The carriage drove across bluestone-paved roads. The low buildings flanking the streets were bustling with life, their human residents active day and night. Occasionally, silhouettes of demons could be seen weaving through the crowd, and the downtown area remained brilliantly lit at all hours.
After a long journey, they finally arrived at their lodging for the night—the most luxurious establishment in the city-state, the Snow Bear Palace Hotel.
"Little Stone City's most eye-catching building is without question the Snow Bear Palace. It was such a shame that you, Hyperion, and I didn't pass through Little Stone City when traveling from the Demon Realm to the Polant Empire last time. I've wanted to give you a tour of this snowy city-state for so long."
Xigelei warmly introduced the sights to Talia, holding her hand and walking briskly forward.
The Snow Bear Hotel looked just like a majestic palace from the outside.
Before the entrance stood two colossal white bear statues, guarding this magnificent structure like loyal sentinels.
"Xigelei, slow down. I won't get lost,"
Talia said softly as she followed Xigelei.
Being treated like this by Xigelei gave Talia a warm, tingling flutter in her heart, as if she truly had a daughter.
If Hyperion were also by her side, Talia felt her demon life would be completely fulfilled.
"Caliera might be getting on in years, but she's still quite capable. She won't get lost on her own,"
Lanqi remarked to Xigelei and Talia after settling the fare with the driver.
The two in front both turned back to look at him without a word.
"You really are something..."
Talia didn't even know what to say to Lanqi.
This was why she had always been Lanqi's teacher and never once considered treating him like a son.
A rebellious disciple who only thought of going after his teacher all day could never be a mother's good boy.
"Only Caliera has a gentle enough temper not to take offense at you talking like that. Any hot-tempered female great demon would've knocked you flat by now,"
Xigelei remarked with a sigh.
With that, she turned back around, checked her bearings, and led Caliera toward the hotel once more.
Pushing open the heavy oak doors, warm light and cozy heat washed over them, instantly driving away the outside chill.
In the center of the lobby stood a magitech fireplace unique to the Land of Eternal Night. Orange-red flames danced merrily within the hearth, bathing the entire lobby in a vibrant glow.
Xigelei went to the front desk alone to register and complete the check-in procedure for the three of them.
"It's an apartment suite again,"
Xigelei said, handing room cards to Lanqi and Talia.
She and Lanqi had stayed in one just like it last time, featuring multiple separate bedrooms and a shared living room.
The Pope was surprisingly broke, with virtually no personal wealth to speak of, but she had saved up plenty of money over the years—more than enough to fund their twenty days of indulgence.
Besides, once they left the Shadow World, the currency here would be worthless. They might as well treat her like a sugar mommy and spend her money freely.
"I'm clearly the employer, yet I'm making you pay. I'm almost embarrassed,"
Lanqi remarked as he took the room card.
"Then how about you carry my suitcase upstairs for me? I'll go buy some of Gret Stone Fortress's delicacies and ingredients. Spending a bit of money to trade for the Pope's identity from you is hardly a loss,"
Xigelei teased, handing her suitcase to Lanqi.
"No problem."
Lanqi responded with a genial smile.
He sensed that after all these years, Xigelei had long stopped viewing him as an aristocratic lord; she took everything in stride now.
Xigelei strode toward the lobby exit, only to notice Lanqi keeping pace beside her.
"What, is there something else you wanted to tell me?"
she asked, tilting her head with interest.
Lanqi walked at an unhurried, leisurely pace. He didn't seem intent on accompanying her, but rather wanted to use the opportunity for a casual stroll and chat while going over a small errand.
"Remember to buy plenty of food,"
Lanqi whispered behind a cupped hand.
"How much, exactly?"
Xigelei pulled a small notepad from her pocket, jotted down a couple of strokes, paused, and looked up at Lanqi, waiting for his answer.
"Enough for the two of us for about a week, let's say,"
Lanqi confirmed after a moment of consideration.
"No problem."
Xigelei didn't probe further. She wrote it down and tucked the notepad away.
"I'll be back within half an hour. I won't keep you two waiting hungry for long."
Waving her hand, she walked through the glass doors of the Snow Bear Hotel lobby.
"..."
Lanqi smiled as he watched Xigelei depart, then turned and walked toward Talia, who was waiting for him on a sofa to the side of the ground-floor lobby.
"Is it really all right to let that child go out alone?"
Talia looked up at Lanqi with a worried expression.
Perhaps she shouldn't have worried so much, but just like when she had first met Hyperion, she found it hard to let go.
She wished she could keep the child within sight at all times to protect Xigelei.
