Chapter 40#
Temple of the Burning Lamp 11#
During breakfast, to be safe, Molly continued to hide in their room.
The old man assigned the task as usual: the second ingredient for the Elixir of Life — the Eye of the Goddess of Fate. According to the order they agreed on yesterday, it was the Empress’s team’s turn to look for it. Yu Feichen’s group would investigate inside the temple, searching for the truth behind the Holy Son’s injury and uncovering the real culprit.
The Empress’s team stayed in the dining hall to discuss their plan, while Yu Feichen’s group left first.
They went to visit Djuna. Djuna’s injuries were too severe; at least for this morning, she couldn’t participate in the mission. Ludwig’s wound, however, had been inflicted by Yu Feichen — who understood human anatomy well — and after a night of recovery, it no longer posed a problem. So today, the ones taking part in the investigation were Yu Feichen, Bai Song, Ludwig, and the Scholar.
They gathered again in the Pope’s large chamber to discuss their plan of action.
Bai Song looked out the window.
“Don’t you guys feel the nights here are unusually long?” he said.
Yu Feichen: “Why do you say that?”
“Last night, Molly was scared and couldn’t sleep. I talked with her a lot — about the worlds we lived in before, and everything that happened afterward,” Bai Song said. “By the time she fell asleep, I almost thought we had talked until dawn.”
To think he could talk that long with a girl he barely knew — Yu Feichen unexpectedly felt something like “the child has grown up” or “the plant I raised finally sprouted.”
(T/N : Just yesterday, Bai Song was stammering over holding Djuna)
“But it wasn’t dawn. So I went to sleep too. Yet when we woke up, it still wasn’t bright. We talked a little more, and only then did the sky finally lighten,” Bai Song said.
No one paid attention to the young knight. When Yu Feichen was preparing to find some words to guide him, Ludwig — seated next to him — unexpectedly spoke up.
His Holiness the Pope looked toward Bai Song. His voice carried a faint gentleness, like an older brother teaching a child who had just grown up. It was a tone Yu Feichen had never heard from him before.
“Perhaps,” he said, “you’ve heard of relativity?”
Bai Song: “What is that? I don’t know it.”
Ludwig gave him a mild look and fell silent.
Yu Feichen sighed.
The Pope had made a rare attempt at a joke, and was immediately choked off by the boy’s ignorance.
(T/N : Please, I don’t get it either. I get that time can feel long because of the theory of relativity… but how is that a joke? Idk)
Up to now, Bai Song had successfully dumbfounded him, the gatekeeper Claros, and His Holiness Ludwig. This could be considered an impressive achievement.
He thought: the translation orb clearly isn’t enough. Next time they return to Paradise, he should buy Bai Song a knowledge orb, so he can acquire some basic knowledge and skills from common worlds.
However, even though the Pope’s subtle teasing hadn’t worked, Bai Song was telling the truth. The nights here had indeed grown unusually long.
“The Black Veil is still closing in. The opening is shrinking,” Yu Feichen said.
Everyone looked up. The pitch‑black veil that surrounded the world had, after a single night, closed in by almost half at a terrifying speed. Yesterday the opening in the sky had been the size of a plate; today, if one raised a fist toward the sky, one could almost block it entirely.
In a normal world, sunrise marks morning, the sun at its peak is noon, and sunset marks night. But in this world shrouded by the “Black Veil,” morning begins when the sun rises from behind the veil, noon is when it reaches the center of the opening, and night begins when it sinks back behind the veil.
In other words, parts of daytime that should have existed were being forcibly blocked by the black veil. Morning came later; night arrived earlier. And as the great veil continued to rise and close, daylight would continue to shrink.
This not only meant the world was becoming filled with shadows — a place where evil spirits would run rampant — but also that their time to complete tasks was growing shorter and shorter.
“I hope they can find the ingredient,” the Scholar said.
If the Empress failed to find it, the cloaked old man would not spare them just because they had split into teams. But for now, they could only choose to trust that group.
“Daylight is short, so should we act immediately?” Bai Song asked.
“Don’t rush,” Yu Feichen said. “First, let’s summarize the dangers and death conditions of this world. I’ll start.”
“First, avoid the monsters that move within shadows. It’s best not to let your own shadow touch any outside shadow. If contact is unavoidable, isolated shadows are better than continuous ones.”
