Chapter 555: He Has Been Here!

Chapter 555: He Was Here!

"When I went down earlier, I dove to the very bottom of the sand pool. Down there, I..."

"Director, what did you see down there?"

"In truth, aside from those corpses I hauled up, I saw absolutely nothing. But I could feel that there ought to be something beneath it all, because it was too dark."

"Too dark?"

Alfred frowned slightly, chewing on the words.

Though the director himself had never admitted it, in reality, he was perhaps purer in the Light than the vast majority of its remnants.

So, what exactly was darkness in the eyes of the Light?

Alfred looked back toward Neo, finding that the director had no intention of explaining further; he merely waved a hand at him.

"Director, I am going down to lay the array."

"Mm, go on."

Alfred walked forward, Ventura and Muri naturally following with the intent to join him, while Philomena lagged three beats behind.

At first, she felt that since she was no good with arrays, there was no need for her to go down;

Then she realized Ventura and Muri were no good with arrays either, yet they were following anyway, which made them look quite foolish;

Finally, she realized the foolish one was herself;

"Hey, I say, what are you all following him for? Sit down and rest, keep yourselves in top shape. This sand pool is a boundary, and on this platform which doesn't belong to the pool, we still have a bit of freedom.

Rest assured, if anything happens later, you'll be the first to charge. I'll definitely be behind you."

When the captain was away, the director's words still held weight.

Ventura and the others halted their steps, resting where they were.

Neo called out to Alfred again: "Hey, before you go down, leave the tobacco in your pocket for me. I'm afraid I'll get bored sitting here."

Though the young master was currently in danger, Alfred felt no resentment toward Neo’s attitude, for he knew well that the director surely cared deeply about the young master's safety.

Alfred drew the cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket, offering them to Neo.

Neo cast a glance at them but didn't take them, asking instead: "I want the tobacco from the Church of Thunder. When Cullen said he hadn't brought any, I believed him, but I believe you would definitely carry it with you."

Alfred produced the special-supply cigarettes of the Church of Thunder and handed them over: "I was only worried that the young master might have need of them. Director, please leave some for him."

"Heh." Neo took the cigarettes, saying disdainfully, "There's definitely more than one pack."

Alfred said nothing, jumping down from the platform with the backpack containing the array materials in hand.

Ventura approached with some worry and asked: "Director, are we just going to leave the captain there and wait at ease for the array to be laid?"

"Would you like to take command instead?"

"No, no, no!" Little Stone immediately waved his hands and shook his head.

Neo lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag, feeling the tremor that came from his very soul.

Promptly, with a slightly blurred gaze, he scanned the sand pool ahead, finally fixing his eyes upon the massive skeleton of Compasini.

"Are you truly... dead?"

...

As Alfred fell, he hovered just before his feet could touch the sand.

Immediately following, he opened the backpack, holding it with his left hand while the five fingers of his right hand swayed and fluttered continuously. The corresponding array materials floated out from the bag, settling into their proper positions.

The entire process resembled playing a piano, appearing remarkably elegant.

In truth, the path Alfred walked had long since diverged. In the earliest days, staying by the young master’s side, he had been a capable bodyguard; but alongside the young master’s growth and ascent to power, his title as a bodyguard had grown increasingly nominal.

Now, if the young master were going somewhere dangerous, Alfred would always suggest taking Philomena or Muri instead of himself.

Alfred had earnestly read the records of the Church of Order regarding Tyranus, the man who had personally penned the "Light of Order" and established the framework of the Church.

In the records concerning him, military exploits were rarely mentioned. Even during the end of the previous era, when the God of Order was at his most frenzied, slaughtering the gods, Tyranus had never been seen participating concretely in any specific battle.

Yet his influence had endured all the way to the present day.

Alfred felt that this was precisely what he wanted. This was no self-consolation, but rather that he could find his own sense of value within these supportive duties, and it made him happy.

Of course, it wasn't that he hadn't progressed. In fact, he felt his progress was immense; the man he was now and the man who had been a radio host in Luo Jia City were practically two entirely different people.

