novelraw Chapter 71: One Day Left
Chapter 71: One Day Left
One night, in Hughes Crematorium, Karon had sat on a chair and gestured for Tiz to tie him up, in order to create the illusion that he had been another victim of Mrs. Hughes, and thereby avoiding trouble from the police.
Tiz had picked up a knife and stabbed it straight into Karon’s chest. That blade had not hit anything vital, but the wound had still put Karon in the hospital for many days.
At first, Karon believed Tiz had done it to make everything look more realistic, and to avoid any follow-up scrutiny or trouble.
When the hawk-nosed man, who was clearly from some special government department, came to question him in his hospital room, Karon assumed that Tiz had done it to avoid that group’s attention, given that they were a supervisory authority.
Yet after that one night of slaughter, Karon had suddenly realized something: what of the police, or any special government department? Tiz did not care about any of that at all. He could have completely skipped the act.
So why stab Karon in the chest?
Karon had never asked that question, because he felt there was no need to. It was like an elder holding a child while playing, only to accidentally let the child fall and scrape a bit of skin. Could you really take such a thing to heart?
Moreover, Karon guessed that, at the time, Tiz had been arranging for Karon to remain “well-behaved,” living his life as an ordinary person in the Immers household. In that situation, everything had to be done very cleanly.
But now, at this moment, the purpose of that stab finally revealed itself.
Sometimes, it was truly hard to understand, or even hard to imagine, that an old man could prepare so carefully and so thoroughly for you, merely because of that one word: “Grandpa.”
***
At Oak Cemetery, within the black barrier, Tiz withdrew his hand from the hole in his chest. In his grasp he held a mass of black mist.
“I swear by my name, Rhanedar! If you let me go at this moment, I will grant you and your family gifts tenfold, a hundredfold!”
Tiz did not respond at all. He slowly descended to the ground, landing in front of Hoffen and the golden retriever.
“You are currently facing your greatest crisis! Casting me aside is your wisest choice at this moment. I, Rhanedar, have always kept my word.”
Mr. Hoffen stared at the mist with great curiosity, his excited expression pulling the loose skin of his old face upward. It was like a master chef seeing the rarest ingredient of his lifetime.
“I can establish a friendship with the Immers family. If you survive this ordeal, I will give you signposts on the path to godhood.”
Tiz looked at Hoffen, who gave a firm nod. Tiz placed the gray mass down in front of him. The gold beneath his eyes radiated true divine authority, which gradually caused the edges of the gray mass to appear as though they were trimmed with a line of gold. Tiz asked, “What is your name?”
“Rhanedar! My name resounded throughout the last epo—”
“No. That is not your name.”
“That is not my name?”
“Your name is Kevin.” As the words fell, Tiz slapped the bit of mist directly into the body of the golden retriever in front of them.
Mr. Hoffen immediately activated the array. Seven-colored light flashed across the golden retriever’s body, only to vanish the instant after it reached its peak.
The golden retriever, which had earlier been foaming at the mouth and scared nearly unconscious, slowly opened its eyes. Its gaze swept the area and, as if it was just realizing that the surroundings were still terrifying, immediately shut its eyes again. It even forced a few coughs out its throat in an effort to spit out more foam.
Alfred stared at the scene, wide-eyed.
Despite witnessing everything with his own eyes, and even personally taking part, he still felt an overwhelming sense of unreality at this moment.
A heretical god had been sealed just like that. Not only that, it had been sealed inside a dog.
At this moment, the many pillars of light had already arrived.
The first to land were three elders of the Temple of Order. The other four pillars stopped at the perimeter.
The barrier opened, and Tiz rose back into the air. The gold lingered in his eyes, but he was restraining himself. He had only stepped one foot in, while keeping the other outside. Even so, it was undeniable that he already possessed divinity.
All seven projected consciousnesses present were focused on Tiz, because his actions would determine what all of them did next.
Tiz faced the pillar of light belonging to the Church of Reincarnation and questioned it, “Does the Church of Reincarnation wish to challenge whether the Church of Order still holds the qualifications to represent Order?”
After Tiz spoke, the existence within the Reincarnation Church’s pillar visibly froze.
At the same moment, Sithe stepped in front of the existence inside the Church of Night’s pillar. “Does the Church of Night wish to challenge whether the Church of Order still holds the qualifications to represent Order?”
Niven stepped in front of the existence within the Church of Principle’s pillar. “Does the Church of Principle wish to challenge whether the Church of Order still holds the qualifications to represent Order?”
Gale stepped in front of the existence within the Church of Abyss’s pillar. “Does the Church of Abyss wish to challenge whether the Church of Order still holds the qualifications to represent Order?”
At this moment, the four presences within the four pillars were undoubtedly shocked. They had received news that an elder-level figure of the Church of Order had chosen self-exile and was about to sever their ties to the Church of Order, but what was playing out before them showed not even the slightest sign of any sort of fissure.
