“Now, tell us everything from the beginning, starting with your self-introduction.
“You have all the time you need—I’ve stabilized your soul.”
Loren led everyone back to the ship and even specially prepared a stool for the young girl’s wandering soul.
She sat on the stool nervously and began recounting her story to the group:
“I was one of the strongest mages of the younger generation in our village. Our village believes in a divine bird that brings the night. It can hide our village in darkness so that other things can’t find us.
“With its power, our lives were fairly peaceful. Neither the monsters in the sea nor those pirates could discover us.
“We also occasionally went out to sea to gather information. After I became a third-tier mage, I joined the sea-going teams…”
“Wait…”
Loren realized something and abruptly interrupted the girl’s account.
“The divine bird you believe in—does it bring the night or devour the light?”
“What… what’s the difference?”
Seeing that the girl couldn’t grasp it, Loren simply switched to another question:
“Is it a crow much larger than a person, turning the places it flies over into night?”
“Yes…”
After getting the girl’s confirmation, Loren grew somewhat excited.
“What’s wrong with that divine bird?”
Laila voiced her question, sensing that this bird was very important to Loren.
“It’s called the Dusk Crow, a mythical creature that can devour light.
“At the same time, it’s also a crucial component of the Light-Erosion ritual that strips away the authority of light. Without the Dusk Crow, this ritual would be far more complicated.
“Take a look at the ritual I wrote for you earlier—it’s recorded there. This ritual is meant to deal with the God of Light and Fire.”
Even with the girl present, Loren still spoke without restraint, since the girl before him was only a wandering soul under his control.
“Go on. What happened afterward that made you so urgent?”
Loren let the girl continue. The ritual required a living Dusk Crow, and he wanted to find it and convince it to help him.
This was also why Loren had previously chosen the talent 【Everything Has a Spirit】. Almost all mythical creatures can communicate normally with humans, and many rituals require their assistance.
At the time, Loren chose 【Everything Has a Spirit】 not just to have birds deliver messages, but more as a precaution—a preparation for future battles.
“While out at sea, on some island, we encountered a group of pirates. I overheard them saying someone wanted to kill our divine bird.
“When I tried to investigate further, I died. I don’t even know what killed me.
“Later, my soul was captured by the Angler. I’ve been unconsciously helping the Angler feed until just now, when I regained my awareness…”
“That’s it?”
Loren wanted to know more—like just who this person trying to kill the Dusk Crow was.
“That’s all… sorry…”
But Loren was destined to be disappointed. The girl knew nothing else.
“Forget it. We’ll deal with things as they come. What matters now is the Dusk Crow.
“The Dusk Crow usually appears in your village, right?”
“Yes. The great divine bird knows we need it, so it often comes.”
“Good. Now take us to your village.”
The village’s location was a secret the girl shouldn’t have revealed, but right now she had no choice.
One group was openly trying to kill the divine bird, while the other’s intentions were unclear. If she had to pick one, she would still gamble on the latter.
Besides, after the Angler’s ability was recorded by the World Card and strengthened to some extent, the girl’s wandering soul was now completely under Loren’s control.
Even if she realized she was being controlled by Loren, there was nothing she could do.
So, no matter what, she had to take Loren to their village.
“Alright, let me see the map…”
Taking the map, the girl marked a location on it and then began leading the way.
“By the way, how did you people live without light? What did you eat?”
Along the way, Anna got bored and casually asked about the girl’s village life.
“It’s not like there was absolutely no light. Inside the village, we could still see things.
“Besides, the divine bird brought us some crops that could grow in the dark, and combined with fishing, we were self-sufficient.”
“The divine bird went out of its way to bring you crops? What’s in it for them? Do they need faith too?”
Anna raised a question, but this time it wasn’t the girl who answered her—it was Loren.
“It’s not like that. Unlike those false gods, mythical creatures don’t need faith to stabilize their power.
“There’s only one reason for it to do this: kindness. It wants people to live good lives.”
Most mythical creatures were gentle and kind, easy to talk to. Loren figured that as long as he explained his goal was beneficial to people, the Dusk Crow wouldn’t refuse him.
“So, these mythical creatures are pretty great, actually. At least greater than the Orthodox Gods.”
Anna sighed with emotion. The girl listened nearby as they discussed the Orthodox Gods. Although she didn’t believe in them, she couldn’t help but feel a bit afraid.
After all, the Orthodox Gods represented the most extreme and violent forces in this world. Their village hiding on the island was more to avoid them in the first place.
“We’re here.”
The girl suddenly pointed ahead. There was nothing there.
Not darkness, but “nothingness.” Loren couldn’t see anything—not even the darkness.
Since this was on a physical level, even Loren’s True Sight Eye couldn’t see through it.
Only when the ship entered a certain threshold did an island bathed in night emerge before them, with a huge full moon hanging in the sky.
“The sunlight is blocked by the divine bird, so it’s always night here. That moon is the divine bird’s creation.”
The girl began introducing the situation here to Loren. Speaking of these things, she seemed very happy, even forgetting she was already dead.
“When does the Dusk Crow usually come?”
“The timing is uncertain. It comes to the village sometimes to eat. We prepare a lot of food for it. It likes fruit and lean meat…”
“I see it now.”
Loren looked up and spotted a large black bird swooping through the sky.
Its appearance was similar to a crow’s, but it had no visible features. Unlike the colorful feathers of crows, its entire body was black—so black it could devour light.
Loren flew up directly. The Dusk Crow’s flying speed wasn’t fast, and Loren quickly caught up to it, landing on its back.
“Greetings.”
The Dusk Crow turned its head to glance at Loren and greeted him politely, even using respectful language.
“Dusk Crow, I hope you can help me with something.”
“Please speak. It would be my honor to be of assistance to you.”
Even though he had anticipated it, the Dusk Crow’s attitude was still so good that Loren felt a bit surprised.
It was almost as if it were Loren’s subordinate.
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