"Don't worry. She was already very strong at age eleven, and heaven knows what level she's reached by now. Setting aside the city-state's protective barrier, there probably isn't a single person in Little Stone City who could take her in a fight,"
Lanqi picked up Talia's suitcase as he answered.
"Mm. Let's head upstairs, then."
Talia was rather pleased with Lanqi's boyfriend-like habit; staying with him meant she didn't have to think about a thing.
And yet, before Lanqi went to the Northern Continent, he had never carried luggage for her.
"Back when we were in South Vantina, whenever I offered to treat you to dinner, all you ever gave me were cold glares. How could I have dared carry your bags?"
Lanqi reminisced, reviewing the past with her.
"That's true enough. Sorry about that. I won't treat you like that in the future,"
Talia said with a slight smile after thinking it over.
"...?"
Lanqi froze, turning his head to look at her.
Had he woken up on the wrong side of the bed? Talia had apologized?
She seemed in an extraordinarily good mood today, even ditching her poker face to show a smile.
"I'm Caliera. Isn't it only natural for Caliera to be a bit gentler?"
Talia stated matter-of-factly.
She had grown fond of this Caliera persona.
She wanted to become a great demon like Caliera too.
"After putting on the Veil of the Fallen Paradise to become Caliera, only your appearance changed to hers. But both of you are already gorgeous, so it's practically the same as no change at all,"
Lanqi raised his objection.
Even though Talia had gained yet another skin,
he considered it a cosmetic-only upgrade that added nothing new.
"So you're saying I haven't changed on the inside at all, huh? I won't hold it against you, seeing as you genuinely find me pretty every time."
Talia gave a soft huff and strode ahead.
"You today..."
Lanqi couldn't figure her out.
When Talia responded like that, she truly did resemble Caliera's bearing as a ruler of the Demon Realm.
The two walked past the front desk toward the mana elevator.
Lanqi looked around, briefly glancing over every employee visible in the lobby.
"What's wrong?"
Talia sensed that Lanqi was acting out of the ordinary.
"...In the past, Little Stone City stood at the southernmost end of the Land of Eternal Night. Winter reigned year-round, with pure white snow blanketing the vast expanse. It was a predominantly beastman community, brimming with a primitive, rugged beauty while integrating the modern touch of human city-states,"
Lanqi explained to her, pausing in his steps with his chin in his hand as he pondered.
Along with the doubt in his furrowed brows, a trace of reminiscence gradually surfaced.
Among the six city-states along the route, Little Stone City—being at the southern tip of the Land of Eternal Night and closest to the Polant Empire—had enjoyed the most normal relations between beastfolk and humans, with frequent trade and a deep infusion of human culture.
Deeper into the Land of Eternal Night, the environment grew increasingly harsh. By the time one reached the final city-state, one would scarcely encounter any humans at all, and even demons would make appearances.
"!"
"That's right! Little Stone City is a beastman city-state. Why is everyone we've seen so far human? Where are the bear-folk?"
Talia also realized the blind spot.
She finally understood why Lanqi had remarked that something felt off when they were waiting for a carriage upon first entering the city.
Not a single cute little bear was in sight.
It was one thing on the outskirts of the city-state, but all the way to the downtown core, there wasn't a trace of the bear-folk. Even this Snow Bear Hotel, the pride of the bear-folk, had no bear-folk employees left.
"I'll go ask,"
Lanqi told Talia. Seeing her nod, they turned around together.
They walked back toward the lobby reception desk.
A young woman in uniform stood there, intently organizing documents.
The approach of the two distinguished guests caught her attention.
"Good evening, sir, madam. How may I assist you?"
The receptionist looked up, offering a professional smile.
"May I ask... why doesn't there seem to be a single member of the bear-folk in this city?"
Lanqi asked thoughtfully.
The receptionist's smile slowly froze, replaced by a flicker of sorrow in her eyes.
She hesitated for a moment, seemingly weighing her words.
"Sir,"
she took a deep breath and spoke slowly,
"the bear-folk... went extinct long ago."
To Lanqi, hearing this news felt like a blow to the head.
"How... could that be?"
he asked the receptionist, his heart clutched as if by an invisible fist.
"Six years ago, the Horning Empire and the Blood Clan launched a general offensive against Little Stone City. The bear-folk warriors led by Grand Lord Algom fought to the death, refusing to betray their allies. The price they paid once the city fell was a massacre by the invaders. Bear-folk warriors and civilians alike were disemboweled by the Blood Clan and strung up on the city walls to terrorize the other beastman city-states..."
The receptionist recounted the history of six years ago.
Perhaps only those who hadn't visited Little Stone City in many years were unaware of these events.
The closer one had been to the beastman city-states, the more heartbreaking it was to arrive after the war in a city that no longer had any bear-folk.
