Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 808 A Vicious Cycle

After returning to the second floor of Cliff Village, Long Yuehong closed the door and said, “Truth? Why have I never heard of such a Kalendaria?”

They didn’t chat for long about the problem of faith with Old He because the ‘Truth’ he spoke of touched on blind spots in their knowledge. This included Genava-a smart bot with a large amount of information stored—and Jiang Baimian, a knowledgeable ‘folklore historian.’

Back then, Shang Jianyao had asked which Kalendaria it was and what characteristics it had. If they wanted to believe in ‘Him,’ what rituals did they need to complete. However, Old He didn’t answer and only spoke perfunctorily with a smile.

As the deity the other party believed in was clearly strange, End Year City was related to the Kalendaria, Arbiter of Fate, and there were some abnormalities, the calm and rational Shang Jianyao didn’t forcefully befriend him or make the target say some heartfelt words. He planned on observing him for a while longer.

This obtained Jiang Baimian’s affirmation and admiration.

Bai Chen pursed her lips and said, “It might be an alias of Last Man or an embodiment, just like the relationship between Lokeśvara-Tathāgata and Master Zhuang.”

Jiang Baimian said, “The wooden figurine on Old He’s pendant is indeed very similar to the symbol representing the deity in the Anti-intellectualism Church.”

They were all featureless. In the Anti-intellectualism Church’s teachings, this was the symbol of Last Man. “The Awakened ability described by the village chief is also suspected of belonging to the Last Man domain.” Genava–who was still wearing the robe-offered some evidence.

“Old He denied this guess.” Shang Jianyao had an expression that said: “I’ll believe whatever he says.”

After he saw the pendant that Old He had pulled out, he asked, “Last Man?”

Old He shook his head without hesitation, indicating that Truth wasn’t Last Man.

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged it. “In theory, the deity you believe in is something you should be proud of. There’s no need to deny it, just like how the Buddhist religions frankly admit that Lokeśvara-Tathāgata is Master Zhuang. “However, Last Man—the Kalendariacontrols memories and is rather mysterious. The Anti-intellectualism Church that believes in ‘Him’ has also inherited this characteristic. Their style of doing things is crazy yet filled with caution, and there’s caution amidst arrogance...”

She meant that the Kalendaria, Last Man, might be the same. ‘He’ had multiple fake identities and many embodiments that nobody knew.

This way, it was normal for believers of ‘His’ other embodiments not to know that their deity was the Kalendaria, Last Man.

“But there’s also the possibility that Truth is another Kalendaria or that it’s not a Kalendaria.” Jiang Baimian added, “Do you still remember Yama Tiger? Before he fell asleep, he lived with his believers as a deity on Lake Heart Island. Such situations are common in many places in the Ashlands, and they won’t be too rare in the Chaotic Era or the early years of the New Calendar.”

Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. “Got it.”

“In End Year City, Truth is a New World powerhouse in the Last Man domain or even the only New World powerhouse. Therefore, it obtained the faith of some residents.”

Bai Chen thought for a moment before saying, “But why did he make the symbol that symbolizes himself almost identical to Last Man? Isn’t he afraid that his believers will suffer cognitive confusion when they encounter people from the Anti-intellectualism Church?”

“It’s possible that the symbols in the Last Man domain are fixed. This has to be explained using mysticism...” Shang Jianyao glanced at Jiang Baimian and forcefully assumed the posture of a folklore scholar.

Jiang Baimian rolled her eyes and said, “The symbols corresponding to a Kalendaria aren’t actually fixed. Do you still remember the Vigilance Church, the Terror Church, and the Friendly Hand that all believe in Eidolon Nun?”

These were the three religions the Old Task Force had encountered in Redstone Collection. They all believed in the Kalendaria, Eidolon Nun, but they had different beliefs and symbols.

Back then, the folklore scholar, Jiang Baimian, had taken the time to make some inquiries.

This wasn’t anything too important.

Long Yuehong took a while to recall. “The Vigilance Church’s symbol is a half-closed door with a faint female figure in the darkness behind the door...”

He had the deepest impression of this. Sometimes, this scene was a blueprint for his nightmares. “The Terror Church’s symbol is a black female shadow. The Friendly Hand is a slightly glowing hand in the darkness’s depths.

“What they have in common is darkness and gloominess. Yes, when these three religions argued, they never accused the other party’s symbol of being unable to represent the Kalendaria, Eidolon Nun.”

“That seems to be the case...” Shang Jianyao was rather depressed and unwilling to admit his mistake.

