Endless Debt

Church can no longer remember how he left the great rift, let alone what he is doing now. His consciousness is approaching nothingness. All his actions at the moment are more like the control of his will than the control of his will. Instinct from subconscious action.

The Walking Dead.

In order to destroy the sealed gas tank as much as possible and prevent the disaster, Church came into close contact with the plague of decay, which severely consumed his ether and invaded his flesh and blood. After that, he was attacked by Morrison, whose deadly wings With the howling wind and the invasion of the plague of decay, Church almost died in that fatal corridor.

Now Qiu Qi's blood seemed to have drained away, and the rotten and black scabs from the wounds had condensed together, turning into hideous scars. His eyes were dull, and countless broken thoughts were wandering in his mind. Still unable to stay together.

In a daze, Church thought of his mother again. It felt strange, like a dream.

Who mentioned it to me... Oh, that stranger who claimed to be his father.

He said that his mother was an excellent narrow traveler. She could always perfectly grasp the depth of the dive to ensure that she would not get lost in the narrow world.

But during an operation, she fell into an irresistible danger. In order to complete the mission, she performed a complete divestment.

For walkers in the narrow space, every second of complete peeling off increases the risk of getting lost, and that time, she was completely stripped off for too long.

It took so long that she was completely lost in it...

Church could imagine how his mother died. She was completely immersed in the narrow world, completely forgetting who she was. Her self-awareness was annihilated and her body fell into a corner. Under cognitive distortion, people would See her body as a hard stone? Or an animal carcass?

Nobody knows.

The only thing that can be known is that outside observers can no longer see her at all, and she just lies there quietly until her body rots and returns to dust.

Church didn't want to be like this. He still had things to do, things that were stubborn and engraved in his instincts.

Walking mechanically on the streets of Opos, Church relied on his last conscious will to escape from complete detachment and return to the first stage of stealth.

His sense of presence decreased rapidly. Pedestrians passed by him without noticing this embarrassed guy at all. Only a few people stopped briefly and wondered why there was a smell of blood in the air.

In order to perfectly hide his own information and avoid the enemy's sight, Church's clothes are an alchemical weapon that can change his clothing and body shape. Combined with the "faceless man" mask that fits tightly on his face, Church can wear it even if he does not use the secret weapon. Yes, you can change into another person at any time.

One moment Church is a bloated businessman, the next moment Church becomes a skinny scholar.

But now, these alchemical weapons are suffering from trauma, and the plague of decay is not only corroding the ether, but also corroding these alchemical weapons. Church's clothes have become tattered, and as he advances, his own clothing and shape have also changed. A glitch-like change began.

The same is true for Church's face. His facial muscles are twitching slightly, as if he is suffering from some kind of disease. This is the external manifestation of the faceless man. In fact, this mask has been damaged in many places, and the epidemic of decay is terrifying. Like a poisonous insect, it eats itself.

His breathing became low and rapid, and the garbage and useless memories in Church's mind were completely stripped away and devoured. Although he escaped from the completely stripped state in time, his memories were still broken and hazy.

But at least there was one thing that Qiu Qi still vaguely remembered.

"We need something to confirm our own existence... We are like a kite, high in the sky where the wind is roaring, and that thing is the thread that pulls us back to the ground, the anchor that stabilizes the ship."

The man's words rang in his ears again.

For a long time, Church didn't know what he should use to anchor his will. After all, everyone was just a stranger to him. In this world, it seemed that all he had was his own responsibility.

until one day.

The hazy consciousness gradually woke up.

When Church came back to his senses, he had arrived at a familiar place in his memory, and bursts of fragrance came from the room, soothing Church's pain.

Perhaps it was God's blessing that the chaotic alchemy weapons started to operate smoothly for a short time. Church's clothes changed into common staff uniforms, and his face changed into the Church that the other party was familiar with.

"Good morning, Afia."

Church greeted the other party, his voice was normal, and the physical pain was perfectly suppressed by him.

"Church?"

Afia saw the familiar figure in the sun, and she seemed a little excited, "I knew you would come!"

Church was a weird guest, but it was such a weird guest that gave Afia a feeling she had never had before.

The feeling of being needed.

What happened next had been repeated so many times that both of them had become accustomed to it. Afia picked up the bouquet prepared for Church and put it into Church's hands.

