Chapter 383: Omen of Disaster

Chapter 383: Omen of Disaster

In the Godforsaken Land, there is no sun, no moon, and no stars—only unending darkness and lightning that tears through everything.

The Great Cataclysm shattered the laws here, creating a chaotic and intertwined environment that gave rise to various abnormal fears and disasters, as well as countless monsters lurking in the darkness.

Here, the absence of light is lethal.

Fresh flesh excited the monsters of the Godforsaken Land. Hundreds of grotesquely deformed creatures, their appearances twisted beyond human recognition, revealed their hunger.

They crept closer to Luke, closing the distance to launch a sudden attack, but they all trembled in unison.

In the next moment, a large number of monsters fell dead on the ground.

The strongest among them, those approaching or equal to the power of a demigod, quickly writhed and transformed into exact replicas of Luke, quietly guarding him.

They had all been turned into Secret Puppets!

This ability comes from the "Seer", who, starting from Sequence 5, became a "Master of Secret Puppets", capable of manipulating Spirit Threads.

As a Sequence 3 "Ancient Scholar", and one who has fully digested the Extraordinary Trait of the "Ancient Scholar", the ability to manipulate Spirit Threads has undoubtedly been elevated.

Each Secret Puppet can use Luke’s abilities, swap positions with him, and can be used to take his place in death, disease, wounds, curses, predictions, and gaze shifts.

Surrounded by numerous monsters, Luke retrieved a piece of jewelry from the void.

The core of the jewelry was a vertical eye set in a diamond, shimmering with a pure light that gave an unusually sacred and wise feeling, yet it also seemed cold and devoid of warmth.

The Sage’s Diadem!

Luke stared at the Sage’s Diadem for a few seconds. His arm became translucent and blurry, appearing in a higher dimension. He gently grasped the diadem, as if extracting the Extraordinary Trait that flowed like data.

The Extraordinary Trait of the "Sage" from the "Seer" pathway at Sequence 2.

Then Luke raised his hand and gently pressed downward in the deep darkness.

Mysteries reappeared, secrecy!

This reappearance of mysteries stemmed from imitating the "Realm of Secrecy" of the "Kingdom of the Night" during his communication with the "Goddess of the Night." It also came from the second layer of secrecy granted by the Goddess during deeper exchanges, and from his repeated deconstruction and analysis of the "Mother of Secrets" during their fusion.

Thus, the space already shrouded in darkness became even deeper and more obscure, with all information sealed off.

After doing this, Luke reached out into the void, and the numerous monsters that had transformed to look like him also extended their hands.

The core ability of the "Ancient Scholar"—summoning "Historical Projections"!

This ability allows the summoning of images from the gaps in history, whether of people or objects. The more detailed the knowledge, the more thorough the understanding, the higher the probability and longer the duration of the summoning. It can also borrow strength from one’s past self.

Luke’s hand felt a slight weight, and a figure was pulled from the void, appearing in the dark secrecy.

After performing these actions, Luke did not hesitate and swallowed the Sage’s Extraordinary Trait in one bite!

His body became visibly ethereal, breaking down into a vast body of knowledge, transforming into an existence of information.

Everything around him, whether the darkness enveloping the area, the lightning flashing in the sky, the twisted bodies of the dead monsters, or the Secret Puppets guarding him, all lost their tangible feel, as if reduced to the most basic and fundamental information.

The core ability of the "Sage" is to transform things into "information", turning oneself into a flood of knowledge and an information being. Surrounding things can also be transformed into information, allowing for a certain degree of influence.

...

Tingen City, Blackthorn Security Company.

As Kline walked into the company, he found that the positions of Roxana and Mrs. Aureana at the front desk were empty. Their desks still had warm coffee, but they had vanished without a trace.

What happened?

As Kline was puzzled, heavy footsteps echoed from the stairs. His colleague from the Nocturne team, Frey, walked down, his face serious.

Frey spoke gravely to Kline, "An emergency has occurred. This place might become a battlefield. The administrative staff have been temporarily sent back."

An emergency?

Kline’s heart tightened, and he followed Frey upstairs. In the lounge, a large group of people stood.

