The boat was silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Priest Augustus suddenly looked up, turning towards the stern, towards the depths of the water, and the Nether Moon slowly descending into the water.
The Old Priest’s voice was hoarse as he reminded them:
“Look back now, think of those who have left, we can still see them… Try it.”
As the boat moved forward, Xia De, Priest Augustus, Iluna, and Sister Devlin all looked back.
A smile appeared on the Priest’s lips as he gently nodded to the young nun watching him from afar:
“You are still so pretty, but I am already old.”
Iluna looked up, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes reflecting the light of the Nether Moon. And beneath that Nether Moon were her captain and teammates, killed by the Silver-Eyed One and the grave robber Hawthorne. These were her teammates from her training at the Holy See, now standing together, waving goodbye to her.
“I am doing very well now!”
There was no sadness on Iluna’s face; she stood up and waved her right hand towards the depths of death.
Sister Devlin’s silver eye patch reflected the Moonlight, her hands clasped together on her lap, as she slightly nodded in respect:
“The flame and the mission you passed on to me, I will continue to pass them on.”
Xia De stared blankly at the souls standing on the water, looking at Sparrow Hamilton under the moon.
The middle-aged Detective, Carson Rick’s ace spy Gray Headed Eagle, leaned on his cane with his right hand, and slightly pulled down the brim of his black deerstalker hat with his left. He was not in the terrifying state he was in before his death, but rather appeared with the demeanor of a refined gentleman. He looked up slightly, shaking his head at Xia De under the moon with some regret, then turned and continued walking into the depths of the water.
Xia De stared wide-eyed at the receding figure. Sparrow Detective brushed past another soul that also possessed color, and that soul stopped, turning to look at Xia De.
Short, withered yellow hair, obvious signs of everted eyelids, a thin build, and a red glove on his right hand.
It was Ivan Darkness:
“I will wait for you after everything ends.”
His right eye glowed crimson, then he too turned and walked towards the Nether Moon.
Xia De was momentarily dazed, then suddenly froze, remembering something very important, and hastily called out softly in his mind:
“Xia De.”
No soul turned back. The Outsider did not see the former, true, blind and foolish Xia De.
He stared wide-eyed at the receding souls, then suddenly, like Iluna, he also raised his hand and waved into the distance. Priest Augustus put down his pipe and also waved goodbye with a regretful expression, and even Sister Devlin made the same gesture.
Silent, everyone saw the people they missed, but no one tried to take them along. To be able to see them again was enough; this was the difference between them and Joey Barton.
Slicing through the silver, silken water, only the Balance in Iluna’s hand emitted a faint glow. The surroundings were extremely quiet; however, the distance between the mudflat and the small boat always remained constant, as if they could not return to the distant shore.
“Is something wrong?”
Iluna was the first to notice this, asking softly.
Priest Augustus turned to look at the front of the boat, having no idea, and Sister Devlin also shook her head slightly. Joey Barton and the resurrected Miss Marilyn Handel didn’t care about these things at all. Xia De, meanwhile, moved from the stern of the boat to the bow, standing on the boat and gazing far at the faint bonfire on the mudflat.
After a brief consideration, even without “Her” reminder, the answer naturally appeared in his mind:
“For our own desire, we gave the dead a chance to be resurrected. Although someone paid the price for this, it is, after all, a violation of the rules, so we cannot dock… Yes, I understand, there is one last step.”
Xia De turned to look at Iluna:
“Judge, please judge them now and confirm whether this resurrection complies with the rules.”
Iluna hesitated and nodded. As Xia De sat down, she stood up, holding the dark golden Balance.
Everyone looked at her, which made the seventeen-year-old girl a little uncomfortable, but she still looked at Joey Barton and Marilyn Handel, saying clearly:
“In the name of the ancient god, the hanged judge, I shall give you judgment.”
The small boat glided silently, the faint golden light and the silver light of the Nether Moon were so serene:
“Joey Barton, for your own desire and obsession, you attempted to break the Balance of Between Life and Death. You assisted the Gap of Between Life and Death, bringing more death, disaster, and victims to Middlesburg, and even potentially leading to a greater catastrophe. Now, the Old Priest has taken your bones, the nun has burned your flesh, and the victor has taken your soul, granting you the possibility of resurrecting the dead.”
Iluna took a deep breath:
“Offering your bones, casting aside your flesh, abandoning your soul, can only atone for some of your mistakes. Hereafter, you and this lady shall bear the curse of death and walk this world. The Orthodox Church will be your enemy, and the good will abhor your existence. Do many good deeds to atone for your mistakes; repent constantly and pray for those innocent souls. You bear the blood debt of Middlesburg; this shall be the sin that entangles you for a lifetime.”
Joey Barton’s transparent soul bowed its head:
“I accept your judgment. Before I return here again, I shall be plagued by curses and scorned by living beings. I will do many good deeds to atone for all my mistakes.”
“All things eventually die. What you seek is the process, but it will not change the result; instead, it will burden you with a lifelong curse.”
Mr. Barton paused:
“Yes, this is… the meaning of my life. Since I cannot grow normally and experience life in the sequence of the living, then this is fine too. After reaching the end the first time, to bear the curse and experience a second life with her, even if we will eventually return again. But I still have her, and a segment of memory; this is the meaning.”
“What is this lady’s name?”
Iluna nodded, then suddenly asked softly. She hadn’t listened very carefully to Joey Barton’s call on the water earlier.
“Marilyn Handel.”