Church politely took the bouquet and held it in front of him. According to the past, they would say goodbye after chatting for a few words, but this time neither of them moved.

In the sunshine, Afia stared at Church's eyes. She felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. She felt that she had seen such a pair of eyes before.

It was time to say goodbye, and Afia suddenly had a strange feeling, as if Church would really leave after this time and never come back again.

Afia felt panicked for a while, and she was a little at a loss. In the end, she awkwardly introduced the topic, hoping to postpone the time of saying goodbye.

Just like friends who come to a fork in the road, they keep chatting with each other about boring things, trying to overcome the destined separation.

Afia asked, "How is the alum root growing?"

"It's not bad," Church said. "I'm reading a book about how to grow green plants...it should still be some time before they bloom."

Church's words were intermittent, as if one piece after another was randomly pieced together. The influence of the secret energy on him is still continuing, and the physical injuries are also stimulating his nerves. To maintain normal communication ability, for Church It’s already not easy.

"Is this so..."

Afia then added, "If you don't understand anything, you can ask me. After all, books are rigid, and I can teach you with my own hands."

Church hesitated for a moment, then said, "There is a chance."

"What's wrong?"

Facing Afia's question, Church hesitated again. He could clearly feel that Afia was becoming unfamiliar to him. The aftermath of the secret energy had already affected his recent memory. Many Everything related to Afia became blurry and shaky.

Church's time was running out, and it was at this time that he understood to some extent what Palmer meant by forcing him.

So that's it.

"I...I'm leaving here."

Church casually told a lie. As an intelligence officer, this was the best thing he could do.

"Due to job transfer, I may never come back here again. Thank you for the flowers during this time. They are very bright and fragrant."

The flowers are like a stunning splash of color, making Church's pale life no longer so monotonous.

"I think I should come and say goodbye to you."

The more Church told it, the more emotions welled up in his heart.

He has never had a so-called anchor. If he had to have one, it would be his name.

His life is so monotonous, and due to the side effects of his own secret power, Church will never have a real connection with anyone. He thought he would be alone forever, but at this moment, Church realized that he already had The so-called anchor.

It is precisely because of this that Church made such a choice in a strange way. Uncharacteristically, he entered the story from an indifferent bystander.

Church laughed unconsciously, he figured everything out, at such a ridiculous moment.

"Your flower is very nice, I don't want it to wither."

Therefore, the plague of decay must be completely destroyed in the Mist Abyss Fortress.

"I thought about leaving directly," Church said, "but I also felt that it shouldn't be like this. I hope I'm not being pretentious."

In the final analysis, the connection between Church and Afia is not much. Most of the time, it is just Church's own imagination. He is always like this, like a lizard hiding in a damp and dark mire.

Talking too much and going too deep will only increase the trouble...but it feels so good to say it.

"No...how could it be?"

Afia felt that her thoughts were a little confused, and she thanked Church in turn, "I would like to thank you."

"What's wrong?"

"To be honest, this is a busy and cold city. I always thought that no one would like this kind of thing." Afia glanced at the flowers in Church's arms. "I was wondering if I should do something else. Thank you. You make me feel needed and that what I do is meaningful and not just futile.”

Afia continued, "Your eyes are very beautiful. I have seen someone with eyes similar to yours before."

"Is that so?"

After hearing this, Church smiled and it was time to leave. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Afia shouted again.

"You haven't paid yet!"

Church was stunned for a moment and touched his pocket. He couldn't take out anything except a blood-stained dagger.

He said, "Sorry, I don't have any money."

"Then next time."

Afia said to Church as if her conspiracy had succeeded.

"Give me the money back next time."

…

I don’t know how long the rapid fall lasted, and I don’t know how many rocks were broken by the sword blade in my hand. The high-frequency vibration made the entire arm lose consciousness, and even the pain became blurred.

Standing on a rocky protrusion filled with ashes, Borogo exhaustedly pulled his resentment out of the rubble. He could feel the weird suction coming from all around, as if countless ghosts were constantly eating away at his own ether.

The etheric vacuum is always so unbearable. If you cast your sight into the distance, you can vaguely see a city covered in ashes standing in the ashes all over the sky.

The source of strife, King Solomon's tomb.