The black sun hangs high

Chapter 465 Get your wish
Walking in this completely unfamiliar world, filled with strangeness and absurdity, Felix felt a very concrete reality.

On this street that appeared out of thin air on the wide deck, Felix could see many details that only appear in real towns. He could see the gaps between the flat stone bricks, the dust on the rails in the middle of the street, and even the tire tracks in the middle of the road.

As for the slogans, decorations, and posters on the houses and shops on both sides of the street, they were so abundant that Felix was astonished.

Although there were no other pedestrians on this street besides him, all the details that a city street should have were fully presented here.

Felix was momentarily stunned when he saw the contents of those promotional posters.

The artistic style of these posters is quite unique. The figures in the posters are always portrayed as very simple, yet they are very powerful. What surprised him even more was that the protagonists of these propaganda posters all seemed to be the lower-class people of the North.

"Farmer, hunter... um, is this a fisherman?"

Felix stopped in front of a wide poster, and in an instant, he found every kind of person he could think of in it, from miners to mages, and everyone was smiling warmly, which made him feel a little unreal.

He desperately wanted to see what the slogans said, but strangely, when he focused his gaze on the words, the words that should have been easily recognizable became blurry, making it impossible for Felix to clearly read their meaning.

Left with no other choice, he could only continue forward.

The seemingly long street was traversed by him in just a few breaths. Felix stopped at the end of the street, his breathing becoming rapid and his heart pounding with excitement, for he saw a familiar figure sitting properly behind a small round table right in front of him.

That was Hugh Ernst.

He looked travel-worn, his long overcoat was somewhat worn, and there were some thin, thread-like shadows around him, but he had a smile on his face, a smile that contained the trust and joy that he only showed when he saw familiar people and comrades.

Surprise, confusion, and joy mingled in Felix's mind. He quickly stepped forward, pulled out the chair opposite Hugh, then slowed his movements and carefully sat down.

Fortunately, the chairs and tables seemed to be "real" and not just illusory phantoms.

Before Felix could speak, he heard that familiar voice.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous... Yes, it really is me."

Looking at Felix's gaunt face, Hugh's brows furrowed quickly. He asked earnestly, "Felix, how come you... look so much older? Has it been a long time since I left Vaan?"

Upon hearing this question, Felix finally smiled. He shook his head and placed the cane that had brought him there on the table: "Not long has passed. The war is still going on, and we are still struggling to advance the front lines... It is what made me this way."

Felix then used very concise language to summarize what had happened in Watchtower and to himself.

After hearing Felix's explanation, Hughes breathed a heavy sigh of relief, but his mood did not improve.

It's a good thing that not much time has passed.

It's a good thing that Meyer and other core members of the Dawn Society are still safe and sound.

However, what happened to Felix saddened Hugh – his comrade was just an ordinary person. Even though Felix might have a will far beyond that of ordinary people, the scarce magic power in his body was clearly unable to support the terrible consumption brought about by this staff.

The flow of magical energy inevitably leads to the decline of life force. This is a cold, unyielding law that defies all logic and is the most fundamental principle supporting the operation of Vaan's magic.

This means that as long as Felix continues to carry and use this cane, the burden on his body will not be reduced in any way, and will even continue to accumulate.

"Actually, it's pretty good. Now I feel like I've become your... um, elder?"

Felix grinned: "Oh, so I guess I can call you by your full name now?"

"If it makes you happy..."

Seeing the other person's expression, Hugh could only wave his hand with a wry smile.

Felix relaxed, leaned back in his chair, glanced around, and said, "Alright, now it's my turn to ask you questions... What exactly happened? Where did you go? And where is this place?"

Hughes had already mentally rehearsed the questions Felix wanted to ask, so he immediately began to answer them.

Let's start with the last question.

Hugh tapped the table in front of him with his finger, then pointed to the metal staff in front of Felix: "I got this staff from them when I first 'attended' a Black Sun Society gathering. The members of the Black Sun Society used some sacrificial tools left over from the Lost Era as materials to forge it, so it has a very wide and extremely exaggerated magical carrying capacity."

“I was its first user, so my will once flowed through it, and now you are its holder, and your mind has also become closely connected with it... Therefore, this cane has become our channel of communication.”

"As for here..."

Hugh pointed to the houses on both sides of the street and said, "You might think of this place as an illusion, or a dream. In the past, when I came into contact with those lost magics, I came here many times, but I don't really understand this place. I only know that it always seems to make a series of changes based on what is happening in Vaan or something that is about to happen."

Hughes's words were a little convoluted, but Felix quickly grasped the meaning. He couldn't help but pinch his beard with his fingers, then widened his eyes and looked around: "You mean, everything I'm seeing here, I mean these towns and streets, are actually some kind of... prophecy?"

Upon hearing Felix's words, Hughes neither confirmed nor refuted them. He looked at Felix seriously for a moment, then asked, "Felix, do you believe in so-called prophecies or omens?"

