Our Family Has Fallen

So after killing the Limping Walker and completing the ritual, he had already transformed into a lighthouse, guiding the monsters lurking in the darkness.

It’s like holding a torch high in the Dark Forest, voluntarily exposing one’s position, inevitably attracting the gaze of countless eerie beings.

And those things are going to invade reality through him, which means he will forever be subjected to the assault of that blasphemous power, until death.

”I am shrouded in the endless night, they wander there, whispering all the names...”

No matter what, Alhazred specializes in this field. After realizing the anomaly of the situation, he embarked on a long and endless stand against it.

But at that time, he had already fallen into a very dangerous situation, with whispers uncontrollably sounding in his ear, constantly tempting him to listen closely.

Once you develop the thought of wanting to hear them clearly, you’re doomed. The more you want to listen, the more you sink into it; this is the beginning of your descent into depravity.

The best way is to ignore those voices, but these things are directly poured into the brain, and ignoring them requires a lot of energy to maintain constantly.

At the same time, he needed to endure the omnipresent gaze; as soon as his consciousness relaxed a bit, the encroachment of corruption would draw closer.

He could collapse at any moment, thereby becoming a medium for an Evil God to invade reality.

This situation destined him to spend the latter half of his life fighting it, never sleeping again, not even daring to nap.

He could only continuously maintain his will through long meditations, and the few moments of clarity were spent seeking ways to resolve this situation.

But while inviting a god is easy, sending one away is hard. That power lurks in his consciousness and entangles his soul; it has even become a part of him, so it’s not that simple.

It’s been over twenty years in this situation, and the fact that he’s still holding on without collapsing speaks volumes about the strength of his will.

No one knows how he actually resists the corruption of that terrifying power, nor what he is truly experiencing. During this process, he began to become mad, sensitive, and fragile.

He hasn’t been corrupted, which means he’s still holding on, grasping the last straw called ”rationality” and even making it his mission to reclaim the evil objects that leaked out.

That’s exactly why he’s come to Hamlet.

And the birth of such atonement, or sense of mission, is enough to prove that the lost humanity within him is gradually restoring amidst his fight against corruption...

Lance listened as Alhazred transformed from a genius with infinite potential into this madman.

Alhazred said a lot, but to Lance, the story was quite simple, and it could be summed up in a few sentences.

A young man overly confident because he had never been beaten by society believed that, as a high-achiever from a prestigious university, he couldn’t be duped. After hearing about high returns, he invested all his assets.

Seeing his neighbors jump from the rooftop, he thought they were just unlucky; those who couldn’t adapt to society were doomed to be eliminated.

After tasting success, he even borrowed money from relatives and friends to leverage further, while his increasing gains drained their money.

Then suddenly, he found that those relatives and friends who once trusted him all distanced themselves. He wanted to deceive himself into pretending not to care.

Then... the debt collectors came calling, and when he couldn’t produce the money, he suddenly realized he had been duped and lured into a pyramid scheme; it was a scam from the very start.

Alhazred ended up with debts that might be impossible to repay in a lifetime overnight.

His followers all dying was equivalent to his relatives and friends cutting ties.

The whispers poured into his mind were like being hounded daily by debt collectors, bombarded with text messages, and having his phone called to the point where he didn’t dare to turn it on.

As for the prying eyes and endless malice.

It’s obviously like debt collectors looking for you everywhere to repay, and if you show up, they’ll come to your door. Not having malice would be strange.

Enduring the pressure is normal; who wouldn’t feel crushed under a debt they can’t repay?

But fortunately, he didn’t give up and embarked on the path of repayment, while also investigating those who absconded with the funds, trying to reclaim his money.

Though a bit exaggerated, it’s at least identical if not similar.

What Lance focused on was different.

His question was why the power of the Evil God appeared in Hamlet?

And why was the Limping Walker, representing that power, summoned by the Saintess?

The wicked sorceries used by the Saintess, and even the Priests of the Ascension Sect vaguely showed the shadow of the Evil God behind them.

Could this mean the ancestor is the Evil God?

That surely couldn’t be; if the old entity had lived since ancient times, the world would have been destroyed by now.

In fact, it’s quite easy to explain: when the ruins were discovered and when the Council of Fate controlled the seal, there was a long period of emptiness, and Alhazred himself said a lot of evil objects had leaked out.

Over twenty years ago coincidentally aligns with when the ancestor began his research, taking interest in these things, so he had pirates sweep up various antiques and mysterious objects.

An evil object from those ruins likely ended up in his hands amongst those items.

An ordinary person would probably be played to death by these evil objects, just like the Bald Sorcerer who lost control with a mere touch.

But who is the ancestor?

With evil objects in his hands, he probably played with them for real. From the current state of the Ascension Sect, it’s clear the ancestor gained much insight there.

One is toyed with by the Evil God, while another toys with the Evil God.

The strength of the ancestor is apparent, definitely not some inept, decadent aristocrat.

And Lance as the heir is not simple either; after hearing all this from Alhazred, he didn’t feel a moment of sympathy but first thought about the ”Desert’s Gate” space left behind by ancient civilizations.

Lance has always maintained a pessimistic view of the real world, for he has seen this world’s end.

No matter how many stand up, no matter how many times they stop it, in the end, it inevitably leads to destruction.

Because this is an unpredictable chaotic model, the difference being tomorrow, the day after tomorrow... or a thousand years, ten thousand years...

Anyway, it will be destroyed one day. Given humanity’s self-destructive capacity, the human race might annihilate itself before then.

Lance knows his pessimism is actually quite a laughable thought, like an ant worrying about when a building will be demolished because its nest is on it.

How long is an ant’s lifespan? It might die of old age before the demolition occurs, but it’s not something within his control.

The bigger problem is that the issue lies with this planet itself. Even if he wanted to become a Wandering Planet, there is no way.

Just like he doesn’t have the ability to change the nest’s location, it was like this when he arrived.

So naturally, he’s focused on these spaces opened up by great powers; if he could control one, could it preserve humanity?

It’s something you might not use, but it’s essential to have.

He is also increasingly curious about the temple and the Evil God behind it.

Seeing Alhazred tormented to madness shows that the Evil God is very difficult to deal with.

If he could sacrifice the Evil God, what would be the gain?

Where others feel fear, I feel greed; where others feel greed, I feel even greedier.

But before that, Lance felt he needed to handle the current matter, then turned to Alhazred and asked back.

”Have you heard the story of Hamlet?” Lance seized the moment to describe Hamlet’s former glory and then shifted the topic, ”It was all until the Ascension Sect discovered the secret beneath Hamlet...”

Lance’s words were very vague, unlike what Reynard and others said, boasting that the Hamlet Family sacrificed much to fight evil.

Instead, he pointed out the harm the evil cult inflicted on Hamlet and its relentless resistance.

In front of such professionals, the more detailed you say, the more likely you show flaws. The more chaotic and mysterious the narrative, the more they believe because they see what they construct in their minds.

Hearing the misery faced by Hamlet resembling his own, Alhazred couldn’t help but feel resonant, exclaiming with deep emotion:

”I guess, many years ago, I was already a true member of Hamlet’s People...”