Baie Young stood straight in the darkness, unmoving. He wouldn't have moved even if he hadn't had chains firmly in place around his body and limbs.

Yes, his limbs...... His severed right arm was perfectly stitched together, with fine, tightly fitting stitches. The living body would regenerate bones and flesh - but he knew he had lost something, something important, but he couldn't remember what it was.

His out-of-focus eyes stared blankly at a point in the void, listening to his steady breathing and slow, heavy heartbeat, and to the arguments that didn't make sense to him a few paces away.

"I told you I hate mending...... Who allowed you to let him out?!

"Oh, but you sew pretty well, and he's still alive and well, isn't it? Isn't it okay to just treat this as another experiment? See, I said it doesn't work, you've spent so long trying to bind his soul, but with a little stimulation he can break free. Why don't we just drain his soul? That would be much easier, and we won't be able to squeeze anything out of it anyway. ”

"Because then he's going to die! And I'm not like you...... I don't want a dead body!"

"Well, Your Majesty, we have known for a long time that each other wants different things, but at least we can still take what we need, and we have always worked well together......, haven't we? I can give you more. ”

"That's different! Nyo's power was in him, and I needed that...... Unless you can find me another clergyman who has lost his power!"

The heart pounded heavily against the chest. There was a dull ache that Baie shouldn't have felt—Nyo, he remembered the name, a glimmer of light. A little hope...... But she abandoned him and threw him into this endless darkness.

"Be patient, Your Majesty, be patient. It won't be long before I bring you more, you know I do what I say. ”

“...... Anyway, stop messing with my stuff!"

"Of course, Your Majesty. But lo and behold. I've got a little trouble, I wonder if I can take up a little bit of your time?"

“...... When will you stop those boring games! That's a waste of time!"

"But it's not a game, Your Majesty. Humans are very interesting creatures......"

The sound of footsteps and conversation faded away. Dead silence reigned around.

All Bye could listen to was his own heartbeat, again and again, strong and powerful, but meaningless.

- Bye Jan...... Think about who you are!

Whose voice crossed my head. Faint and almost impossible to grasp.

He frowned slightly. A little irritability stirred up in the heart that was as quiet as stagnant water.

He remembered his name as if it were a meaningless symbol, and he remembered bits and pieces. Snow-white buildings on the blue lake, bright red blood stains in the sun, huge silver-white wings stretched out...... But everything is like a pile of shattered stained glass, missing countless pieces, and no matter what, it is incomplete.

Bye Young, think about who you are.

In the midst of chaos. The phrase was repeated over and over again, and gradually became a hammer. It pounded heavily against the invisible wall in his soul.

Byee Young, think about who you are.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Copas Fenton's shoulders plummeted.

He had never been so tired, he was completely overdrawn mentally and physically, and he couldn't show a little tiredness in front of people.

Through the wooden door, which was not thick, he could clearly hear the sound coming from outside. Praying, begging, crying...... Maybe some thanks, but they were completely overshadowed by other voices. Compared to the swearing, roaring and roaring of the previous two days, today is a lot quieter.

This is Stunbuch, a city that has survived the plague. The beautiful city of Ten Thousand Springs is now chaotic and rotten—thankfully, not corpses, but just a mountain of garbage that no one has the leisure to clean up the piles of garbage.

That triggers more diseases...... But now that even Uptown and Lockburg have fallen, and the king's family has fled far to the south, who cares so much?

Those who could still escape desperately fled the city, but they had nowhere to go...... Across the river, the elves set up camp on the meadows beyond the forest, providing them with food and water, but if anyone dared to cross the meadow into the forest, the whistling arrows pierced their legs in an instant. All the cities along the Vinez River have closed their harbors, and no ships are allowed to approach them, otherwise they will be greeted only by flaming rockets, and a palisade has been erected on the plains to the north, where the Count of Hartz has sent his army to hold out day and night, and to anyone who wishes to escape from there into his territory, the human soldiers are more ruthless than the elves. People have to flee to the north, or to the west, but to the north is beyond a swamp of wetlands and the sea, and to the west is the rolling mountains, where no life can be found, whether infected or not.

