The black sun hangs high

Chapter 285 Old Illusions
The year 2699 of the Kal'tl calendar.

It was supposed to officially conclude on the fifth day after the end of winter.

But now, everything has changed.

People's sleep was interrupted by the sudden tremor, and when they left their beds and rooms in terror and rushed to the streets, they saw a terrifying sight—the sky had been torn open, and unsettling, eerie colors were spreading out from the gap.

This process was incredibly slow.

So much so that everyone could look up and observe it.

That dark shadow seemed like a nightmare that had descended from another time and space.

It looked so abnormal, like a massive entity slowly emerging from people's nightmares, or like the boundless evil casting a malicious glance at the real world from those strange and eerie legends.

For the inhabitants of the Lovi Plateau and the Goddess Plain, the impact of this anomaly was more pronounced and direct.

Some hunters living in the mountains did not evacuate with Walter's army. When they survived the violent earthquake and came to the open area to look around, they couldn't help but shout in panic. They discovered that the rugged hills that had once served as an important buffer zone between the Lovi Plateau and the Goddess Plain had now completely disappeared.

Within that crisscrossing, fragmented area composed of countless exaggerated cracks of varying sizes, strange, cold light seeped out. It looked like translucent crystals drifting out from underground. Within the light and shadow, strange shadows of different sizes would even appear. Some of them looked like human figures, but most of them had bizarre outlines that were difficult for people to understand.

These shadows floated and moved slowly upwards, as if trying to reach the dark shadow in the sky through the converging light.

Faced with such a bizarre sight, both humans and elves felt their legs go weak and could no longer stand properly. However, when they helplessly returned to their rooms and tried to seek help from the gods they believed in, something even more terrible happened.

They discovered that the statue of the goddess Mel was beginning to crack, the flames of life offered in the small ceremonial area were going out one by one, the gold paint adorning the god of wealth and commerce had lost its luster, and the eyes of the highland eagle, made of bright crystals, had become incredibly dim...

As the shadow appeared in the sky, everything that had served as the spiritual anchor for the residents of Vann was shrouded in a thick haze. Their unwavering faith began to be tested, and the ever-expanding, somber color in the sky continued to assault their senses.

At the same moment, a carnival began in the capital of the Kingdom of Saint Steel in the north.

Members of the Black Sun Society, draped in robes bearing the emblem of a black sun, took to the streets to worship and pray to that distant shadow. They began to recklessly erase all traces of the gods of Brahma, including ancient statues, exquisite carvings and murals, and tiny architectural decorations.

Every time they cleared a place, they would directly hang up the emblems and banners symbolizing the Black Sun and the ancient gods with the help of the royal guard. Moreover, high-ranking members of the Black Sun Society appeared in the squares of many cities in Saint Steel.

Under the guidance of one grand ceremony after another, countless enormous black sun artifacts, imbued with blasphemous intent, descended from the void. Then, miniature black sun phantoms slowly rose at the call of these spellcasters, hovering directly in the center of the city, occupying those important landmarks, and casting a mysterious and oppressive aura over every building and every street.

People instinctively want to fight against this bizarre behavior, but when they look directly at the Black Sun Ritual or the phantom of the Black Sun, strange visions from ancient times begin to frequently appear in their minds.

Although the images appear incredibly bizarre, they are so rich in detail that their authenticity is undeniable…

Not just in Saint-St.

As a black shadow appeared in the sky, a new wave of Black Sun cult began to erupt throughout Vain.

On this day, people finally realized that the legends and prophecies about the black sun were absolutely true.

At least, they are more real than all the gods I have ever believed in.

On the border of the Duchy of Burt, in a village that was being used as a temporary settlement, Frey Mayer leaned out of the car window amidst the panicked shouts of the people. He looked up at the sky where an ominous dark shadow hung, his eyes flickering slightly, but unlike the others, he did not succumb to fear and confusion.

He stared at the dark figure for a while, as if confronting his enemy. After a moment, he closed his eyes, erasing the chaotic hallucinations that had inexplicably arisen in his mind from staring at the strange phenomenon. Then he picked up the magical megaphone next to him and began to shout loudly to the Dawn Society members around him.

"Stay alert, stay calm! Comrades!"

"This is just the beginning, it's not time for us to be afraid!"

"Let's focus on doing our own jobs well!"

……

The phantoms of the past merged with the spectacle before our eyes.

A growing dark shadow, a sky devoid of the warm sun, a bustling office, the city of Serenity engulfed in flames...

As Hugh looked up at the sky, countless chaotic images once again burst forth from the depths of his mind.

Long-buried memories scattered and dispersed again amidst the violent disturbance. Hugh's thinking ability nearly ceased at this moment as he stared intently at the ever-growing black cloud.

At this moment, Hugh seemed to have returned to a distant afternoon.

He recalled that the earliest concept poster he saw during his interview looked just like this. At that time, the development of "Black Sun Era" had just begun, and all the related stories and backgrounds were just an empty shell. The poster was just a casual work by an insider...

However, now it has become so clear, specific, and grotesque.

The roar was deafening. As the cracks continued to spread, nearly half of the city of Seren had already fallen into the bottomless abyss. From within these massive cracks, strange lights began to seep out, looking remarkably similar to the light that had ripped through the sky.

