Chapter 4524

When Shiler and his group walked onto the cliff, thick, dark clouds pressed against the horizon. In such weather, the seawater was not clear but became exceptionally deep, making the waves crashing against the cliff appear even paler. A gust of wind blew over, carrying a salty, fishy scent.

They walked all the way to the top of the cliff, and when they looked down, the sea surface was bottomless. It was hard to imagine that there was land beneath it, for it felt just like a dark piece of glass separating two worlds. If one were to explore downward, perhaps one could touch another sky.

"It wouldn't be at the bottom of the sea, would it?" Jason frowned; this was obviously the worst-case scenario. Human fear of the ocean is far greater than that of the sky, especially since this sea looked wrong.

Just as they were all looking at the sea, suddenly, a group of people in black robes ran out from under the cliff in droves. Before anyone could see what was happening, they formed a circle by the seaside, chanting something. The leader held a book in his hand.

"Oh no," Constantine said, "The 'Book of Eibon'?! Quick, quick, stop them!"

With a "bang," Victor fired his gun, hitting the leader, but it didn't interrupt the ritual. Immediately after, Jason also fired, knocking down another person, but it still had no effect.

The cliff was too high, the distance too far, and the firearms lacked sufficient lethality, nor was there a way to attack in a group. Barry grabbed those with guns and used the Speed Force to take them down below. Amanda fired several shots, knocking down several mysterious people, and the others also engaged in a melee with that group.

The investigation team had an overwhelming advantage, and in just a few minutes, they had dealt with everyone. Just as Shiler also wanted to go down to see what was going on with those suspected cultists, a low bell toll came from the direction of the Gotham Cathedral.

Everyone turned to look; the bell toll traveled further and further. Shiler glanced down at his watch; now was not the time for the bell to ring, and the rhythm of this toll was not a funeral knell.

Constantine was the first to let out a scream; he clutched his head and knelt down, his fingers digging into the soil, and blood soon seeped out. Jason wanted to reach out to help him but was pushed away. After Constantine stood up, like a walking corpse, he turned to look in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean.

"Barry!" Shiler shouted. Barry hurriedly took Constantine into the Speed Force, but in doing so, he couldn't get out himself.

"Dong—dong—dong—"

"We've been tricked!" Jason shouted, "The summoning ritual isn't by the sea at all, but at the cathedral! There's something wrong with this bell toll!"

The sky suddenly turned dark, and fierce winds howled on the cliff, blowing so hard people couldn't stand. The ground began to tremble, as if a strong earthquake had occurred, and huge whirlpools were stirred up in the seawater. A giant shadow, like a black hole, appeared beneath the cliff.

The last ray of light was swallowed, and everyone witnessed a total solar eclipse that wasn't a total solar eclipse. The Day of Etching had arrived.

"I knew it long ago; the strangeness coming from my eyes was not a hallucination. I always see these things earlier than others. It has always been this way, without exception.

The bell toll pounded against my brain; I could even judge what kind of monster they had summoned by the degree of pain—death, darkness, something not to be looked at directly. The Indians were right; we should stay away from the sea.

After the total solar eclipse descended, I felt my soul leaving, and the itching coming from my eyes was irresistible. Just as I reached out and touched my eyelids, my peripheral vision caught my friends falling down.

Of course, I wouldn't be resigned. When I chose to abandon the glory of the past and embark on a more dangerous and dark path, I never intended to bow before any god. It has always been this way, without exception.

Those notes stirred my brains, and more hallucinatory images appeared; it felt more like dizziness than pain. I would rather have that tearing pain, because it would keep me awake. And the current dizziness felt more like a wonderful poison, tasting so delightful.

Just as I was about to become addicted to it, a slight 'click' sound pulled me back to reality. I knew the ritual had worked. Those who had cursed me would surely help me too. God of a Thousand Faces, let me see on your behalf what kind of monster is hidden beneath the sea—may the Crawling Chaos bless him.

I put on the mask, and that cluster of pitch-black feathers swayed constantly before my eyes. The singing of the Indians suddenly rang in my ears, as if coming from a distant time and space, carrying an indescribable sadness and desolation. The souls of the Indians had never left. In my trance-like vision, my feet stepped on the red soil, the reflection of the firelight was blurred and scattered, and the bell toll resounded through the sky and the earth.

In the boundless sea, a huge black hole, as if it were about to hollow out the earth, was gradually floating up. I began to dance along with the steps, hearing the priest chanting His name—'Zhuo Xie Kun'."

"Finally," Victor slapped his thigh and stood up, then began to pace in the study, "The name is finally out. It was worth reading this far."

Victor continued to flip through, but when he saw the content that followed, his eyes widened, and he said: "Wait a minute, why is it a bad ending?!"

"Of course it has to be a bad ending," Constantine said, "Our power is not enough to directly reverse the fact that the sun was extinguished, but we can tinker with the causes."

