Chapter 77: You're Awake

Darkness, the darkness behind the light. Struck by a massive hammer forged of light and sound, an overwhelming torrent of dense sensory experiences swallowed the last shred of sanity.

In the final moment before losing consciousness, it was hard to judge whether it was fear of an unpredictable fate or relief at escaping an unbearable vision.

Of course, this did not depend on subjective will; his own wishes could not prevent his vision from being engulfed by darkness. A humming tinnitus replaced the layered, wave-like cacophony, and he was temporarily liberated at the cost of surrendering control over his life.

Sinking into this darkness that seemed destined to last until Judgment Day, he thought of death for the first time with genuine clarity, thinking of the meaning he had been too exhausted to ponder at night in his endless, numb life of toil, returning to his shack.

An existence never before witnessed overturned the worldview known to a soul that shuttled between the Salt Tide District and the port. He recalled the influence of his religious parents, the other world the priest had hoped for as he died, and the rare few times he had entered a church to kneel beneath its soaring dome.

High, distant light poured down through stained-glass windows pieced together with gemstone hues; one could not help but believe that only stories heard from the heavens could be conveyed with such magnificent materials.

Behind those figures, halos made of bright yellow glass highlighted their status as superior to ordinary mortals, standing on gray-black stone carvings of figures with bat-like wings sprouting from their backs and twisted horns. Devils with extra fangs in their mouths stuck out comical tongues, while smaller, dwarf-like kin crouched on the outer eaves, serving as gargoyles for drainage.

A choir with handsome faces and voices as pure and crisp as children's stood amidst the star-like projections of the colored windows; a thousand candles illuminated their unified singing, praising the glory of the Supreme Ruler who protected the world and banished evil.

Afterwards, he returned to the shack in the Salt Tide District, continuing a repetitive life without thought, believing in an existence higher than the church spire that protected and judged everyone equally, never feeling anything amiss.

Yet those candle flames and colorful lights could not compare to its appearance. It transcended every experience in a life of brief scarcity, including the stained-glass depictions of holy scripture stories; before the Bai Guang, they were insignificant.

It rose from before the window like a living moon pulled close; within its bright, moving light was a body incomprehensible to him, unlike any mortal creature he had ever seen.

Countless voices rose with its arrival, filling the entire church with a choir, yet even combined they lacked one-tenth of the impact of that sound, which was like a roar yet like a shout. It was not formed of syllables or rhythm, yet it felt to contain meaning beyond language.

Had one not experienced it personally, no one could imagine its existence; certainly not even those priests holding the holy scriptures, describing "ordinary" things with repetitive, tongue-twisting holy words.

Breaking free from the shackles of dogma, something that appeared even less worldly than the human forms with halos above their heads or the winged demons came to this place, revealing a non-human, transcendent malice.

Its existence punctured the life composed of religion and repetition, rendering it dim; he realized it was all content woven by humans. From the heaven above to the hell below, and even the human-shaped statues of gods, everything collapsed with a crash.

The foundation that protected the world and sustained spiritual life was lost in an instant, replaced by an incomprehensible, malicious existence.

The shock of the shattered worldview, the sensory impact, left his crushed consciousness wandering emptily in the darkness. He floated until he felt the existence of his own body again, returning to the human world.

As if a long time had passed, Kup somewhat stiffly pried his eyelids open a slit. Light shone from one side, stinging his eyes until tears flowed.

This reminded him of the beams of light falling from the high windows of the church, and then he mistook the blurriness of his tears for the light source twisting and flowing, linking it to that thing.

He instinctively raised a hand to shield himself, trying to move his body backward, but his entire body was bound, with only his fingers able to move. Instinctive fear made him cry out; he struggled fiercely, producing the rumbling sound of shaking and colliding wooden boards.

"Oh, oh, oh, relax, this is just a safety measure." A young voice rang out; compared to Lu Xiusi's steadiness, it was more lively and cheerful, "You're awake?"

"Lu Xiusi said you might thrash about when you woke up, worried you'd hurt yourself, so he made this restraint specifically. Don't worry, he asked me to tell you that it's all over and you're safe."

Noticing Kup had turned his head away, that person understood the problem, walked away quickly, and after a sound of wooden axles turning, the harsh light shining directly on the door immediately diminished. Kup belatedly realized it was merely sunlight from the window, bright but not scorching.

"It's over...?" His lips were dry; he mumbled a faint question, as if speaking to himself, behind rough, flaking skin.

The owner of the cheerful voice walked to the bedside, his black sleeves rolled up just like Lu Xiusi's, and pressed the back of his hand against Kup's forehead. "No fever, the situation is good. Please wait a moment; I'll go notify him."

The sound of hurried footsteps receded, then suddenly stopped at the door.

"No need, I heard it." A steady, slightly weary response came from outside the door, along with the dull thud of leather boots on the stairs.

Kup blinked, squeezing the tears from his eye sockets, and saw a figure with golden hair and black robes bend to avoid the iron chains, approaching with a cup, wearing a smile that was clearly tired but not feigned.

He untied the ropes wrapped several times around the bed, helped Kup sit up, and held the cup to his lips. "Drink some water; you consumed several cups of beer last night, and you must be thirsty after a night of hangover."

