by Feng Yue
“…” Charles’s face twitched. “Can you say something nice?”
“Well, how’s the job? How much do you earn every month? How much do you have after the tax? When are you going to bring a girlfriend back? When are you getting married? Have you bought a house in midtown?”
Charles looked more and more miserable. He was obviously about to die. “Ye Qingxuan! Do you hate me? Why do you hurt me like this?”
“I’m just kidding.” Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh and held onto Charles’ shoulder. “Thank you, senior!”
“Just remember how good I am.” Charles rolled his eyes and patted the skeleton on his shoulder. “This is yours. Name it.”
Ye Qingxuan mused for a moment and said, “What about the ‘Governor’?”
“It sounds a little strange but as long as you like it.” Charles picked up the tools and knocked against the youth’s body. “Take it off and I’ll adjust it again. After all, this thing can save your life. The more suitable it is the better. I didn’t know you had grown so much these days. You’re almost as tall as me.”
After taking off the ‘Governor’, Ye Qingxuan sat beside the workbench and said, “Senior…”
“Eh?”
“Seriously, it’s almost Christmas. When will you bring back a girlfriend?”
“Yezi, don’t force me to kill you…”
“Okay, okay, I’ll shut up.”
284 The Gate of Traitors
Red-hot fire burned under black clouds. Lightning danced crazily between the clouds. Furious waves tossed in the limitless sea. Chaotic vortices appeared one after another before crashing and disappearing the next moment. The skies and earth cracked apart under the fulminations.
A majestic yet unclear sound rose, shaking the earth. Shadowy flames burned above the silver-white throne. The sitting figure looked down at the pure white city under his feet that was being invaded by the spreading fire.
The city was breaking apart. The flames pulled the carcasses away from the material world and sank into the deepest part of the aether sea together.
The giant shadow rose from the throne and unsheathed his sword. The dazzling light spread in all directions as if a blazing sun had descended to Earth. He pointed the sword to the sky but the flow of the blade suddenly extinguished. The blade shattered, the pieces shooting away. The man roared in the darkness and fell into the shadows.
He had fallen into eternal darkness. Eternally isolated.
“What a lonely ending,” the Shaman murmured as he opened his eyes. The only sound in the quiet secret room was the gentle noises of the alchemist machine maintaining his life.
Ghosthand, sleeping in the corner, looked over. “What’s wrong?”
“I had a dream. It’s a bad premonition.” The Shaman reached out for Ghosthand to help him up.
Candlelight shone through the hole in his chest and cast menacing spots of light on the wall behind him. One could vaguely see the shadows of the pulsing incomplete heart. Snot flowed from his nose as he stood. He looked sad and pitiful.
Ghosthand sighed and handed him a handkerchief.
“What day is it?” the Shaman asked.
“Sixteenth.”
“Oh.” The Shaman nodded. “It should be today, right? The astrologers told me that the Blue Moon will awaken within the Pure White Moon today. The stars will stop moving. After the power of Avalon’s Shadow enters the low tide, Elizabeth Tower’s power will be at its weakest point as well. If the parliament wants to act, they’ll choose today.”
Ghosthand nodded. “Mr. Holmes already took what you prepared for him and set off. He came before he left but you were sleeping. He did not want to wake you.”
“Did he say anything?”
“Nothing except to remind you to uphold your end of the deal.”
Guilt flashed past the Shaman‘s eyes and he closed them. When he slowly opened them again, the twilight in them was gone. His eyes were determined once again. Like a blade cleaned of rust, it had a tinge of blazing light.
“Guard outside the door,” he said. “Don’t let anyone come in.”
Ghosthand nodded and left.
Silence returned to the room. The lone candle flickered before finally dying out. A pair of dimly glowing eyes closed in the duskiness. Darkness swallowed everything.
-
“He has arrived, he has arrived.” That same night, Naberius shook his bell in the dark city of the demonic territory. “The great one has arrived, the lord has arrived, the dark officials have arrived! The followers shall arrive!”
