Gun of Ashes

”Quick, leave, strangers, there’s nothing you want in Ice Bay.”

Nothing at all.

Froki huddled in the corner, his gaze cloudy, his consciousness completely replaced by madness. Heavy chains shackled him, and he growled beast-like at Lorenzo, trying to drive him away, but when Lorenzo’s gaze fell on him, he recoiled and trembled in fear.

Froki had lost his mind.

The shipbuilder who once explored the Seven Seas had now turned into this beastly figure.

”When did he become like this?”

Lorenzo didn’t seem ready to give up. He stepped forward to Froki, firmly held him down, and pried open his eyelids, staring into his cloudy eyes.

”Months ago, he attended an Apocalypse Society gathering; everyone died there, but he survived. At first, he still had some awareness and told me about what happened then,” Galron said slowly.

”What happened then?” Lorenzo asked.

”He said he thought he would learn the truth of the Apocalypse Society’s death, but it was just pure death. They danced around the bonfire and then died. The man wasn’t part of this; he left directly...”

Galron paused as he recalled some details of the story.

”The man intended to observe until the end, but he said he saw Odin.”

”Odin?”

”No... it should be the one called Pioneer. He referred to himself as Pioneer, but many people in the Apocalypse Society regarded him as Odin.”

Galron spoke these words with seeming disbelief.

Because he had seen it.

Amid a sea of flames, he saw the being called Pioneer, or Odin, he observed the night’s slaughter and savored people’s sacrifices to him.

”He didn’t dare stay longer. Upon leaving, he said he saw a miracle.”

The voice became ethereal as Galron drifted into the haze of memories.

”He said... he saw the Valkyries.”

Galron’s expression twisted slightly; he had always been reluctant to admit these things. If Froki was telling the truth, then the Apocalypse Society members were the true devout followers, and Galron and others were sinners who had forsaken Odin.

He refused to imagine these things; he rejected the memories and deceived himself.

”They had wings upon their backs, tearing through the aurora, endless radiance returned to their glory, descending from the heavens, guiding these brave souls into the Heroic Spirit Hall.

And for Froki, who fled, they cast the wrathful fires of divine punishment upon the sinful frozen earth; the gates of the Heroic Spirit Hall would forever be closed to him, leaving him only the cold of death.”

The lord said his eyes were left with nothing but endless light until he scrambled from the water onto the long ship and hurried back to Ice Bay.”

Listening to Galron’s story, the deputy beside him was also dazed; Galron had always told him Froki was ill, never expecting such hidden truths.

More oddly, the deputy slowly accepted his words, beginning to believe, and all this stemmed from that man.

The deputy turned his head to see Lorenzo’s back; as this man appeared before them, the world’s logic was shaken, and the line between myth and reality gradually blurred, until they overlapped.

”We are now part of the myth.”

The deputy said as if under a spell.

”Yes... part of the myth.”

Lorenzo suddenly responded to his words. He turned around, confusion, and... excitement marked his gaze.

The deputy shivered slightly; why did this man show a look of excitement? Why? He then looked at Bola, who shared a similar emotion in his eyes.

”Is it them?” Bola reignited his fighting spirit and asked.

”It should be.”

Lorenzo said as he stepped aside, revealing Froki behind him.

”He’s been corrupted. From Galron’s account, he should not have been too close to them... probably affected by something,” Lorenzo said solemnly, ”a very terrible thing, of broad range, pushing the level of corruption to late stage two in an instant. He lost his will but hasn’t yet entered demonization.”

”Do you know what this is?”

Galron crawled over desperately, looking at Lorenzo in shock.

”Hmm, it’s not anything like Valkyries... maybe the Heroic Spirit Hall is indeed a hoax.”

Lorenzo said casually as he picked up the chains and tied Froki tightly.

”A hoax...”

Galron muttered, tonight brought him a huge shock.

”By judging from the time, we must have just finished the tracking event then,” Bola added.

”Tracking... implying that the Silencers were drawn away by the Apocalypse Society gathering, right?”

Lorenzo’s movements paused; it was only with Bola’s reminder that he suddenly connected these events.

During the final battle in the workshop within the Perpetual Motion Pump, the Purification Mechanism was already struggling to fend off the Silencers’ assaults. But in that life-or-death moment, they suddenly disappeared. Lorenzo had analyzed it to be another, more significant threat that had drawn them away.

”Could it be the Apocalypse Society gathering? What did they do exactly?”

Lorenzo pondered, but no one answered him.

Clearly, the Apocalypse Society’s death wasn’t merely death; there must be some secret yet to be discovered.

”Go, bring Froki; forget trade and governance, make way for saving the world.”

Lorenzo tossed one end of the chain to Bola, gesturing for him to take Froki along.

”He’s already mad, useless!” Galron shouted, puzzled as to why Lorenzo was so fixated on Froki.

”I once knew a madman, sick much like him, but we later cured him. Froki can be saved,” Lorenzo asserted.

Hope flickered in Galron’s eyes, ”Really?”

”Yes.”

Lorenzo affirmed, facing Galron’s stare without evasion.

He wasn’t lying to Galron, only omitting some truths. During the tracking event, Lorenzo indeed revived William’s will through corruption, but at his awakening, his life entered a countdown.

”I... I’ll go with you!”

Galron struggled to stand, and the deputy swiftly supported him to prevent a fall.

”You? We don’t need baggage.” Lorenzo said.

”But you need a navigator, right? Before Froki recovers, I am second only to him as a navigator.” Galron’s voice was firm.

Lorenzo hesitated, while Bola then spoke.

”Take him. We took Froki; it’s hard to hide from the others. We will surely become their targets.”

”Alright then.” Lorenzo conceded, ”I won’t wait for you; whether you can keep up depends on you.”

Galron stayed silent; the deputy cast a confused look, to which Galron whispered.

”Remaining in Ice Bay leads only to dead ends; the situation is dire now, by morning it will be the King’s and the Lords’ disputes. If we follow them, and if the master awakens, we might still have some hope... moreover...”

Galron looked at Bola’s back; he hoisted Froki and closely followed Lorenzo.

”Moreover, they will surely kill Froki, we must stop them.”

Galron said this as he struggled to follow the two, standing on the terrace where blazing fires surrounded them, countless figures flickered, eerie cries echoed.

”This is really bad... am I really that unlucky, wherever I go, trouble follows?”

Seeing this, even Lorenzo couldn’t help but sigh, while Bola ignored him.

Suddenly, the long, distant sound of a steam horn rang out, so loud that even in the inner area of Ice Bay, it could be clearly heard.

Lorenzo turned toward the direction of the sound, the Morning Glow Advance broke through obstructions, and the deck was brightly lit before a Spear of Melting soared into the night sky, exploding into countless sparks that fell into the sea.

”What’s going on?”

Seeing the actions of the Morning Glow Advance, Bola immediately became alert, Lorenzo pondered for a moment, then smiled.

”It’s a signal flare, meant for us.”