The jawline of that partial face was almost level with Lu Yuan’s line of sight. A pupil-less, greyish-white eyeball was pointed directly at him from a very short distance—so close that Lu Yuan could see the fine patterns on its surface, looking much like the cracks weathered into ancient stone.
The grey mist receded quietly to both sides, as if making space for a meeting that had long been arranged.
Lu Yuan stood on the shattered platform. Before him was a giant face that occupied half his field of vision, its pupil-less, greyish-white eye staring at him.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan remembered.
Lake had mentioned that in the memory fragments extracted from the minds of those rank 3 members of the Grey Covenant, there was a giant head suspended in the darkness, with cultists kneeling below to receive instructions.
It was this thing. Clearly, Lake had been caught when he read that memory, and now Lu Yuan had charged right into it himself.
Grey-white text popped up at the edge of his vision.
【Detection Target: ■■ (Incomplete)】
【A defeated existence, yet one that escaped everything because of it, lingering on to this day.】
Looking at the grey-white text, Lu Yuan’s heart rate quickened slightly.
Defeated? Escaped everything? Escaped what? Lingering on!
This was an entity that had lost.
Lu Yuan’s mindset underwent a subtle shift at that moment; if He was a loser, then there was no need to worry about his own safety at all.
With this thought, Lu Yuan looked directly back. The giant face still occupied half his vision, and the greyish-white eyeball remained fixed on him.
He spoke.
“I knew you when the Sea of Knowledge trembled.”
The overlapping voices bore down heavily, and the shattered platform trembled slightly in the sound waves.
Lu Yuan’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
The trembling of the Sea of Knowledge referred to the first harvest inside the corpse submerged in the sea, when the Key had rioted, seawater had flooded the hall, and the five entities had retreated.
He could actually see that far??
“Authority lies with you.”
Those few words made Lu Yuan’s fingers tighten slightly.
Authority.
The five entities had used that same word. Back in the hall, when that vertical pupil stared at the Key behind his left eye, it had said “Authority.”
This entity used the same term, which meant He knew what the Key was and knew its name.
Lu Yuan did not speak, simply waiting quietly for what would follow.
“Yet there is something else upon you that I cannot touch. I wished to draw you into this place, but it could not be done.”
“Something else.”
Did this word imply He wasn't referring to the Key? Was it something else entirely?
But The Man on the Wall did not specify what it was.
Lu Yuan quickly scanned through the anomalies on his person.
The scrapped parchment from before, the Knowledge Worm, or some of the strange auras he had been exposed to—which one of them had blocked Him?
Since He didn't say, Lu Yuan couldn't be sure.
But one thing was confirmed: this entity could not force him. He said “it could not be done,” which meant He had tried.
Grey-white text popped up at the edge of his vision.
【Bronze City Status: +3...29.2/50】
Lu Yuan pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind. Now was not the time for analysis; the thing in front of him was still watching.
He decided to speak.
“Are the people of the Grey Covenant your followers?”
The greyish-white eyeball did not change. The overlapping voices gave a response almost without pause.
“They state a wish; I give a response.”
A pure statement of rules. Someone makes a wish, and He responds.
Lu Yuan pressed further.
“What were their wishes?”
Silence.
The grey mist was motionless, and the partial face maintained the same angle. The greyish-white eyeball looked at Lu Yuan with no sign of intending to speak.
He had no intention of answering. The content of others’ wishes had nothing to do with the person in front of Him. He chose not to answer questions that fell outside the rules.
Lu Yuan changed direction.
“What is behind that copper wall at the bottom of the pipe network?”
The grey mist remained still, the outline of the partial face did not change, and the eyeball did not move.
Once again, there was no response.
Lu Yuan stared at that greyish-white eyeball, trying to catch any minute reaction.
There was nothing.
Lu Yuan gritted his teeth.
He had tried three questions, and only the first had received a response—and a meaningless one at that. This thing only answered what He believed He should answer, ignoring everything else.
Lu Yuan made a more direct attempt.
“You have no way to deal with me.”
The greyish-white eyeball finally moved, as if truly looking at him for the first time.
“Indeed.”
A single word, a pure confirmation of fact.
Lu Yuan felt a genuine sense of unease.
This entity’s attitude was more unsettling than His power.
Every one of Lu Yuan’s probes was like a pebble thrown into the ocean; it didn't even cause a ripple. He knew a great deal about Lu Yuan, yet He remained indifferent for now.
Lu Yuan realized that probing was useless.
He asked directly.
“What deal do you want to make with me?”
“The time has not come.”
“Then why tell me all this?”
“To inform you.”
To inform him.
Lu Yuan suddenly understood. Everything this entity had done today—letting Lake go, keeping him here, engaging in dialogue—was merely to convey a single message.
I know you, and I am waiting for you.
“Waiting for me for what?”
“You will come to seek me of your own accord. When that time comes, you will also agree.”
Lu Yuan’s brow furrowed.
