Red Moon Returns

The protest at Crown Square ended in tragedy.

According to on-site investigations, flames and explosions appeared almost simultaneously in three different directions, but no actual signs of burning were found, and only great panic was caused by the incident. Nearly 10,000 people fled from the square in panic, triggering a large-scale stampede, killing more than 100 people, injuring hundreds of people, and leaving corpses all over the city center. The protest ended in vain.

The consequences were quite serious. The police from the Hall of Order entered the scene as soon as possible, and the special forces of the four major churches also took action. Various organizations, either openly or secretly, quietly moved.

Hundreds of blue uniforms blocked the entire square, and every policeman's face was tightly tense, brewing a fierce storm. Those who remained in the square, whether merchants or passers-by, whether injured or intact, whether dead or alive, were all controlled on the spot. The dead were taken to the Hall of the Dead for interrogation, and the living were sent directly to the Hall of Order. What awaited them would be a long interrogation and investigation, as well as countless troubles afterwards.

But these had nothing to do with Lynch. Those ferocious policemen were forcing out ugly smiles. A man in a black suit who was said to be the director personally led the team and respectfully escorted him out of the blockade and escorted him all the way into the Cathedral of the Night before leaving with peace of mind.

Of course, to be precise, it was to escort the old man who met by chance. Lynch was "and his entourage".

The old man lied. He was not actually the bishop of the Church of the Night.

He was the head of the Rhine Diocese of the Church of the Night, Archbishop Trinlais.

On the way from home to the church, he was blocked by protests. He met Lynch, who was also preparing to go to the Church of the Night, and took him back to the Church of the Night.

A scepter with colorful black, this is the emblem of the goddess of night, hanging high at the entrance of the church.

This is the sacred Cathedral of Dark Night.

The black dome, dotted with gold, symbolizes the boundless night.

Under the dome, a statue holds a scepter and overlooks all living beings, with a blurred face, which means that mortals can never understand the meaning of gods.

Knowing that Lynch is not a member of the Night Cult, Trilles did not take him to see the goddess, but took him directly into the reception room, took the letter of introduction handed over by Lynch and read it.

The old man had changed into a black priest robe and tied a ribbon dotted with five gold stars. From an ordinary and casual old man, he instantly turned into an elder full of religious atmosphere.

Lynch looked at him with a little curiosity. After all, he had never thought that in this extraordinary world, an ordinary person would be in charge of a parish.

Not only the voice in his head, but even Trilles himself confirmed that he was just an ordinary old man who only knew a little insignificant physical skills.

"Nothing to be surprised about, kid. Many churches have bishops like me. What the church values ​​is the devotion to the goddess and who can serve the goddess and the church better, and fighting is just one way of serving. Just like what happened outside, the direct follow-up handling is of course the responsibility of the Night Walker Agency, but how to handle it depends on the devotion to the goddess."

No, I think it depends on experience and skills, and has nothing to do with devotion.

But what you said does make sense. Those who control the force are not necessarily at the top of power. It depends on how to check and balance.

Therefore, Lynch nodded and said gratefully: "Fortunately, you took me with you, otherwise I would have been harassed by these policemen for several days and would not have to do anything."

"Hehe, the Lord favors every kind-hearted child." The old man raised his head from the letter of introduction and blinked mischievously, "Especially the children who secretly helped others block the crowded crowds around them along the way, they are more worthy of the Lord's favor. What's more, this child also helped me pick up a strange and strange object."

"That strange object... What happened in the square? Such a big incident suddenly broke out."

"I don't know yet, but the impact will definitely be serious. It is likely related to the protests and the Best Tunnel incident. The tunnel incident involves the struggle of many forces. Child, don't ask too much. As a creature who is about to step into the mysterious world, curiosity is a deadly enemy. Remember one sentence, curiosity is the road to the underworld, and there will never be traffic jams. As for the review, don't worry, your review has ended with me, and it will not affect your business."

Trinles explained while closing the letter of introduction and returning it to Lynch. In fact, this thing was not written for him to read at all, there are several levels of difference, but it would be better if he was willing to read it.

"Praise the Quiet Night, I know your situation. As the guardian of regional stability, under the guidance of the goddess, we are willing to walk side by side with the Watcher. I think all churches that serve the gods should have the same attitude."

This means that he agreed, and Lynch secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After getting the letter of introduction, he was actually always uneasy, but he just didn't like to show it. In film and television works, the church is a group of stupid people with rigid thinking and stubborn personalities. Lynch was afraid that they would not recognize the letter of introduction.

Therefore, until now, the stone in his heart has fallen.

"Child, don't imagine us to be too pedantic. It's already the era of steam and technology. Even in the most old-fashioned churches, there will be many secular people like me."

Indeed, Lynch felt that this old man was no different from a secular old man except that he was occasionally not direct enough when speaking.

"Times have changed. In order to maintain the stability of the region and the firmness of folk beliefs, we do strictly guard the taboo knowledge and the secrets of the gods. We will not be like those irresponsible secret societies that give away taboo knowledge and mysteries in order to attract members. The power can be leaked out at will. But after all, we are not living in the world of gods, we are also mortals in this world, and we must know how to be flexible, which is different from the rigid dogma you imagine."

Lin Qi smiled awkwardly and nodded: "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. In fact, we still welcome talented and moral young people like you to join the team against the mysterious. People always have great fear of the world of soul-shifters. Even talented people will mostly choose to stay away. , It is not easy to replenish high-quality fresh blood. There are not many warriors who are willing to spend their lives following the guidance of the gods and fighting against the mystery. "

"Because of the threat of madness and loss of control?" Lynch recalled Natalie's previous words.

