Gun of Ashes

[Lorenzo.]

[I understand.]

In the silence, Lorenzo and Watson silently reached a mutual understanding.

He closed his eyes, mobilizing the Secret Blood, letting it surge through his veins, the power soaring, bringing unrest and evil anomaly.

Perhaps due to contact with the Pioneer, this time Lorenzo suddenly felt a strange sensation; he could vaguely see a deep darkness, as if something within it was watching him.

Just like in that illusory Static Holy Temple, gazing at the Well of Ascension in the darkness.

It’s the same feeling.

In the darkness, the crimson hundred eyes opened, and the extreme sensation almost caused Lorenzo’s heart to stop, interrupting the ascension of the Secret Blood. Lorenzo breathed heavily, bending over, and then vomited a large amount of foul blood.

”What happened?”

The Plague Doctor asked warily, tossing aside the Pioneer and Adren, those two monsters. The Plague Doctor felt that joining forces with Lorenzo would make them unstoppable, so this sudden change in Lorenzo might mean encountering something non-physical.

”I... I might have seen it.” Lorenzo said with difficulty.

”Who?”

”The Inexpressible.”

The Plague Doctor’s heart chilled, then slowly stepped back, maintaining a distance from Lorenzo.

”Don’t worry too much; it should still be asleep... Even if it wakes up, the first to die shouldn’t be me, but those two fighting above.”

Lorenzo pointed to the dark ceiling and smiled bitterly.

At the end of ascension lies the Inexpressible, just as the Demon Hunter’s end is the mad Demon. They are of the same source; gaining power also comes with a price.

”Perhaps, at the beginning, the Pioneer really wanted to save the world.”

Lorenzo recalled the feeling of disgust and suddenly said.

”A monster like him, the longer it lives, the less human it becomes, the closer it gets to the end of ascension, closer to the Inexpressible. Maybe he’s already driven mad by the Inexpressible’s whispers in its dreams.”

”Maybe... There’s a chance to ask him someday.”

The Plague Doctor tried to be humorous, to adjust the atmosphere, but feeling the dead silence filled with age, he thought even a comedian couldn’t save it.

[The erosion is memetic; contact with the Pioneer may have transmitted the Inexpressible’s erosion to us, bringing us closer to the darkness, thus making the Inexpressible aware of our existence.]

”You mean we’re on the blacklist?” The Plague Doctor asked.

”We’ve been on it for a long time, just not near the top.” Lorenzo rubbed his chest, suppressing the strange feeling.

Now it seems clear why Lorenzo is on the Watcher’s blacklist, why his rank isn’t high; likely the first is the Pioneer. These Watchers have been hunting this guy who had contact with the Inexpressible, vowing to sever its spreading power here.

[Do you need me?]

[No, I’ll try again; your level of ascension is far deeper than mine, making your situation more dangerous.]

Lorenzo replied, beginning to understand why the Watchers pursued endlessly and understood why Adren sealed Authority·Gabriel. Ascenders like them are just one loophole after another, possibly allowing the Inexpressible to break through its cage.

So, what about the Watchers themselves?

Are they not also highly unstable loopholes themselves?

Thinking this, Lorenzo suddenly recalled seeing the Faceless in that [Gap], moreover, from the angel’s actions, it seems they possess no wisdom, being more of a tool obeying instructions.

The only one with autonomy is Adren Levien.

Lorenzo was somewhat confused about these relationships, only able to pin his hopes on the Secret Keeper.

With these ascenders lost, there would be no Immortals among mortals, in cycles of iteration, people would inevitably misinterpret past history, causing further distortion and anomalies in this world.

It’s increasingly dreadful the more you think about it; though the full picture of the Truth is unclear, from the knowns, Lorenzo could feel the degree of distortion in today’s world. Like being on an eerie train, passengers utilizing strange things to make it speed up, throwing clothes and Gold Coins into the combustion chamber, weapons and bodies...

Just like this, inexplicably, the train moved forward, and perhaps one day it would completely collapse.

Prepared again, under the Plague Doctor’s puzzled gaze, Lorenzo started his second attempt, more cautious now, understanding the Inexpressible remained slumbering, treating the previous experience as bad luck, less oppressive within.

The Plague Doctor was somewhat baffled by what Lorenzo was doing; he and Watson often communicated directly in the [Gap], without considering the Plague Doctor, leaving him with a dumb look alongside Froki, watching cluelessly at the side.

Then he felt it.

A tidal-like erosion spread from Lorenzo, as he unleashed power, resisting the internal oppression of the sanctuary, using this method to search for the Secret Keeper’s [Gap].

From the Pioneer’s words, it could be judged that the Secret Keeper still maintained human purity, his [Gap] would be unhidden, even wrapped in Holy Silver, Lorenzo could still feel some hindrance, thus searching for his position.

Soon Lorenzo’s senses responded; in the darkness, a dim star flickered, and Lorenzo opened his eyes, looking ahead.