The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 933: Darkness Falls, Keep Hope

It all happened so suddenly.

For the Distorted Figure and the Church of the Vine, everything was sudden—both the return of the Deep God led by Lu Li and the news he brought with him.

"The Prophet doesn't know about this?"

Lu Li gazed toward the far end of the True Library.

"He is still sleeping..."

The Distorted Figure, appearing in the form of Saintess Helena, whispered.

But perhaps the news Lu Li delivered was a future to which the Prophet had already given his silent consent.

And the Deep God, having learned of the Eternal Dreamer's existence, quietly muttered:

"His experience is more ancient than ours..."

But unlike the ancient beings who were granted time because of their power, the Eternal Dreamer had become powerful because he was granted time."We will retreat into the underground passages, to the Investigators' base, to the secret location of the Night's Watch..."

Those who controlled the True Library had many paths of retreat.

The Deep God denied the Distorted Figure and the Church of the Vine sanctuary. At that moment, He revealed the reason for His arrival on the Allen Peninsula.

Light banishes darkness.

The Deep God intended for the Allen Peninsula to become a place where the darkness could not tread.

"This is My gift, which I have prepared for you... a Land of Light."

The Deep God's power was draining away, and before it vanished completely, He transformed it into a gift that only an ancient being could bestow.

"If we lose the clouds, the starry sky will be exposed," Lu Li said.

"My power and the power of the clouds will block the projection of that starry sky."

The Deep God whispered that the clouds were shrouded in a taint that was difficult to eradicate; it was a hindrance, but also a form of protection.

Lu Li surmised that the taint was related to the Plant Calamity.

Before the Deep God sacrificed Himself, there was one last thing to do: choose a location.

Lu Li's allies were scattered across the Allen Peninsula. Sea Gaze Cliff, used as a sanctuary far from Belfast, was losing its purpose, and as Enni grew, it would eventually become a constraint.

They needed to choose a new territory to stake their claim on the Allen Peninsula.

Belfast was the heart of the Allen Peninsula.

Agate Lake was the heart of Belfast.

Though the Sigh-Worm and its vampire anomaly minions currently occupied the area, the Deep God effortlessly turned them into blood-soaked soil, rich enough to provide Enni with abundant nutrients.

The anomalies of Belfast trembled in fear before the majesty of the ancient being, but the Deep God had little time left and could not spare them any attention.

Amidst the sorrow of the Elm Forest, they moved Enni to the island in the center of Agate Lake and buried her roots in the earth.

When Lu Li tried to persuade the allies from the Distorted Figure and the Church of the Vine to relocate, he met with resistance.

Having received no foresight from the Prophet, the Distorted Figure wanted to see the light truly fall upon this deep land before moving to Agate Lake.

However, to protect Lu Li and Enni at Agate Lake, the Distorted Figure and the neighboring camp each sent a contingent of believers to help guard the shores.

Enni, deprived of the Elm Forest, was in need of protection.

And the Prophet, having left no revelations, cast a shadow of doubt over what the Deep God was about to do.

The connection with Vinnelag was intermittent, cutting in and out, until it finally stabilized with the assistant, Valendo, on the other end.

He said that many of the townspeople had already retreated to underground shelters, while Mayor Matteus was busy reassuring citizens and maintaining order everywhere.

But everyone was deeply pessimistic.

Many hadn't managed to escape to the shelters: fathers, wives, elders, children. And they didn't know how long the impenetrable darkness on the surface would last.

Perhaps the Deep God should have let the sunlight fall upon Vinnelag, but it was already too late.

Several dozen minutes ago, the Mother of the Swamp had sent a message: the darkness had enveloped the swamplands.

There were no anomalies hiding in the darkness, because the darkness itself was an anomaly—a kind of taint. It constantly warped the places it shrouded.

The Mother of the Swamp, who held complete control over the Shadow Swamp, barely avoided being consumed by the darkness, a fate spared only because all Her servants were anomalies themselves.

News from Midnight dispelled any of Lu Li's lingering thoughts that Vinnelag might have resisted the darkness if its Inquisition hadn't been stopped. Even Midnight, under the protection of a deity, had been forced to evacuate the surface and hide underground.

And now, from the north, a darkness deeper than any thundercloud was advancing, appearing in the sky.

"Will you die because of this?" Lu Li asked the slowly ascending Deep God.

"I may die, or I may fall into a long slumber and reawaken in the lower reaches of the river of time."

The Deep God inclined His head, and a quiet murmur echoed from the shadows.

"If there is no torch, I shall be the only light."

His insignificant, yet world-filling form vanished into the depths of the clouds.

In the distance, the churning darkness advanced, yet the clouds remained calm.

But gradually, something began to shift almost imperceptibly.

A frantic wind began to howl, sweeping debris into the air. The ink-black waves of the sea roared and raged.

The encroaching darkness drew ever closer. The Sentry Post at the foot of the mountain had already vanished. The darkness climbed Sugard Mountain and then swallowed the last stretch of land on the Allen Peninsula.

The Primordial Darkness surged all around, and everything within it lost meaning. Some entity was corroding Lu Li, and the countdown to the Dark Calamity had silently begun.

Had He failed?

Just as Lu Li had that thought and prepared to retreat underground, a faint, golden-yellow glow appeared in the depths of the darkness.

The golden-yellow hue grew brighter and brighter. The endless darkness could not resist its spread; it was pushed back and scattered, revealing the scene as it now was—

Like the eye of a storm in a thunderhead, the clouds tore open, and a slanted, golden-yellow light seeped from beyond them into the world, pouring down upon the once-again calm sea and the ruined, silent city below.

The Distorted Figure and the Church of the Vine—the faces of Saintess Helena—calmly gazed at the beams of light pouring from the clouds.

In the dark alleys, squads of rat-men who had been fleeing the Deep God's aura stopped, stunned, and raised their ugly, rat-like heads to stare at the light falling upon the city.

Countless pairs of eyes lit up in every corner of Belfast, watching the never-before-seen sunlight.

At the peak of Sugard Mountain, the calm and beautiful Agate Lake reflected the shimmering light.

Beneath Enni's tree, which swayed gently in the sunlight and light breeze, Lu Li stood quietly.

Beside him, a figure stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

Thud.

A black shadow fell from the sky, landing in the mud at Lu Li's feet and revealing the outline of a chess piece.

The Deep God had both succeeded and failed.

He had brought the light, but only to Belfast.

Lu Li picked up the Book of the Apocalypse, brushing the mud from it.

"How beautiful..." Anna's quiet murmur echoed in the air.

"Lu Li, I want to see this with my own eyes..."

"I will find you," Lu Li said, putting away the chess piece and replying to the vanishing figure.

"I've found you..."

A soft whisper suddenly sounded by his ear. A tremor of darkness instantly enveloped Lu Li, squeezing his heart and clouding his mind before slowly receding after lingering for a moment.

Lu Li raised his calm, dark eyes and scanned his surroundings. Anna was not there; it was as if the whisper he had heard and the anxiety that had enveloped him were just an illusion.

And in Lu Li's mind, memories of the "door" he had once seen surfaced.

When you hear it, they can see you.

When you see it, they can touch you.

Whatever you do, do not touch it...

As if sensing something, Lu Li looked into the distance.

At the edge of the settlement by Agate Lake, a figure emerged from between the two contingents of believers—a pure black shadow, dull and reflectionless, as if it absorbed all light.

No one noticed its approach, except for Lu Li.