Deep Sea Embers

Does this talisman really work? Is this thing so convincing among the Sunists?

Duncan became happy in his heart, but he still maintained a mysterious posture of covering half his face. Then speaking lightly after putting away the talisman: “If the church does have an eye here, they would be more attracted to a large group like you guys gathering together instead of my talisman.”

As soon as his voice fell, a bearded man on the opposite side subconsciously spoke: “No, our group will only attract the police at most since we won’t disturb the social order…”

“Shut up!” The tall, thin leader immediately hushed the underling with a glare before returning his gaze to Duncan, “This is a necessary caution; after all, this city is very unsafe now. You come closer and don’t make any superfluous movement.”

While Duncan calmly walked towards the opposite side, the other party continued to keep a vigilant eye on him. Only after they’re close enough did the thin, tall guy ask: “Are you a local believer in this city?”

Duncan thought for a moment and nodded: “Yes.”

The original owner of the body did live in the city, and he now lives in the city, and on these easy questions, he decided to tell the truth.

His plan was simple: find a way to fish in troubled waters and blend in among these cultists. This way, he could catch any news that might arise and perhaps ask more questions without exposure. Of course, in the worst-case scenario, he could always let Ai transform and bird them up!

The tall and thin man didn’t notice the dangerous thoughts running wild in the “compatriots” heart, “As far as I know, the Storm Church attacked the local branch several days ago….”

“That’s right. The assembly in the sewers several days ago was a disaster. The ceremony got out of control, and we lost a lot of people as a result. But I escaped.”

Duncan said this without psychological burden because it’s technically the truth. Even so, the ghost captain could clearly feel the tense atmosphere around him from these people after his announcement. Hurrying to correct his careless remark, “There were three others like me who escaped, but we were separated afterward. I can no longer get in contact with them anymore. Then I met you through the sun’s guidance.”

The tall and thin man snorted noncommittally, and then his gaze fell on the guy’s shoulder: “What is that?”

“My pet,” Duncan said casually, “can’t you see? It’s just an ordinary dove.”

Ai bent her head at the right time and made a loud “cooing” sound.

“This dove is so loud…” The tall and thin man seemed to finally relax his vigilance, probably subconsciously thinking a guy who’s been taught to abide by the rules from the church wouldn’t have the habit of running around in the city with a bird pet. “Follow me. It’s not safe to talk outside.”

Duncan immediately breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Finally, his plan to fish in troubled waters seemed to have worked.

Then he followed the cultists and went deeper into the alley.

The alley ran longer than Duncan had imagined, leading to this city’s most decrepit slums. Then after passing through another old steam-releasing pipe system, through sewage paths, and winding into a low, dilapidated complex of buildings, Duncan finally got his first glimpse of what it truly means to be impoverished in this world.

He thought the shop where he and Nina lived was already at the bottom of society, but now, what the antique shop represented could only be called lavish in the lower sectors.

Most of the dilapidated houses lining the road are lifeless and looked abandoned for some time, but a few did seem to give off a small life presence through the windows. Likely some homeless folks hiding in this forgotten part of the city had taken residence, and they’re now watching these uninvited guests who intruded upon their turfs.

But in the end, these lifeless eyes were quickly retracted—the dozen or so intruders were obviously enough to make any homeless folk cower in fear.

“See, this is the most prosperous city-state on the Boundless Sea, Pland,” the man in black who first caught Duncan’s attention muttered. “It’s the same everywhere you go. Whether it’s the other human settlements or the elves’ Wind Harbor that they call the promised land of peace and justice, it is all like this in the slums. How much of this world’s light can actually reach these souls you think?”

Duncan didn’t reply to that comment but glanced up towards the steam-spewing pipes coming down from the upper sector of the city and industrial area – everything around the pipes was giving off an unpleasant stench of chemicals and sewage.

Though he didn’t live in this city for long, Duncan had no trouble understanding why urban cancerous cells like these cultists would pop up again and again then.

Silently giving the indignant man in black a nod, Duncan decides to keep his opinion to himself instead of lashing out.

Regardless of what the reason being – seduced by the sun cult or persecution by life – the fact remains that these twisted heretics are kidnapping innocent civilians from these slums to sacrifice in their sick rituals.

As a “foreigner” who didn’t know enough about the world, Duncan had no right to judge them too much for the time being. However, from a former sacrifice’s perspective, his opinion of these cultists could only be very negative.

In silence, he finally reached the stronghold of these cultists.

The base was located in the underground parts of an abandoned factory. Somehow, these cultists always seem to know which gutter to use as their gathering place to avoid detection, or perhaps there are just that many sewers in this prosperous steam city to tap.

Anyways, after climbing over a collapsed brick wall fencing the property and opening an iron gate to the basement, Duncan was quickly ushered in and down into an open-styled room.

It was a warehouse type of place, or it could have been a mechanical room at some point. Regardless of what it was meant to function as, the basement had been emptied out, and only the plumbing system remained on the ceiling. There are still some gas lamps hanging on the walls, but those could no longer be lit – dark spaces are dangerous – so the cultists avoided any area that their greased torches couldn’t reach. Eventually, they arrived before a larger group of cultists already waiting for them.

Duncan observed the individuals gathered here in the wide basement with some surprise, and likewise, the cultists were also watching him with wary and caution. To them, Duncan was a stranger and must be kept on watch with vigilance, which they acted on by surrounding him.

Frowning at this stance: “What, you must search me again after coming inside? I didn’t know there was such a rule.”

“If you are really a spy from the church then a body search is useless.” The tall thin man rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a cloth strip to hand over to Duncan, “Relax, merely a more rigorous verification process. This is all for caution. We have lost far too many compatriots over the past few years due to various reasons. Take it and recite after me.”

Duncan glanced at the object handed over by the other party and saw that it was a dirty strip of cloth. At first glance, it looked no different from a torn fabric of an old shirt stained by blood.

Is this another prop for the suntists to verify their fellow believers?

Duncan was a little surprised in his heart, lamenting that this was really a group worthy of being hunted by the professionals from the church. Day in and day out hiding in the dark crevices of society has honed their skills to a level where they are watching out for spies and outsiders at every minute.

“In the name of the sun, may the light of the Lord shine…”

Duncan immediately got a familiar sensation after hearing that chant – just days ago a cultist had said something similar to him and also handed a talisman over!

Without anyone noticing, he quietly seeped a spark of green flame into the seemingly ordinary strip of cloth in his hand. Only after doing this did Duncan follow the chanting prayer with a straight face, which naturally remained quiet to the praying mantra.

Finally nodding after a brief period of unresponsiveness, the cultist appeared pleased and smiled while retrieving the cloth, “Welcome back to the glory of the Lord, my fellow brother.”