"Yes, this is the biggest reason. Mental and physical abnormalities are what people are most afraid of. Their concerns are actually justified. After all, this is a one-way ticket. Once you start, you can never stop."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because soul alienation is a very special technique. Now we use it to fight against the mysteries and evil gods in the dreamland, but this technique did not exist in the beginning."

The old man looked at the time on the clock and explained slowly,

"At the end of the mythical age of the First Age, the gods fell, and all living beings lost the protection of the gods, leaving them defenseless against the evil gods and mysteries of the dreamland."

"Sorry to interrupt, but what exactly are evil gods? I only know that there are cultists who believe in them." Lynch couldn't help but ask the biggest question in his heart.

The old man's face was a little ugly, and he obviously didn't like this topic, but he still explained: "Just like the gods in the world, evil gods are high-ranking beings from the dreamland, but they don't have the perfect godhead and complete power like the true gods, so The power is far inferior to that of the true gods, but after the death of the gods, they took advantage of the emptiness of the mortal world and usurped the authority of a small number of gods, posing a huge threat to the present world."

"very dangerous?"

"Of course it is dangerous. Even if they are just 'weak' evil gods, they are still high-ranking beings. They are the incarnation of mystery. With their true names and images, they can make people fall into eternal madness. Their existence is not something that the fragile world can bear. , once the body is guided to the present world, it will cause great damage. In more serious cases, it will cause a large area to be distorted, leading to the extinction of all living things. Even more serious... haha, in short, it is extremely dangerous, so the cultists who serve them will Become one of our greatest enemies."

“During the Second and Third Epochs when the gods fell, living beings were powerless to resist for tens of thousands of years. Until the dawn of the Fourth Epoch, the twelve true gods returned from their slumber one after another, and they guided mankind on the path of soul-shifters. , mankind finally has the ability to fight against mystery. Although it still loses more than it wins, at least there is hope. "

"Returning one after another?" Lin Qi's heart moved, and he seemed to realize something, "Are these twelve gods the only ones returning? What about other gods, will they also return one after another?"

"The other gods are all fallen gods. They are still sleeping in the dreamland. At least they have not returned yet. As for the future..." The old man looked at Lin Qi and said seriously, "Child, mortals should not try to understand the will and state of the gods. , it is not terrible not to understand, what is terrible is to really understand. God is a higher-level existence. When you have the idea of ​​'trying to understand', you are only one step away from going crazy and losing control. Once you really understand. Unfortunately, I understand that forbidden knowledge can completely destroy your mind in an instant, whether you are a soul shifter or not."

The corner of Lin Qi's mouth trembled, thinking about the feeling when he heard the voice in his head for the first time, and wanted to understand the way the "voice" existed, and his guess about the identity of his traveling companion became more certain.

However, it was impossible to disclose these thoughts to the old man. Lin Qi asked calmly on the surface: "Okay, I probably understand what the evil god is, but the alienation can't stop..."

"According to the theory of evolution proposed by a folk scholar a few years ago, after tens of thousands of years of confrontation with the mysterious, the souls of ordinary people have developed a weak resistance, so now most ordinary people are immune to the intrusion of the mysterious, perhaps until they reach their old age. There is no way to come into contact with mystery, unless there is an accidental contact with mystery, which destroys this resistance. However, the soul-shifter alienates his soul, and the resistance disappears automatically. From now on, he will be in deep contact with mystery all the time, and the erosion of mystery depends entirely on it. The longer the soul's powerful confrontation, the easier it is for the soul to be assimilated by the mysterious distortion, so in order to ensure safety, the soul-shifter must move forward as soon as possible to make the soul more powerful, but this faces a big problem. "

The old man drew several concentric circles on the coffee table:

"Each alienation will make the entanglement between the soul and the mystery deeper, and the erosion will be more serious. It can only continue to rush to the next alienation. This forms a very dangerous cycle, a cycle that cannot be stopped."

Four big words popped up in Lin Qi's mind immediately: drink poison to quench thirst.

"So, you should know about the risks and responsibilities, kid." The old man finally smiled, "Even so, do you still want to become a soul changer?"

"I would like to ask, old gentleman, why are you still an ordinary person?"

"Not everyone has the talent of alienated soul. I am destined to be just an ordinary person in this life, but it is said that you have this talent."

"Yes, I do, and I have no choice."

Lin Qi closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then nodded with a serious face: "Then what should I do?"

"First, you need to identify the god who is in harmony with your heart. Because it is your own soul that is alienated. If the soul and heart are not in harmony after alienation, there is no need for mysterious erosion. In a few days, you will have a mental breakdown. You can understand this principle."

Lin Qi nodded. It is similar to rejection reaction. Travelers understand.

"The method of confirmation is very simple. Which true God do you believe in?"

"Huh?" Lin Qi was stunned. "Must have faith?"

The old man was also a little confused: "You have to follow the footsteps of the gods and imitate the power of the gods. Of course, you have to be recognized by the gods. This is not a condition. It can only be said to be the basic requirement for the true god's soul alienator to transform the soul."

"But I don't have faith." Lin Qi's blood vessels on his forehead were throbbing, and he said in a hoarse voice, "I have never believed in any god."

"That's troublesome." For a moment, the two looked at each other, and the old man said distressedly, "How could there be people in the world who have no faith at all?"

But there are souls that are not from this world.

Lin Qi knew that he had encountered the most unsolvable crisis since he crossed over.