Chapter 1493: A Glimmer of Hope

Amber—the artificial being created by the Gondor Empire during the Age of Sparks, a nameless soul from the Shadow Realm—where exactly did she come from?

Years ago, this question wasn’t even on anyone’s mind. Back then, whether it was Gawain, Hetty, or even Amber herself, none of them imagined the staggering secrets lurking beneath her existence. A petty thief wandering the alleys of the southern border, a half-elf with a sunny yet restless personality, a sidekick who followed Gawain around but spent most of the time slacking off… When Amber suddenly became entangled in ambiguous ties with the Lady of Night, anyone would feel a sudden sense of unreality.

But once that feeling faded, Gawain knew he had to approach the truth between Amber and the Lady of Night with cold logic. The most plausible theory he could come up with was something he’d once read in the logs of the “Anchor Point Generator”:

When an unexpected data exchange occurs between the Star Map Keeper and the Sentinel System, the Star Map Keeper may generate erroneous copies or data overflow…

With that premise in mind, considering all the mysteries surrounding Amber, the recent strange fluctuations of the Lady of Night, and the increasingly obvious connection between Amber and that ancient god, the truth seemed to be emerging.

“If all of this really stems from some kind of ‘malfunction’ in the Anchor Point Generator, then our existing solutions won’t work,” Amber said, meeting Gawain’s gaze with an unusually serious expression. “Technically, we can’t fix the Anchor Point Generator’s fault—we don’t understand the technology of the Voyagers. Militarily… force can’t solve this kind of problem. Besides, even if it came to a fight, we probably wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“True,” Gawain sighed helplessly. “And there’s no reason to use force against the Lady of Night. First, she hasn’t done anything wrong. Second… this whole process is probably beyond her control.”

“I’ve thought it through,” Amber said thoughtfully, her tone steady. “If this ‘error’ really will automatically fix itself when the Lady of Night awakens, then I have to get everything done before the ‘repair’ completes. Scarface Anton over at Intelligence has been trained up by me—he’s now the second-in-command there and ready to take over anytime.”

Gawain was momentarily taken aback. He wanted to tell her not to think so far ahead, not to make such arrangements so early, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.

Being prepared for every eventuality, having contingency plans ready before anything happens—including the worst-case scenarios—was something he had personally taught Amber over the past few years.

“I understand,” he nodded gently. “You have your plans, and I won’t interfere with that. But remember, you’re not facing this alone—I’m always here. Honestly, there are still many mysteries about the Lady of Night and your connection, and about your current state… I have this feeling that the real situation might be even more complicated than we imagine. And in complexity, there’s often a glimmer of hope.”

He paused briefly, then carefully continued, choosing his words: “Also, this is just my speculation—obviously, the Lady of Night knows about you. At least, she’s fully aware of your existence now, and she’s even used Wilde to send you a lot of information. I think… that’s actually a very good ‘signal’ for us.”

“A very good ‘signal’?” Amber blinked, confused. “Why do you say that?”

“Because the Lady of Night wouldn’t bother leaving so many messages for an ‘error’ that’s destined to vanish soon,” Gawain said, his voice firm. “From a god’s perspective on time, if our grim theory is true, then in her eyes, you might just be a phantom that will disappear before the next blink. Would she really go to such lengths for a mere ‘phantom’?”

He exhaled softly. “Whether it’s the long talks with Silver-Eyed Korod and his group, the arrangements in that ‘border city,’ or the intelligence Wilde has passed to you, all these actions seem connected to you. And let’s not forget—the Lady of Night is incredibly busy.

“She has some secret mission left by the Voyagers to fulfill. She has hundreds of thousands of years’ worth of work piled up. She seems to be dealing with a massive upheaval about to hit the real world. She’s even preparing a grand ‘coming-of-age ceremony’ for the entire world… And yet, amidst all this, she’s made special arrangements just for you. Why do you think that is?”

Amber’s eyes slowly widened. Gawain could tell that a part of her, once shrouded in darkness, was suddenly illuminated.

