Gun of Ashes

Lorenzo continued to narrate, as if murmuring a mad curse.

"It was a dazzling starry sky, exuding enchanting colors, and the surrounding darkness ebbed away before it, entangled together, the light slowly undulating, as if it had a life, breathing..."

"What are you talking about, Holmes?"

Lorenzo’s words carried a hint of madness, making the Plague Doctor feel a bit at a loss.

There had already been too many terrible things along the way; if Lorenzo were to go mad here, the Plague Doctor really wouldn’t know what to do. With Lorenzo’s ability to invade the [Gap], the Plague Doctor didn’t think he could survive under Lorenzo’s hand.

"Final words."

Lorenzo said.

The Plague Doctor’s expression became even stranger. Although others might see it as a twisted mass of crimson flesh, he believed he was making a "perplexed" face.

"Why mention final words all of a sudden?"

The Plague Doctor advised, speculating that Lorenzo might have already fallen into the influence of the Anti-Meme, this guy was figuring out how to give himself a quick end to this miserable life.

This surprised the Plague Doctor too much, not expecting that such a powerful Lorenzo would have such vulnerable moments.

"Not my final words, but those of another guy, the former chief technologist of the Perpetual Motion Pump, Alchemist William. He said he saw such a starry sky before he died."

Lorenzo’s next words calmed the Plague Doctor considerably. Now the Plague Doctor’s life was essentially in Lorenzo’s hands. After witnessing the strangeness of this Anti-Meme, he didn’t think he could reach the world’s end alone.

"Do you think he’s describing this starry sky? It looks like it; probably except for here, nowhere else in the world would have such a view," the Plague Doctor said.

"No, he never reached here, how could he have seen this? I suspect he saw another starry sky."

"What do you mean?"

Lorenzo became serious, moving his gaze away from the starry sky and looking at the Plague Doctor.

"Do you know? Plague Doctor, during the shuttle through the [Gap], do you know what other people’s [Gaps] look like to me?"

"What?"

"Stars."

"Stars?"

"Yes, stars scattered throughout the darkness, one after another."

"Then what he saw in the cluster of stars..."

"Could be us, could be others, could be another group of ’things’ with [Gaps], numerous as ant colonies, sprawled across the sky."

The Plague Doctor froze for a moment, then let out a dry laugh, slowly saying, "No matter how many, it’s still just humans."

"But it’s not just humans that possess [Gaps], beings on the path of Ascension also have [Gaps]," Lorenzo said.

"This sounds like a horror story."

"Isn’t our life a horror story itself?"

"..."

"The dawn is breaking."

Another somewhat muffled voice rang out, the Black Angel slowly rose, and the morning light began to ascend from the end of the horizon.

Rest time was over; they had to continue forward.

Lorenzo stood up, kicked out the campfire, picked up supplies, and gestured for Froki to follow.

Froki had forgotten everything, his intelligence like that of a beast instinctively driven, but he couldn’t understand the orders from Lorenzo and the Plague Doctor, showing some resistance.

Lorenzo felt a headache, he and Froki were completely strangers, yet for some possible reasons, Lorenzo insisted on bringing him along, now it felt like he was taking care of a child.

But Lorenzo didn’t even have a girlfriend, and here he was with such an old child? Looking at Froki’s appearance, he seemed old enough to be Lorenzo’s grandfather.

"Let’s go!"

Lorenzo pulled at the rope, but Froki remained unmoved, his gaze fixed on Lorenzo, or rather, on Lorenzo’s waist.

Looking down, Lorenzo picked up the parchment and pen, Froki’s gaze moved with them.

"Is this what you want?"

Froki didn’t speak, but his eyes conveyed his attitude.

Lorenzo tossed the parchment and pen to Froki, who caught them with one hand, treating them like treasures, repeatedly rubbing and caressing them, and his emotions stabilized considerably, following Lorenzo forward.

"At least this kid is easy to appease."

Lorenzo mumbled, unsure why Froki was so fixated on the Nautical Chart, and probably wouldn’t get the chance to find out. He moved forward with the Plague Doctor, their heavy footsteps resounding, and the Black Angel followed closely behind.

"Holmes, I’ve also contemplated some things... involving Truth, that you might need."

After hearing Lorenzo’s hypothesis about the stars, the Plague Doctor remembered his theory about "Ascension." He figured it was time to share everything with Lorenzo.

The speculative thought that filled the Plague Doctor with fear and despair, both terrifying and thrilling him, unsure whether he should take that step.

"We have plenty of time on the road; let’s get over this snow slope first."

Lorenzo walked at the forefront, a somewhat steep slope blocked their path. He drew the Nail Sword, stabbed it into the ice under the snow. The slope was steep, the snow easily trodden off, revealing smooth ice.

After climbing up the slope with effort, before he could sheath the Nail Sword and survey the surrounding terrain, Lorenzo stood rooted on the spot, no longer moving.

It seemed he saw something.

The Plague Doctor followed behind, claws breaking through flesh, scratching at the ice. He climbed up faster than Lorenzo, soon reaching the top of the slope, then stood transfixed like Lorenzo, followed by the Black Angel and Froki.

Everyone stood dumbfounded, staring at the world beyond the high slope.

It wasn’t clear whether the light was too dazzling or for some other reason, but Lorenzo felt his eyes getting moist.

"The end of the world..."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!