The name struck the young knight like some kind of weapon. He staggered forward a few steps, almost falling, but instead of stopping, he ran as fast as he could.

Ed was in hot pursuit, watching Eric slam open a side door in the hallway a few paces away, almost throwing a spell in his frustration - even harder to catch up with him if he escaped into the fog outside.

The thought flickered, and a series of dull sounds made him raise his eyebrows in surprise...... It sounds like someone has fallen.

He staggered out the door, looking at Eric as he tried to get up from the ground, and couldn't believe his good fortune. Probably because he was so flustered, the young knight really fell under the steps he had walked a thousand times, and he struggled for a while but could not get up, and turned over to support the ground with his hands, and shrank back in panic, stopping at the edge of the floating fog, looking at Ed in a daze.

The mist surrounded him, revealing a thin and pale face, messy hair almost connected to the beard, guilt and cringe in his eyes, and a sense of panic and despair from which there was no escape.

Ed looked back at him as well, with mixed feelings in his heart, and slowly took a few steps forward, reaching out to him without a word.

Eric stared blankly at his hand, hesitated in disbelief for a long time before reaching out to hold it and standing up.

Time seemed to stop flowing, and they looked at each other, as if neither of them knew what to say for a moment.

"Ed ......"

It was a long time before Eric whispered. The whole person collapsed in an instant.

"Ed ...... Sage ...... I'm sorry...... I'm sorry......" He whimpered and repeated over and over again, reaching out to cover his face and unconsciously falling to his knees. "I never meant to hurt you...... I'm sorry...... But I didn't lie, Ed, I didn't lie......".

Ed never knew how difficult it was to calm down a man who was crying out in pain, and he didn't know how to comfort him, so he just crouched to the side with mixed feelings, and only asked cautiously until Eric's crying gradually stopped. Trying to figure out how he got back here.

After Ed and the others escaped from Ante's siege, Eric was thrown into prison for a time - Ante Bofford was clearly upset that he had helped Ed escape, but probably quickly forgot about his existence.

Quillin Ayer didn't bother him too much. He was soon released...... But he had nowhere to go.

He couldn't even remember how long he had been in prison or how long he had wandered the streets of Visa. He wandered around in a daze, swallowed up by remorse day by day.

He didn't dare to go back to the temple, he knew there would be no place for him anymore. He couldn't go home either. He was the pride of his parents...... But what did he do?

"I'm not lying......" he repeated over and over again. It seemed that it was the only salvation in his despair, "I knew I was a cowardly fool...... I didn't try to find the truth, I didn't even have the courage to tell you...... But in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong way, to the wrong person...... I messed everything up...... But I'm not lying......"

He looked at Ed beggingly, as if hoping to be forgiven, but Ed unconsciously avoided his gaze.

He knew it wasn't Eric's fault...... He was clearly being taken advantage of, and the secrets he leaked hurt Sean Fletcher's prestige...... But that's where everything started to fall apart.

What he couldn't forgive was that he trusted Eric like a relative. The young knight was by his side almost all the time after he became a Sage...... But they told him nothing.

Ultimately...... Was it because he himself seemed untrustworthy? those who respectfully called him "the Sage", even Eric. I never really thought he could take on such a heavy responsibility.

But who is to blame? He's not strong enough.

He smiled wryly and patted Eric on the shoulder, telling him, "You did mess up...... But I'm not much better - or worse, stop praying for forgiveness and leave the judgment to God...... The only thing we can do is figure out what all this is all about...... How long have you been here?"

"A few months?" Eric recalled, somewhat dazedly, "before it started snowing......"

It was a long time before he heard that the plains of Collins had been shrouded in mist. Like many people, he thought it was because of the wrath of the goddess, which made him even more afraid to approach Collins, and at one point even headed north, hiding in the forests on the border of Anktan.

But remorse, remorse, and fear were so close to him that he had no way to escape.

Eventually, he returned, desperate and exhausted. He thought he was going to die in the fog, and that was the punishment he deserved...... But he didn't.

