The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 145: Self-Recommendation

In Trier, there weren't many people with artificial eyes, but there were certainly enough. However, neither Janna nor Franca had ever seen someone like this monk, who had transformed a quarter of his face into machinery just to accommodate the eye.

But when they considered that he was likely a monk of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, it started to make sense.

Obsession with and worship of machinery was a defining characteristic of such people. The monk, holding the electric stone lamp and wearing a white apron like a stonemason, slowly made his way into the tunnel.

The emerald green artificial eye, surrounded by gears and springs, seemed to have a life of its own, shifting left and right, scanning the surroundings.

Franca tugged at Janna, signaling her to stop staring toward the tunnel and quickly withdraw her gaze to avoid being noticed.

Both of them retreated further into the shadows, hiding in a spot the light from the electric stone lamp couldn't reach.

The monk, dressed in a gray robe without his hood on, moved forward cautiously, inspecting the surroundings as he approached the bottom of the Deep Valley Quarry—the area that had collapsed and been buried.

Thanks to their assassin abilities and the cover of darkness and shadows, Janna and Franca remained undetected. They waited until the monk was far from the tunnel entrance before cautiously peeking out and casting their gaze on his back.

The monk, still holding the electric stone lamp, stopped at the side of the collapsed area. He extended his right hand, which gleamed with a metallic sheen, and grasped an indentation in the stone.

A sound like the clacking of gears followed, as if multiple large cogs were tightly meshing and slowly turning.

The stone wall cracked open, and behind each piece of rock, several metal chains stretched out.

The rocks unfolded like blooming flowers, revealing a deep, dark cave.

In the dim light of the monk's electric stone lamp and with their keen assassin vision, Franca and Janna saw the cave's interior, which was filled with a faint white mist.

They also saw that the walls of the cave were embedded with arms and legs—human arms and legs.

Some of the limbs were still fresh, while others had shriveled, though none showed any signs of decay.

Janna and Franca couldn't help but exchange glances, seeing in each other's eyes a mixture of shock and fear, though to varying degrees.

As the monk stepped into the cave and triggered a mechanism, the metal chains loosened, and the rocks returned to their original positions, once again forming a solid wall, leaving only a few cracks that appeared to be signs of a natural collapse.

So that's how it was. I was too quick to assume this place was on the verge of collapsing, so I didn't suspect anything about the cracks.

Franca suddenly realized why she and Janna hadn't found anything unusual.

She tugged on Janna's arm and whispered, "Let's leave now and come back later to explore."

"Since we've already discovered the issue and learned how to open the secret cave, there's no need to confront the monk from the Church of Steam and Machinery directly. We can come back another time."

Janna nodded slightly, twisting the Punishment Ring on her finger. Crouching low, she followed Franca out of their hiding spot and made their way back along the tunnel to the quarry's main gate.

When she was about to open the door, Franca quickly whispered, "No need to rush."

"Why?" Janna asked, puzzled.