CHAPTER 1031: CHAPTER 224: DARKNESS DESCENDS, KEEP HOPE ALIVE

Everything came suddenly.

To the Twisted Vine Church, it didn’t matter whether it was Lu Li bringing back the God of the Deep Sea or the news he carried.

"Didn’t the Prophet know these things?"

Lu Li looked towards the other end of the True Library.

"He is still asleep..."

The twisted figure, appearing as Saint Aileen, whispered.

But perhaps it was the future he consented to, the news brought by Lu Li.

And the God of the Deep Sea, upon realizing the existence of the Eternal Dreamer, murmured, "His experiences are more ancient than ours..."

But unlike the Ancients, who were made formidable by time, the Eternal Dreamer was made powerful by being granted time.

"We will retreat to underground passages, the investigator’s base, the Watchman’s secret place..."

They had many escape routes with the True Library at their disposal.

The God of the Deep Sea refused the Twisted Vine Church’s hiding. At that moment, He revealed the reason for arriving at Ailen Peninsula.

Light dispels darkness.

The God of the Deep Sea wanted to make Ailen Peninsula a place where darkness could not reach.

"This is the gift I have prepared for you... a Land of Light."

The God of the Deep Sea’s power was continuously diminishing; before completely disappearing, He turned His power into a gift that only the Ancients could bestow.

"Without the clouds, the starry sky will be exposed," Lu Li said.

"I and the power of the clouds will block the projection of the starry sky."

The God of the Deep Sea whispered, He said the clouds were entangled with an unremovable filth that both hindered and protected them.

Lu Li guessed that the filth referred to the plant calamity.

Before the God of the Deep Sea’s self-sacrifice, they had one last thing to do: choose a location.

Lu Li’s allies were spread across Ailen Peninsula. And far away from Belfast, the Seaview Cliff used for refuge became meaningless, and with Annie’s growth, it would eventually become a limitation.

They needed to choose a new territory to declare their claim over Ailen Peninsula.

Belfast is the center of Ailen Peninsula.

Agate Lake is the center of Belfast.

Although now occupied by the Breath Worm and its vampire monster followers, the God of the Deep Sea easily turned them into flesh and soil that could supply Annie with a large amount of nutrients.

The anomalies of Belfast trembled under the majesty of the Ancients; however, the God of the Deep Sea had little time left and could not attend to them.

In the sorrow of the Elm Forest, they moved Annie to the island in the center of Agate Lake and buried soil there.

When persuading the ally Twisted Vine Church to migrate, Lu Li faced obstruction.

Without the Prophet’s prescience, they wanted to see the light truly pour over this deep land before they would move to Agate Lake.

However, to protect Lu Li and Annie at Agate Lake, the twisted figures and the neighboring camp each sent a team of believers to help guard the Shore of Agate Lake.

Annie without the Elm Forest needed protection.

And the Prophet who left no revelation cast a shadow over what the God of the Deep Sea was about to do.

The connection with Vena Ice-Free Port was tenuous until the other side became assistant Valendo; it then became stable.

He said many citizens had already withdrawn into the underground shelters, Mayor Matteus was busy calming the citizens and maintaining order.

However, everyone was very pessimistic.

Many had not made it into the underground shelters; they were fathers, wives, elders, children. And they did not know how long the darkness, which could not be dispelled from the surface, would persist.

Perhaps the God of the Deep Sea should let sunlight pour over Vena Ice-Free Port, but it was too late.

A few dozen minutes ago, the Mother of the Marsh sent a message, saying darkness shrouded the swamp land.

In the darkness, no anomalies lurked because it itself was an anomaly, a sort of pollution. It constantly affected the places it shrouded.

The Mother of the Marsh, mastering the complete Shadow Swamp, barely resisted being eroded by the darkness; this was related to her servants all being anomalies.

News from Midnight City dispelled Lu Li’s speculation of "whether Vena Ice-Free Port could resist the darkness without stopping the Inquisition". Even Midnight City, which declared protection, was forced to evacuate the surface and retreat underground.

And now, from the north spread a darkness more profound than overcast clouds that emerged in the sky.

"Will you die because of this?" Lu Li asked the slowly ascending God of the Deep Sea.

"I may die, or perhaps fall into a long sleep, waking downstream in the long river of time."

The God of the Deep Sea lowered His head, a low chant emerged from the shadows.

"If there is no torch, I am the only light."

His insignificant but world-filled figure vanished into the depths of the clouds.

The distant surging darkness approached, yet the clouds remained calm.

But gradually, something began to change imperceptibly.

A gale began to howl, sweeping debris into the air. Ink-black waves roared violently.

The approaching darkness grew closer and closer, and the mountain-foot Watch Town had already disappeared. The darkness climbed Sugard Mountain, then engulfed the last plot of land on Ailen Peninsula.

Primal darkness surged around, everything within it lost meaning, some presence was corroding Lu Li, and the countdown to the dark calamity silently started.

Did He fail?

Just as Lu Li had that thought and was about to retreat underground, a vague golden hue emerged in the depths of darkness.

The golden hue grew brighter and brighter, and the endless darkness could not resist its spread, driven back, revealing its current appearance—

Like the eye of a storm cloud, the clouds broke open with cracks, and a slanting golden light leaked through the clouds into the mortal world, spilling onto the serene sea and the desolate city below.

Twisted Vine Church, Saint Elena’s face calmly gazed at the beams of light pouring through the clouds.

In the Dark Alley, the rat men, fleeing from the God of the Deep Sea’s presence, stopped and gazed up in a daze at the light descending into the city.

Countless gazes lit up in every corner of Belfast, witnessing sunlight that had never appeared before.

At the top of Sugard Mountain, the tranquil and beautiful Agate Lake reflected the flickering light.

Under the Annie Tree, swaying gently from the sunlight and breezes, Lu Li stood quietly.

A figure stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder.

Snap.

A shadow fell from the sky, landing in the soil at Lu Li’s feet, revealing the outline of a chess piece.

The God of the Deep Sea succeeded and failed.

He brought light, but it only covered Belfast.

Lu Li picked up the Doomsday Apocalypse, wiping away the clinging mud.

"So beautiful..." Anna’s soft whisper echoed in the air. "Lu Li, I want to see this moment with my own eyes..."

"I will find you." Lu Li stored the chess piece, replying to the dissipating figure.

"I found you..."

A gentle whisper suddenly sounded in his ear. A surge and the darkness abruptly wrapped around Lu Li, gripping his heart, shrouding his reason, wandering for a moment then gradually dissipating.

Lu Li raised his calm dark eyes to observe his surroundings. Anna was not here, as if the earlier sounds and the disquieting embrace were just an illusion.

And memories of the "door" he’d seen before floated through Lu Li’s mind.

When you hear it, they can see you.

When you see it, they can touch you.

Never, ever touch it...

Lu Li, as if perceiving something, glanced into the distance.

At the edge of the Shore of Agate Lake’s encampment, a pure black shadow, dim and with no reflection, seeming to absorb all light, slowly walked from between two groups of believers.

No one noticed its approach, except Lu Li.