Chapter 305: The Town That Once Existed, Gloom of the Sky

"Have any of you heard this name before?"

Vena leaned down, peering through the carriage window to ask her companions inside.

"Doesn't ring a bell, I'm afraid."

"I have, but it’s the name of an orc tribe; it shouldn't have any connection to this town."

The people in the carriage began to chatter, most having no recollection of the name. Elliott, the goblin who had traveled far and wide for many years, did recognize it, but insisted it was merely an orc tribe with the same name, unrelated to the small town before them.

"I... I think I have a vague impression... but it’s strange. Give me a moment."

One of the church members suddenly raised a hand, signaling that the name felt familiar. His demeanor, however, seemed off; he clutched his head, his expression a mixture of struggle and confusion.

All eyes turned toward him, noting his distress. A believer skilled in healing stepped to his side, placing a hand glowing with soft green light upon his forehead.

"I'm fine, just a bit disoriented. I used to be a fisherman in these parts, but after a splinter group of Winter Wolves crossed the St. Anna snowfields to the Endless Sea side, we were forced to relocate."

"In my memory, I shouldn't have any impression of this town at all. But surrounded by this fog, and hearing Miss Vena speak the name, memories of this little fishing village seem to have suddenly surfaced. It conflicts with my previous recollections; I need time to process this."

The human believer who claimed to recognize the town of "Mythos" pushed away the healer's hand, closing his eyes to organize his chaotic thoughts.

The others did not disturb his contemplation, instead leaning their heads out of the stationary carriage windows to gaze into the surrounding mist. The fog remained thick, showing no sign of dissipating despite their arrival at the town "guided" by the Lady of Night.

"Where on earth are we..."

Someone muttered to themselves, voicing the unspoken fear of all.

"Alright, I’ve sorted it out, but... the memory is too contradictory. Since I was eight, I have no memory of a fishing village existing here."

"Yet, that sudden memory tells me that before I was eight, there was indeed a small fishing village here called Mythos. The memory is so vivid, it couldn't be false. If that’s true, it doesn't align with my past."

"It’s as if this town was erased from my memory, and simultaneously, erased from reality. How could this be? It means this is a town that existed in the past."

The believer who had once lived by the Endless Sea spoke haltingly, his words punctuated by hesitation as he grappled with the clashing memories.

"A town that existed in the past?"

Goblin Elliott chewed on the words, his face turning grim.

"Damn it, if this town once existed but was erased by some unknown power, leaving us unable to perceive it—even in our memories—then why can we see it now?"

Elliott clutched his head and shrieked in a frenzy, his words instantly draining the color from the faces of the others.

If they could see the town, it likely meant they had fallen into the same state: forgotten by the world, their existence erased.

"Calm down, calm down. This town is dead, but we are alive. Let’s think; we’ll find a way out. Besides, the Lady of Night’s power guided us here; there must be a reason."

Elliott’s panic was swift, but his recovery was unexpectedly rapid. He began to soothe the sinking spirits of those around him; the most important thing now was to avoid haste and despair.

"Boss, we should take a headcount. If the power here can make a town forgotten by everyone, we might have already forgotten someone without realizing it. Let’s check the roster; losing someone now would be disastrous."

Vena’s suggestion reached Elliott. He froze for a moment, then realized the necessity of the task. He pulled the caravan’s personnel list from the cabinet behind him and began to verify the count.

"Clay?"

"Here!"

"Kubo?"

"Present."

...

"Huey."

"Right here, boss."

"Vena."

"Yes."

"Elliott, oh, that’s me. Good, no one has gone missing without our knowledge. Everyone on the list is accounted for."

The goblin nodded, placing the list back on the table. He had drawn a line through every name to confirm a response, satisfied that everyone on the roster was present.

But in truth, on that very list, an existence wedged between the names of Vena and Huey had been strangely overlooked by Elliott.

He had neither called the name nor drawn a line through it. The name sat abruptly among the crossed-out entries: Orc Eamon...

...

"Where is this? How did I get here? It looks like a fishing village. I don't remember ever planning to visit a seaside village. Where are the boss and Vena..."

Orc Eamon felt his mind in disarray, as if a segment of his memory had been wiped clean. When he suddenly recovered from a state akin to a trance, he found himself standing in this mist-shrouded fishing village.