"No need to worry; the matter is resolved. After observing you for a while, you can return home safely." The cup tilted at a perfectly appropriate angle, allowing water to flow into his mouth at a suitable speed, moistening his lips and throat without causing him to choke.

The cool liquid revived Kup's spirit somewhat, moistening his vocal cords and restoring his ability to speak. He looked at the hand with the black cuff holding the cup steady and firmly extended.

"That wasn't an evil spirit, was it?" Kup asked softly.

That certainly could not be an evil spirit. Lu Xiusi turned his head and handed the empty cup to Lu Xiusi. "Thank you for helping me look after the patient, Lu Xiusi. But next time, please remember not to be too noisy in front of someone with a weak mind, alright?"

"Now, give me and the patient some space to talk alone."

"Understood." Lu Xiusi took the order and left, holding the cup and going downstairs. Soon, the sound of a cup hitting the floor, chaotic footsteps, and someone's cry of pain came from the hallway.

Lu Xiusi listened for a moment, and when normal footsteps resumed, he turned his attention back to the present.

"What thing?" he asked, his tone calm, completely unlike someone who had just endured a night of terror, as light as a polite greeting of good afternoon.

"It was just that..." Kup tried to express what he had seen and offer thanks for the life-saving grace, but found he could not describe that scene at all.

The memory of the Bai Guang was like a cloth draped over it; the general outline remained clear, but the rest of the details got stuck when he tried to speak, and no matter what, he could not recall the specific content.

There was something writhing in that Bai Guang, but he could not remember what it was; complex, layered sounds, but he could not explain their nature. He could not even find a precise and appropriate object in the world to use as a metaphor.

"... It was just the Bai Guang, the sounds, many sounds." The more he recalled, the more panic rose up, like digging into the sand on a beach, where what seeped out below was not seawater but a liquid of a strange color.

"Snap." The hand with the black cuff patted his shoulder, interrupting his vague narration. "Don't speak of it, and don't think too much; it's all over."

"Rest as much as possible. Tonight, have a hearty dinner; there will be proper roast meat and thick soup. You can have a few cups of beer, but I really don't recommend drinking too much of that stuff. Your stomach isn't suited to being stuffed too full; pay attention to that in the future."

Lu Xiusi held Kup's shoulders and shook him back and forth, scattering his thoughts. This matter was nearly over; it was best if Kup, after a second hangover, pushed it to the edge of his memory with thick soup and roast meat, washed it away with beer foam, and stayed away from those unpleasant deep connections for the rest of his life.

He walked around to the back of the table, gathered the scattered grid diagrams neatly, flattened them on the desk, and inserted them behind the large medical record he had written in the empty time. Last night's data would be very precious content, worthy of further analysis.

He would first carefully store the research, organize the patterns and insights from this treatment, and finally form a manuscript in the style of a case report.

Regardless of whether conditions existed to replicate it, this written record would be preserved and, under the premise of ensuring safety, submitted together with the summary of the Salt Tide District incident to those who could sustain it, providing experience and evidence for handling similar cases in the future.

But who to find? For now, this still had to be marked with a question mark. Objectively speaking, Lu Xiusi didn't even feel he was reliable enough, nor was he good at judging people; a mistake would create a second Kalman.

"Sigh, solving your illness really wasn't easy." Lu Xiusi stuffed the paper into a box, fastened the metal clasp, and chatted with Kup while doing so. "Is there anything you'd like to eat? I'm very familiar with the bar owner; reserving a portion for you in advance is no problem."

"Hmm?" He lifted the box, humming two relaxed syllables to prompt Kup to discuss dinner suggestions, preparing to go out and see if Lu Xiusi had hurt his head.

This long passage full of attractive words did not achieve the expected effect; Kup had no interest in cuisine and was still immersed in somewhat disorganized thoughts. Lu Xiusi stopped and waited for him to respond.

After a long period of thought, Kup did not give a dish name; instead, he blurted out another question: "Mr. Lu Xiusi, do you believe in religion?"

"If this were at the church entrance, I would answer you, yes." A conditional affirmative negation, expressing Lu Xiusi's personal view somewhat subtly. He knew Kup was a church believer; this phrasing was a consideration for the patient.

This sentence gave Kup the courage to continue. "I saw that thing, I really saw it; I can't pretend nothing happened."

"That absolutely wasn't the devils, demons, or evil spirits the priests talk about; it was more... unlike anything of this world."

"Oh?" Lu Xiusi curiously uttered a question word. If it was neither the devils and demons of hell nor the evil spirits wandering the human world, then there was only one thing possessing supernatural power, right?

"No, of course not that either." Kup didn't even notice how disrespectful a word he had used to refer to the Supreme Creator of all things; the night before, he had still been clutching that being's holy badge. "And it was even more..."

He couldn't go on, looking at Lu Xiusi, not knowing what he was seeking, an opinion or support?

"So, everything the priests said is wrong, and this world has another appearance?" Lu Xiusi rested his chin on his hand in a thinking pose, offering a simple summary of his words. "If you are still willing to think that way in half a month, come find me at the Academy."

After the young golden-haired, black-robed doctor finished speaking, seeing Kup still stunned by the heretical words he had so easily uttered, he left with the box. At the door, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned back.

"By the way, don't forget tonight's big meal to celebrate your awakening."