The key problem was that, through their churches’ various channels, they had already verified that the news was true. Had the Church of Order already completed their internal negotiations?
“The Church of Reincarnation respects the Church of Order’s qualifications to uphold order.”
“The Church of Night recognizes the Church of Order’s ability to maintain order.”
“The Church of Principle thanks the Church of Order for its contribution to order.”
“The Church of Abyss agrees that the Church of Order should continue to preside over the rules of order.”
Since the so-called separation no longer existed, they had lost their chance to interfere. In the present age, no church would dare to openly turn against the Church of Order and initiate a war. Even if they joined forces, it would not work, starting with the fact that they could not even truly unite. Making one’s own god the sole god was the fundamental aim of every church.
Most importantly, the Church of Order had always maintained order. Though it had forcibly claimed a number of privileges and compelled the other major churches to take a step back, the Church of Order walked a path that was completely different from that of the previous Church of Light, which meant that there was no fundamental force driving the other churches to unite against the Church of Order.
The four pillars of light departed, one after another.
They came, and then they left.
“Tiz, return with us to the Church of Order. Accept the position of elder, achieve supremacy, and the radiance of Order will shine upon your family,” Gale told Tiz.
The man did not respond. Once more, he descended to the ground, his feet landing on the muddy ground of the cemetery.
Inside the cemetery waited Alfred, Mr. Hoffen, and a dog.
Because Tiz had isolated the area with the barrier, what had happened earlier inside of it had not been perceived by the outside world.
Furthermore, the heretical god had not been detected to begin with, and being sealed inside a dog added yet another layer of separation, making it even more difficult to perceive.
“Tiz, you know the consequences of defying the Temple of Order,” Sithe said as she appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
Tiz ignored the lofty temple elder. The gold in his eyes faded away completely, and the aura around him rapidly diminished. In the end, all that remained was the power of a basic Church of Order Inquisitor.
This meant that Sithe could crush Tiz with a single finger at this moment, and yet her expression had gone rigid.
Tiz walked past her as she stood there without moving.
Even before entering the temple and becoming an elder, the woman’s temper had been famously volatile. After becoming an elder, she had not restrained it in the least. Still, she was someone who prioritized the greater picture.
The Church of Order needed Tiz.
Unless the man clearly expressed his intention to break away from the church, then no matter how loudly she shouted, she could not bear, no, could not bring herself to erase the newly risen elder.
To do so would be to force the Temple of Order to suffer a loss, and to do so to itself.
What infuriated Sithe was that Tiz clearly understood her reasoning, and that was why he was acting so freely.
On top of that, despite being an old man, Tiz was still a junior in Sithe’s eyes. She was much older than him. To her, someone like Rasma was essentially a child.
Tiz was disrespecting the Church of Order, and disrespecting his elders.
Rage filled Sithe’s eyes as she turned and glared at Tiz’s back. “The temple will not always choose to indulge you. The rules of order will not allow dust to remain.”
Tiz did not turn his head. He merely raised a hand and waved. “Two more days.”
As if realizing midnight had passed, Tiz quickly corrected himself, “One more day.”
Gale spoke, “That is the date you gave us, as well as our final deadline. We can continue to wait until Sunday.”
Tiz replied, “In the afternoon.”
In the morning, he needed to lead the church’s believers in worship.
Three pillars of light shot into the sky, and then vanished.
“Sithe, did you see? He wasn’t breaking through; He is already familiar with that realm. He deliberately stepped in with just one foot. He is the most outstanding genius the church has seen in nearly a thousand years.”
“You don’t need to repeat that every time! We have eyes of our own, and we will not believe that when he uttered such blasphemy to your face back then, your decision not to punish him was some far-sighted vision, because the more of a genius he is, the greater the trouble he will become if he chooses to be trouble.”
“I’m starting to look forward to the upcoming negotiations. Perhaps his choice will differ from the divination. If he truly intends to defect, he should have resonated with the other four earlier.”
“Perhaps tonight, he only wanted to drive away those lurking in the shadows, and cut off their hopes of taking advantage.”
“He might truly want to negotiate.”
***
Karon had a dream.
At first, he was cold, bone-piercingly cold. It was a cold so intense it felt as if his soul itself had frozen. But soon, two warm currents drew near, dispersing the chill and bringing warmth and gentleness.
He fell asleep, or rather, he should have fallen asleep. He entered a dream, yet from the first moment, he clearly knew that it was a dream.
In his dream, he lay on the grass. Above him were blue skies, white clouds, and bright sunlight. Everything was beautiful.
On either side of him lay a man and a woman.
The man was very handsome. Karon felt he resembled Tiz somewhat, and also resembled himself somewhat.
Then Karon smiled. Because he had already guessed at who the man might be, the idea that the man “resembled himself” was rather amusing.
The man seemed to notice Karon’s smile, and he turned his face towards Karon and also smiled. His eyes were clear, giving a sense of benevolent simplicity.
All of the men of the Immers family were good-looking.