Some things, as the person involved, she just hadn’t realized immediately. What she needed was someone to point it out.

“Although we can’t contact the Lady of Night directly, and you’ve entered the Shadow Divine Realm multiple times without seeing her, maybe we can boldly guess,” Gawain said slowly, “that the Lady of Night is trying to find a way for you to continue… existing? Or at least, one thing’s certain: she wouldn’t go through all this trouble if she expected you to vanish the next second. Why bother?”

Amber blinked several times, then suddenly slapped her palm. “Right! The Voyagers don’t pay overtime! If she’s working this hard, there has to be a reason—especially since she’s such a far-sighted ancient god…”

“Now we can breathe a little easier,” Gawain finally smiled, looking at Amber’s noticeably brighter expression. His tone relaxed. “Though it’s still all speculation, at least there’s a path forward.”

Amber nodded vigorously, seeming to snap back to her usual self. Though a shadow still lingered deep inside, it was much less than before. She fell into thought again, then after a few seconds, suddenly asked, “By the way, about the Lady of Night’s grand ‘coming-of-age ceremony’ for the world… do you have any clue what that means?”

“…I’m as clueless as you,” Gawain sighed. When Amber first mentioned the Lady of Night preparing a ‘coming-of-age ceremony’ for the world, he’d gotten goosebumps—and they’d only just faded. “Besides those words, did you get any more information from ‘over there’?”

“Wilde only knows those three words. The Lady of Night didn’t tell him the details,” Amber shook her head, then added, “Of course, it’s possible the Lady of Night only allowed him to tell me those three words…”

“Honestly, I still don’t quite understand why the Lady of Night wants you to know this information. If it’s to send a message to the real world, it’s too vague. If it’s a hint, judging by your reaction, she might have overestimated your insight,” Gawain frowned. “The word that sticks out most to me is ‘coming-of-age.’ For us, that word carries enormous significance…”

“The key question is whether the ‘coming-of-age ceremony’ the Lady of Night mentioned is the same as the one we know,” Amber said. “We know the term from the dragons—it refers to a civilization successfully breaking free from the mental imprint, stepping out of the ‘cradle phase’ under divine protection into an independent, free ‘adulthood.’ But the Lady of Night has been isolated for hundreds of thousands of years, asleep all that time. Maybe her ‘coming-of-age’ means something else…”

“Even if the details differ, the general meaning should be similar,” Gawain thought for a moment, then said quickly, “The dragon term ‘coming-of-age’ originally came from the dragon goddess Enya, and before that, it traces back to the ancient gods of Talrond. The Lady of Night was active during the same era as those ancient Talrond gods, so I think the word ‘coming-of-age’ in both their languages is probably the same concept.”

“So… the Lady of Night means to help all mortals on this planet break free from the mental imprint? She’s going to personally solve the gods’ problem for this cycle of civilization?” Amber’s eyes went wide. “Is she that impatient?!”

Gawain hadn’t thought much about it until Amber said that. Suddenly, a vivid image popped into his mind: the Lady of Night wielding her 38,000-pound Shadow Scepter, smashing the god of commerce with a single blow, then storming through the Fertility Divine Realm, crashing into the Blood God’s temple, and from there rampaging into the Death God’s domain—each strike leaving a trail of victims, far worse than the Reverse Tide. Amorn and Mirmirna cowering in the Divine Council, trembling as the Lady of Night went to scatter the War God’s ashes all over again…

A divine wrath descending from the heavens, forcing the entire world to ‘come of age’ (passively).

He immediately shook his head hard, trying to banish the absurd, sanity-shattering image. While shaking, he muttered to Amber, “Where did you get that idea? No matter how you look at it, the Lady of Night wouldn’t personally go around beating up all the gods of this cycle. And you know the rules of the mental imprint—relying on external force to clear the current gods is at best like what the Voyagers did back then. It only saves some people but doesn’t truly achieve ‘civilizational adulthood.’”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Amber admitted after thinking it over. “Then what do you think the Lady of Night’s ‘coming-of-age ceremony’ really is?”

