Chapter 33: The Relic Spirals Out of Control

The surroundings were deathly quiet. Seeing no one, Xia De walked toward the sofa but refrained from sitting, keeping his posture ready for a quick departure.

His eyes were drawn once again to the brass-colored metal gear box on the coffee table. Common sense dictated that he should not touch any unknown object, but up close, he noticed something beyond the various gears and knobs on the surface of the brass cube: a line of twisted, musical-note-like characters etched onto the upward-facing side.

Although he had never seen them before, Xia De understood them instantly:

"I am watching you in the darkness."

Immediately, the whispering voice in his heart issued a warning:

【You have made contact with a "Whisper."】

"What? This is a Relic?"

Xia De exclaimed in surprise, simultaneously noticing that the bright gas lamps and crystal chandeliers in the room were beginning to dim.

A sense of inexplicable terror caused him to stare down at the brass gear box. It had opened silently, the lid now displaced from the body. As the light grew increasingly murky, rolling black mist surged from within, washing outward like waves.

"Isn't this a scene from a horror novel? This is..."

【Relic containment breach.】

Before Xia De could react, the pouring black mist completely extinguished the light in the room.

The surroundings plunged into absolute darkness, as if the space had been coated in black ink. The feeling of dread intensified in the gloom, causing Xia De's body to tremble instinctively.

In this world where darkness had descended, his sense of direction vanished entirely. He felt as if he had fallen into the most terrifying abyss, his body and soul simultaneously assaulted by fear. For a fleeting moment, he was convinced that some gargantuan, unspeakable entity was watching him from the shadows.

Extreme panic urged him to scream, but the Outsider quickly steadied his emotions; he knew how to act most rationally in this moment.

In the pitch-black space, reason and emotion battled. This fear was not under his control—it was a primal instinct. Just as the terror surged, whispers began to echo in the dark.

They were not the pleasant voice of the woman in his head, but a cacophony of hatred and resentment, a chorus of millions. The sound felt like white, crawling worms rubbing against his ear canals, and goosebumps broke out across his exposed hands.

"Wait? Why can I see the back of my own hands?"

He looked down to see a faint silver radiance covering his skin, shielding his body from being completely swallowed by the darkness.

"Yes, I am no longer an ordinary person. I am a Ring-bearer."

He forced himself to stay calm amidst the terror. Staring at his hands, he sensed the brass Ring of Life rotating slowly within his soul and summoned it forth.

The bell tolled!

Behind his form, wrapped in silver moonlight, the white steam within the dark space seemed to be dyed in silver.

The whistle blew!

An inexplicable, piercing sound echoed through the distant reaches of space and time, shaking the profound darkness.

The giant hammer struck!

The giant hammer descended from the depths of the steam and darkness. Amidst a shower of sparks, the brass Ring of Life appeared behind him, spinning at high speed and scattering embers into the void.

"Silver Moon!"

Even without mastering any Silver Moon sorceries, simply by following his inner intent while standing in this darkness, Xia De raised his right hand and shouted the name.

The full manifestation of the Ring of Life is the most powerful state for a Ring-bearer. The brass ring, scattering sparks, responded to its master as the core rune, [Silver Moon], flared to life.

In that moment, Xia De heard a woman’s laughter in his ear. Immediately, silver light bloomed from the index finger of his raised right hand like a dazzling sun.

The moonlight expanded, forcing the curtain of darkness to recede as if time were flowing backward.

Simultaneously, Xia De noticed that in front of him, golden light outlined the silhouette of a seated woman. Her light was also dispelling the terrifying darkness caused by the Relic's breach.

"So this is the person who wanted to see me..."

Xia De thought to himself, watching the light push back the gloom and restore the room to its original appearance.

The darkness retreated reluctantly. It tried to tear at Xia De, but it could not approach the brilliance of the Silver Moon.

The whispers continued to curse those radiating light, overlapping so densely they were indistinguishable. Yet, Xia De caught the most prominent voice. More than one whisper repeated the phrase—not directed at him, but merely the unintentional murmurs of the darkness.

The Outsider understood this strange language:

"Old Gods! You damned thieves! The thirteen..."

The darkness vanished completely, and the silver glow from Xia De’s finger slowly faded. He could feel, however, that he could use this ability again if needed. It could well serve as the first sorcery he had created: [Silver Moon’s Illumination].

Though it wasn't particularly useful.

The final whispers echoed in his ears, leaving Xia De astonished by their content, though he could not verify their truth. Information gleaned from the whispers of a breached Relic was generally unreliable.

He looked down at the brass cube on the coffee table; it was closed once again, as if the surging black mist had been nothing more than a hallucination.

He looked up toward the direction of the golden silhouette he had seen earlier. It was the wall where the bookshelf stood. In the lower right corner, there was a wooden door, slightly ajar.

The door handle was pure gold and blended so well with the bookshelf that Xia De had not noticed it when he first entered the room and stepped onto the thick red wool rug.

He understood instinctively that the woman who wanted to see him—the golden lady—was in the room behind that door.

The room felt chillier than the hallway. The hallway itself was already cooler than the city on this summer night, but the temperature here felt like deep autumn.

"The temperature seems abnormal. I remember it being normal at first. Is the aftermath of the Relic's breach not over yet?"

【A high-ranking Ring-bearer's power influences the environment. The other party is likely very angry.】

"High-ranking? Above the ninth ring? Wait, how do you know that? And why is she angry? Shouldn't I be the one who is angry?"

Xia De was startled. At that moment, a voice finally drifted from behind the door:

"Young man, do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused? The Poet-level Relic, [Casket of Darkness], only enters a containment breach if someone recites its activation incantation while possessing Light or Celestial-related spirit runes. I merely wished to meet with you; why would you do such a thing? This incident reminds me once again that one must never leave [Relics] lying about, or one never knows what kind of person one might encounter."

Her speaking pace was measured, carrying the accented tone of the Northern Common tongue. Judging by the voice, she could not be older than thirty, perhaps just past twenty. The tone was incredibly elegant, though even Xia De could detect the undisguised irritation in her voice.

"I... I apologize. I didn't know... I'm not trying to shirk responsibility, but... may I ask, what is it you need with me?"

He didn't know how to explain. The lady behind the door could never have guessed that the guest she invited could easily read ancient scripts, nor would she know his spirit runes. Thus, the incident was indeed Xia De's doing.

He wanted to offer compensation, but since she was a high-ranking Ring-bearer, he could surely never afford it. He had no choice but to ask for her intent.

Both of them had used the power of a Ring-bearer just now, and the lady behind the door showed no surprise, which meant she had known the detective's identity when she invited him to the second floor.

This left Xia De deeply puzzled. He had only become a Ring-bearer a day ago; no one should have been able to discern his status.

But at least the woman behind the door was not Lady Lassoya. Even without ever hearing Lady Lassoya speak, Xia De was certain that someone whose gender was impossible to determine could not possess such an elegant and calm tone.

"Young man, what shall I call you?"

The woman behind the door asked. Xia De could not see through the door to view her, but he felt she was watching him. He could perfectly imagine the scene of her sitting behind a desk, speaking to him through the barrier.