Xia De reminded softly, so Iluna coughed and then spoke again:
“Marilyn Handel, the dead should not be resurrected. But someone paid with bone, flesh, and soul, allowing you to walk the world again. You are therefore burdened with the curse of death and entangled by a sinful soul, unable to be freed for life, until you return here again. Mortals eventually die; this is the price for your resurrection.”
“I will be with him. He made a great mistake for me, and I have a responsibility to walk the path ahead with him.”
She grasped the hand of Mr. Barton’s soul. The two looked at each other, speechless.
Iluna shook her head slightly, her tone very serious:
“Bearing the curse of death, bearing a sinful soul, but you have also touched the extraordinary because of this; your soul is unique. death is staring at you, lady. Go and redeem those souls wandering in the world; this is your path of atonement.”
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
The living and the dead spoke simultaneously. At the same time, Xia De saw a golden chain extending from the dark golden Balance, firmly binding Joey Barton and Marilyn Handel together.
Priest Augustus, Sister Devlin, and Iluna also saw it:
“This is…”
“A contract. From now on, they are sinners bearing the sin of death, redeeming the souls that have not departed in the human world, in exchange for a reduction of the curse they bear. This is the judgment I, as the Chosen One who inherited ‘Balance’, give them. Oh, I actually have such power?”
Iluna seemed to have just realized it herself.
Everyone’s story seemed very exciting. Joey Barton and the resurrected Marilyn Handel would have many more stories to come. But those stories probably had nothing to do with Xia De. However, perhaps many years later, he would still find them, aged and inseparable, to listen to the story that would eventually return to death.
“Is this enough?”
Iluna asked Xia De softly again. Before Xia De could speak, he felt the boat gently shake as if it had hit something.
Everyone looked towards the bow. Unbeknownst to them, they had already docked.
“I seem to understand some things again.”
Iluna patted her head:
“What a strange feeling. I can use more of the power of Balance. So, the Chosen One has to dig for the Chosen One’s power in this way.”
“Miss Bei Ya Si, this was a fair judgment. I am truly impressed.”
Priest Augustus praised, and Iluna lowered her head, smiling shyly.
The group came ashore from the small boat. Except for Xia De, everyone else returned to the Kiss of the Tree bonfire and sat by the fire. Xia De, meanwhile, looked at the double stone doors; his time was pressing:
“The problem now is that the Church’s ‘Holy Tree Mark’ ritual has sealed three passages. How do we get back?”
He said with a frown.
Last time, he used the “Door Key” to unlock it, but this time there was a seal outside, and he was not in a state to contend with this door again:
“Priest, can you…”
“No, if we push open the door, it would be equivalent to destroying the Church’s seal. But don’t worry, once this wave of resistance in the Gap ends and the Gap temporarily stabilizes again, we can force the door open. Although that will also destroy the seal, at least it won’t lead to irreversible consequences… It seems we will be missing for a few days.”
The Priest said, the firelight reddening his face. The Old Priest was not very worried:
“If you’re afraid others will worry about you, my Miracle 【Last Words】 can help you send some messages out. Yes, just like when I broke into your dream.”
“I must return to Middlesburg now; some things only I can do…”
Xia De held the Red Butterfly pendant, broken into two halves, and looked at Sister Devlin, who shook her head slightly. Then he looked at Joey Barton, who wasn't paying attention to Xia De at all.
Xia De thought for a moment, then asked again:
“Priest, you mean that if we force the door open from the inside ‘out’, it will damage the ritual. What about opening the door from the outside?”
“That won’t work either; the three passages cannot suffer any more losses.”
The Priest quickly denied, but Xia De didn’t mean that:
“I mean, what if someone, from outside Middlesburg, opened a door leading here?”
Priest Augustus was stunned, then slowly nodded:
“Then there’s no problem. After all, only Mi Fort’s Gap has a problem; other areas are very safe. However, besides the three passages in Middlesburg, are there any other ways to easily come here from the material world? I haven’t heard of any…”
“Of course there are. At another end of time, I heard a librarian mention this. Oh, Priest, quickly use your Miracle! I need to send Last Words to two people!”
Xia De said with a smile, truly relieved. He also sat back by the bonfire and warmed himself with the others. Iluna carefully moved closer to Xia De, happily gazing at the flames before them.
“The original effect of the Miracle 【Last Words】 is to fulfill the wishes of lingering souls, allowing them to safely enter the dreams of those they miss, or to use surfaces like water or mirrors for a final farewell. We are all equivalent to dead people now, so dreaming is easy. However, it cannot be a dream in the Mi Fort area; Middlesburg, currently enveloped by the Gap, cannot be considered a normal world.”
“It’s okay, the people I want to send Last Words to are all in Tobesk City. I hope I haven’t disturbed their night’s rest; it’s already very late.”
Xia De said, then looked at the others by the bonfire:
“There’s still some time before someone comes to rescue us. Let’s coordinate our stories, ahem, I mean, discuss the details of what happened here tonight.”
He let out a long breath, looking at each person’s face in the firelight one by one:
“But most importantly, about the topic of the death Chosen One. The ritual can be completed by resurrecting after committing suicide in the Gap. Now, everyone here has actively stepped into death, so… the first candidate to leave here is the true…”
The firelight illuminated the living among the dead, and the glow of the Nether Moon sprinkled upon the ground and water. The epic of the sixth epoch once again entered a crucial juncture, and this time, Xia De could finally take control of the situation himself.
