The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 41: The Key

By the winding river outside Cordu Village, Aurore sat on the ground in the bright sunlight, wearing her light blue dress. She closed her eyes, listening to Lumian's feedback on the song and his speculations.

She didn't speak for a while, seemingly deep in thought.

After nearly a minute, Aurore carefully began, "If it's true that something went wrong during the Twelfth Night ritual, causing the power of that hidden entity to disperse, which in turn triggered the time loop in Cordu Village and the surrounding area, then I believe that everyone in this region at that time, even spirits, couldn't have escaped its influence."

"What do you mean?" Lumian, also sitting on the ground, was somewhat confused and didn't fully grasp his sister's logic.

Aurore elaborated, "What I mean is that this was not just a power but also a contamination. Once it dispersed, everyone in this area would have equally borne the brunt of it, except for those who had the protection of the Black Thorn symbol or other higher powers. Think about it—wasn't the situation at that time similar to a dam breaking, quickly flooding the entire area, including the rooftops? Unless you had a boat prepared in advance, your body was bound to get wet."

Lumian imagined such a scene and hesitated before saying, "So, you're saying that everyone in the village has been contaminated by this dispersed power, making them part of the loop?" He hesitated on the word "part," unsure of the best way to express it, but Aurore nodded slightly, indicating he was on the right track.

Aurore gently nodded, causing the bells in her hair to jingle softly as she smiled and whispered, "Layan is from the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and I'm from the Eighth Bureau. We don't belong to the Church."

Lumian remembered that his sister had mentioned before that the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun included the Heart of Steam and Machinery, which was responsible for handling extraordinary matters.

The Eighth Bureau, formally known as the Intelligence and Security Committee's Eighth Bureau, was the largest official organization in the Republic dealing with the extraordinary.

"I thought you were sent by the Church?" Lumian asked curiously as he sat down on a chair he had found.

Aurore sat down next to him, smiling as she said, "In recent years, many dangerous incidents involving the extraordinary have occurred in border regions, especially in disputed areas. So, when we received the distress call from Cordu Village, we took it very seriously. After preliminary investigations and intelligence gathering confirmed that there was indeed a problem, the higher-ups decided to form a joint investigation team to enter Cordu Village and gather specific information to provide the most reliable reference for follow-up actions. Who would have thought that this..."

She suddenly fell silent, unable to continue speaking. The abnormalities and horrors here far exceeded her expectations.

Sometimes she even felt that Valentine's idea of reporting everything to the higher-ups and requesting the immediate destruction of Cordu Village might be correct.

But she didn't want to die yet, so she suppressed her professional instincts and moral compass.

At this moment, the Deputy Vicar, Michel Garygault, picked up the sacred texts from the altar and cast his gaze toward the four people who were preparing to pray.

Lian had received many blessings. Before the Twelfth Night, he had used sheepskin to obtain three Beyonders, including the Vicar and Spinet, who received blessings. The former had become a rather powerful Beyonder.

So, starting from the Twelfth Night, they began a grand ritual. During the final stage of the ritual, a mysterious being, bearing the name of Fate, accepted the mass sacrifices and prepared to fulfill a request made by the Vicar and others.