“Is it dealt with?”

Alfred’s eyes glowed red as he stared toward the master bedroom on the third floor of Allen Manor in the distance. He answered earnestly. “Young Master, the lights are out.”

“I can see that too.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“I think that since Ancestor has already gone, everything should be fine. Such an ancestor would never be able to watch his family become someone else’s blood feed,” Mike said. “Even if we are useless descendants, an ancestor is still an ancestor. I came to that conclusion by putting myself in the ancestor’s shoes.”

Bede said, “The aura our ancestor displayed just now was terrifyingly powerful. If even he can’t handle it, then tonight is destined to be the Allen manor’s calamity.”

Karon glanced at Bede. “You can’t resist wanting to paint again?”

Bede smiled and said nothing. Setting aside ordinary moral restraints, watching your home be destroyed with your own eyes while painting it could indeed produce extraordinary art.

At that moment, a veil of watery mist flew over from the manor. Wherever it passed, the air warped and the view twisted.

“Ancestor is coming.” Mike slid down from his wheelchair again and prostrated himself on the ground. Bede did the same, prostrating himself as well.

Then, two streams of watery mist split off from the main road. They wrapped around Mike and Bede and flung them far away. They were reverent to their ancestor, but their ancestor loathed them to the point that he did not even want to see them.

Next, the mist on the main road halted in front of Karon. The moisture dispersed completely, revealing Earl Rekar. Pu’er was perched on the man’s shoulder.

Karon had still been feeling rather uneasy, but the moment he saw Pu’er, the weight in his chest finally dropped.

The cat leaped down from Rekar’s shoulder, ran to Karon, and then, as naturally as if she had done it a thousand times before, climbed up to Karon’s shoulder and sat there.

She turned her head to deliberately direct a glare at the golden retriever on the ground beside them. The dog wagged its tail in confusion, not understanding how it had offended the cat yet again.

“Young Master Karon.”

Hearing Rekar change the way he addressed him, Karon’s face broke into a natural smile. “Earl.”

Earl Rekar then dropped to one knee in front of Karon. “The Allen family thanks you for your protection!”

“Please don’t. Please get up.”

“This is how it should be. The Allen family repays its debts!” Rekar slammed his fist against his chest. “It’s a pity I’m about to be completely annihilated and cannot repay your kindness, but my family will surely continue to serve you!”

“If possible, we can sit and talk. I’m not very comfortable with this kind of scene.”

“Alright, as you wish.” Rekar shifted from kneeling to sitting cross-legged.

Karon also took a seat, but as soon as he did, Rekar’s overwhelming size became even more obvious.

“You can sit on a chair,” Rekar suggested.

“No need.”

“Alright.” Rekar raised his fist and punched the ground in front of him.

Bang! A hollow formed in the earth, and Rekar sat in it so that his eyes were level with Karon’s.

Seeing that, Karon could be certain that Rekar and Pu’er had already talked at length. At first, Rekar had treated him as a powerful Archbishop from the Church of Order. Now, he was treating him as someone the Allen family would rely on in the future.

Rekar was strong, to the point that killing Karon would take almost no effort at all, but he was still about to “die.” Some people, faced with that, would choose to indulge themselves without restraint. Others would choose to do whatever they could for the family still living. Rekar was clearly the latter.

“Young Master Karon—”

“Just call me Karon.”

Pu’er glanced at Karon, puzzled. Why did he treat Rekar differently than he treated her? Their seniority was both enormous.

Then she understood; It was strength.

That was why Karon dared to rub her belly, yet would never dare rub Rekar’s belly at this moment.

“No, that can’t change. I know that useless Anderson... no, I know that Patriarch Anderson also calls you that. Within a family, the patriarch stands at the top.”

“The current patriarch is Mr. Bede.”

“Oh? Where is he?”

“You just tossed him away.”

“Oh, heh heh.” Rekar laughed. “The problem with Gloria the Ninth, I’ve already solved it.”

As he spoke, Earl Rekar pulled out a block of ice. Pu’er was about to jump down from Karon’s shoulder to take it, but another figure was faster. Alfred took the ice from Rekar and delivered it to Karon. As the young man reached out, Alfred offered a soft warning, “Young Master, this isn’t ordinary ice. Be careful not to get frostbite.”

In fact, frost had already formed across Alfred’s palm.

“Put it away,” Karon ordered.

“Yes, Young Master.” Alfred immediately went to find something to store it in.

Rekar said, “Young Master, don’t worry. That ice won’t melt even if you leave it in a summer square. It’s sealed inside, and is safe. If you want to melt it, use Arts, or lava-level heat.”

“Alright, I understand. I still don’t actually know what it is.”

“It’s a Seed of Light.”

