Gun of Ashes

Lorenzo sat in the chair, with a few vials of potion placed in front of him. Despite being well-sealed, a slight strange smell still found its way into his nose, making him sneeze.

As he raised his head, he found himself in the massive underground factory, surrounded by steel and machinery intertwining. It resembled a giant deep well, and he was at the very bottom, unable to see the sky no matter how he looked up.

After several temptations and persuasions by Merlin, Lorenzo reluctantly agreed to his experiment, while he himself also pondered a lot, just as Merlin said, why he survived.

Lorenzo thought long and hard, pondering who would benefit most from his survival, and ultimately came to just one conclusion.

It was Watson who didn’t want to die, and his survival was merely an attachment.

Lorenzo himself was like a cage, trapping Watson firmly within. As long as Lorenzo remained silent, Watson would always be trapped here, and once Lorenzo died, the last person who remembered her would vanish, leaving Watson without any tether for survival, hence she needed Lorenzo to live. The two had an eerie symbiotic relationship.

Of course, these were just Lorenzo’s conjectures. When it came to the nature of the Pseudo Holy Grail, he could only rely on speculation to judge.

Watson was born on that Night of the Holy Arrival, during which almost all participants perished in the catastrophe. Let alone experimenting on the nature of the Pseudo Holy Grail, even those who knew of her existence were scarce... possibly only Lorenzo alone.

Until now, Lorenzo still believed himself to be one of the few survivors of the Night of the Holy Arrival, the only one who remembered all that agony.

”So are you still peering into all of this?”

Lorenzo whispered softly, his gaze warning as he scanned around.

He recalled his conjecture that after Lawrence died and he returned from the Black Angel, Watson vanished. This evil anomaly of a devil no longer responded to any of his calls, as if she were merely a figment of Lorenzo’s mad imagination, or perhaps she had escaped from Lorenzo’s cage.

However, Lorenzo was more inclined to speculate that Watson was still trapped within him. She just maintained silence, observing Lorenzo’s confused expression with an evil smile, waiting for him to become delusional and self-doubting until the firm faith cracked for her to shatter.

Sweeping his gaze back and forth, Lorenzo believed Watson was nearby, lurking in some unnoticed darkness, watching him. But then, this raised another suspicion regarding Medanzo’s whereabouts.

The ghost-like Medanzo existed within Lorenzo’s [Gap], serving as one of the shackles guarding the Pseudo Holy Grail, yet until now, there had been no reaction. Lorenzo sensed nothing of his presence.

Once again, a riddle appeared before Lorenzo, as if some danger were slowly approaching, he wanted to prepare in advance, but couldn’t discern the direction from which it was coming.

”Mr. Holmes!” Merlin shouted, pulling Lorenzo out of the whirlpool of thought.

This Alchemist evidently had planned in advance, as some experimental tools and potions were already prepared, making Lorenzo question if he had been manipulated.

”Just call me Lorenzo.”

Lorenzo said, feeling that the overly respectful words felt rather strange after hearing them frequently.

”Alright, let’s start with this, Lorenzo.”

Merlin said as he handed a vial of Florun Potion to Lorenzo, ”We don’t know what you might encounter; it certainly won’t hurt to keep yourself clear-headed.”

Lorenzo took the potion and skillfully pressed it against his neck, injecting it. After a brief pain, there was a biting cold sensation, and everything became a bit clearer before his eyes, which felt amazing.

”Do you remember the process when you used the Armor of Original Sin before?” Merlin asked.

Lorenzo nodded. To be honest, for him, every time piloting the Armor of Original Sin wasn’t a pleasant experience.

”Lorenzo, the last time you piloted the Armor of Original Sin, you lost consciousness directly. But interestingly, you did not lose control. In that erosion, you seemed to enter a strange state. Am I right?”

Indeed, Merlin had planned this. If anyone in the Purification Mechanism most wanted Lorenzo to live, it would definitely be Merlin. Such experimental material wasn’t something that appeared often.

”Weapon Master?”

Lorenzo recalled everything from then; he entered that machine named Weapon Master, the Armor of Original Sin, and then... then he stepped into the [Gap].

Yes, Lorenzo suddenly remembered; he raised his head, looking at the Black Angel as if hanged, with a terrifying thought slowly rising in his mind.

That mysterious [Gap], every time Lorenzo reached there, it was through Medanzo or Watson’s summon, but that time was different. It was as if the Armor of Original Sin was some kind of connector, allowing him to actively reach the [Gap] himself.

”The connected and the administrator...”

Lorenzo recalled Medanzo’s description of all these. The [Gap] seemed like a large spiritual world; when erosion reached a certain level, when you are plunged into the deepest darkness, you can see it. Lorenzo could only be passively connected, like that time when summoned by the Static Holy Temple.

But with the Armor of Original Sin, it was different. That time, he actively connected to that eerie spiritual world with the Weapon Master, allowing him to even see the [Gap] representing the Static Holy Temple there.