The black sun hangs high

Chapter 257 The first step

The scene in Seren did not last long; soon, strange sights from all over Vaan began to appear.

As an ordinary viewer, Sally saw the aurora in the snowy sky that was obviously not right, and the plants in the mountains and forests that had undergone significant changes. Lesville even showed a strange night sky captured in an overseas Eastern country. In that scene, a series of strange and winding lines suddenly appeared in the originally extremely calm night sky. However, those lines were obviously not meteorites, nor were they traces left by crystal cannonballs.

It looked more like some kind of large, transparent creature slowly drifting through the sky.

"Our companions are scattered throughout Vaan, and have collected a great many strange sights. I will not show them to you all here, but I can assure you that in the past month or two, similar and unusual phenomena have been observed in the Love Plateau, the Goddess Plain, the Northern Territory, and those Eastern countries across the ocean. The Legal Committee and the Council have launched investigations into this matter, but progress has been very slow."

"So far, we can only be certain of one thing: the source of these strange phenomena is actually the same."

Leswell paused for a moment, then revealed the answer: "We have reason to believe, and we must believe, that the magic throughout Vaan is undergoing a change that is beyond our current understanding!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many people in the hall gasped in surprise.

Most of those who exclaimed in surprise were mages, scholars, students, and a few devout followers of the goddess Mel. To these attendees, Lesville's words were like a ridiculous joke, especially for the spellcasters, who felt as if he were overturning the very fundamental laws of magic!

As if anticipating the people's reaction, Leswell raised his hand, and his unique aura once again emanated, suppressing the urge to speak, ask questions, and raise doubts. He then said, "It sounds absurd, doesn't it? But think about it carefully. Wasn't the great earthquake that caused such severe damage to the plateau and plains kingdoms suspicious? Wasn't the attitude of Merlinle and the mages and professors towards Seren City and these events suspicious? And is the tragedy currently unfolding in Seren City somehow related to what I've described?"

After Lesville finished speaking, a tall figure sitting in the front row slowly rose and removed his cloak.

Everyone sitting next to him immediately tensed up, and some even reached for their weapons.

Because they saw that beneath the cloak was a complete set of the Legal Committee's standard armor, which tightly wrapped around an exceptionally strong body, making him look like a human fortress walking through the venue.

This turned out to be a hermit wielding a sword.

However, the next moment, the sword-wielding hermit, who exuded a strong sense of oppression, spoke up: "I assure you, by my own identity and by my unwavering faith in the goddess Mel, that everything Mr. Lesville said is true. This is still confidential information within Mellinler and within the organization, and no discussion of it in any form is permitted in public!"

"Thank you, my friend... If it weren't for your help, we probably wouldn't have noticed this subtle and strange sign."

The hermit nodded silently, then sat down again and looked silently at the podium.

Leswell gestured to the elven mage beside him, who quickly replaced the magical image that Leswell needed to display. This time, what appeared before everyone was a strange prophecy that almost everyone had heard of, but had never really taken seriously. Beside it was a floating black spherical shadow.

"One day, the gods will go mad, the knights will be devoured by beasts, and laughter will fill the shattered throne."

"The eternal black sun will become the messenger of war, believers who have lost miracles and divine grace will kill each other, and nobles who have lost their offspring and crowns will bleed into rivers."

"People no longer look up at the sky, because there is only a black sun there."

"People often look up at the sky because there is still a black sun there."

Below that classic prophecy written in the Common Language, there are versions of prophecies from different countries, different continents, and even some distant islands.

Then, Leswell turned slightly and nodded to the audience below the podium.

"Here, hold this for me."

Meyer handed his hat, coat, and personal belongings to Sally, then walked forward amidst the attention of the crowd, eventually reaching his friend's side. He cleared his throat and then spoke in his gentle yet firm and powerful voice: "I am Frey Meyer. You all should have heard of me, so I won't waste any more time here... Since Darthwell invited me up, I will tell you what's next."

Sally sat upright in her seat, carrying a large pile of things, staring intently at the podium, more focused than anyone else present.

The next moment, her teacher, Mayer, said something even more shocking and terrifying in front of everyone.

“I am telling you all clearly here, or rather, informing you.”

"This ancient prophecy, which we have regarded as a joke for thousands of years, is indeed true, and the scene it depicts will soon be verified... and the black sun that the Black Sun Society worships as a god will eventually appear before us."

"This is a challenge that will not only be faced by us or a few countries."

"This will be a disaster for the entire Vaan!"

His words were like huge rocks crashing into the calm lake. Then, Meyer got straight to the point, saying, "I know how some of you view me and Markm and the others. You might think that what we ultimately want to do is overthrow Saint Steel's regime and expel the royal family that persecutes the people of the North... Well, I can tell you clearly now that that is only part of what we want to do."

His tone softened slightly: "Yes, we initially gathered together simply to fight for more rights for those poor workers. Everyone says that Saint Steel is a nation built on crystal mines, but crystal mines don't mine themselves. My cold homeland is built on flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of workers, farmers, and soldiers... And now, with the increasing activity of the Black Sun Society, our goals are changing."