“A Seed of Light?”

“Yes. The name may surprise you, but it truly is a Seed of Light. It’s said that two epochs ago, a certain realm saw many such seeds appear. They fed on the blood of living people and livestock as they grew. Their branches and vines were black, and once they matured, they blotted out the sun, plunging the entire realm into darkness. The people there hid from the black vines’ feeding while calling out for light to come.”

“And then the God of Light appeared?”

“Yes. The Church of Light was born in that realm at that time. People gathered because they longed for light and, together, they declared war on that man-eating darkness. In the end, the God of Light descended, utterly defeated the darkness, and tore it out by the roots.

“In Light Epoch, when this story was told, those seeds were called Seeds of Light, not because they belong to the God of Light, but as a kind of positive framing: when darkness appears upon the land, don’t be afraid, because light is about to arrive as well.”

“That explanation isn’t much different from not explaining at all,” Karon said with a smile. Before, the name already made him feel like it was tied to the God of Light. After, he felt it even more.

“Interpretations of true gods’ scriptures are always different for each person.”

“Earl, you like reading those kinds of books?” Karon asked, curious.

“Yes. A pirate’s life is mostly dull. You can’t always have enemies in front of you, and you can’t stay in a shore brothel forever. Many times, you might drift for two or three months before running into a real target, so I got used to reading.”

“I see. I heard this seed came from a sea chart you left behind.”

“That was my mistake,” Rekar readily admitted. “Back then, I found an abyss in the depths of the sea. I tried to explore it, but couldn’t get deep, and I sensed danger within. On the return trip, I casually drew that sea chart and marked the abyss’s location. A pirate’s life is dull, so drawing sea charts is just a game you play with yourself and with later generations, imagining people in the future slaughtering each other over your map, then suffering through hardship to hunt your ‘treasure,’ only to reach the spot, dig up a chest, and find a pair of used underpants inside. Ha! How funny would that be?”

“Mm...”

“We’d been tricked like that by older pirates plenty of times. After we got tricked, we decided to honor the tradition.”

“But that chart clearly wasn’t,” Karon reminded him.

“I thought it would be useless, only dangerous. At the time, after Gloria the Third finished serving me, I didn’t have any suitable jewels on hand, but as a pirate, I couldn’t shortchange a whore. Their lives aren’t easy either. So I very solemnly tore the chart in half. I gave one half to her and told her it was a mysterious treasure. The other half I brought back to my family.

“Well, I actually just tossed my half into my luggage. Who could have guessed that, many years after I died, Gloria the Third’s descendants would bring their half to the Allen family, and my descendants would actually dig up the other half I had casually thrown away?

“Then the two families formed an expedition party and, following the chart’s guidance, went to seek the treasure I left behind.”

“But the gains were real,” Karon stated. In addition to the Seed of Light, there had also been the God of Light’s finger.

“Their losses were surely enormous as well, and I even suspect that the reason both families started declining is that what they did back then stained their bloodlines with a curse.”

The Allen family’s fall was obvious. Strictly speaking, the Gloria line had been in decline for centuries as well. Long ago, a queen had needed to sleep with Earl Rekar to secure the pirates’ support, but the royal house truly could still influence the empire’s military and politics.

Back then, the queen had truly been a queen, whereas now, the royal house was little more than a symbol. For modern politicians, the queen existed only to maintain the Veyn Empire’s legal continuity. If the queen vanished, many of Veyn’s subordinate states and colonies would probably start pushing for independence.

Of course, the queen was already gone.

“That could be part of it.” Karon agreed. He understood that as an ancestor of the Allen family, Rekar looked at his family the way parents look at a child. How many parents could calmly accept the fact that their child was mediocre? They would always find reasons.

What reason could be more fitting than, “my child was cursed, which is why they became so stupid”? Hard to prove, hard to fix.

Rekar took out a piece of cloth. Alfred stepped forward again and took it. It appeared to have been torn from Rekar’s own clothes. The fabric was good. The fact that Rekar’s clothes hadn’t rotted after being buried so long made that clear.

“This is a new sea chart I drew, marking that place. I trust you can judge when it’s worth going to take a look.”

“Alright.”

“Because I never truly went down there, I can’t offer you much advice. I’m more worried that my guesses would mislead you.”

“You’re overthinking things,” Karon said with a smile.

“Thank you for your trust.” Rekar misunderstood Karon’s meaning. Karon had little interest in that kind of “adventure,” so the chart would likely stay at the bottom of a chest and never be used.

“If I could, I truly wish I could sail with you and take you there myself. Deep within that place, it may well be where the God of Light fell.”

“What a pity.” Karon sighed.