"Great Lady of Night, I recite your name..."

The orc clasped his hands in prayer, chanting the litany of his deity.

As a knight lacking the ability to cast spells or perform detection, he was virtually helpless against the fog that obscured all perception, no matter how hard he strained his eyes.

He had tried multiple times to walk out of the town, but every time he traversed the streets lined with houses, he would find himself back where he had first regained his senses.

An ordinary orc might have already succumbed to a rage, tearing everything apart.

That might have been a viable way to break the deadlock, but Eamon, possessing a rationality rare among his kind, feared it might trigger a catastrophe in this deathly silent town. He chose instead to use his own abilities to pierce the veil of mist.

"It’s no use; I cannot borrow the power of the Lady of Night. Sigh, this is not good news."

After reciting the prayers multiple times without response, the orc had no choice but to abandon the attempt to invoke his goddess.

Taking a deep breath, he channeled his battle aura, forming a specific matrix within his body to activate his inner sight.

Eamon’s eyes turned a vivid, piercing red. This was not the result of an orcish frenzy, but the effect of his inner sight, "The Tracker," which sensed all life forms and projected them as red dots within his field of vision.

"!"

The moment he activated the ability, Eamon shuddered, instinctively sliding backward. He drew his longsword, falling into a defensive stance as his aura surged through his body, entering a state of extreme combat readiness.

Bloodshot veins appeared in his crimson eyes—a precursor to a full berserker rage. Eamon breathed heavily, his heart racing at what "The Tracker" revealed.

On the road where he stood and in the surrounding buildings, a multitude of red dots appeared. They were moving everywhere; one even brushed past his body, yet he could see absolutely nothing.

"What is going on? Why can't I see them? Is it an illusionist?"

Eamon muttered to himself. Suspecting he was under the influence of a hallucination, he closed his eyes, tapping into the innate orcish ability: Frenzy.

"Restrain, restrain..."

Constantly reminding himself to maintain control, Eamon activated his talent. For a fleeting moment, his green skin flushed red, only to return to its normal hue the next instant.

Frenzy, an ability that usually robbed an orc of reason, also rendered most soul-based and sensory influences ineffective, including mental blasts and perceptual interference like illusions. By entering a shallow state of frenzy, Eamon attempted to shatter the potential illusion.

He opened his eyes, scanning his surroundings vigilantly, checking if the life forms detected by his inner sight were now visible.

"Clang..."

However, before he could confirm anything, a melodious, lingering bell chime echoed through the air, and he felt a presence place a hand upon his shoulder.

"So, you are the new devotee of the Goddess of Night?"

The voice that had once haunted the shores of the Endless Coast resonated from behind Amon.

...

"We have returned. How is Lady Darkness faring?"

Avia pushed open the door and strode into the room, her gaze falling upon Wang Yu, who was tracing patterns in the air, and the Lady of Night, who watched him with rapt attention. She asked with calm, brisk efficiency.

"She is holding up. Thanks to the 'operating system' the Lady of Night devised herself, I am teaching her how to use this independent interface to isolate the power of the Tree of Night Sky. It prevents those strange energies from eroding everything in sight."

Wang Yu turned his head, his hands never ceasing their rhythmic dance as he continued to guide the Lady of Night through the 'void code.' He was no expert on the void, but he certainly knew his programming.

"Hm?!"

Following the girl into the room,

Zieg suddenly let out a muffled groan, instantly drawing the attention of Wang Yu, Avia, and Noelle.

"Brother, what is wrong?"

"Professor, what happened?"

Noelle and Wang Yu spoke in unison.

"The Mark of the Sky's Gloom, which I never bothered to remove, suddenly collapsed. The spiritual corruption contained within surged out, rattling my soul, but the prayer network shunted the shock away. I am fine."

Zieg shook his head, answering with a furrowed brow.

"The Sky's Gloom, now of all times? Why would it fail suddenly? Did Alastair build an expiration date into this thing? No, wait—if your mark has shattered, what about the others in the Blades of Night?"

Wang Yu slapped his forehead and looked at the projection of the Tree of Night Sky cast by the Lady of Night. Among the stars, roughly one-sixth flickered in unison, channeling something into the tree.

Misfortunes never come singly.

"Damn it all to hell. This is no coincidence; the Sky's Gloom is linked to that awakening power!"