"To be honest, I don't believe it."

As Felix spoke, his gaze lingered on a poster on the left side of the street. The poster depicted miners in distinctive, heavy clothing, working in the mines, looking quite powerful. "But if everything shown here really is a harbinger of the future... I'd be a little more willing to accept it, after all, they really do look very tempting."

Hugh nodded slightly. He paused for two seconds before saying, "In my opinion, everything that is shown here is indeed hopeful and inspiring, but I am more inclined to believe that the so-called omens shown here are merely a reasonable inference based on the reality and development laws of Vaan. It may just be one of the possibilities."

"I understand your idea."

Felix reluctantly withdrew his gaze and smiled, "I'm glad you haven't changed much... Hugh, I can't even imagine what kind of impact it would have if you joined the Black Sun Society with your abilities."

Hughes shrugged, then continued, "And then there's your other question—where am I right now?"

Felix focused his mind; he had a premonition that he might hear some truly astonishing answers from Hugh.

He got what he wanted.

"I am currently in the Dark Abyss, or rather, inside that black sun."

"..."

Felix's eyes widened, but he didn't interrupt Hugh's narration. Instead, he raised his hand with difficulty, signaling for him to continue.

So Hugh recounted the events of that night in detail.

From Hugh's words, Felix finally understood what the so-called miracle was all about, and he finally knew what kind of terrifying power could tear the wide square of Watchtower City into such a state.

"So you're really in those monsters' hometown right now? And... can you even come back?"

"I don't know, maybe there's a chance."

Hughes smiled and said, “You see, my conversation with you right now is just an attempt. But there’s a significant difference between achieving a spiritual connection and actually returning to the source, and that could be very risky. I have to take it one step at a time.”

Felix nodded. "I understand."

“Alright, we’ve pretty much sorted out what happened before. Now, I’m going to talk about something more important: Vaan’s current situation and what I’m going to do here.”

Hughes lowered his voice and looked at Felix with utmost seriousness: "The current situation of the Akatsuki is not optimistic, is it?"

"Yes, I suspect there are some serious problems within us, concerning internal security and stability."

"There's been a traitor?"

"It's just a suspicion, but there are too many doubts and it involves a wide range of issues. I can't find a suitable solution in a short time."

Felix truthfully explained the Dawn Society's current predicament, and then asked, "Do you remember the mage Valery who helped us in Seren City before?"

After seeing Hugh nod, Felix sighed: "Now, he's missing. Valery's mother told me about this herself. We've brought his family back and investigated them, and there are no problems."

Felix then recounted what he knew about Valery's unusual situation.

As someone with an extensive understanding of the Black Sun Society and those ancient creations, Hugh almost immediately sensed a familiar scent in Valery's erratic behavior. He made a deep judgment: "When he appeared before his family, he was certainly still conscious and not being manipulated by the Black Sun Society, but he clearly knew he was being targeted... Something was chasing him, and I think it was most likely not a specific member of the Black Sun Society, but something they had summoned."

"Just like those beasts that attacked various places before?"

"Well, to be precise, they are hounds, but I think these things are relatively less threatening... Valery has indeed been exposed, but the Black Sun Society clearly wants to keep him alive. They must have also realized that they have been infiltrated, so they hope to open a loophole from individual cases to counterattack us."

Hugh was thinking quickly when a ripple came from the depths of his mental world.

Theseus's voice rang in Hugh's ears.

“I agree with your guess. Given this situation, the trouble they are facing is very likely due to a kind of Dark Abyss ‘residue’ summoned by their opponent through a ritual.”

As Theseus described it, a clear picture traversed Hugh's mental ocean and appeared before his eyes in its entirety. In that gloomy corridor filled with many abnormal structures, Hugh saw many hunched human shadows constantly appearing and disappearing little by little. These shadows would often lie dormant when the courtiers and hounds walked by, and would become active again slowly after they left.

They appear to be imitating the waiters who have just passed by, but the imitation always fails.

"What is this?"

"There is no precise name. Generally speaking, it can be understood as the waste and residue produced when the Dark Abyss Palace trains its servants. They are like the scraps left over from building a house, just piled up there casually. Sometimes, they are also used as a response to appease the performers of those ceremonies."

Theseus explained softly, “I suspect that the ones who were hunting down that unfortunate mage and trying to infiltrate your organization were these things… They don’t possess the power of true servants, nor can they hunt as swiftly as hounds, but they can follow and imitate their targets for extended periods. This is the only way they can realize their value.”

"You mean, the Black Sun Society summoned this group of 'scum' and is trying to use them to imitate and infiltrate the members of the Dawn Society?"

"It's very likely."

Theseus laughed and said, "Although it will be difficult to command these 'scum,' you also know that there are indeed quite a few 'elite spellcasters' from Vaan within the Black Sun Society, and even so-called deep-sea level mages. These guys are probably good at arranging this kind of thing."

(End of this chapter)