But when compared to the young master, who wasn't even a divine servant upon leaving Luo Jia City and was now already an Inquisitor, his own advancement in strength was clearly somewhat lacking.

Fortunately, he possessed many hobbies and interests. Strictly speaking, he had encountered Mr. Hoffen's array notebooks even earlier than Cullen, and had invested himself into the practical application stages sooner. It was only later, when Mr. Eisen and Mars—two true professionals—joined the team, that Alfred found little room left to showcase his skills.

Thus, Alfred rapidly laid out the array while keeping an eye on the distant scene.

The foundational layout of the array was complete, which was equivalent to the foundations being poured. Although the array was still a ways from completion and had not been activated, its aura had already begun to leak out.

The sand pool was a boundary, and at the same time, it resembled a "natural" magic circle. Laying a small array within a grand magic circle would bound to cause some disruption.

Alfred distinctly perceived a repulsive force hindering his layout, but it remained within his tolerable limits.

However, after continuing the layout for a while longer, Alfred suddenly noticed that the repulsive force had undergone a bizarre transformation—approaching for a moment, contracting the next, then approaching once more, and promptly contracting again...

This sensation was like having someone press their face against yours in the dark, and you could already perceive the breath they exhaled upon your skin.

At this moment, the rolling motion of the sand surface below grew more pronounced, and the windless, self-moving sand all around grew denser.

A voice, for no apparent reason, echoed right beside Alfred's ear:

"Meet me..."

Promptly, the sand suddenly erupted, completely burying Alfred along with the half-completed magic circle he had laid.

...

"Not good, something has happened!"

"Mr. Alfred!"

Ventura and Muri leaped to their feet immediately, while Philomena flashed forward.

Her speed was the fastest, but she had not expected that the director, who had been leaning there smoking alone just moments ago, would appear right before her, his back blocking her path.

Her style of combat was more akin to an assassin's, so in terms of short-distance bursts of speed, not even the captain could best her. Yet the director...

"Everything is fine, go back and keep sitting."

"Director, but..."

The captain was in trouble, and they sat;

Mr. Alfred was in trouble, and they were to sit as well?

Neo waved his hand and said, "I told you to sit, so sit. Furthermore, I am not under mental control, nor am I an impostor. If you suspect I am a fake, feel free to try your hand against me; if you don't suspect... Damn it! You won't even listen to the director's words anymore, is that it!"

The group could only sit back down.

Neo looked down below,

cursing:

"I spent so damn much time wandering around beneath the sand on purpose, and yet you went out of your way to look down on me, didn't you!"

...

Covered by the sand, Alfred felt no suffocation; quite the contrary, he found himself surrounded by a vast emptiness.

Beneath his feet lay the same magical array he had only half-completed.

That mystical voice echoed once more: "What kind of scene do you prefer? The ocean, a garden, a palace, or a pasture?"

Alfred replied, "It is fine as it is right now. It is all fake anyway."

"Very well."

The figure of an elder clad in a white robe materialized before Alfred. His hair was silver-white and his skin deeply wrinkled, yet from the corners of his mouth protruded two long tusks that curled upward, resembling a pair of ivory horns.

"To be chosen by me is your fortune. I shall bestow my inheritance upon you. You need only accept the legacy and then pass a message to the Desert Cult, informing them that the Order Cult is already preparing to establish a Desert Belief Sequence. My inheritance includes..."

"I refuse."

"Excellent, I shall now bestow my inheri..."

The ivory elder froze, as if only now processing the exact nature of the answer Alfred had given him.

He clearly possessed no contingency plan for being rejected, causing his voice and movements to blur as an ear-piercing friction ground out continuously, his entire being falling into a severe state of glitching.

Alfred lowered his head, his fingertips resuming their dance as he continued to lay out his array.

He looked precisely like an aunt sitting in a chair, knitting a sweater while waiting for her troubled child to slowly return to normal.

