“Irene Fischer, born in the year 1786 of the Blazing Sun Era, her love encompassed the Fischer family and all the people of this world. Her devotion and steadfastness moved everyone, and her words will lead us forward…”
In the study of the Fischer Manor, Byrne deeply inhaled the cold, sharp air, his slender fingers calmly clutching the pen, adding a new entry to the family history of the Fischer family.
His father, Irene, himself, and many more members of the Fischer family would ascend to it.
Byrne had once been afraid of death, but after learning that the soul would return to the Lord of the Lost, he was no longer frightened or apprehensive, and he also gradually realized something quite important.
A person dies twice, the first death is the passing of the body, the disappearance of the breath of life, while the second, true death is when one’s name is forgotten by others.
He had recorded their names and existences in written form, and the descendants of the Fischer family would record their own existences as well, and so generation after generation, they would carry on in succession.
“When I die, there will also be those who come after me. Perhaps this is the meaning of a family’s continuity.”
Just then, someone knocked on the door, wanting to come in.
“Come in.”
No sooner had Byrne spoken than he saw his daughter Lilian enter.In fact, he could now sense the tremendous change in Lilian, who had changed so much since Irene’s departure a few years ago.
The girl who once sought to please others had transformed into a fiery family priest, becoming the most radical thinker in the entire family.
“Father, good morning.”
Lilian revealed a gentle smile, having matured in body and mind in the years following Aunt Irene’s martyrdom. Yet, in front of her father Byrne, she still retained the aspect of a daughter.
It was a side that put Byrne at ease.
“What’s on your mind, Lilian?”
Lilian was silent for a while before finally saying, “I was planning to visit Mother.”
Hearing the name Margaret made Byrne fall silent as well.
Since Baron Hoffman’s incident, he had been unable to face Margaret—the complexity of his feelings couldn’t be explained in a few words.
He had wronged Margaret, but Hoffman had also wronged the Fischer family. The connection through their children made it impossible for either side to sever ties completely.
Fortunately, his and Margaret’s situation did not affect the children’s feelings for their mother; in fact, after coming of age, Darren and Margaret often went to see her, and Margaret had also visited Nasir Town to see Darren’s child Felix.
“Go ahead, and be even kinder to her. She must miss you very much, Lilian.”
He nodded and smiled gently; Lilian then smiled back. She had been so busy during the past year that she never had the chance to visit her mother.
She missed her mother dearly.
Byrne casually mentioned, filled with anticipation,
“In a few years, once the railway from Nasir Town to Fein City is completely built, you could even go to Fein City to see your mother in the morning, have lunch, and return to town by evening.”
Lilian was startled, then asked incredulously, “The steam locomotive travels that fast?”
“Indeed, it does,” Byrne nodded without dissenting.
Lilian furrowed her brow and said with concern,
“The Reforging Church has already reached Cyart. Father, you’ve been in contact with them too, haven’t you? Steam engines, steamships, railways, and steam locomotives—all these technologies have been released by the Reforging Church. Whatever they’re planning, they are indeed changing the entire world bit by bit.”
“Other churches, because of the gods, are letting the Reforging Church expand…”
Byrne pondered for a moment and said,
“Yes, people from the Reforging Church are a bit strange. They don’t just want to transform the world; those priests from the Reforging Church even alter their own bodies, calling themselves ‘Reforger’…”
After finishing, Byrne sank into a deep contemplation, recalling a priest from the Reforging Church he had seen, tall in stature, who had replaced one arm with a weapon driven by steam and steel.
They were gradually going beyond the realm of humanity, and that self-proclaimed Reforger felt genuinely that the level of his own transformation was still too low.
If this is what they consider low, what’s the endgame? Do these people want to become monsters? Byrne found it hard to believe at the time.
Although the Reforging Church never coerced anyone into modifying their bodies, their followers were repeatedly indoctrinated with the theory that flesh was inferior to mechanical steel. As a result, many would voluntarily join in the modifications.
“I think they want to do more than just transform the world, they even want to refashion all of humanity. No, not just transform but truly reforge…”
A chill ran through the depths of Byrne’s heart.
——
After a long carriage ride, Lilian finally returned to Fein City once again.
This city had drastically changed, with its wildly growing population leading to increasingly crowded and chaotic residential areas, deteriorating public order, rampant crime, and a living environment made filthy by the numerous factories.
A few years ago, the Lion clan still had the energy to manage the city, but now with war underway, they had to fight on the front lines, and could no longer fully address the situation at home. Meanwhile, the population of Fein City kept rising, and the pollution from the factories grew ever more severe.
In the years she had traveled with Aunt Irene, she had seen many things, met many people, and visited various cities and towns. Since the advent of the steam engine, most of them faced a host of problems caused by rapid population growth, so Lilian was not particularly surprised by the situation in Fein City.
“Perhaps, from these suffering masses, we can find some followers that our Lord needs.”
She squinted her eyes, gazing out of the carriage window at Fein City, where the ground was filthy and muddied. Ruffians strutted through the streets laughing loudly, underage prostitutes were brutally pinned against walls by men, groups of children displayed the cunning eyes of thieves, and even someone raised a middle finger, maliciously spitting at the carriage.
“Goo goo goo!”
The small Spiritual Dragon, hidden in liquid form in Lilian’s sleeve, curiously poked its head out, excited by the sight of so many people outside the carriage.
“Goo goo goo goo goo!”
It was very excited, for it seldom saw so many people!
The Fischer family carriage continued on its way to the affluent district of Fein City.
Lilian noticed the environment change instantaneously; the previous chaos and filth, madness and congestion, vanished as if she had entered a brand new world.
“The contradiction between the poor and the rich is as vast as the gap in their living environments.”
The carriage stopped next to the lush greenery of the Hoffman family estate, where the scent of flowers and grass was refreshing.
Many had seen Baron Hoffman come to grief in the Spirit Realm, but since Viscount Bast had imposed a gag order, no one dared to speak the truth.
After the mishap with Baron Hoffman, another family member took over the Hoffman family, and they quickly surrendered to the Lion clan due to the downfall of the Eagle clan.
Of course, due to Byrne’s involvement, Viscount Bast did not trouble them afterward.
“Lilian?”
Nearing forty, Margaret, wearing glasses, sat in a hanging chair in the small garden, smiling at her daughter as she approached.
For a moment, she was taken aback, feeling a strong resemblance between her daughter and Irene.
It seemed like an illusion and yet so real. Margaret was not particularly fond of Irene, who had usurped the right to educate the children, yet her love for her daughter Lilian was overflowing.
“Mom, it’s me, I’m back.”
Lilian smiled, sitting beside Margaret.
All at once, she felt an indescribable sense of tearing, as mere days ago she had been deciding the fates of others, yet now she sat beside her mother like an obedient daughter.
“Lilian, you’re so pretty. Don’t let any men deceive you, okay? Innocent girls like you who haven’t been through much are the easiest to fool,” Margaret said lovingly as she looked at her daughter with a smile.
Innocent.
Lilian was taken aback, unsure how to respond. She was indeed at the age to be deceived by others, yet she had already experienced so much and was no longer the same.
However, in her mother’s eyes, she was just a regular noble girl who enjoyed playing with small animals, pure-hearted, who would never guess her daughter’s true nature.
That feeling of tearing grew stronger, and Lilian had many words stuck in her throat that she couldn’t express. She simply couldn’t and wouldn’t make her mother understand who she really was.
So she just nodded lightly, smiling and replying, “Mm-hmm, Mom, stop it! I know all that. Don’t worry, I won’t be fooled by any man!”
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