“Not a pity.” Rekar laughed. “I was already dead beyond doubt. How many people in this world can be like me, dead for so long and yet able to come back and look at the world again?”

“You’re very open-minded.”

“You flatter me, Young Master.

“There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Eunice’s talent is excellent.”

“Oh?” That was indeed a pleasant surprise for Karon. “That’s good news.”

“I granted her the family’s blessing. For the next half year, she may be somewhat sleepy.”

“To digest the power in her bloodline?”

“Yes, that’s correct, Young Master. But there’s one point I want to remind you of. During this period, if she becomes pregnant, the child will inherit a greater portion of her bloodline, which is why this next half year is the best window for conception.”

Pu’er, sitting on Karon’s shoulder, could not help covering her face with a paw. She couldn’t watch this. It was absolutely pointless.

“There’s no rush. We’re still young,” Karon replied.

“This concerns your bloodline legacy, how can you not rush?” Rekar protested, desperate to patch up the trouble he’d caused earlier.

Especially Karon’s words, “We’re still young.” Rekar had used that line often back in the past as well, usually as a way to shirk responsibility after pulling his trousers up.

“Did Pu’er— Poelle tell you about my grandfather?”

“Your grandfather is a great being.”

“Grandpa would rather his family live safely as ordinary people. I’m of the same mind with my own children. I’d rather ask them myself when they’re old enough, rather than deciding everything for them from the start.”

“Yes, Young Master, you’re very wise.”

By then, the sky on the horizon had begun to pale, like a fish belly turned upward. Rekar lowered his head and looked at his body, then slowly stood. “Young Master, my time is about up. Also, this body of mine has been tempered. Leaving it in the tomb chamber would be a waste. You can have people take it and use it for forging. Whether as a keepsake or as raw material for weapons, it’s quite suitable.”

Karon stood as well. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I’m only speaking plainly. You also understand that in a moment, I’ll be gone completely. Facing a thing with no spirituality left, there’s nothing to worry about anymore.

“Still, it’s thanks to you. After I was awakened, I realized I actually reached the same level as our progenitor Allen because of the accumulation of deathly aura. More precisely, I reached the level of our progenitor’s water attribute.”

“You advanced?” Karon was startled.

“Yes. The pinnacle of water is death. What an... absurd result. You have to die to reach the pinnacle. What meaning does that pinnacle even have?”

Rekar spread his palm. A ring of frost gathered there. “The pinnacle of the water path is death, death that can freeze or drown everything.”

Rekar closed his hand and walked toward his tomb chamber. “Young Master, I’m going down.”

“Safe travels.”

“Yes. It’s an honor to have met you, and to have spoken with you.” Rekar walked to the edge of the tomb chamber and glanced up at the hole he had punched through. “I think future family tomb chambers should include a door that can be opened from the inside. It would be much more convenient, and when they go down, they can use it again.”

“I’ll suggest it to Anderson.”

“My thanks, Young Master.”

Rekar looked around once more. “It’s time to say goodbye to you again, the world I once ruled and the sea I once rode. What a pity, even after waking this time, I still didn’t get to see you.”

With that, Earl Rekar jumped into his tomb chamber. A dull thud sounded from below.

Karon let out a long breath. Rekar had been very courteous to him, but the pressure he gave was immense. There was something Karon had kept buried inside.

From the moment Rekar crawled out of the grave to the moment he had flown to the third floor of the manor to find the queen, Karon had had a premonition that Rekar really wanted to turn back and punch him dead.

“Sigh.” Pu’er shook her head. “What a pity. That scumbag.”

“Mhmm.” Karon nodded. To curry favor for the family and himself, a pirate who could even suggest using his bones for forging was, from Karon’s standpoint, a scumbag with a certain kind of charm.

What a pity. When Karon awakened him, the chains had turned red. If they could turn red, then there might be other possible colors as well, which might correspond to other modes or functions. But Karon could not possibly reach that step. The distance was unimaginably vast.

And after being awakened, it was inevitable that Rekar’s spirituality would keep dissipating. It was irreversible. Rekar could only return to dust, return to earth.

Sigh. If only it could be frozen, paused.

Hm? Karon froze. Rekar’s earlier words returned to his mind: “The pinnacle of the water path is death, death that can freeze or drown everything.”

Could he try freezing himself to stop spirituality from dissipating?

Karon spun around at once and ran for the tomb chamber. Pu’er failed to hold on and was flung right off of Karon’s shoulder.

Very quickly, Karon arrived at the hole above the tomb chamber. He laid down along the edge and shouted down, “Earl, are you completely dead yet?”

If he was dead beyond doubt, then there was no chance at all.

“Uh... not yet.”

—

Light of Order: “The Twelve Knights of Order are forever the most loyal guards by God’s side.”