After a long while, the ivory elder finally stopped glitching.

"How could you refuse?"

Without even raising his head, Alfred answered while continuing to arrange the array:

"For such matters, without the nod of approval from my young master, it is impossible for me to agree on my own authority."

The ivory elder asked in bewilderment, "You have a master?"

"He is an existence infinitely higher than a mere master."

"You have a follower?"

"I am the follower."

"I imagine that person would wish for his follower to become more powerful."

Alfred shook his head and said, "I am terribly sorry, but my young master would never do anything to harm Order, nor would I ever trouble him with such a question. It would only bring vexation to him, and my duty is to shield my young master from as many of these vexations as possible."

"Do you not know? Only when I encounter a suitable inheritor do I appear. This signifies that you are in great need of this legacy."

"I saw it just now. You are a spiritual imprint. Hm, Companini?"

"Yes, that is my name. Therefore, you should understand what you stand to lose if you refuse. You will regret it."

Alfred dismissed this with indifference, saying, "I will not regret it, because you cannot fathom what I am going to receive."

"I imagined you might refuse, but I never expected you to reject it so decisively, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation."

"I refuse your legacy, and I will not compromise to accept your terms. Now, we can conclude this meeting. My young master is in danger; I must provide assistance to him."

"He is in no danger."

"Oh?"

"Hehe." The ivory elder sighed. "In truth, you are not the first suitable person I have encountered. A long time ago, a man came here as well. He too was very suitable, but he likewise refused. However, he did so after deliberation, and did not give me an answer as swiftly as you did."

"I have no interest in listening to your stories. Either come and stop me, or step aside and do not delay my work."

"You wish to use an array to destroy the curse here? You will not succeed. Do you believe it? Some existences, even in death, can still endure."

Alfred raised his head, looked at the ivory elder, and smiled:

"I believe that more than you do, truly."

He had been fretting about the nine empty coffins remaining at home, wondering when they would finally be filled.

"A spiritual imprint specifically tasked with maintaining the curse will come to deal with you. You had best think it through; between it and me, there is a sequence of succession."

"Mm."

Alfred nodded, yet showed no intention of stopping the movements of his hands.

The figure of the white-robed ivory elder vanished.

After a moment, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly congealed into stagnation. Alfred was forced to halt his work, scanning the perimeter with a vigilant gaze.

At that moment, the figure of an elder dressed in a black robe appeared ahead. A pair of ivory tusks also grew from his mouth, but his entire being exuded a grim and oppressive aura.

Yet, the moment he appeared, his figure immediately began to flicker, casting a continuous stream of afterimages. He opened his mouth to speak, but the sound resembled a bicycle chain jammed into a wheel, sending forth a barrage of short, dense grating noises.

Alfred listened with great earnestness, yet he still could not discern what the figure was saying.

Fortunately, it was likely just words of threat and warning; failing to hear them clearly had no material impact.

The opening remarks were concluded.

Alfred prepared himself to strike.

The black-robed ivory elder raised his hand. In the next instant, Alfred perceived the surrounding space beginning to vibrate violently. This was no longer a mere illusion; it was an attempt to use the illusion as a medium to directly execute a spiritual shockwave.

Alfred conjured a defensive barrier around himself, preparing to meet the opponent's assault.

However, the vibration abruptly ceased.

It stopped so suddenly that it only heightened Alfred's sense of crisis, prompting him to immediately layer two more defenses over himself.

The black-robed ivory elder raised his arm once more, and the tremor of the environment resurfaced.

Alfred concentrated his focus, standing on high alert.

Then, the vibration stopped yet again.

The black-robed ivory elder raised his arm a third time; the tremor appeared, but this time it ceased even faster.

Alfred frowned slightly. Was the opponent deliberately toying with him, or was this a deeper form of psychological suggestion?

Of course, there was another possibility, though Alfred felt that option was somewhat too absurd.

Yet, accompanying these actions, the figure of the black-robed ivory elder was steadily fading, and each time he raised his arm to cause a brief tremor, his silhouette grew noticeably fainter.