Karon turned his head to look at the woman lying on his other side. She had already propped her head in her hand and was observing him.
She was very beautiful, openly and generously so, especially her golden hair, which resembled his own.
This was a dream. It had to be a dream.
Karon sighed and said, “I want so badly to try, but I really can’t bring myself to call you ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom.’
“I’m also very sorry; I’ve taken your son’s body, his name, his identity, and his family.”
When facing elders like Mason, Aunt Mary, or Aunt Winnie, Karon felt no psychological burden and could interact normally, but in front of these two, he could not suppress the guilt in his heart. After all, his body had once been their son.
“You don’t need to call me father,” the man said. “I never regarded you as my son.”
The woman spoke. “I tried, but I failed. You are not my son.”
Karon placed his hands behind his head, adjusting himself into a more comfortable position, and grunted, “Mhmm.”
In truth, all three of them were casually lying on the ground, quite comfortable.
The man said, “To me, you are very similar to Mason and Winnie, like another younger brother of mine.”
The woman said, “I can’t treat you as my son, but seeing my ‘son’ able to continue living brings me comfort.”
Karon began analyzing the deeper meaning of their words, probing their inner thoughts. Even though this dream might be only a projection of his own inner world, it was his professional habit, and at this moment, it was also the only thing he could do.
Because he could not sit up, taking “Father’s” hand and “Mother’s” hand and imitate a real child by saying, “Dad, Mom, shall we go fly a kite together like when I was little?”
The man bore the Immers surname, so he regarded Karon as family, but even though the woman had taken her husband’s surname, she surely did not share the same depth of attachment to the Immers family. Her mindset was like that of a parent who had donated their child’s organs, finding comfort in the knowledge that their child still “lived” in the world.
The only difference was that she had donated her entire son, from head to toe, and the recipient, bearing her son’s body whole and intact, had appeared before her.
The three of them stopped speaking and simply lay there, feeling the breeze, basking in the sun, listening to the distant sound of flowing water. They stayed that way until the wind gradually grew still and the sun gradually dimmed. The water eventually slowed.
Karon spoke. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
It was a sincere question, without any affectation. Both emotionally and logically, Karon owed these two.
The man answered, “Live well.”
The woman added, “And try to live happily.”
As those words fell, the dream began to fracture.
Karon opened his eyes to find that he had fallen asleep in the chair in Tiz’s study. The candle before him had long since burned out.
He instinctively reached to his chest. There was a scar there. The wound had long since healed, and when he touched it, he found no black hole.
He stood up. His joints were sore, and his throat dry with thirst.
He picked up the thermos by the desk, but found it empty. He then opened Tiz’s teacup, only to find nothing but tea leaves.
With no other choice, Karon pushed the study door open and stepped out.
Pu’er was squatting on the windowsill. When Karon came out, she did not move, because her gaze was locked onto the gate to the front yard.
Tiz had returned, and he was leading the foolish golden retriever. “Hah... Tiz came back safely.”
Pu’er let out a long breath. The stone hanging from her heart dropped halfway, only to abruptly shoot back up to her throat.
She shot to her feet, lowering her head, her cat eyes locked onto the golden retriever Tiz was leading across the yard.
Karon immediately saw the tenseness in Pu’er’s body. Even her fur was bristling.
“That stupid dog. What’s going on with it?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Out of habit, Karon reached out to touch Pu’er’s head.
Given her agitated state, Pu’er flicked up a paw and swiped it back down. Hisss!
Three bleeding scratches appeared on the back of Karon’s hand.
“Oh no, oh no!” Pu’er screamed. “I’m sorry, my dear Karon! Karon, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it! I was just a little distracted right now.”
Pu’er hurried over, sticking out her tongue to lick the wounds on Karon’s hand, deliberately swishing her tail and gently patting his arm. “It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt... Lick it and it won’t hurt anymore. My poor little Karon, kitty loves you.”
Karon was not angry about the scratches, but rather was puzzled by Pu’er’s unusual attentiveness. “What’s wrong with you today?”
“What do you mean, my dear little Karon?”
“You’re acting strange today.”
“What’s strange about me? Aren’t I always like this? Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it. I am a gentle cat with over a century of aristocratic cultivation. You’ll discover even more of my tenderness, believe me.”
Karon withdrew his hand. “I’m going downstairs to get some water.”
“No need, no need. I’ll wake Lent up and have him go pour water for you.”
At that moment, Tiz arrived upstairs. Karon saw the man was still holding the leash of the golden retriever. “Grandpa, you went out early in the morning to walk the dog?”
“Mhmm,” Tiz replied. He walked over and handed the leash to Karon. “Here.”
Karon reached out and took it, and the golden retriever immediately pressed close, rubbing its head against Karon’s pant leg.
Beside them, Pu’er’s expression turned grave.
Tiz pointed at the golden retriever and said, “Be sure to take this dog with you to Veyn as well, though it won’t be of much use.”