“Second, follow the world’s rules. So far they appear in three forms: one, complete the NPC‑assigned missions; two, play our roles properly; three, obey the temple’s rules. Violating any of the three will result in punishment from the NPCs.”
Thinking about it like this, they had far too many things to watch out for.
But Yu Feichen also believed the world’s danger level wasn’t actually that high. He continued:
“However, based on Molly’s experience, as long as we choose the right method, punishment from NPCs can be evaded. So don’t give up on survival.”
“And I believe this world judges whether we violate rules through NPCs’ eyes — not through some omnipresent supernatural force. Otherwise, when we changed costumes and slipped into the ritual yesterday, we should’ve triggered a death condition already. So as long as NPCs don’t notice anything, we can act freely.”
He said, “That’s all from me.”
Then he looked at Bai Song, “What do you think?”
“Yes, Brother Yu. Everything I wanted to say, you’ve already said. Everything I didn’t think of, you’ve also said. And everything you said, I agree with.”
Scholar: “I agree as well.”
Yu Feichen looked toward Ludwig. From past client complaints, he knew his gaze could sometimes feel too cold, making clients feel uncared for. To fit his role as the Knight Commander and show proper respect to the Pope, he tried to soften his expression when looking at Ludwig.
Bai Song suddenly seemed to have a sore throat and started coughing.
“I agree too,” Ludwig said. “But besides figuring out the death conditions, we also need to find a way to escape this world.”
The Scholar said, “Usually, to escape a dungeon, you must leave its area. But yesterday, when we left the temple, nothing happened. Going further out would lead us into the Black Veil’s dangerous zone. I believe the escape condition is to complete the NPC’s tasks — successfully resurrect the Holy Son and uncover the culprit.”
Ludwig nodded and turned to Yu Feichen: “What do you think, Knight Commander?”
Knight Commander. This was the first time the Pope had addressed him this way. The moment the words reached his ears, Yu Feichen felt a strange sense of déjà vu — as if he had seen this scene before, in a dream.
The feeling passed quickly, replaced by another thought:
He had handed the question to Ludwig — why was it bouncing back to him?
He said, “Completing the mission, resurrecting the Holy Son, finding the culprit — these seem like separate tasks, but they all point to the same thing.”
Bai Song: “What thing?”
Yu Feichen looked at the pale “opening” in the black sky veil and said: “Stopping the Black Veil from rising further — in other words, preserving the light.”
Many things seem complicated, but behind them lies a unified pattern.
“So, after eliminating distractions, what we must do is resist the shadows and preserve the light. Therefore, this morning, I suggest we stop worrying about whether the Holy Son is alive or dead, and instead split up to search the temple for records or legends about light and shadow, to deepen our understanding of this world.”
Bai Song agreed blindly.
The Scholar frowned: “Aren’t you straying too far from our main mission?”
Yu Feichen ignored him. This was his usual attitude toward unreasonable client doubts. Some clients always questioned his deductions even when they were perfectly logical, as if their brains had short-circuited.
He had already talked too much today and was a bit tired. Propping his cheek with one hand, he turned toward Ludwig: “And you, Your Holiness?”
A faint trace of a smile appeared in Ludwig’s eyes: “I agree with you.”
Without further talk, the group rose. Bai Song and the Scholar were closest to the door and went out first, with Yu Feichen and Ludwig following behind.
A few steps later, Yu Feichen stopped. He felt there was something he needed to say clearly to Ludwig.
“You’re the Pope,” he said. “Why does it feel like I’m the one leading the team?”
The Pope lifted his head slightly. His freshly‑combed silver hair fell smoothly over his shoulders. When their eyes met, his lips pressed together subtly — Yu Feichen realized the man seemed to be smiling at him.
Did the Pope take the wrong medicine today?(T/N : Means he’s acting strangely, just like how we would say “Did you forget to take your meds today?”)
Then Yu Feichen remembered he was still in role‑play mode. His own expression toward the Pope must look like he had eaten something strange.
In other words, Ludwig’s attitude changed in accordance to his. What a fickle Pope.
Just then, the Pope suddenly reached out a hand toward him. Yu Feichen froze, but didn’t dodge.
“I’m tired,” Ludwig said softly. Then his eyelashes lowered slightly as he straightened the cross badge on Yu Feichen’s chest and added, “I want to follow you.”
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-Syeki
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