Hearing the undisguised disgust for the Annihilation Cultists in Agatha's tone, the old guard's expression did not change at all - he was still paying more attention to the latest intelligence.
The "samples" taken from the cemetery... appeared in the laboratory as if they were described by the cultists.
The general properties of the "elements" mentioned here.
No matter how crazy those heretics are, no matter how immoral their fallacies are, as a member of the Orthodox Church, the old guard must learn about those heretics, their crazy doctrines and their extremely polluting knowledge systems. In the entire set of heresies of the Annihilation Cult, there is always one core: "The Holy Lord of the Deep, and the various "miracles" created by the Holy Lord of the Deep."
The Annihilation Cultists firmly believe that the mortal world now favored by the gods is not a "peaceful paradise", but actually a "land of exile" that has been severely corrupted and completely distorted. They believe that the brightness and prosperity of the real world are illusions woven by the gods, and the true destination of mortal souls and the "uncontaminated real world" are actually...
Not here at all, but in the depths of the world - the abyss.
On this basis, they believe that the Lord of the Abyss and the demons represent the purest, most original, and uncontaminated state of the world, and that only by purifying their own polluted bodies can mortals "return" to the abyss and return to their original place.
However, the mortal world is blocked by the gods, and a barrier is built between the "distorted real world" and the "real real world (that is, the abyss)". The flesh and blood of mortals is the concrete manifestation of that barrier. As long as the soul of a mortal is still trapped in that body and undergoes continuous "pollution" throughout his life, it is impossible to return to the abyss.
Therefore, the Holy Lord of the Deep will bring down a miracle called "Aga" - the heretics are convinced that this sacred substance is the foundation of all things at the beginning of the world, and the Holy Lord's blueprint for planning the "real world" is hidden in the microscopic scale of "Aga", and only "Aga" can fight against the curse in the flesh and blood of all living beings in the world and allow mortals to return to the "pure state at the beginning of birth."
As for the substance called "Aga", the Annihilation Cultists described it as follows: "... it will show all the characteristics of all things in the world and will always be in a continuous evolutionary cycle. It represents all the plans and blueprints of the Deep Lord when shaping reality, and short-sighted mortals will never be able to measure any correct or incorrect properties..."
Then he recalled the glorious feat of the Lost Homeland in dragging the eighteen islands of Veselan into the warp, as well as the connection between these eighteen islands and the Death Cult that he had learned from his previous conversation with Morris and Vanna.
His lips moved slightly, but the voice went straight into the old guard's mind: "Is this visitor... so approachable?"
Footsteps were heard from the side, and the old guard came to the coffin cautiously. He slowly glanced at the dark coffin with the corner of his eye, and quickly retracted his eye the next second.
"Oh, I understand. People often talk to me and suddenly lose their minds. Frankly speaking, it's quite troublesome," Yuan Su said with a smile in his tone, "They know how to protect themselves, which is good."
A special corpse once lay here.
"But his specialness still exceeded everyone's expectations," the old guard turned his head and looked at the young gatekeeper, "We found the real person who fell into the well the next day, so this body is obviously just a replica of the real deceased... A replica made of 'Aga,' no wonder it attracted these annihilationists.
Heretics beware.
The cemetery fell silent for a moment. Unspeakable weirdness and noise enveloped the paths and platforms, and were soaked in the night wind carrying snowflakes.
I've dealt with many supernatural beings, including some extremely evil or chaotic ones, but this is the first time I've chatted with myself.
The snow had gradually grown heavier after nightfall, and flakes of snow were falling continuously from the dark night sky. Walking sticks stood in the dim cemetery, and the lanterns on the tops of the walking sticks reflected the scattered snowflakes around them.
The snowflakes seemed to add a hazy texture to everything.
"...Yes, an unknown visitor," Duncan's always calm expression finally showed some changes.
His tone also became cautious, "Now they don't know what our intentions are."
The black-clad guards gathered around the coffin immediately dispersed slightly to the side, in case their overly cautious response was seen as a provocation by the "visitor" who descended upon the corpse.