Behind him, countless followers in red ceremonial robes began chanting the poems and songs in unison. Under the nightmarish recitations, the shell in Naberius’ hand broke apart.
The blood-colored shell shattered into a scarlet haze. The demon with an eagle’s head and a man’s body was called forth. He unfurled his wings, covering the moonlight, and cawed into the darkness. It was Malpas, one of the sixth incarnations of the natural catastrophe Kehlsteinhaus!
He looked down at the city that had fallen into the shadows. Heavy dissatisfaction appeared on his face. “Such pure power tainted by such dirty resentment…the scepter is forgotten, what a joke, what a joke…”
Layers of overlapping feathers sprouted from his back. Each one had an unclear face on it. The thousands of faces opened their mouths in unison and uttered with the same voice as Malpas, “Your Majesty sleeping in the shadows, the time for anger has arrived!”
Malpas raised the crystal eyeball high and called to the White Tower that shot up to the sky like an illusion, “Wake! Wake! Wake!”
The illusionary White Tower deep in the city instantly rumbled.
As the pivot swung, the lever moved, the gears rotated, and the enormous copper bell vibrated. The enchantment that enveloped the entirety of Avalon’s Shadow shook under the grave and terrorizing ringing. The darkness in the path of the sound waves surged wildly. Crazed shadows shot to the sky.
The eagle wing unfurled and countless feathers floated down into the shadows. Absorbing power, they transformed into thousands and thousands of pure black falcons. They swept past like a tidal wave.
The city of demons finally woke from its slumber. The demons that had been sealed in their spots felt the calling of the natural catastrophe and awoken one after another. They crawled out of their shells. Bathing in the cold moonlight, they howled.
The dead city instantly began moving. Downtown, midtown, uptown…they all began rotating with the Elizabeth Tower as the axis. Under the ear-splitting explosion, the illusionary White Tower solidified. The path hidden under layers of fog finally appeared. The gate of traitors had opened!
“Go, my servants.” Looking down at the dark musicians on the ground, Malpas ordered seriously, “Offer all water and earth you see to Hyakume!”
“He has arrived!” the dark musicians chanted together as they stepped onto the path to the White Tower. “He has arrived!”
-
Amidst the quaking, a bloody vortex was activated soundlessly at the other end of the city. Figures in black cloaks walked out. Their cloaks fluttered in the furious wind. Above the cloaks, the silver-white emblem of the Red Dragon and sword seemed to come to life and roared soundlessly. They were the Royal Musician Division!
Jerome at the head bowed at the vortex behind him. “My Princess, thank you for your trouble.”
At the other end of the vortex, a weakened girl nodded lightly. “Please do all you can in Her Majesty’s name to protect Anglo’s glory.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Jerome watched as the girl’s figure disappeared in the vortex. He turned and gazed at the royal musicians behind him. “Enter battle mode now. There will be no reinforcement here. Your names will not appear on any lists of those killed in action. If we fail, you will die here without anyone knowing. I hope you are already determined to return all glory to Anglo!”
“Return all glory to Anglo!” the royal musicians replied in unison. Their ae
ther waves were entangled together.
“Good.” Jerome nodded in satisfaction. “Are there any other questions?”
“Sir, I have a question.” A young man in line raised his hand timidly.
Jerome furrowed his brows. “Yes?”
“Sir, I’m innocent! This is a mission for royal musicians so why does a technician like me have to go with?” Charles cried from the crowd. “Can you let me go back? I’m just here to provide technical guidance!”
Jerome’s brows furrowed more. “Yes, your mission is technical guidance, but didn’t Newton tell you that you have to be with the team?”
Charles froze and his face paled drastically. He wailed to the heavens, “Oh gods, Newton, you *sshole! You can’t do this to me! I want to see that *sshole! I’ve shed blood for the research institute! I’ve made achievements for Anglo! I want to see that *sshole.”