“I don’t think she’ll do it personally, but she might push it forward in other ways,” Gawain stroked his chin, pondering. “And her ‘coming-of-age’ might not be limited to breaking the mental imprint. Don’t forget, she’s also carrying out some mission left by the Voyagers. I have a feeling… the Voyagers left this mysterious ‘Star Map Keeper’ with some longer-term, more special purpose. Because if it was just waiting for a civilization to break the mental imprint, they could have left an automated system to handle it.”

Amber tapped her head, looking a bit frustrated. “Who knows? It’s such a headache. I wish I could figure out the pattern for entering the Shadow Divine Realm—at least then I could plan an exploration. Right now, it’s all random dreams. How much intel I bring back is pure luck. Even when I get something, I don’t know what it means. At this rate, who knows when we’ll understand what the Lady of Night is really thinking.”

“Maybe we can look forward to Modir and Victoria’s exploration,” Gawain said. “Even though the Violet Kingdom has vanished, the Lady of Night’s dream has lingered on that island for hundreds of thousands of years. There’s probably still something hidden deep inside. Modir, like you, is ‘called by the gods.’ He’s felt a power summoning him on that island. Maybe the clues you can’t find in the Shadow Divine Realm will appear on Violet Island in the real world.”

As he spoke, he stood up and reached for the Shadow Scepter on the table. “Take the day off today. Rest well. I’ll hold onto this scepter for a couple of days to study it, then give it back to you—don’t worry, it’s indestructible.”

Amber stood up with him and instinctively asked, “Is this paid leave?”

“—Sure, sure, sure, anything goes!” Gawain immediately shot a sharp look at the shadowy assault goose. “Or should I approve you for some injury compensation as well?”

Amber looked completely serious. “That would be great.”

Gawain: “…”

He rolled his eyes, then turned and walked away.

But after his back was turned, out of his sight, the corner of Amber’s mouth twitched into a faint smile.

Once Gawain left, the not-so-large bedroom fell quiet again. Amber stood still for a moment, then stretched deeply before slowly moving to the window. She gazed out at the courtyard without any particular purpose.

Even now, she still lived within Cecil Palace, in the closest quarters to Gawain, Hetty, Rebecca, and the others—ever since the pioneers pitched the very first tent on this land, there had always been a shelter here reserved for her.

Outside in the courtyard, the winter sun bathed the evergreen trees and roadside shrubs in warm light. Betty, dressed in her black-and-white maid’s uniform, was pushing a small cart slowly through the garden. Lady Enya was wrapped snugly in a quilt at the center of the cart, the sunlight glinting off her pale golden eggshell with a radiant shimmer. Two chubby baby dragons flapped their wings joyfully behind the cart, their immature roars lacking any menace, instead brimming with pure happiness.

This was a scene that played out on nearly every sunny day at Cecil Palace—the tea bearer Betty and her beloved little companions taking a stroll through the garden.

“Yeah… I really can’t bear to leave this place…” Amber murmured softly to herself after a long moment of gazing.

Not far behind her, caught in the interplay of sunlight streaming through the window and casting shadows across her figure, stood a silhouette taller than Amber. It was slender and slight, cloaked entirely in a black mantle as dark as night, the face hidden beneath a wide hood. The cloak bore almost no markings or decoration, save for a single silver-white emblem pinned to the front—a pair of crossed daggers set above an open eye, like a star shining in the night sky.

The figure stood there like a phantom, utterly still, exuding no breath or presence—so much so that it seemed almost unreal, as if out of sync with the world. It silently watched Amber’s back until she had taken in the view long enough, until she muttered about enjoying her vacation and finally turned around. Then, like smoke dissipating on the breeze, the shadow vanished without a trace.

Amber never noticed a thing.

(The year-end card event on Qidian has begun! You can find the entrance on the app’s homepage. Feel free to join in for some fun and prizes.

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(End of chapter)