Although his clairvoyance did not go out of control due to the influence of the incense this time, and he even took drugs to resist mental pollution in advance, the psychological trauma brought by the last "contact" was so strong that even he, a veteran who had experienced many battles, seemed extremely cautious at this moment.
However, in the face of such an answer, the old guard's expression did not change at all, and he just stared into the gatekeeper's eyes quietly: "Do you think that is 'Aga,'?"
The old guard turned into a pale shadow almost instantly, and appeared beside the morgue like teleporting. He stared at the coffin that made the sound. After taking two deep breaths, he made his voice as calm as possible and said, "Are you... the visitor from the day before yesterday?"
"Can we know who...you are?" After a moment of determination, he finally mustered up the courage to ask.
Duncan frowned.
"These specimens... were once a person, or at least looked like a person," the old guard said as if talking to himself, "You personally led the team to deliver him here, you should still remember."
A muffled and low voice came from a coffin in the distance: two church priests briefly communicated, and then the old guard gently waved his hand to the surroundings.
"Why don't you continue talking?"
The old guard answered without hesitation: "This is just the nonsense of this bunch of heretics. This is probably just some new substance that cannot be explained by our current knowledge system. Its property change may be some kind of natural phenomenon, or it may be some kind of extraordinary power - but it cannot be a 'miracle' brought down by the Lord of the Deep."
Everyone was waiting—waiting for an unknown visitor, for an uneventful sunrise.
Duncan suddenly raised his head and stared into the old guard's eyes: "... Do you think this is 'Aga,'?"
It was unknown how long the noise lasted. Just as the gatekeeper was about to persuade the old guard to go back to the hut to rest, a soft knocking sound suddenly rang out in the night.
Faced with the second question, the old guard finally fell silent for a short while. After two or three seconds, he exhaled softly: "But I have to admit that at least in terms of nature... the samples collected are consistent with the description of those heretics."
The old guard looked up at the sky, and after a moment of silence, he said, "It's late at night."
Such a sound suddenly came from the quiet cemetery, and even the well-trained church guards could not avoid being startled and stunned for a moment. The old guard even felt that even the snowflakes falling in the light seemed to be still for two seconds - the next second, all the guards quickly came to the coffin that made the sound, and the sound of boots stepping on the snow was heard.
The gatekeeper raised his head and looked at the old guard in surprise.
"I hope I didn't scare you by coming here presumptuously," Duncan in the coffin thought for a moment and greeted casually, "I did come here once two days ago, but there were cultists causing trouble at the time, and my contact with the guard was not smooth."
"You are just a traveler, so don't be curious about my name - it will be good for both of you."
"When they started discussing this 'Aga,'" Duncan's voice came from the coffin, "I felt like I heard some very interesting information - but they suddenly stopped talking."
"Perhaps it wasn't because we attracted their attention, but the whole thing was their doing," the old guard shook his head. "We believe that this fall into the mine was caused by the cultists. Their purpose was to use the victims deep in the mine to create a replica, similar to some kind of sacrificial ritual. But obviously, their plan went wrong, which led to the replica being discovered by mistake and even sent to your cemetery by us."
"…You just arrived?"
After calming down a little, the old guard finally broke the silence.
"Of course I remember," the gatekeeper said softly, "very few bodies need to be transported by the gatekeeper himself, and this body fell into
The deepest part of the mine, which is the deepest place in the entire city-state, and the dead brought out from there are very..."
"... We have no intention of offending you," the old guard responded immediately and cautiously. I cannot confirm the origin of this "visitor" for the time being, but at least the other party did not show any initial hostility. So when facing a superior non-hostile "para-god" existence, showing enough courtesy is the first step in communication. "The arrangements here are only to protect our own sanity."
The old guard shrugged and said, "It also attracted the attention of an unknown 'visitor.'"
His gaze passed through the scattered snow and lights and fell on an empty morgue.
The old guard raised his head and looked towards the morgue not far away.
Duncan had actually sensed the surrounding atmosphere in the coffin for a long time. He had been lying there for more than a few minutes. Ever since the old guard and the young woman started talking about "Aga", he had been listening patiently and curiously. At this moment, he felt the surrounding atmosphere spreading, so he smiled and said casually, "There are quite a few people here tonight."