Gun of Ashes

”Let him stay here and paint, we’ll come back for him later; we still have a lot to do.”

Lorenzo recalled the map and information in his mind. He had obtained much useful intelligence from the Secret Keeper’s memory, which not only increased his chances of success but also allowed him to recreate a refuge in the outside world, a simple one.

The electronic database was locked and inaccessible due to its suspension, but here, piles of books left by generations of Nation-Builders and Secret Keepers stored knowledge that would be a fortune in the present world.

Unlike the Victoria family, they were limited by mortal bodies and could only leave with a small amount of knowledge. Thanks to Lorenzo’s self-healing ability, he could carry more knowledge away.

”What’s below?” the Plague Doctor asked.

The Plague Doctor was not clear about ”it,” and Watson seemed to be constantly on guard against him, only showing the parts Watson wanted him to see.

”An error.”

Lorenzo answered using the Secret Keeper’s words, then immediately leaped onto the elevator. The cables tightened, kicking up dust. Seeing this, the Plague Doctor could only follow, and amid the swaying, the elevator began its descent.

Below was an endless darkness, seemingly without end. Gradually, the surrounding light also disappeared, and only by looking up could Lorenzo see a faint glow.

”That ’room’ is quite interesting.”

Lorenzo’s voice echoed in the darkness.

”What room?”

The Plague Doctor felt terrible. He had struggled to reach the Truth, only for Lorenzo to relay it to him. It was as if his birthday gift had been unwrapped by someone else, and not only unwrapped, but Lorenzo also lectured him about it.

”A room storing ’errors’.”

Lorenzo’s voice paused for a moment, and he continued.

”It’s a room entirely encased in Forbidden Alloy, and it itself is constructed based on a very strong Anti-Meme.”

”The room stores ’it,’ permitted to be observed only within this room. Once you leave the room, the Anti-Meme will directly erase all memories related to ’it’ that you had while in the room.”

”In other words, no one can know what ’it’ is outside the room.”

”What about the Florun Potion?” the Plague Doctor asked. Hearing about the room’s nature, he began to find it somewhat intriguing.

”Impossible; it’s a room for storing errors. According to the Secret Keeper’s memory, because the Anti-Meme’s coverage is very small, its absolute isolation strength is extremely high. It is estimated to be similar to the strength of the Echo of the End, a treatment only the Inexpressible receives.”

”What if ’it’ is brought out?”

The Plague Doctor always pondered strange matters.

”I don’t know. I don’t even know what ’it’ is, let alone whether it can be carried out.”

Lorenzo gazed into the darkness below him, unsure how deep they were now sinking. He only knew all the light was leaving, and the stale air swirled around, drifting across this forgotten land.

”Perhaps... perhaps after knowing ’it,’ we’ll decide to leave ’it’ there?” Lorenzo couldn’t help but ponder.

”Do you think this thing will interfere with our decisions?”

”No... we’ll just make such a decision ourselves. After seeing ’it,’ we will all make such a decision.”

The Plague Doctor didn’t respond; the descent was too lengthy, and he recalled the memories brought to him by Watson.

It was a good time; both were silent, contemplating the Truth in the stillness, and their states of mind began to change.

The Truth they had pursued for a long time was right in front of them, but neither seemed very excited, filled only with fatigue.

”It seems we’ve arrived.”

Lorenzo saw a ghostly blue light glowing in the depths of the darkness, breaking the tranquil atmosphere.

The Plague Doctor also looked down and could smell the stale air, with dust swirling in the air.

The elevator made a rattling sound, and before Lorenzo could implement any rescue measures, the time-worn elevator collapsed at this moment, with rusty metal snapping and bringing both Lorenzo and the Plague Doctor crashing down.

Would the mighty Lorenzo Holmes die here like this?

A blazing white storm swirled in his eyes, and Lorenzo grabbed the Nail Sword in reverse, but before he could do anything, he smashed hard onto the ground.

They had reached the bottom.

Though the process was somewhat convoluted, the elevator was dedicated enough to deliver them to the bottom, albeit in an unpleasant landing.

Thinking of this made Lorenzo somewhat envy Watson; he felt like a vehicle, carrying her everywhere while she had to do nothing.

Lorenzo spat out a mouthful of dust, choking and coughing several times. Here, everywhere was dusty, piled in thick layers, along with shards of glass and dry bones.

The place was like a junkyard, recycling anything that fell from above.

Lorenzo gave it a brief glance, the blazing white light flickering in his eyes, proceeding forward in the darkness according to the Secret Keeper’s memory.

The sense of anomaly grew more intense here, and Lorenzo raised his hand, seeing his skin beginning to fester, tearing along with the scar in his palm, a burning sensation emanating from the wound, followed by the blood flowing out.

He drew closer to the room, passing through the collapsed ruins, and felt sweetness in his throat, followed by nosebleed dripping down.

It looked quite bad, but Lorenzo felt alright; the Secret Blood continued to climb, his strong self-healing ability resisting the decay.

It was for someone like Lorenzo, an Ascender, to reach such depths; an ordinary person might have already died, and even Demons would face pressure here. All this just to seal off the room.