Genava let out a slightly synthetic voice. “Every Kalendaria controls many domains. Perhaps those symbols don’t directly represent the Kalendaria but a particular domain below. For example, the woman behind the door corresponds to ‘wariness,’ and the black female shadow corresponds to ‘terror.’ The glowing hand in the darkness corresponds to friendliness.”

Jiang Baimian nodded. “This is relatively common in folklore, religion, and mysticism. Therefore, as a powerhouse of the New World, the domain Truth grasps is related to memories. This corresponds to the Anti-intellectualism Church symbol?”

Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao agreed with this guess.

Just as Jiang Baimian was about to change the topic, Shang Jianyao suddenly laughed and suppressed his voice. “I thought of another possibility.”

“What possibility?” The honest Genava was very cooperative.

Shang Jianyao looked around and said, “Substitute! Truth uses the Last Man symbol so as to replace the other party one day.”

“Have you watched too much Old World entertainment?” Jiang Baimian’s first reaction was exasperation and amusement.

She then fell into thought. “This isn’t impossible. After all, we aren’t too sure about the Kalendarium’s form and the New World’s exact situation.”

“If the Kalendarium can also weaken, die, or be replaced, many things can be explained.” Bai Chen recalled the Fourth Research Institute’s destruction and what would happen when the 13 Kalendarium Shang Jianyao mentioned filled up every month. Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao clapped, but Long Yuehong’s heart felt inexplicably heavy.

Jiang Baimian slowly exhaled and said, “This is only a guess for the time being. What’s more worth our concern now is why the Arbiter of Fate Church in End Year City allows Truth to preach and develop believers. Besides, the two parties get along well.”

“Big Boss doesn’t care about her believers, right? She doesn’t like to interact with humans as a Kalendaria?” Long Yuehong replied reflexively.

“Big Boss is Big Boss, and the Arbiter of Fate Church’s higher-ups are the Arbiter of Fate Church’s higher-ups. The two can’t be completely equivalent,” Jiang Baimian explained. “Since End Year City has already publicized their faith in Big Boss, the Elders there probably won’t allow other religions to appear unless they can’t defeat them or have any pragmatic considerations.”

This was determined by a religion’s own characteristics. They would instinctively ostracize other beliefs and only consider fusing or coexisting when constrained by reality. Of course, this was excluding oddities like Friendly Hand.

“Maybe they really aren’t their match.” Shang Jianyao had a look of schadenfreude. “Big Boss doesn’t care about matters in reality, and there are relatively few New World powerhouses in End Year City that believe in the Arbiter of Fate. They can’t do a thing to the Truth and can only compromise.” Long Yuehong muttered, “Maybe the price of eliminating Truth is too high that it’s better to cooperate.”

Bai Chen glanced at Jiang Baimian. “There’s another possibility: Truth has a close relationship with Big Boss and is an ally of a certain faction in the New World.”

“Yes...” Jiang Baimian slowly nodded.

The others were momentarily at a loss for words. Even Shang Jianyao only muttered to himself, “Big Boss doesn’t have a good relationship with Last Man?”

Nobody answered him.

After a while, Jiang Baimian glanced at her team members and said, “Let’s make more contact with the people from End Year City in the next few days before they leave. In the future, if there’s a chance, we can get Hey to ask about End Year City’s exact location and visit it. Forget it; we won’t consider this for the time being.”

“Why?” Long Yuehong asked in confusion.

Jiang Baimian smiled. “Are we going to jump around under Big Boss’s nose? That might be a place that Big Boss is paying attention to.”

“That’s true.” Long Yuehong came to a realization.

The Old Task Force’s rule of thumb when formulating plans had always been to search for clues from the various marginalized experiments and the city ruins that didn’t belong to the Arbiter of Fate.

At night, Shang Jianyao entered the Mind Corridor again and pushed open Room 506’s door.

Just as he entered the dream, he saw the blurry female figure sitting in the living room’s armchair. She stood up and walked over.

“You’re finally here!” the female figure said in a hysterical tone. “Ask, ask! I’ll tell you everything!” “Are you sick?” Shang Jianyao asked in concern. “No!” the female figure shouted. “I want to completely escape this nightmare! Stop coming to me!”

Shang Jianyao stroked his chin and muttered to himself, “The psychological pressure accumulated in reality causes one to dream the thoughts that plague them in the day. Furthermore, she has completely broken down in the dream, so she’s eager to vent it?”

Without waiting for a response, he asked, “Who’s the Kalendaria deep in the laboratory?”

Shang Jianyao took two steps back as he spoke, prepared to escape this dream at any moment.

The female figure fell silent for a moment before answering in a slightly ethereal tone, “Dawn...”