Night Journey

Chapter 63 Past
After washing away the blood and grime from his body, Cillian changed into the new clothes brought by his clockwork servant and met Rolf, who had also tidied himself up, in the reception room.

Rolf's residence appears luxurious, but apart from a few areas for receiving guests, the rest of the place is filled with all sorts of mechanical equipment and parts, and there is even a room full of dormant clockwork servants.

Cillian couldn't help but think of Bruce; the spirit craftsmen all shared a similar lifestyle, regardless of their living environment.

"Phew, I feel much better now that I'm clean."

Rolf sat on the sofa, leisurely sipping his cold drink. "Where were we just talking about?"

"You came to Hel City with the Foundry and settled here."

Cillian reminded him, with the Boiling Sword resting across his lap.

"Oh, right."

Rolf's broken thoughts reconnected, and the two began their conversation inexplicably, drifting from one topic to another. Although there was still wariness and probing, it was also filled with a strange trust and understanding.

"Then...then..."

Rolf pondered for a moment, then said in a slightly serious tone, "Even if you don't tell me, I can barely guess what you've been through."

"Tell me about it."

Cillian was curious about what Rolf would say.

Rolf hesitated for a moment, but then asked, "What happened to you... is it an internal conflict within the Torchbearers?"

Cillian didn't understand what Rolf meant.

"Too many years have passed since the year of the rebellion. Both the Fire Guardians and the remnants of the Flame Army have been able to rebuild their strength over this long period of time."

Rolf said with a headache, "One side wants to launch another expedition to rebuild the glory of the civilized world, while the other side only wants to defend its existing territory and keep the chaos and evil behind its outer borders."

“You all think you are right and just, arguing and shouting at each other until you are red in the face and draw your swords against each other.”

“The voices of disagreement grew louder and louder, even affecting others. Some of the Foundry followed the Fire Keeper Cult, while others chose to ally with the remnants of the Ember Army.”

Rolf said self-deprecatingly, "The division among the Torchbearers has led to huge disagreements within our own House of Laws."

Ciri was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "No, what happened to my Yangkui clan has nothing to do with the differences among the Torchbearers... Maybe it does, but it has already happened, so there's no point in saying anything more."

Rolf narrowed his eyes and said, "What I want to say is that I'm too lazy to get involved in any more conflicts. I just want to live and die in Hel City. If you have any life-threatening issues, I can let you know in advance so you don't bother me."

Cillian replied without hesitation, "Of course, we've only known each other for less than a day."

The two were silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"From the day I became an apprentice, my only hope in life was to get by. Becoming the chief technology officer of Hull City was something I had no choice but to do."

Rolf spoke of himself, saying, "If there's anything I really want to do, it's just some things that will happen after I'm gone."

“I heard my teacher say that no matter what kind of destiny a transcendent being has, they are unwilling to die peacefully,” Cillian said in a low voice. “It’s like a curse.”

"A curse? I think that's a rare choice that you can control."

Rolf mentioned his teacher, "By then, I should try to return to the Forging Court and, like my teacher, access the brain."

He slapped his thigh. "But damn it, so many years have passed, who knows where the Forging Court has gone!"

Rolf belongs to the Myriad Veins Knot Forging Court, which is built on the mobile fortress Knot Chain. It travels between the spirit world and reality year-round, appearing and disappearing mysteriously. No one has been able to observe its whereabouts for many years.

What is the central nervous system?

Rolf repeatedly mentioned the word, but Cillian knew nothing about it.

“The central processing system that controls the Foundry Court,” Rolf explained succinctly, “is composed of numerous arrays, as well as the brain of the Spirit Craftsmen.”

"This is a tradition of our Wanji Tonglu Institute. When the spirit craftsman dies and his self-awareness disappears, he will serve as a wet component to provide computing power to the brain."

Rolf's answer was brief, but Cillian still sensed a strong stench of blood in it.

"That sounds cruel."

“I think so too,” Rolf surprisingly nodded in agreement, “but I still think it’s a good choice to continue existing in this world in another form, to do one last thing for the survival of civilization, just like when you are about to die, you will return to the Second Sun.”

“Oh, I forgot,” Rolf said, “you are from the remnants of the Ember Army, and a suicidal expedition awaits you.”

"No, I am not loyal to any faction."

Cillian gave a completely opposite answer.

The tragedy of Baiya Town flashed before his eyes, and he murmured, "At that moment, neither the remnants of the Ember Army nor the Fire-Guarding Cult appeared."

"There I am alone, and I am loyal only to myself."

From these words, Rolf sensed a coldness and decisiveness beyond Cillian's years, and it was hard to imagine what he had gone through.