He walked all the way back to the temple in the mist.

At first he dared to wander around the square, kneeling down in front of the statue of the goddess and praying in fear, and after several days he could not hold back and enter the temple, wandering about the empty corridors, and even shouting everyone's name uncontrollably, but no one answered.

Anyway, he stayed—he belonged here.

He would sweep the temple every day and wipe everything clean, although there was always water seeping out and seeping out......

Occasionally he would feel like he had gone mad, or that this was not a Collins temple at all, but another world, his eternal cage, the real punishment.

"Sometimes I can hear them. He told Ed, his glazed eyes worrying, "They're right next to me, in the fog...... They walked around and talked and laughed with each other, but no one could see me, no one knew I was here...... But they're not here, are they? They're ...... Another temple ......"

Ed froze.

He didn't know how many of the rumors outside about the Collins Temple were true, but the massacre ...... It also seems to be completely hidden in the fog. Scott tells him that all the bodies are buried on the island of the Holy Sepulchre, and that even the fog was created by Icabold to protect the temple, according to his guess. It is likely that the priest is hiding here, or somewhere nearby, and may even be actually watching them secretly...... By the time Eric arrived, there was probably no trace of the massacre - and Icabold probably wouldn't have left anything useful for Ed to find.

Ed, who had just thought of this, was a little frustrated. He knew that if Icabold didn't want to show up, it wouldn't be useful if he cut his throat...... But he didn't get nothing.

"Yes, they're in another temple...... So. Come with me, shall you?" he suggested softly to Eric, "let's go back to Christenburg first......

He didn't know how Eric had lived alone here. He was very thin, his armor was polished, but his hair and beard were completely unkempt, and the sour smell seeped through the cracks in his armor...... Mental illness also doesn't seem normal.

He couldn't leave him alone here anymore.

"But......" Eric looked at him stunned, "I have to protect this place." I am the knight of the god of water, and I must guard her temple until everyone returns...... They're going to be back, aren't they? One day the fog will lift, the sun will come in, everyone will come back, and they'll forgive me...... The goddess will forgive me, won't she?"

Ed stared at him, unable to answer.

Ed stayed with Eric in the temple for two days, but was unable to convince him to leave, leaving him alone. If he hadn't been in any danger for a few months, the temple might have been safe.

He took the time to walk around Icabold's library, apprehensively picking a few locks—but there was nothing important in them, and there was a neatly locked drawer that contained even a neat stack of damp white paper...... If Icabold had hidden any clues in the rows of books, he didn't know how long it would take him to find them. What's more, the cunning pastor probably brought important things with him.

He also went to Felicity's room, the one he had never entered...... The room was small and casually cleaned up, and a lot of things seemed to be left where they were, as if the host would come back at any time.

Something was pressing heavily on his chest, and he almost forgot what he was here for.

He carefully put everything he touched back in its place...... But there were no useful clues here, except that Felicity seemed to be quite fond of candy—the silver jar at her bedside was stuffed with rainbow-colored hard fruit candy like a child.

...... No, that's not a useful clue.

On the fourth day after leaving Kriesburg, he reluctantly decided to return.

He washed his clothes and boots in the roadside stream, made up the lie seriously, and even added many small details that were quite believable, such as Quilyn seemed to have a lot of gray hair...... and so on.

The dark-haired girl greeted him with another warm hug, her brown eyes smiling, while Norvi standing behind her looked a little strange, and Tess kept frowning......

"How's Visa?" Narya asked him, "Is Lord Ayr alright?"

"Oh, that's good. Ed replied with a smile, but felt a chill in that moment.

The smile on Naria's face quickly froze. She folded her arms and glared at him coldly.

"Pretty good?" she repeated.

Ed nervously curled his shoulders slightly, and glanced at Norway in a hurry, sensing some kind of danger.

Naria glared at him silently for a moment, then jerked away.

"Oh...... You're dead. ”

Tess said sympathetically and gloatingly.

(To be continued......)

PS: My keyboard is not controlled by me...... Anyway, the next chapter moves on to the final volume!