novelraw Chapter 623: Homecoming
Chapter 623: Homecoming
They had barely passed Himmfast when the fog, spilling over Sugard Mountain from the other side, enveloped the carriage.
If the carriage had stopped at the edge of the fog, one could have watched it advance slowly, as if it were alive, consuming everything in its path.
It wouldn't be long—a few days at most—before the strange fog reached Himmfast.
The oil lamp hanging on the side of the carriage was suppressed by the fog, its flame burning so dimly it seemed on the verge of extinguishing. However, Amper didn't need light to see the road, and Anna, in turn, released her own darker aura, both to conceal Lu Li and to announce her presence.
None of the creatures in the fog disturbed the strange pair.
At midnight, the carriage ascended Sugard Mountain and passed through the pitch-black Sentry Post. Occasionally, Lu Li would spot a few faint points of light, as weak as the oil lamp outside the carriage window. It was impossible to tell if they belonged to residents unwilling to leave the town or if they were terrible traps, luring travelers to their doom.
After leaving the Sentry Post and traveling for some time, the well-worn dirt road gave way to a wide stone one.
They had returned to Belfast—to the ruins.
Anna suggested they wait for dawn before crossing the ruined city, proposing they spend the night at Eileen's estate and collect the books while they were there.
Belfast was now more dangerous than the wilderness. Evil spirits, spirits of defilement, minions of an evil god, and heretics roamed these ruins.To reach the estate through the main entrance, they would have to pass Agate Lake. Since some strange creature had taken over that place, passing by the lake was clearly not the best idea. So Anna simply grabbed Amper and the carriage and vaulted over the estate's fence, landing directly in the back garden.
They inevitably passed an uneven mound of earth. Adamfiya didn't know the significance of the mound that Anna gazed at with such detachment. But Anna seemed to see two withered trees growing from a sundered crack in the earth, their branches intertwined, inseparable.
Perhaps an end like that was better... At least the two lovers wouldn't have to endure the torment of becoming enemies.
After circling half the mansion, Amper came to a halt at the steps beside the fountain.
Lu Li took the oil lamp and, along with Anna and Adamfiya, ascended the steps. At the edge of the dim light, the main doors appeared, slightly ajar.
Survivors would have closed them...
Lu Li understood something was wrong and headed straight for the room where Eileen kept her books. Its door was also ajar, revealing only darkness and silence within the gap.
Anna, holding another oil lamp, pushed the door open and entered the library. Near the corner fireplace, sleeping bags, clothes, and food tins lay scattered in disarray.
In an empty space, a strange, vortex-like figure had been painted in what looked like blood—likely some kind of symbol.
The fate of the survivors who had hidden here was clear: heretics had come to the estate, found them, and taken them away.
Anna looked at Lu Li, awaiting his decision.
Lu Li shook his head slightly. The paint was dry, which meant they were taken more than a day ago. "No clues. Let's go upstairs and rest."
There were still plenty of clean rooms on the second floor.
Anna loaded the books she had selected a few days earlier into the carriage. There was still plenty of room, so she chose a few more, along with the canned food the survivors had left behind, and placed them inside as well.
Adamfiya decided to remain in the second-floor corridor, sitting on a chair and looking outside. But beyond the thick darkness and fog, she could see nothing.
She gazed in the direction of her home, the Tesla family estate.
In the bedroom, Anna covered Lu Li with a blanket and went to the fireplace to light a fire.
"Rod and Adamfiya—one of them is lying," Lu Li said as the bedroom gradually grew warmer and brighter.
"What happened?" Anna looked over at him.
"Rod said Tesla met Adamfiya when he was an undertaker, but Adamfiya said they met during an investigation."
"Is Tesla's nephew lying?" Anna's hostility toward Rod led her to a hasty conclusion.
"I don't know," Lu Li said. "We can't confirm anything until we contact Tesla."
Tesla's former butler might have known something, but he had died while escorting Adamfiya.
"I'll be careful," Anna said.
The blanket on his body was no longer ice-cold. In the warmth, Lu Li felt a wave of exhaustion and gradually drifted off to sleep.
"Good night," Anna whispered.
Early the next morning, Lu Li was awakened by the sound of Anna and Adamfiya talking in the corridor.
Dawn was breaking outside the window. The strange fog had not yet lifted, and dark red embers glowed in the fireplace.
Lu Li sat up, the woolen blanket sliding off him. Just then, the bedroom door opened, and Anna, hearing the movement, entered the guest room.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked gently.
"I think I was dreaming," Lu Li said as he put on his coat. He couldn't remember what it was about.
"I'll make breakfast," Anna offered. The estate's cellar held a considerable amount of food, including vegetables, but too much time had passed, and the survivors had used up most of it. Only spices, sweet potatoes, and cabbage, which could last a long time, remained.
Anna moved it all into the carriage, leaving a portion to cook over the fireplace in the bedroom.
Lu Li watched her skillful movements. "Did you learn that from Sara?"
"Mhm. They have bodies, and while they don't feel hunger, they enjoy tasty meals... So Sarah cooked for nearly two hundred years."
Even without systematic training, two hundred years of cooking would have been enough for Sarah's culinary skills to reach the pinnacle of this world.
For Anna, who possessed all of Sarah's memories, learning something like this wasn't difficult.
Amid Adamfiya's praises, Anna finished preparing the meal. By the time Lu Li had eaten, the strange fog had begun to thin, and in the distance, the edge of Agate Lake was faintly visible, ripples disturbing its surface.
Laden with a carriage full of books and food, they left the estate through the main entrance. As they passed the Tesla house, Lu Li stopped the carriage at Adamfiya's request so she could go back inside and reminisce.
A few minutes later, Adamfiya returned, tightly clutching a picture frame.
The faded photograph showed her and Tesla.
The carriage continued on, leaving the estate and the houses around Agate Lake behind as it entered the ruins of Belfast.
Anna told Lu Li to hide inside the carriage while she went out, fully releasing her aura to scare away the creatures lurking in the dark corners.
...
The Elm Forest.
This place was becoming a forbidden zone, one that some creatures chose to avoid, much like the Shipwreck District and the Ash District. Strange creatures often disappeared in the vicinity of the Elm Forest, and soon after, their bones would appear at the forest's edge, silently testifying to their fate.
That morning, a terrifying creature with a thick shell, resembling a centipede, crawled through the burned-out Elm District and entered the Elm Forest.
The forest's negative emotions washed over them, and Adamfiya felt a sense of discomfort. But for Lu Li and Anna, these emotions were like a greeting, as if the forest was glad to have them back.
The closer they got to the top of the cliff, the more neutral... and even positive... the forest's emotions became.
When the corner of a wooden house faintly appeared on the rutted road ahead, the emotions of the surrounding elms had already turned joyful and gentle, as if invisible tendrils were softly enveloping them.