Hung from the walls, enduring the agony of torture without being allowed to die until their blood and entrails drained dry, only to be replaced by fresh bear-folk... Not a single bear-folk had been spared.
"..."
Standing before the counter, Lanqi remained silent for a long time.
A profound desolation surged into his chest, tightening his throat.
What had the bear-folk ever done wrong?
Was resisting the Blood Clan a crime in itself?
"Then... those fallen bear-folk... where do they rest?"
Lanqi's voice trembled slightly.
"Behind what was once the Temple of the God of Rock and Protection in the city center, there is a cemetery established specifically for the bear-folk. Many unidentifiable bear-folk remains are buried there. The Pope personally carved tombstones for them, and it has become a place to mourn and remember them,"
the receptionist pointed north and whispered.
She could hardly forget that night when the Pope, looking like a man possessed, had carved until his hands were covered in blood, weeping with immense guilt as he built burial mounds for the bear-folk.
"Thank you."
Lanqi thanked the receptionist, then strode briskly out of the hotel.
Talia followed him, unable to hide her worry.
The freezing wind whipped snow against his face, but he paid it no heed.
His steps had only one destination: that cemetery.
Passing through the increasingly tranquil streets,
Lanqi arrived at Little Stone City Memorial Park.
Amidst the pitch-black night, a vast, snow-covered cemetery appeared before him.
Countless simple headstones stood amidst the white snow, like silent sentinels guarding the eternal slumber of the dead.
Lanqi stepped slowly into the cemetery as a bone-chilling cold washed over him.
His gaze swept across the wordless tombstones, imagining what those departed bear-folk had looked like.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, soon piling up on the shoulders of Lanqi's coat.
He stood motionless before the cemetery like a frozen statue, letting the icy snowflakes cover him entirely.
"The Blood Clan really destroyed even the bear-folk's most important temple and idol."
He remembered that this was where the temple once stood.
The temple standing behind it now had likely been rebuilt by humans.
Remaining silent, he reminisced about those years that could never return.
He finally understood why, historically, Lord Black Sun had been able to break through the blockade to reinforce the Demon Realm even while the Blood Clan sought to sever the Land of Eternal Night.
If not for these beastfolk allies fighting desperately to delay the Blood Clan's offensive for several days, Lord Black Sun would never have had that chance.
"..."
Talia couldn't tell what Lanqi was thinking. Standing anxiously beside him, she tugged at the sleeve of his coat and stared at him.
Yet she felt that, for the first time, Lanqi was shaken.
Perhaps he was wondering: was this current peace truly just?
Or was this really the ending Lanclos of the Black Sun had wanted?
At that moment, the quest information updated.
[Quest Objective 2: Understand the mindset of Lanclos of the Black Sun: 2.71%. (Incomplete)]
The instant Talia caught sight of it, a dreadful premonition welled up in her heart.
Understand the Black Sun.
Could the end point of understanding the Black Sun be becoming the Black Sun?
What if...
What if true history was simply that Lanclos of the Black Sun narrowly triumphed over the Blood Clan and the Blood Clan chose to surrender, closely mirroring the projected timeline of the Shadow World they were currently in?
This seemingly beautiful Shadow World was no illusion, nor was it some victorious route uniquely forged by Lanqi; peace had genuinely arrived in real history.
A certain force was causing the Shadow World to converge back toward the historical timeline, gravitating toward an unshakeable direction.
Talia believed that Lord Black Sun had been a kind person at heart. One could see from Caliera's Shadow-Weaving Record that even though his eyes were no longer those of a youth and had grown clouded, his tears had remained crystal-clear.
Faced with such a compromised peace,
Lanclos of the Black Sun had long decided against causing any more sacrifices.
He had prepared to sleep away quietly and alone.
Yet, on the verge of death, he had received the farewell letter from Caliera of the Fall.
And so he had resolved to retrace his steps and revisit familiar places one last time.
Seeing all of this along the way, what kind of turmoil had Lord Black Sun felt?
"Lanqi, don't be lost. When you're hesitating, just listen to me."
Talia reached up to touch Lanqi's cold cheek, wanting to give him a bit of warmth.
Yet the tips of his hair were already soaked with melted snow, obscuring the green eyes beneath.
She believed Lanqi possessed a flawless heart—a heart like colored glass that seemed not made of flesh and blood, which was why he had always been able to maintain an inhuman composure.
Though Inoan's death might have cracked it, Lanqi's finest qualities had remained unchanged ever since.
"Don't worry, Teacher."
Lanqi shook his head, gently brushing Talia's warm hand away from his face.
Looking at Talia's troubled face, his expression was as guileless as ever, revealing no change whatsoever.
Chapter 769