After more than ten iterations, his figure began to blur, until finally, he could not even be seen.

Alfred withdrew the defenses around his body, still warily scanning his surroundings.

After a short while, at the spot where the black-robed ivory elder had vanished, the white-robed ivory elder from the very beginning reappeared.

These two individuals possessed completely different temperaments and, presumably, different personalities.

Alfred asked, "What happened to him?"

The white-robed ivory elder replied, "Oh, him? He happened to wear down to a critical threshold, do you understand?"

A spiritual imprint wearing down to a critical threshold?

Alfred asked, "Dissipated?"

"Yes, you could say that. He is gone. After all, he was usually the one monitoring this place, wearing away a little bit every day.

Well, he could have endured for a bit longer, but by trying to exert control over the curse, he completely squandered the last remaining fragments of his existence."

"What about you?"

"Me? Are you worried about me?"

"No, just curious."

"I am fine. Counting this time, I have only appeared twice over these three hundred years. I am full of vitality."

"You won't stop me, will you?"

"You now have one more choice than before."

"One more choice?"

"Yes. The first choice is the original path: giving you the inheritance, and you take the responsibility to fulfill the oath and deliver the message."

"I would still refuse."

"The second choice: giving you the inheritance, and you deliver the message."

"Is it not the same?"

"It is not."

"Without the oath?"

The white-robed, ivory-like old man nodded and said, "I am only responsible for reviewing candidates and bestowing the inheritance. The part concerning the constraint of the oath was the responsibility of that fellow who just dissipated."

Having said that, the old man in white even offered a smile to Alfred.

"Why?" Alfred did not rush to agree with joy, but asked instead, "I know that spiritual imprints like yours actually possess their own wisdom and thoughts, so, why?"

"Have you seen many spiritual imprints?"

"I have."

"Then you certainly have never encountered a spiritual imprint of a higher level than mine." When the white-robed, ivory-like old man said this, he subconsciously puffed out his chest, carrying a hint of pride.

"I have."

"Ah?" The old man in white suddenly deflated, "So that is how it is."

Alfred had not seen the spiritual imprint left by Ragnedal inside the Gate of Reincarnation; it was said that Lord Dal had already achieved a great breakthrough, and had he not been caught and buried together by Ruelza, he would certainly have caused quite a stir upon coming out.

On the Sacrificial Island, Alfred had seen with his own eyes the spiritual imprint left by the Goddess of the Dark Moon.

Those two, after all, were both deities.

"It is mainly loneliness and boredom. I already felt it was quite meaningless, and now that the one next door is gone, it is even more meaningless for me. Why should I make things difficult for you, right?"

"I understand."

"Then prepare to receive the inheritance now."

"Can it wait a moment? I want to set up the formation first."

"It seems the position of your young master in your heart will always rank first."

"Wrong. It is at the absolute top."

"Well, actually it does not matter. If you do not actively break the curse, no one will harm you. Now that my neighbor is gone, even if you do break the curse, no one can harm you anymore."

"But..."

"There is no need for me to lie to you, is there?"

"But I still cannot put my mind at ease, my apologies."

"Fine, as you wish. However, there is something I am very curious about. May I ask you?"

"Go ahead."

"You all calculated the date before coming here, didn't you?"

"What?"

"Had you come a month earlier, the one next door could still have stopped you. Had you come a month later, after the one next door was gone, I probably would have chosen to dissolve myself as well; if I were gone, the inheritance would naturally be gone too.

Neither too early nor too late, you happened to come exactly this month. What a coincidence."

In his mind, Alfred rapidly recalled a series of key nodes from discovering the clues of Compasini, to formulating the mission plan, and then to determining the mission time.

"You mentioned earlier that the last time someone entered was how long ago?"

"The exact time certainly cannot be remembered clearly, but it should be over a hundred years ago."

"Over a hundred years ago... What was his name?"

"He was a believer of the Light, surnamed Philias."