Captain Dunn Smith, a Sequence 7 "Nightmare", the two "Midnight Poets"—the romantic poet Leonard Mitchell and the white-haired, black-eyed writer Sika Tion—the two "Insomniacs", the outgoing Loy Lading and the short, sturdy Cohen Li.

With the addition of the Seer and the Body Collector Frey, all members of the Nocturne team were finally assembled.

Due to the Nocturne team’s rotating shifts, they were also responsible for patrolling three areas, guarding Chanice Gate, and proactively handling certain extraordinary events. This was the first time Kline had seen the team so complete.

This also made him feel an uncontrollable unease. What could have happened to bring all the members of the Nocturne team together?

Dunn glanced at Kline and Frey, who had just walked in, and shook his head. His usual calm and gentle demeanor was replaced by an unusually serious expression.

"In the past week, the police station has received reports of missing persons. At first, it was just a few cases a day, then it increased to over a dozen. As of yesterday, more than a hundred people have gone missing."

Loy frowned. "Why are we only finding out about this now?"

"… The police station’s telegraph happened to be broken, and these missing person cases were conveniently passed on to the new recruits by the more experienced officers."

Dunn seemed to find this explanation absurd, speaking quickly and lowering his voice, his expression not very pleasant.

"Moreover, there is a time limit for missing persons cases. They can only be officially reported after three days. Under normal circumstances, without involving extraordinary events, such cases are usually handled by the police."

Kline furrowed his brow in thought before asking, "We're being assigned this case now because the police can't handle the large number of missing persons, or because the missing cases involve extraordinary circumstances?"

"Both."

Dunn seemed a bit tired, rubbing his temples to boost his spirits.

"The reported cases are only a part of the missing population. Loy and Sika discovered many homeless people were missing during their patrols."

"These people mostly have no family or friends, and their deaths go unnoticed, so no one reports them. The actual number of missing people is likely over six hundred."

Over six hundred!

Kline was inwardly stunned; this was already a terrifying number.

Dunn continued, "An hour ago, the latest informant came to the police station, claiming to have witnessed the entire kidnapping of his daughter. The perpetrator…."

"According to the informant, it was a 'crawling shadow.'"

"The victim’s shadow seemed to come to life, transforming into a human-shaped shadow that dragged the victim into the darkness and then disappeared."

Dunn paused for a moment, allowing the others to process the information, before continuing.

"Old Neill attempted a divination, but it was unsuccessful."

Having sufficient clues but failing the divination itself indicated a problem.

Leonard’s ears perked up slightly, and he cleared his throat. "It sounds like a Shadow Mendicant, a Sequence 7 of the Secret Supplicant pathway. These individuals have the ability to infiltrate shadows and possess some shadow magic."

The Secret Supplicant pathway is controlled by the Aurora Society.

Dunn nodded slightly, his gray eyes filled with concern. "Most of the reported missing persons are women, with no romantic history, and are generally between the ages of 14 and 20."

Each of these conditions was common, but together they immediately suggested "pure virgins", the ideal group for sacrifices!

"A single Shadow Mendicant couldn't cause such a commotion. Our enemy might be a Divine Messenger, a Rose Bishop, or a Shepherd from the Aurora Society… along with the entity they are sacrificing to."

Dunn made a quick decision. "I, Leonard, and Sika will investigate the enemy’s base. The rest of you should go to the Keeper to receive the sealing items and prepare for battle."

"If we encounter an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, we may need to lure them into Chanice Gate. Do you have any questions?"

Kline glanced around, noticing that no one else was speaking, and hesitantly raised his hand.

"Captain, shouldn’t we report this to our superiors?"

Dunn: "…"

He had forgotten.

...

Tingen City, Narcissus Street, No. 4.

Bernadette sat by her bed, her brows furrowed, her fierce aura making it hard for others to breathe. She seemed to be in a foul mood.

Thinking about how she almost let Luke embrace her, Bernadette felt a chill run down her neck. There was a mix of satisfaction from her fallen nature and the fear of falling into an abyss.

This "Uncle Luke" was too cunning, using her curiosity about her father’s hometown and the unfamiliar delicious food to get close to her. She almost fell for it!

Fortunately, she regained her senses at the last moment and managed to cut her losses. Otherwise, if she had allowed herself to be embraced without resistance, it would have been hard to explain.