Jerome clenched a fist and Charles’ voice cut off abruptly; he was shut up. He tried to say something to the musicians beside him but found he could not make any sound. All he could do was show his anger and feeling of being wronged.
Charles sat onto the ground shamelessly but the musicians on either side forced him up. He looked like he would rather die.
“Okay, no one should have any problems now.” Jerome turned around and ordered, “Let’s go!”
Their destination—the Gate of the Traitors!
-
“Finally here.” The youth with a bowler hat stood under the White Tower and looked up at the giant arch. Corpses long withered hung above the eerie arch. “The Gate of the Traitors,” he murmured.
Tower Green, Cross Road, and the Gate of the Traitors were the three largest punishment grounds of Avalon. Tower Green imprisoned the major felons. Each year, musicians with serious crimes would be tossed into the Silver Cellar and be eroded to nothing by the wild aether there.
Cross Road was an execution ground. Criminals would be taken to the guillotine there and beheaded. Their blood flowed into a river. This large arch before the guillotine was just for the elites. The traitors of the country were hung from the gate!
Bloody words had been left by the executioners. Ever since the country was established, countless elites who had betrayed the nation put on robes and accessories and were hung here for an honorable death.
Hundreds of years had passed. The robe had turned to dust and the accessories no longer shone. Only the corpses still hung from the lock, swaying with the wind with an eerie song like a wind chime.
The youth walked through them like an apparition amidst the song and climbed the steps of the White Tower that pierced the black clouds. The tower stood upon steps and spun violently with the rest of the city. It had come out of the illusionary world and became tangible.
Twelve paths converged under it with twelve respective gates. There were no activation knobs on these gates. There was not even a crack as if they were solid blocks.
Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. He reached out to knock and discovered that faint aether waves came from the door. There was also a faint rhythm…the iron gates had melded into the Elizabeth Tower. If he wanted to force it open, he would probably need something more powerful than the Avalon enchantment.
“So I can’t go in?”
285 Strange White Tower
“So I can’t go in?” Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. However, his bowler hat suddenly vibrated and a glimmer of light flashed before his eyes. A complex star map suddenly appeared on the black iron gate in front of him. After looking carefully, it dawned on Ye Qingxuan.
“Aries?” he muttered.
Walking briskly around the tower, he realized that he was right. Each of the twelve gates had a different star map on it. The doors of Leo and Capricorn showed signs of being opened earlier. People had already entered. No matter how Ye Qingxuan hurried, he was still slowed down by the demons that had awakened along his path.
“Seems like every second is precious in this battle?” Closing his eyes, he pressed his hands onto the gate and instantly resonated with the music score within. This prohibition…was definitely from the School of Abstinence!
Many of the techniques used were familiar. Some had appeared in the music theory from the School of Stone Heart. The School most likely had something to do with the entire construction of the White Tower.
Ye Qingxuan could feel that the twelve gates led to twelve different places. All led to the core of the Elizabeth Tower in the end but had different lengths.
According to his calculations, the distance behind the Leo gate was the longest but it led to the core directly. There were not many blockades. The path behind the Capricorn gate was difficult to distinguish. It emanated with a sinister feeling and had already been tainted by the natural catastrophe’s power. The paths of the other unopened gates were hidden in the fog.
“So I’ll just have to gamble?” Ye Qingxuan began thinking but his hat vibrated and resonated with one of the gates.
“Libra?” It dawned on Ye Qingxuan. As the developer of the sub-originator theory, the School of Stone Heart focused heavily on the balance of both inside and out, as well as the structure and resonance between music theories. They would not sacrifice strength on one side to reinforce another side. Thus, there was neither a strongest point nor an obvious weak point. It was sealed as tightly as stone and sturdy enough to be intimidating.
“If that’s the case, then I shouldn’t wait any longer.”
Ye Qingxuan pressed his hands onto the door and began resonating with the music score on the door. “I’m the best at things like interpretation!” he muttered softly.