Rolf responded, "Not belonging to either side? There have been many torchbearers like you in the last hundred years."

Cillian looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"After a long period of turmoil, many torchbearers have lost their way, no longer knowing the origin of their bloodline, and having no sense of belonging to the so-called clan."

Rolf explained slowly, "Therefore, these torchbearers abandoned the so-called clans and fought only for the city-states they lived in, splitting into a third faction, the Wildfire, from the remnants of the Ember Army and the Fire Keepers."

Cillian asked, "Do you think I'm a Wildfire faction member?"

"That's how it's categorized."

Cillian sneered, "Really, people always have to be categorized and defined, no matter what."

“That’s how the world works. When something new appears, we always have to name it and categorize it.” Rolf paused, then changed the subject, “But even if we give a very detailed explanation of something, we still can’t know its true essence… just like you can never truly understand another person.”

Looking up, Rolf's gaze fell on the wall of the living room, where a wedding photo was hanging.

It's obviously quite old; the photos are yellowed and faded, but the men and women in them remain forever young.

Cillian recognized Rolf among them and asked.

Is that your wife?

"Yes, that's why I chose to stay in Hel City."

Rolf's wrinkles gathered together as he smiled, and the conversation shifted from the grand world to the insignificant individual.

“I had a wonderful time with her, but neither then nor now do I feel like I truly understand her.”

Rolf's eyebrows danced with excitement. "In fact, her existence was like a huge turning point, leading my life in a completely different direction."

He snapped his fingers, and the wind-up servants filled a glass with fine wine.

"She changed my destiny twice. The first time was when she made me choose to leave the Forging Court and stay in Hull City. The second time was when she made me the Chief Technician, one of the most powerful people in the entire Hull City."

"I thought you were the chief technology officer from the beginning."

“No, I’m a person who hates trouble and only focuses on my own research,” Rolf shook his head. “After meeting her, in order to make her happy, I started inventing some strange little gadgets.”

"She was in poor health, so I built this mansion and almost completely automated it. I also created a whole line of machine servants to take care of her daily life. She's like a hamster, and I've taken very good care of her."

Rolf's voice turned somber.

"A tragedy changed everything."

Rolf took another big gulp of the wine.

“She was caught up in a chaotic event, and when I found her, the corruption of chaos had penetrated to the bone, and her body was becoming demonized.”

Cillian's heart sank.

“I tried everything to save her life, attempting to take her to the City of Wounded Cocoons so that the monks of agony could share the pollution of chaos, or to ask the Society of the Monarchs for help to purify her body.”

"Unfortunately, it's all too late."

Rolf took a deep breath and began to recount the second half of his life.

"After she left, I fell into a long period of depression. There were many things I couldn't understand, but soon, this confusion turned into a kind of anger that had nowhere to be vented."

The anger grew little by little until it could no longer be contained and broke through its shackles.

Cillian felt a wave of malice wash over him.

“I felt I should do something… so I joined the city council and gradually rose through the ranks until I became the chief of technology.”

Rolf smiled, but that smile only made people uneasy.

"I renovated the high walls of Hull City and provided substantial funding to the city's garrison to prevent any chaotic threats from reappearing in the city."

Rolf's words corresponded to the files investigated by Cillian.

There was a period in Hull where the number of chaotic events plummeted, which was clearly due not only to the Reverse Falcon but also to the policies of the Chief of Technology.

"Therefore, you don't need to worry, Cillian, I have no ill intentions towards you."

Cillian nodded. "I know you mean no harm."

"Really? But I always feel that you're tense, ready to draw your sword at me at any moment."

Rolf joked, "Never mind, it's nothing. I've heard my teachers talk about expeditions since I was a child, and I still have high hopes for the era when we were united."

"Before he passed away, he heard the rumors of the destruction of the Yangkui clan and was deeply saddened. Now that you still exist, he must be very happy."

“Yes,” Cillian said. “My teacher was overjoyed, and even died with joy.”

"That sounds really good."

Rolf took a stack of white cloth from the clockwork servant's hand.

"By the way, this is for you."

He explained, “I understand your intention to conceal the emblem. Let alone the resurgent Sunflower Clan, the mere sighting of the United Triangle symbol is enough to cause a stir.”

"This is a fireproof cloth made of a material that has undergone qualitative changes. It can help you cover it up so that you don't burn it due to excessive force and give people away."

Cillian wrapped strips of white cloth around the hilt of the sword, covering all its features, until it became an ordinary cross-shaped longsword.

He said again, "Thank you."

“It’s nothing, just a small favor,” Rolf said, “and that’s all.”

"I see."

Cillian nodded, got up and left.

Rolf called out to his retreating figure.

"See you again sometime, Cillian."

(End of this chapter)