At the other end of the Southern Continent, deep within the Abyss of Ferrying, was the "City of the Dead".
The illusory River of Eternal Darkness, which traversed the entire city, suddenly surged with violent waves, and countless bloody arms, vines, and tentacles scrambled to emerge from the water.
At the source of the river, deep within a black mausoleum embedded upside down in the ground, an invisible, chilling wind surged out from the open black double doors, causing the surrounding eerie green Hellfire to flicker.
Dunn Smith, pale-faced and slightly bewildered, walked out from within. The deep black vortex, originally suspended between his eyebrows and directly facing the core of the Underworld, suddenly expanded, transforming into a pair of bronze double doors adorned with mysterious patterns.
"Faster than I anticipated. It seems your resurrection in Tingen City greatly increased your compatibility with the Death Pathway."
Azik Eggers, with bronze skin and gentle features, appeared beside Dunn. His eyes, burning with pale flames, scanned the newly promoted Undying up and down, and he nodded in satisfaction.
Perhaps it was the absolute suppression of a high-level Death Pathway Beyonder over a low-level one, or perhaps the word "Tingen" awakened certain memories, but Dunn, who had been standing stiffly at the entrance of the inverted mausoleum, gradually became more expressive. After bowing, he responded in a hoarse voice:
"Thank you for your help!"
"After I take revenge on Ince Zangwill, I will return here to repay your generosity."
Azik smiled gently and waved his hand, sending a wisp of pale flame into Dunn's body in the Underworld. He said in a gentle voice:
"Ince Zangwill is also my enemy, but the restoration movement in East Balam has reached its most critical moment, and I cannot easily leave. However, I will act when necessary."
"As for you," Azik paused, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward as he added, "The price for the gift of destiny has already been paid by someone else. You don't need to return here afterward."
"Returning to the Church of Evernight with the glory of slaying a renegade Archbishop—that is the suggestion Duke Aaron gave you."
"As for your resurrection and your increase in strength over the past six months, he will explain it to the Church of Evernight. You don't need to worry about that."
Now, with the help of the River of Eternal Darkness, Azik, who had devoured the other half of his incomplete soul containing divinity and fully recovered, could in some sense be considered the angel with the most abundant humanity.
Due to his affection for Klein, he was also willing to reveal more information to this Undying.
Return to the Church? Dunn couldn't help but feel a moment of daze, then, as if by reflex, he subconsciously asked:
"What about Klein?"
"He has his own path. You can just consider him to have died in the disaster in Tingen City." Azik's expression was indescribably complex, and he offered no further explanation, only adding:
"Ince Zangwill completed the ritual with the help of my bloodline. I left something in your Underworld; it will create a sensation within a certain distance, which can help you find him."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the surrounding space instantly became colorful, like an oil painting splashed with paint by a god, instantly sweeping Dunn, who still wanted to ask something, into it.
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Indescribable, even transparent and seemingly non-existent, objects swept past them. In the depths of Leonard's pupils, myriad clear lights of different colors, containing endless knowledge, were reflected from an infinite height.
His Adam's apple bobbed. He subconsciously wanted to say something but suppressed the urge, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Daly beside him and Archbishop Randolph Carter, who was guiding them through the Spirit World.
Unlike Leonard, who was experiencing Spirit World travel for the first time, Daly, who already had a messenger at the Spirit Guide stage, was truly interested only in information about Ince Zangwill.
Just as the two were engrossed in their own thoughts, Randolph Carter suddenly stopped without warning, looking sternly at a certain location in the Spirit World.
A pale light emanating a strong aura of Death flashed and disappeared, carrying with it a terrifying, profound, and indescribable sense of being high above, causing the Spirit World creatures along the way to flee, as if they had encountered a natural predator.
"It seems to be a demigod from the Numinous Episcopate...."
The anticipated attack did not occur. Randolph Carter frowned, watching the fading pale light, and murmured to himself.
In another area of the Spirit World, the pale light gradually dissipated, and Dunn's figure appeared. On his right index finger, he wore a square, dark, heavy ring.
This was also Azik's final gift to him, the Death ring once held by "Admiral Hell" Ludwell, and now the medium for sensing Ince Zangwill.
With the blessing of this ring, Dunn slightly tilted his head, and the figures of Daly and the others were reflected in his deep grey eyes.
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In the sea area dotted with numerous icebergs, two colossal vessels, even more exaggerated than Loen's ironclads, crushed through the ice. These were none other than the "Black Emperor" and the "Morning Star," which had disappeared from the outside world for some time.
The biting cold wind seemed capable of freezing even spiritual bodies. Through the barrier of wind and snow, one could vaguely see in the distance a continuous world that seemed eternally shrouded in Darkness.
This was the Northern Sea. Although it was one of the so-called "Five Seas," its extremely harsh weather conditions made even the least picky pirates steer clear.
Even with all crew members being Beyonders and having the protection of a ghost ship, many crew members still suffered greatly.
Inside the Black Emperor's cabin, Nast, wearing a spire crown and self-proclaimed "Grand Duke Solomon," stood up from a mottled stone chair two to three meters high. His two deep black eyes flowed with dark red light, reflecting Aaron, who had emerged from the Star Gate.
Voluntarily yielding the stone chair that symbolized his status, Nast spoke in a deep voice:
"I have been monitoring the matter you previously entrusted to me. At least, this Evernight Plain adjacent to the Northern Sea has shown no abnormalities."
Looking at the plain shrouded in Darkness in the distance, wisps of dark golden mist emerged in the depths of Aaron's eyes. He used his True Sight to look into the deepest part of the Evernight Plain.
He did not rashly step into this area that Adam had warned him about, only peeking from the Northern Sea. Limited by the extent of his True Sight, he gained no other special insights beyond more profound Darkness and dead silence.
At the same time, Bernadette, Xio, and Bayard, who had received Nast's message, had already arrived in the Black Emperor's cabin.
Aaron withdrew his gaze from the distance, looked at the main seat Nast had yielded, and did not decline. He sat down with a serious expression, directly recounting a corner of the future that Will Auceptin had glimpsed.
Divine Descent? Bernadette, seated at the lower end, raised her eyebrows slightly. As an angel who also wielded some authority over destiny, she could roughly guess that this prophecy must have come from the Chairman of the Fate Council.
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