In desperation, some people even rushed into the three-storied tower on a whim, hoping that the magic of the legendary cursed tower would ward off the plague...... It was as if they were silently devoured by the Black Tower, and whether they were alive or dead, those people never appeared again.

The priests of Nesses are the only hope in the shadow of death - only they can heal the sick. The faint suspicions from the other temples quickly faded, after all, even they needed help...... But even Copas, there are only three priests here, and even if they don't work day and night, the number of people they can save is extremely limited, not to mention that they must have enough rest to regain their strength and continue their treatment.

When the people first discovered this glimmer of life, the crowd nearly trampled Copas and his two companions to death. With his powerful words and forced spells, Copas managed to get the situation under control, and he realized that the city was not completely out of control...... At least not everyone is in despair and madness.

Someone began to organize and help them maintain order. Many of them are over half a hundred years old, and from time to time some people fall...... But there was a strange silence in the eyes of those people. It seems to be some kind of faith - but it is not a faith dedicated to the gods.

Along the hallway, Copas walked to his room. They occupied the magnificent Temple of Nyo...... It's empty here anyway.

But now the temple was packed, and the hidden corner of the backyard was the only place of peace. Under the protection of a team of paladins who believe in different gods, this is a resting place for priests.

When he opened his door, Copas immediately realized that there was someone in the room. In the darkness, he could feel the power of familiarity...... with the breath.

He calmly lit the candle, instead of relying on magical lighting - his strength had been squeezed to the brink.

The candlelight illuminated Scott's thoughtful face. He didn't speak, just pushed a small silver flask on the table in the direction of Copas.

Copas took the flask - without this, they would not have been able to hold on until now. But that's not enough.

"You know you have a better way to deal with this, Scott. He whispered. "People are dying. ”

"You also know everything that has happened here. Scott tapped his finger on the table, "I can be the savior you hope for, and make everyone abandon the other gods." From then on, only the name of Nesses was pronounced...... But this will make more kings and lords see us as a threat, more places will deny us access, and more people will die as a result...... We're not strong enough, Copas. Whatever the reason. What happened in Anktan, I don't want to see it a second time. ”

Copas fell silent. Nor could he forget the charred corpses.

“...... How many people died. Scott asked in a low voice.

"Until now, not many people have actually died from the plague. "More people are dying from the panic-induced chaos...... But you know the time, after tonight, it will get worse. ”

The vast majority of those infected with the plague die after three days. They had done their best to treat the first group that had fallen, but after the plague spread, the number of sick people was no longer enough for them to handle.

Scott stared at the candlelight in a daze. No matter how many people he has saved. None of them can be used to neutralize any of the lives that he could have saved but are still gone. The weight weighed on him, and sometimes it almost crushed him. Sometimes he can throw it away indifferently...... Sometimes he doesn't even know which one is his true self.

“...... I'll be back at dawn. He stood up and told Copass.

Copas bowed to him. The candlelight flickered, and when he looked up, there was no one in front of him.

Icabold disconnected and lost in thought.

He saw many—many messy pieces. It was impossible to piece them together into absolute truth, but he couldn't risk looking at them any longer, as it would tear his soul apart and fade away from time to time.

This diverse universe is so vast and boundless that even if he used all his strength, he could not even see it in its entirety in an instant.

The knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, making him slightly annoyed. But when he spoke, his tone still didn't fluctuate.

"Come in. He said.

The paladin, who pushed the door in, looked apprehensive, saluted him respectfully, and asked cautiously, "Excuse me, my lord, we just want to know how long we have to stay here?"

"Here" - Icabold could hear his displeasure in this simple word. As priests, they don't like to be like necromancers in this dark underworld, and rightfully so. What's more, they are all so young, too young to bear loneliness.

"Wait until the Goddess summons us. Ikabard replied calmly, "Take this as a test, young man, and you need a little patience. ”

The paladin replied with a roar and exited the room in a panic.

Even though Icabold had saved everyone who was here now, he had gained more fear than respect.

The pastor doesn't care about that - he doesn't even care much about them, not even his own life. They are such tiny beings, so small that they are not worth mentioning.

But someone cares...... And he had made a promise to that man.

Icabold frowned, thinking about the contradiction between the eternity he couldn't touch and the reality he couldn't get rid of, and sighed slightly.

(To be continued......)