His consciousness entered the gate instantly and began fighting against the defensive prohibition. After grasping the core theory for the School of Stone Heart, the seamless and flawless prohibition quickly showed many loopholes.
Analysis, interpretation, and eradication! Just like picking a lock, Ye Qingxuan could easily create his own key after understanding the lock’s core structure. The establishment and undoing of enchantments was one of the School of Abstinence’s specialties.
The orthodox method of cracking defenses was never to force one’s way through. It was to use music theory and the musician’s experience to perform reverse interpretation.
Ye Qingxuan calculated his time. With his current progress, he could probably open the gate within three minutes—if he was not disturbed.
A rotting odor suddenly blew in with the night wind, and small footsteps sounded. It sounded like dozens of marbles had fallen onto the ground. Something that smelled sour was coming.
At the most critical point of the cracking, Ye Qingxuan saw a black shadow project onto the gate, grow angry, and pounce toward him. Then it snapped into two halves in the air.
Ye Qingxuan smirked and closed his eyes, focusing entirely on the cracking. When he opened his eyes again, the small noises were gone but the sour smell had multiplied. He looked back. Two meters away, demons that looked something like centipedes lay on the ground in pieces.
All the pieces were two meters away. Their blood and bodily fluids formed a mournful arc. Anything that tried to pass that arc had shattered.
Ye Qingxuan looked away. Only an idiot would not put up defenses when cracking codes in a creepy place like this.
With a crack, aether solidified into a strange key in his hand. He pushed it through the gate and the stars on the surface extinguished one by one. Finally, an invisible force swept past him and disappeared—Bell Authority Confirmation Complete!
A monotone mechanic voice sounded in his ears. Then, the seamless door rumbled and slid into the walls, opening the path.
Ye Qingxuan stared into the empty space and his expression changed. The youthful song had started again. It echoed in the darkness behind the door.
“The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams…We have power and the sea so which direction should we wander…Thousands of pairs of hands will raise the sails…” The song was filled with resentmen
t as if the trapped souls were singing. He could not tell where the song came from. If he listened closely, it felt as if the song was everything. Someone was murmuring in his ear.
The moonlight in Ye Qingxuan’s eyes flashed. It put out the seed someone had planted in his mind without him knowing. He sighed in relief. This place was too strange. The moment he opened the gate, the aura that emanated from it had planted a serious shadow into his consciousness.
Just as walking under the sun would create a shadow and going through water would create ripples, it had planted a seed in Ye Qingxuan’s mind without meaning to.
Jiu Xuan Huan Pei shot out from his cane. Ye Qingxuan activated the ‘mirror heart’ and checked repeatedly. He could not find any emotions in the surroundings. The darkness was empty.
As the silent youth walked in, the gate slammed shut. The bell at the top of the tower rang. The enormous Elizabeth Tower sank back into emptiness…
-
A gentle light rose from Ye Qingxuan’s fingertip in the darkness. It transformed into a bubble and illuminated the surroundings like moonlight. He could not see the ground or ceiling of the tower. He seemed to have walked into an abandoned hall. It was covered with dusty furniture. A plate of dried lamb chops was left on the dining table.
Opening a door, he walked into a long and narrow hall. It tilted upward slightly. After another door, he saw an empty storage room. It seemed to have displayed weapons but they had all been taken away. Pieces of low quality items were piled in the corner. Ye Qingxuan picked on up and knocked on it; it crumbled to pieces. He pushed open a door and continued.
Along his way, some rooms looked like banquet halls; other rooms were spotless. In one corner was a large glass container. It had been filled with something but now, only sticky green liquid remained. Another room was a big bedroom filled with a wooden horse, handcuffs, whips… Face twitching, Ye Qingxuan continued.
Next was an underground exhibition gallery of a water tribe. The ceiling was made of glass, separating the blue-green seawater. The water had become murky and filled with bones of various fish.