“On what basis?” He stared at the greyish-white eyeball. “You cannot force me, you admitted it yourself. You don't know if I'll agree, and you don't even know if I'll ever step foot in this place again. On what basis do you conclude that I ‘will come’?”
The grey mist was silent for a long time.
The giant partial face hung before Lu Yuan, the greyish-white eyeball looking at him like an ancient stone watching a raindrop.
Then He spoke. This time, His voice was lower, the overlapping tones almost converging into one.
“Rules as such.”
Three words.
He was simply stating a rule He saw, much like telling someone the sun would rise tomorrow.
The conversation ended there.
The partial face began to retreat slowly, and the grey mist closed back in from both sides, gradually obscuring the curve of the jawline. The greyish-white eyeball gave Lu Yuan one last look from within the mist before vanishing into the grey depths.
Lu Yuan stood on the shattered platform, watching the grey mist refill his vision.
He did not speak again.
He realized that before this entity, language was an ineffective weapon. No matter what was said, He only responded to what was within the scope of the rules, ignoring everything else. This was a gap in dimensions.
But Lu Yuan remembered three things.
First, He said, “there is something else I cannot touch.” There were things He could not do.
Second, He admitted “Indeed.” He could not force Lu Yuan.
Third, He said “Rules as such.” He was bound by rules.
That was good enough. Lu Yuan did not plan to stay any longer as the head vanished.
The symbiotic link sent a faint pull. Clearly, the Knowledge Worm had noticed the anomaly here. The Key warmed slightly in the depths of his left eye, as if responding to his intent.
The way out was still there.
He took a step toward the bridge.
The grey mist behind him did not surge; the entity did not block him.
His consciousness began to be pulled back. The grey mist, the shattered platform, and the void shattered and dissipated in his vision like a mirror cracking from the center, with light flooding in through the fissures.
Lu Yuan’s consciousness poured back into his body.
His fingers were still pressed against Lake’s forehead, and the cold air of the pipe network channel flooded his nostrils. The light of the march lamp flickered against the copper wall.
He snapped his eyes open and met Lake’s gaze.
Lake was crouching opposite him, looking very grim, holding the communication crystal in his hands.
Grey-white text popped up at the edge of his vision.
【Sanity: -5...88/140】
The Knowledge Worm flew slowly back from above the point of contact between the two of them into Lu Yuan’s left eye. A tri-colored shimmer circulated once around the insect’s body before it quieted down and curled back into the deepest part of his eye.
Seeing the Knowledge Worm’s somewhat guilty appearance, Lu Yuan pursed his lips helplessly.
Lake spoke first.
“What did you see in there?”
Lu Yuan thought for a moment before answering.
“A giant face with greyish-white eyeballs, just like the memory images you extracted from the rank 3 minds. Also, those rank 3 members of the Grey Covenant likely made a deal with Him.”
“I suspect they were acting on their own. How interesting.”
Lake pondered briefly.
“He seems very interested in something on me.”
Lu Yuan briefly recounted the conversation within the grey mist.
“Then He mentioned a...”
The second half of Lu Yuan’s sentence vanished.
Lu Yuan’s mouth was moving, and his vocal cords were vibrating. He could feel the airflow leaving his throat, but no sound followed.
The content of the deal and the prophecy that he “will come” were stripped away starting from his lips, as if something had erased them directly from the air.
Lu Yuan stopped, clearly knowing what this was.
This was the power of rules. Something was erasing his presence, or rather, erasing the existence related to the wish.
He tried again. “He said that in the future I would...”
It was erased the same way. The sound cut off after “would.” His mouth continued to form the shapes, but nothing could be heard.
Lake watched him.
“The same for you?” Lu Yuan asked.
Lake tried.
“The Man on the Wall said my...”
The sound vanished after “my.”
“He gave...”
Still nothing.
Lake could say the name “The Man on the Wall,” describe the space, and say he had been ejected. But any details involving the stating of the wish caused the sound to vanish the moment it reached that point.
“It should be the rules. We might be in trouble,” Lu Yuan said, his expression darkening slightly.
Lake nodded.
The two remained silent for a few seconds. That entity’s rules extended beyond that space.
Lu Yuan rubbed his temples. His head felt a bit heavy, and his left eye was warming slightly.
“The Man on the Wall.” Lu Yuan repeated the name in a low voice. “Did that name come from the Grey Covenant?”
“That’s what they called Him in the rank 3 memories,” Lake said. “He is named after the stone wall. The spirits of all His followers are pulled into it.”
Lake did not immediately continue.
“When I was ejected and falling, I saw the full view of that stone wall.”
Lu Yuan looked at him.
“There were quite a few people on the steps of the stone wall.” Lake’s voice was very low. “If that’s true, perhaps many people in Bronze City have already been pulled in.”
Lu Yuan’s brow slowly furrowed.
Footsteps echoed from further down the pipe network channel.
The pace was fast, and soon the light of a march lamp danced from around the corner, casting elongated shadows against the copper wall.
Kraus’s voice came from behind the corner.
“Lake!”
Rate on N.U.
