering intel for me. When necessary, you'll assist me in battle. This means you might have to stand against your own brothers."

Aisser examined the crudely made little straw effigy: "What exactly do you mean by 'intel'?"

Mr. Shadow tilted his head thoughtfully: "What I need most right now is information about the Black Sun Cult. In particular, I need you to keep an eye on a woman named Livia Vichard."

"Livia... Layman Vichard's sister?" Aisser remembered that she had visited her brother at Cape Prison. "She's in the Black Sun Cult too?"

"You bet! She's the leader of the Black Sun Cult!"

Aisser was thunderstruck. That frail-looking silver-haired girl was secretly running a heretic cult! If he'd seen through her back then, he could have brought her to justice right there at Cape Prison... But it was too late to do anything about it now.

Wait—Mr. Shadow actually turned the Black Sun Cult leader's brother to his side?! How the hell did he pull that off? If it was brainwashing, that must be some seriously powerful mind control!

Or did Mr. Shadow promise Layman some other deal to get him to betray his own sister? Like, kill his sister and put him in charge of the Black Sun Cult?

The more Aisser thought about it, the more it made sense. Apparently, when otherworldly demons invaded their world, they usually didn't fight the gods of this world head-on, but instead infiltrated quietly and slowly stole the gods' power.

Just like how the Holy Nation wanted to rule Moltalia—not by outright conquest, but by propping up a puppet government first, slowly eating away until the time was right to swallow it whole.

Maybe the Lord of the Abyss planned to use Layman to steal the God of the Black Sun's position and power. By the time the believers caught on, the god they worshipped would already be the Lord of the Abyss.

Aisser felt the back of his shirt drenched in cold sweat. He felt like he'd accidentally caught a glimpse of a heretic god's grand chessboard. And even that brief glimpse was enough to make his heart race and his back soak with sweat.

So this was how gods played their games?

"So... do I need to turn my back on the God of Dawn and worship your Lord of the Abyss instead?"

Mr. Shadow burst out laughing: "If I told you to switch sides, would you really do it? You'd probably fake it and then beg for forgiveness later!"

"You know that, and you still want to work with me?"

"Well, someone with faith as solid as yours is pretty valuable. Someone who'd ditch the God of Dawn today could just as easily ditch the Lord of the Abyss tomorrow. I can't stand such flip-floppers. The Lord of the Abyss needs followers who truly believe in Him and His cause, not flies buzzing around for a quick buck."

"Aren't you scared I'll sell you out? I'm the Cardinal of Sacred Rites now—one word from me to the Holy See..."

"Would you, though?" Mr. Shadow countered.

Aisser gripped the little straw effigy: "I..."

After a long pause, he let his arm drop: "Fine. I'll work with you. This is just to repay you for saving my life, nothing else."

"Fine." Mr. Shadow just shrugged. "By the way, what do you want most in the world?"

"To kill Antonella," Aisser said without missing a beat.

Mr. Shadow looked down, like he was staring at something invisible. After a moment, he shook his head.

"That's not your real wish yet. When you figure out what it is, the Lord of the Abyss will come to you himself."

Of course that's my wish, Aisser thought. What else could I possibly desire? To purge other traitors like Antonella?

Mr. Shadow continued: "I need to find Antonella's weakness first and devise a plan. Don't just sit idle either—if you need to contact me, pray to 'Xiaoqi.'"

"Xiaoqi?"

"The Lord of the Abyss's servant, responsible for coordinating with the various Apostles. If necessary, I'll use that little straw effigy to 'descend' beside you, but don't stray too far from me, or that ability won't work well."

Aisser looked at the little straw effigy suspiciously: "Very well."

"When this is done, I'll give you a gift."

Aisser swore he heard laughter coming from beneath the pitch-black cloak.

Mr. Shadow transformed in an instant, reverting to the appearance of Minister Lutz.

He gave Aisser a deep look, adjusted his collar, and gave a slight bow: "Then I'll take my leave, Cardinal Auroran."

He strolled out of the ruined house and untied his horse from the railing.

Aisser watched the mounted figure disappear beyond the hills through the broken curtains. He clutched the little straw effigy, pressed it against his chest, and held it close to the Sun Emblem through his shirt.

*

"Whew, that scared me. I was afraid he'd cut me down at the slightest disagreement."

Layman rode on horseback, still shaken.

He had thought that Aisser, a devout evangelist of the old era, would never cooperate with a heretic god's apostle—that he might even fly into a rage and try to take Layman down with him.

Unexpectedly, persuading him had gone surprisingly smoothly.

"So Aisser is dead set on killing Antonella too. If she dies, could we install someone from Aisser's side—or even Aisser himself—into power? That way we'd control the Dawn Church's military might!

"And with the Knight Order losing its leader, that might work in Moltalia's favor. Captain Dorian is still eating prison food—one day we'll have to get him out...

"But Antonella is truly inscrutable. How did she manage to deceive the Mouth of Truth? She shouldn't be a superhuman. Could she possess some powerful relic? Well, it's normal for a Grand Master to have one or two relics. To become the leader of the Knight Order, she must have exceptional qualities..."

Layman pondered as he returned to the White Tower in the afternoon. He returned his horse to the stable and was about to head home when a secretary from the Research Department suddenly called out to him.

"Minister, you're back. There's a letter for you."

"Another one? I've been quite popular lately."

Layman took the letter and recognized the sender from the familiar handwriting—Wegner of the Truth Seekers.

The letter invited Minister Lutz to meet at the Green Dragon Tavern in the Garden District, saying there was an important matter to discuss.

Hopefully they hadn't discovered some new pseudoscientific heresy... Well, besides flat earth theory and geocentrism, what field hadn't they explored yet? Perpetual motion machines?