"Those believers in the lost gods! Those fearless and ruthless madmen are stepping out from behind the scenes! My friends, they are no longer content to control a country's politics from the shadows, nor are they willing to secretly influence the world's situation. With the appearance of the Black Sun, they will become even more unscrupulous and even more insane!"

"...The Black Sun Society is so similar to us in some ways. They also have a large number of members, scattered across various fields, and hidden in the governments and civilians of various countries. Therefore, this means that once we decide to start fighting against them, the battle will be extremely arduous and long... Pay attention, everyone. The fight I am referring to is not only the struggle between us and the Black Sun Society, but also the struggle across different continents and countries, encompassing all races throughout Vaan!"

Someone raised their hand; it was a scholar who looked slightly timid. Meyer raised his hand to him, asking him to ask a question.

The scholar pursed his lips tightly, stood up, and asked in a slightly trembling voice, "What I want to ask is, even if the prophecy is indeed true, we ultimately have no way to prevent the 'black sun' from descending, right?"

“I think so.” Meyer nodded directly: “It will rise normally, just like the sun we know today.”

"Does this mean that our fight against the Black Sun Society and the forces behind them is actually... pointless?"

"Meaningless? Hmm, that's a good question."

Meyer smiled, then gestured for the bewildered scholar to sit down, before asking, "Gentlemen, I have a question to ask."

He paused, the passion in his voice fading slightly, before Mayer said, "Everyone should have read the articles in the Torchbearer, so they should all have some understanding of the beliefs upheld by the Black Sun Society, right?"

Many people in the audience gave affirmative answers.

Then Meyer said, "So please tell me, in your eyes, what kind of people are the members of the Black Sun Society?"

"madman!"

"Blasphemer!"

"A swarm of maggots crawling in Vaan!"

"They disrupt our order; they are dangerous beasts!"

Soon, though the responses were disorganized, they were all of one mind. Meyer raised his hand again to signal for silence, and once the room quieted down, he continued, “We truly have no way to stop the arrival of that black celestial body. This is perhaps the fate that Vaan, and everyone within Vaan, must face. In this respect, we have no other choice… But are you willing to entrust yourselves, your families, and the future of your homeland to the Black Sun Society?”

"The answer is of course no. I don't think any normal person would agree with these things."

"After all, in the eyes of the Black Sun Society, we are nothing more than defective products left over from an ancient era, cheap sacrifices to be offered to that evil faith... In that case, we should stand up and fight against them."

"This is a very simple truth that must be known and understood by more people. If enough people agree with this view, then our initial goal can be achieved—millions of souls gather together and work hard to push away the boulder that is about to roll down on our heads!"

"Today, we need to take that first step!"

……

Violet was completely unaware of what was happening in Green Harbor.

Similarly, she was unable to obtain any further information about her student and friend. After a whole night and half a day of driving, she finally arrived at her destination, the camp of the Seren City Emergency Committee, exhausted and weary.

After stepping off the steam-powered war chariot, Vera saw a bustling scene.

Various vehicles were moving in and out under the command of the soldiers, and countless spare supplies and weapons were being transported in an orderly manner to the warehouses that had already been set up. A tall tower temporarily built using magic stood near the base. This was obviously the result of cooperation between the Law Committee and the Council, because on the top of this tower, Vilin saw traces of various mystical rituals originating from these two major mage organizations.

"Time is of the essence. In order to better monitor the abnormal situation in the direction of Seren City, this is all we can do..."

The middle-aged mage who was leading the way for Vilin sighed: "Madam, as you can see, the connection and coordination between the different ritual venues is not quite perfect yet, but in any case, it can be considered to be operating normally. You should go up there yourself next."

Verine nodded, and then two Ymir soldiers came over, carrying Verine's belongings, and followed directly behind the two.

"Let's go to the temporary laboratory."

Vera raised an eyebrow: "Shouldn't I report for duty?"

“No need, madam. The situation is urgent. Butler Finn has been waiting in the lab for a long time... Quick, come with me.”

Soon, Vera arrived at a makeshift building. Upon entering the ritual site that protected the building, she immediately smelled a very unsettling and unpleasant odor. It smelled very similar to the smell of an unstable magic crystal exploding, an odor often found at the site of a failed magic experiment.

The middle-aged monk took two metal masks from the side and handed one to Weilin: "Wear this. Although it is non-toxic, it will still make people uncomfortable if you smell it for a long time."

After the two put on their metal masks, he led Vera through a long corridor and finally stopped in front of a large door. He kindly reminded her, "We're here, ma'am... you need to be prepared."

Vera took a cautious step back: "What?"

"The wounded who returned from the rift that I mentioned before are here now... They probably don't look too good now, I mean... in a way that would make a qualified mage vomit."

"..."

Hearing him say that, Vera frowned slightly. Then she quickly cast a spell on herself to stabilize her mind and emotions. Once everything was ready, she nodded and said, "Open the door."

The monk nodded and reached out to open the door.

Then, a horrifying and disturbing scene appeared before Violet's eyes.

(End of this chapter)