The other party would definitely have pushed further, gradually testing her limits. After the embrace would come kisses, starting with the cheeks, then the lips, followed by touching and flirting, and…

Bernadette took a deep breath to calm herself. Matters of the heart were not her forte; focusing on the task at hand was crucial at this stage.

At that moment, she felt a disturbance in her spiritual energy, her eyes growing deep and unfocused, like the surface of the sea before a storm, vast and without a point of reference.

A vision from the "Master of Prophecy"!

A vague and indistinct image flashed through her mind, a silver, ethereal river appearing and disappearing.

A vivid scene suddenly emerged in Bernadette's mind.

The background was a stark, undecorated room, shrouded in shadows, devoid of any furniture, empty like a coffin awaiting its occupant, with an eerie aura under the dim, overlapping light.

A faint, rhythmic noise from outside, like the hum of machinery, could be heard.

A woman lay naked on the floor, her face beautiful and delicate, her long hair spread out like a sacrificial lamb on an altar.

Her gaze was gentle, filled with maternal tenderness as she gently stroked her belly, which swelled and contracted, the imprint of tiny hands faintly visible beneath the skin. The faint cry of a baby, laced with boundless malice and dark, sinister whispers, could be heard.

Two hooded figures loomed in the shadows around her, and before them lay lifeless young girls, their fresh, warm blood slowly flowing through carved channels, converging beneath the woman and gradually disappearing into her abdomen.

A horrifying gnawing sound continued unabated.

Suddenly, a pair of blood-stained infant hands burst forth, tearing through the woman's abdomen.

The baby severed the umbilical cord and slowly crawled out, revealing its true form.

It had three heads, representing youth, maturity, and old age, with eyes devoid of innocence, filled only with corruption and madness.

Then, a cross appeared in the vision. A massive cross that filled the sky.

On this cross, a naked man was nailed with black iron spikes, his arms outstretched, feet up, head hanging like a pendant, his body covered in bloodstains.

The inverted giant suddenly opened his eyes, filled with boundless malice.

Crack—

The vision shattered, and Bernadette gasped, stepping back, two streams of blood tears flowing from her eyes.

She wiped away the blood, her voice wavering.

"The True Creator?"

The evil deity formed from the fusion of the spirit of the "Ancient Sun God" and the divine materials of the "Hanged Man", the deity worshipped by the Aurora Society, and the great being followed by the "Angel of War" Medici and the "Angel of Fate" Urolus.

Bernadette opened her blood-streaked eyes, her expression growing serious.

The vision was a prophecy, not a real event, but a glimpse of the future.

The harbinger of disaster had arrived, and now was the time to stop it.

Without hesitation, Bernadette vanished into the void.

...

In a mysterious and unknown land.

A phantom light composed of complex information enveloped itself and the area, concealing it from view.

The "Concealed Sage" wandered through this region, occasionally splitting off hundreds of chaotic information streams from the vast flow of information, forming smaller strands that disappeared into the void.

This was the "Concealed Sage's" way of peering into the secrets of the unknown, as well as the process of whispering and imparting knowledge to the path of the "Secret Supplicant."

Suddenly, the phantom light halted, the complex information forming a massive, serpentine entity, a part of its body glowing.

It was a marked piece of information, a high-level contamination that could not be removed despite its information-based nature.

The head of the phantom serpent revealed a pair of lashless, cold, and nearly transparent eyes, staring intently at a specific direction.

The direction of the Godforsaken Land!

Using the mark and the unique connection to the "Extraordinary Trait", the "Concealed Sage" sensed the enemy's ascension.

Its body transformed back into a complex information stream, the phantom light constantly changing shape, as if calculating and predicting something.

But it saw nothing.

Whether through divination or prophecy, all information related to the enemy was elusive and impossible to interpret.

Realizing that his prophetic abilities were useless, the "Concealed Sage" stopped using them, his cold eyes gleaming with a chill.

He would kill the enemy!

Having experienced it once before, he would find the enemy earlier this time, avoiding the situation where he arrived only after the ascension was complete.

The enemy was growing too fast, too quickly. If he waited any longer, and the enemy ascended to godhood and followed the mark, he would be utterly destroyed.

This was his only chance.

Without any hesitation, the "Concealed Sage" vanished into the void, using the connection to the enemy to rush toward the Godforsaken Land.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end