Hugh's mental world was in turmoil, perhaps because of the depletion of his magic, perhaps because the arrival of the black sun had too great an impact on him, or perhaps because the strange light spreading into the city of Seren contained some kind of terrifying power...

In short, Hugh is now extremely exhausted.

He forced himself to turn his head away, no longer wanting to look at the scene behind him, for fear that he would forever be trapped in his obsession and fear of that black sun.

The weakened and chaotic magic could no longer sustain the movements of the Karron Tentacles. The black tentacles that had supported his body and helped him move forward vanished, leaving him to stagger towards the destination—the place where the magical signal had been raised earlier. A violent cracking sound emanated from the magic disc. After prolonged overload and exhaustion, the crystal that had accompanied Hugh for so long, and which had later transformed into a green heart under the influence of the "Walking Forest," finally shattered. The powder scattered evenly across every crevice of the disc, while its light flowed outwards along the disc's patterns, as if to create a new world.

However, Hughes has no time to pay attention to this change.

He bypassed the still-burning wreckage of the airships, climbed up the collapsed city bricks with his cane, and then struggled to squeeze through the ruins of the city wall...

It was just a few simple movements, but they caused him a lot of torment.

In his dazed state, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

Hoarse, yet melodious.

Hugh turned his head toward the direction from which the sound came, but the scene and colors before him were chaotic. He felt as if a shadow was rushing toward him. He reached out his hand in that direction, but lost his balance as a result.

Fortunately, just as he was about to fall, the figure arrived in front of him.

He fell into a soft, dusty embrace.

Vera struggled to support the body that was collapsing before her. She could feel the chaotic magic emanating from the other person, as well as the lingering exhaustion. But before she could speak, a weak and somewhat distorted voice squeezed out of Hugh's mouth.

"Stop looking at the sky, let's go..."

After he finished speaking, he fell silent, and his entire weight pressed down on Vivian.

These words successfully brought Verin back to her senses from her turbulent emotions. She immediately waved to the other survivors who were still by the city gate, signaling everyone to evacuate immediately. With the help of the mage Valery, she helped Hugh onto the old crystal cart.

Soon, amidst the continuous sounds of collapse within the city of Seren, this last convoy, under the watchful gaze of the nascent black sun, embarked on their desperate escape.

The task of driving ultimately fell to the mage Valery.

Vera sat in the back seat with Hugh, resting his head on her lap, her eyes filled with worry.

Hugh appeared to be unconscious, but strangely, his eyes remained open.

From some point in time, his eyes became as dark and deep as the black sun in the sky, with strange mist constantly rolling and overflowing from the corners of his eyes.

Vera saw the mist climb and extend along Hugh's face, eventually forming a smooth, black mask that covered his face.

……

Sleep was not restful.

With a violent shaking, my drowsy consciousness slowly returned.

Within the cage dragged by a small earth dragon, numerous intricate and delicate blue magic patterns floated slowly. Although they appeared very thin, they contained a kind of extraordinary power, and it was this power that prevented the misty humanoid figure in the center of the rough wooden cage from escaping.

The bewildered messenger in the mirror could only follow the procession, a mix of countless races, toward a fixed direction.

In the sky, a huge black celestial body rippled with strange light and shadow. This enormous eyeball, overlooking the entire Vaan, seemed to know everything, yet it seemed indifferent to many things happening in the world. At least, the Mirror Messenger, who had become a prisoner, did not attract its attention.

The bumpy journey didn't last long. The muddy roads, made impassable by the torrential rain, were quickly replaced by compacted dirt roads, which improved the team's pace. Soon, the smoke rising from the distant campsite came into view.

The awakening of the Mirror Messenger attracted the attention of the elven guards. Soon, several figures dressed in distinctive attire appeared nearby. They were spellcasters from different races. With their combined efforts, the cage imprisoning the Mirror Messenger was slowly moved down and then transported into a hidden basement.

The Mist Humanoid simply stared blankly at everything, filled with curiosity about what was happening before it—the different races, their weapons and clothing, their languages ​​and customs… These things always piqued its interest. The only thing that made it uncomfortable was the strange patterns floating nearby.

Its instincts told it that these forces could harm it and posed a certain threat.

The basement was empty, with smooth rock embedded in the walls, also carved with numerous patterns. In this environment, the Mirror Messenger discovered that it could no longer sense the presence of the Black Sun, which terrified it.

After an unknown amount of time, the basement door was pushed open.

Light footsteps approached, and the human woman who had previously possessed immense power and whose face was obscured reappeared. She slowly walked to the front of the cage, her gaze piercing through the drifting blue phantom. After quietly examining the "dangerous presence" before her, she suddenly raised her hand, her slender fingers twitching slightly.

With this simple action, the magical cage binding the messenger in the mirror disappeared.

The Mist Doll, now free, looked down at its body and gently wiggled its limbs, as if trying to confirm its true situation.

Such actions resemble those of an ignorant and innocent child.

The woman standing in front of the cage seemed surprised and amused by the humanoid's behavior. She shook her head slightly, then raised her hand again, and another pale blue light appeared. But this time, it did not harm the messenger in the mirror. Instead, it gently connected the two sides inside and outside the cage.

The next moment, a gentle voice entered the empty consciousness of the messenger in the mirror.

"Messenger of the Black Sun, what... what brings you here?"

……

[End of this volume]

(End of this chapter)