Chapter 109: Chapter 105 You’re Late

Chris hated speaking.

He could remember memories dating back to his infancy, although not as clear as Byrne’s “Profound Memory,” he still remembered how vicious the idle chatter of those around a baby could be.

They all thought their malice and hypocrisy were unseen.

Language, most of the time, can’t accurately express the human heart; more often, it’s used for lies.

Of course, he also remembered the night when the Lord of the Lost saved him and his sister Irene.

That moment, Chris too heard Its voice.

It was not a human language but something much greater, an untouchable supreme voice.

After transforming into the filthy and foul-smelling “Liam,” he began to work in the mines under the watch of the guards, endlessly busy with work.

In the pitch-dark mine, there were many who descended to mine, and the miners were all extremely exhausted; it was a very dangerous area where death could occur at any moment.

The Lorne citizens had invented steam-powered mining machines that had not yet spread to Cyart; everything in the mining area had to be excavated by manpower, which was very inefficient, laborious, and full of danger.

Most of them were not citizens of Fein but farmers from villages around the East Coast, desperately earning meager wages with deep-seated dissatisfaction.

Chris, whose physical condition was far stronger than ordinary people, felt somewhat tired after a few days of work.

Although it was not too big of a deal, he felt that without the Power of Consecution, he might have been too exhausted to move.

Chris had never understood certain things and now pondered silently, why those miners were willing to work desperately in such a place rather than returning to their villages.

He originally didn’t want to understand things that were not important, but the “Liam” he was pretending to be was supposed to be someone completely opposite to the real Chris.

After careful thought, Chris took the initiative to ask the miners about their reasons for leaving the countryside, learning that the reasons varied but mostly related to land, and an old man’s experience was the most peculiar.

It was a brief rest time within a day’s work of digging, and Chris and the old man were both sitting on the ground.

“The Sommer family forced us to use our land to breed a magic beast, causing me to lose the land I farmed and my family. With no other options left, I could only become a vagrant.”

The Sommer family was actually breeding magic beasts on a large scale, openly defying the church’s regulations?

Chris was surprised to hear this, for nobles breeding a small number of magic beasts was allowed, but mass breeding was an action strictly prohibited by the major churches.

Ouden Continent had always had an ancient legend that seemed to suggest that when the number of mysterious creatures reproduced to a certain extent, a demon god from an ancient era would be resurrected along with them.

The old man’s body was still strong, but his hands, worn from years of hard work, were covered in scars, and his eyes were extremely cloudy and vacant.

He sighed and continued, “Those filthy nobles, fighting incessantly for power and land, yet power lies within their bloodline, and the gods stand with them. Where, then, is the way for common people?”

“We are like weeds, trampled at will, ultimately with no way out. I’m afraid it won’t be long before I die in a mining tunnel.”

Chris knew what he said was very true; even if the man had a good physical foundation, he was becoming more and more aged.

His death in the mines was only a matter of time.

However, such matters had nothing to do with Chris; he had no intention of saving any stranger.

He would be kind only to those who were kind to him.

Chris just forced himself to speak with great reluctance, affecting the demeanor of an ordinary person.

“Absolutely not, you are still so strong, you won’t die!”

As he spoke, he always felt as though he was being watched from not far away, no, actually, it was “Liam” being watched.

An interesting experience.

Suddenly, Chris found a bit of enjoyment in the sensation brought by disguising himself as a new identity.

He felt a hint of spirituality begin to stir within him.

The old man shook his head, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, decided not to continue.

“What did you want to say?” Chris asked immediately in order to maintain his persona.

“I wanted to tell you a truth; in fact, the fate of us ordinary people is predestined. From birth we are forever, forever unable to save ourselves…”

The old man spoke in a tone of great despair and dejection, yet the confusion in his eyes gradually vanished, replaced with a contradictory smile and longing.

He went on to say, “I believe that the hope of ordinary people lies in the world after death.”

Chris fell silent, shook his head, and asked, “I don’t understand, maybe because I’ve never been to school.”

“Liam, do you believe that constellations can bring hope?”

The old man suddenly smiled, looking at Chris with a voice carrying a seductive quality.

“When we have all passed on, many people’s souls have no destination, while some souls will reach a beautiful constellation. In that constellation, they will experience all the splendors that this world never offered, believing that constellation to be the true hope after death!”

Because of the Fischer family’s “little hobby,” Chris acutely noticed that what the old man was saying was strange.

It sounded like the way his sister would start her narratives in the orphanage.

He made a puzzled face and asked, “I still don’t understand, what exactly are you trying to say?”

“Hehe, take this.”

