Gun of Ashes

Old Dunling, Winchester Law Firm.

He opened his eyes to a new day, the ceiling above covered with colorful posters, some from years ago, others seemingly just put up yesterday.

Lorenzo stretched lazily, feeling as if he knew his goal, and rose from bed with an energy-filled flip, tossing the blanket aside, rubbing his drowsy eyes, then stepped off the bed.

It had been a long time since he felt this way; Lorenzo wasn’t sure if it was a sense of mission or something else, but he felt his once-empty body now filled, seeing a guiding lighthouse in the previously confused darkness.

He walked to the first floor, sat on his familiar sofa, and gazed out the window, taking in the vibrant world.

In the early morning light, he saw several children chasing and playing, their parents following behind, chatting and laughing joyfully. The sight mesmerized Lorenzo; he had never had such things and found them hard to understand, but it didn’t matter, as it reminded him of the end of yesterday’s conversation.

In truth, after leaving the dark cemetery, Lorenzo still had some questions. The queen mentioned she lacked any so-called courage, so where did her strength to resist minutely come from? Lorenzo found the queen somewhat contradictory; he wanted to ask Arthur, but before leaving, he saw a scene.

In the open underground field, the queen stood by the door, seeing them off; as Lorenzo looked back at her, he saw the girl who had previously questioned him run joyfully to the queen. They said something, which Lorenzo didn’t hear, but then he somewhat understood the queen’s thoughts.

Perhaps people are not brave for themselves but sometimes walk into the darkness for others.

Everyone is but an incurable mortal.

Thinking this, Lorenzo picked up the Nail Sword and resumed polishing it. His upcoming journey was already set; Lorenzo would accompany the fleet to the Viking countries, crossing the Silent Sea to reach the World’s End.

The fleet had long been assembled, but there seemed to be some issues needing resolution. Lorenzo found himself with some free time, yet in such situations, he found it difficult to idle and, not knowing what else to do, polished the sword blade repeatedly until it shone brightly, then put it aside.

Lorenzo recalled something and retrieved the Holy Silver Crown from a pile of dirty clothes.

He idly toyed with it, his mind filled with new ideas. In reality, the looming threat he faced wasn’t the doomsday foretold by prophecy, but rather the Silencers maintaining the world’s silent mechanism. These bizarre entities mindlessly followed some rule.

Now, they were drawn by something, lacking the strength to deal with informants like Lorenzo, but no one knew when they might ease, making the Holy Silver capable of blocking the Gap invasion the most precious resource.

Lorenzo gazed at the crown, new ideas forming in his mind.

After so much, Lorenzo had almost unraveled the connection between Demon Hunters and Demons, shedding the sacred embellishments to reveal raw truths, whether it be Secret Blood, Authority, or the strange Ascension. The once blurred world was becoming clearer under his discovery.

Indeed, Lorenzo had a vague idea of the end of Ascension and the connection between Silencers and Demon Hunters...

And what about Holy Silver?

This strange, highly specific metal; Lorenzo had yet to discover its reason for existence. Like Demons, it seemingly appeared out of nowhere, diminishing with use, an irreplaceable resource isolated from the Static Holy Temple.

This was wrong, Lorenzo realized, all the world’s unsolved mysteries formed a complete circle, interlocking and forming a closed loop; he simply did not yet fully understand them.

Now, Lorenzo had a strange premonition that perhaps at the World’s End, he might find all the answers, whether about Demons or Holy Silver, or even the essence of this world...

”Lorenzo!”

A clear voice rang out, accompanied by the forceful opening of the door, abruptly interrupting Lorenzo’s thoughts.

Luckily, Lorenzo was calm enough; in the past, he might have already raised the Nail Sword.

”Eve?”

Lorenzo saw clearly who was standing at the doorway, puzzled about her appearance once again.

”Yo! Good morning!”

Another voice called out, and behind Eve came another figure.

Red Falcon seemed to treat this place as his own, swaggering in. From his appearance, his injuries seemed mostly healed, with bandages and supports removed, but his occasional grimace suggested he was still in recovery.

”Wow, have you been raising pigs in here?”

Red Falcon unreservedly expressed his disdain for the room, commenting on the office’s decor as he walked, stopping by a wall to look at the bull’s head decoration.