Victor raised an eyebrow and said: "So that's why you called us here, you also want us to write a bad ending?"

"That's right," Constantine nodded and said, "I want you to save the people, but let the investigation operation fail completely."

"Tell me more," Jason said; he had obviously already thought of something.

"Still the same thing, directly modifying the result of the sun being extinguished requires too much energy, and I don't have absolute certainty of success. However, if the result remains the same but the cause changes, it's much simpler."

"You mean, make the sun being extinguished the work of that... Zhuo Xie Kun?" Victor frowned and said, "But what's the point of this? Isn't it the same no matter who did it?"

"That's not the same," Constantine smiled and said, "What Zhuo Xie Kun brings is just a total solar eclipse, and, it's a total solar eclipse on an occult level, not a total solar eclipse that everyone can see."

Victor was stunned; he was a complete occult idiot and still didn't quite understand, but Jason had already grasped it. He explained: "Although they are both mysterious existences, the scientific level is different. The mastermind behind extinguishing the sun obviously understands physics; it can directly apply the power of decay to the sun, making the sun rapidly evolve into a black dwarf, thereby achieving the goal of extinguishing the sun. But the Outer Gods can't do that."

"Why can't they?"

"The occult level of the gods in this system is very high; it's that very pure kind of occultism. They don't know who they are, don't know where they are, and don't know what they are doing. All the disasters they bring are because of their own occult nature, and this nature is obviously completely unscientific."

"So?"

"So the disasters they bring are also completely on an occult level. The Outer Gods won't physically extinguish the sun because they don't have that function. If we change reality so that the descent of eternal night is because of the disaster brought by the Outer Gods, then the sun that was physically extinguished will become a total solar eclipse in the occult sense."

Jason pointed to the top of his head and continued: "In other words, the reason the sky hasn't brightened now is not because some mastermind controlling the power of death has accelerated the sun's evolution, but because some Outer God has descended."

Victor suddenly realized, and he said: "No wonder you didn't let us write about that mastermind."

"Because that's dangerous," Constantine said, "If we go head-to-head with him, we wouldn't need to use the Gray Lantern ring to change reality. We are taking such a roundabout way to play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, catching him off guard; naturally, we can't alert the enemy first."

"But, even if we use the power of modifying reality to summon an Outer God, he will still be preparing to extinguish the sun on his side, right? If we don't fabricate some plot to resist him, what if he succeeds again?"

"That's the problem," Jason said, "If the Outer God occupies the sun on the occult level, will it have any impact on the real sun?"

Victor looked at Constantine. Constantine said: "That, of course, depends on the status of the Outer God. Actually, the one we invited isn't considered an Outer God, but a Great Old One, but it is equally powerful, and more importantly, it is called the 'God of Death' and 'Primordial Darkness'."

"Sounds a bit like the mastermind," Victor thought for a moment and said, "Both have death and darkness attributes."

"That's right. This is exactly what we want," Constantine explained, "Although the mastermind can take physical means, obviously, his power of death is still a power on the occult and rule level, and his status is very high. Only the corresponding power of life can restrain it, but the power of life we can control is too little."

"Instead of looking for the power of life to restrain him, it's better to find the darkness and death power of another system to collide with him and compare which of them is stronger. Although the mastermind's power of death is a local school and his status is quite high, it may not necessarily be stronger than the God of Death of another system."

"Why is that?"

"Because occultism needs to be mysterious enough," Constantine tapped his fingers on the armrest, "Sometimes, people are very afraid of those mysterious existences that can have a major interference with the real world, just like the mastermind who can extinguish the sun on a physical level. But these existences also have fatal weaknesses, that is, they are not mysterious enough."

"Precisely because the connection with the real world is too strong, they have transformed into existences like 'living things', more like intelligent life forms mastering powerful magic."

Victor and Jason both nodded. This mastermind gave them this feeling; he didn't look like a mysterious existence, but rather like some powerful magician using the power of death as a tool to achieve his evil ambitions.

"This is undoubtedly not mysterious enough," Constantine said, "This makes the power of death he possesses just power, not truly mysterious rules. The strength of the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones lies in the fact that they are truly mysterious existences. They have no subjective initiative, no wisdom, and don't even truly 'exist', which also makes the attributes they possess become closer to rules, just like the laws of nature, existences that no tangible life can look at directly."

"So, their collision doesn't necessarily mean the mastermind will win. Even if he has the upper hand, it doesn't matter, because as long as he cannot fully understand the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones, he cannot shake the sun that has already been shrouded by the rules of the Great Old Ones."

Jason was thoughtful and said: "Like adding a combination lock to the sun?"

"That's right," Constantine said, "Before Zhuo Xie Kun gives up the compilation of the sun, the mastermind cannot directly influence the sun in his way, unless he can thoroughly understand the Great Old Ones."

"Can't he?" Victor asked.

"I actually hope he tries," Constantine stood up and said, "The depths of the stars have been peaceful for too long—it's time to fire another shot."