The old man chuckled and took out a black stone heptagram, placing it in Chris’s palm.

“Remember, only the constellations can bring true hope, child, one day you will see It; that is your destined fate.”

Chris looked down at the black stone heptagram and noticed that at its center was a huge eye that seemed to be watching him all the time, and no matter how he turned the heptagram, he couldn’t escape its gaze.

Strange.

He instinctively felt a strong sense of caution, yet he continued to ask,

“Thank you for your gift, but what exactly is this? Why do I find it a bit odd…”

The old man chuckled and continued, “It’s a mark, you’ll understand in time.”

Chris revealed a puzzled expression, nodded slightly, but a strong feeling of unease surged from the depths of his heart.

When work resumed, he secretly disposed of the stone heptagram, as caution was a principle of the Fischer family.

Yet, when it was time to sleep at night, something extremely astonishing happened to Chris—he discovered that the black stone heptagram was once again in his possession!

How could this be?

Chris’s mind completely lost the desire to sleep. He calmly got up, intending to carefully examine that black heptagram.

It was at that moment the black heptagram emitted light.

Suddenly, a dark aura emerged from the red brand on the back of his hand, instantly enveloping the black heptagram and turning it into pale ashes.

“…”

Chris watched the scene, completely unable to comprehend it.

The Lord of the Lost protected me?

Chris’s curiosity about the unknown wasn’t strong enough to pursue further investigation; whenever something baffled him, he would promptly choose sleep.

After waking, he heard a piece of news.

The old man was dead.

And according to what people said, the old man had died at night, laughing, causing everyone who saw the corpse to be very afraid, finding the old man’s smile extremely bizarre.

Many workers who had seen the body even began protesting in fear, stating they wouldn’t continue working in the mine if the church didn’t come to resolve the issue.

A bizarre smile?

Chris didn’t understand what was so frightening about the corpse’s smile and wanted to take a look for himself, only to find the body had already been hidden by the mine owner, forbidding any worker from seeing it.

However, he could smell the old man’s scent, accurately locating it amidst a mixture of numerous others.

“Over there.” Chris stared at a concealed house outside the mining area, his expression cold.

In the dead of night, he silently made his way to where the body was kept, taking advantage of the lack of people around to slowly uncover the cloth over the corpse.

It was by no means the body of someone who had died with a smile.

The old man’s face was contorted in a frightful grin, as if resembling a terrifying demon excited to the extreme by tearing human flesh!

All the wrinkles on the aged face were deeply compressed together, the corners of the mouth exaggeratedly stretched almost to the ears, and the never-closed eyes full of crimson bloodshot lines, the murky eyes still retaining the madness of his dying moments!

Chris remained expressionless after seeing the old man’s “smile.”

Hmm, indeed not scary at all.

He indifferently pulled at the “smiling face” a few times, finding it could not be easily altered, as if some extraordinary effect had fixed the old man’s face into an extremely bizarre state.

Interesting.

Chris’s interest grew strong; he removed all the clothes from the body and began a meticulous inspection, quickly finding an odd feature on the old man’s back.

There were several black words, as if formed from the blood of a mysterious creature.

“Embrace the constellations.”

What exactly did those words describing “constellations” mean? The black heptagram, embracing the constellations, the pursuit of hope among the stars after death…

Chris could no longer contain himself, feeling as if lured by a strong temptation, his body trembling slightly as he raised his head to gaze into the vast night sky.

He suddenly had a revelation.

So this was it, all led by His guidance, just so that at this moment I couldn’t resist lifting my head to lock eyes with the great Him!

It was a black star of such immense size that it was almost indescribable with human cognition!

Most of its area was a gigantic, terrifying eyeball, always watching over every corner of the universe, observing the past, present, and future of all things, constantly emitting infinite and endless chaotic power, enough to make everything in the world insane and chaotic!

Chris screamed, his heart racing uncontrollably, his mind flooded with a plethora of ineffable, indescribable information, on the verge of altering his self.

“Ah!”

A black heptagram full of chaotic aura appeared on his chest.

But just as the black heptagram started to emerge, the red brand on Chris’s hand glowed brightly, and the half-formed black heptagram began to fade away.

It completely vanished.

When Chris came back to his senses, he found the terrifying giant star in the night sky was gone, and all the vast information in his mind had dissipated into nothingness.

Ultimately it was as if nothing had happened.

“…”

Chris stood there in silence for a long time, shook his head, and calmly began to restore the body to its previous state, filled with an air of calm and boredom.

He turned and left the spot where the body was kept, disappearing noiselessly into the dark of night.