"The teacher just left like that?" Nina came to the first floor and opened her eyes wide in surprise when she heard that Morris had left. Then she complained, "Uncle, why didn't you stay for a while? You let the teacher leave in such bad weather..."

"It will be dark if it's any later," Duncan turned around and locked the door, then walked towards the stairs while casually saying, "He drove here, so a little rain won't have much of an impact."

"But the teacher doesn't look well," Nina followed, muttering as she went upstairs, "He should rest for a while..."

Duncan thought about it, thinking that if the old man really rested here for a while longer, it might not be because of physical discomfort, but he might fail ten consecutive will tests. Not to mention the sun tomorrow, he wouldn't even be able to see the World Creation tonight...

But he couldn't explain this to Nina, so he could only say a few perfunctory words and went to the dining table on the second floor.

Nina had prepared a hot meal—beet soup, toast, vegetable rolls, and sliced ​​ham.

It's obvious that there's one more person.

"If you can't finish it, save it for tomorrow morning," Nina muttered, and then looked up at Duncan with some curiosity, "What did you say to the teacher? I didn't hear it clearly just now, but it seems that you two were chatting quite lively..."

Duncan looked at Nina quietly. He had been looking at her like this since just now, watching the girl busying herself.

She was just like usual, always smiling, and never looked truly angry even when she was complaining. She was always busy here and there, as if there were always endless things to do, endless energy, and she was always looking forward to tomorrow.

Duncan could only see Nina like this. He did not have the "eyes that could see through the truth" like Morris, nor could he see the raging fire in Nina's body.

If he had not just heard it with his own ears, he really would not have imagined that the sun fragment that had touched the nerves of countless people was actually "sleeping" here quietly, right under his nose.

Sun fragments...what on earth are they?

Duncan once thought that it was a tangible and extraordinary object, and later confirmed through various clues that it was a peeled-off solar prominence. However, now, he found that this thing might be sleeping in Nina's body...

If that thing really came from the "star" he was familiar with, then what kind of changes would have to happen to a star to peel off such a strange piece of... "fragment"?

"Uncle Duncan?" Nina noticed the gaze coming from across the table. She turned around awkwardly. "Is there something stuck on my face?"

"...No, nothing." Duncan shook his head gently, lowered his head to break the bread and asked casually, "By the way, have you felt unwell recently? Did that strange dream... appear again?"

"No," Nina waved her hand. "The hypnosis that Miss Heidi gave me last time was quite effective. I haven't had any strange dreams since then, and I feel energetic every day."

She paused, then looked at Duncan a little worriedly: "Uncle, what's wrong with you? I think... you are a little weird, just after you finished talking to Mr. Morris... ah, could it be that the results of my last exam..."

"No, don't think about it. Your teacher is not here to complain," Duncan immediately raised an eyebrow, "Eat first, eat first."

Nina responded and then lowered her head to eat. At this moment, Duncan seemed to sense something and looked in a certain direction outside the window with some confusion.

※※※

In the lower city, deep in the shabby and dim alleys, the hastily lit gas lamps finally dispelled the darkness around before the night completely enveloped the streets. In the dim light brought by the gas lamps, Shirley lay on the windowsill, looking at the dark streets outside in a trance.

The rustling sound of iron chains rubbing against each other came from behind, and Ah Gou's voice rang out: "Are you leaning over to look outside again? What's there to see?"

"I can't sleep. It's so early and there's nothing to do," Shirley muttered, "It's so boring..."

"…How about we go out and continue to cause trouble for the cultists tomorrow?"

"...I feel like I'll still get nothing." Shirley thought for a moment and shook her head. "I don't know if those guys in the church have really become more powerful. It seems like all the cultists in the city-state have been caught recently. Even you can't smell their stench..."

"It's true that all the Sun Cultists active in the city recently have disappeared. Maybe they were all caught," Agou came over and lay lazily at Shirley's feet, "but I don't think you're here just because you're bored..."

Shirley rolled her eyes immediately: "What else could it be?"

"...Are you thinking about 'that place'?" Agou raised his head, a glimmer of light dancing in his hollow blood-red eyes. "Thinking about that warm house, that bright room, hot meals, the days when someone wakes you up and urges you to eat, or... thinking about that sub-space follower named Nina? Or even thinking about that Deng..."

"Shut up! I'm so annoyed!" Shirley immediately pulled the chain in her hand hard and broke Agou roughly. "I'm not a crying little brat. How can I be so weak!"

Agou didn't care about Shirley's rude reaction: "...yearning for light and warmth is not weakness, it only proves that you are still human."

"Ah..." Shirley suddenly shuddered, and then looked disgusted, "Why are you so corny all of a sudden? You even speak in a flowery way? And you're trying to prove that I'm still a human being... Are you praising me or saying that I haven't made any progress in all these years?"

"...Don't think that after merging with a deep demon like me for eleven years, you have really become a demon. There is nothing wrong with frankly admitting your human side." Agou shook his ugly big head. "Besides, don't forget that it's not just this chain that connects you and me - how can I not understand the changes in your emotions?"

"...Shut up," Shirley turned away and looked outside irritably. "If you keep on talking, I will really take you to play with Nina tomorrow. I will accompany Nina and you will accompany Mr. Duncan. We both have a bright future - I won't scare you!"

Agou finally stopped talking.

However, after a moment of silence, Shirley couldn't help but kick the Deep Hound beside her with her toes and took the initiative to break the silence: "Don't worry about it, you are still with me."

"You're even more disgusting than me when it comes to being cheesy," Ah Gou moved a little, and the iron chain rustled. "Stop talking, or I'm going to vomit - and then there'll be a new hole on the floor."

The Deep Hound was muttering, but through the interconnected spirits, Shirley could feel that the "dog" who had almost eaten her alive and raised her to adulthood was suddenly in a better mood.

In the dim twilight and the light of street lamps, the thin girl curled her lips, hiding her little smile.

This is good, everything is back on track, familiar days are back, just keep living your life - don't think about the peace and warmth that don't belong to you, especially when that peaceful and warm place is lurked by a shadow from the subspace.

That warmth was too dangerous.

Shirley exhaled softly.

However, the next second, she frowned slightly, as if she felt something malicious approaching, and she felt the hairs on her back stand up slightly.

Agou suddenly stood up from his lying position. Black smoke and flames suddenly filled the body of this huge dark hound. Red light shone brightly in its blood-red empty eye sockets, and it scanned the room with vigilance and hostility.

The room was dark. In order to save money, Shirley turned off the oil lamp on the table the moment the street light came on. Now, only the light from the street light coming in from the window illuminated the room. In the dim light, the simple furnishings cast mottled and strange shadows on the floor and walls.

In this simple home, everything is clearly visible, familiar and intuitive.

However, for some reason, Shirley suddenly felt that the furnishings in the house were a little strange - between the bright and dark light and shadows, between the corners of the tables and chairs and the gaps at the end of the bed, a strange and inharmonious atmosphere continued to permeate!

Shirley subconsciously tightened the chain in her hand: "Ah dog!"

"I know," Ah Gou growled at the same time, "I'm watching! Something is coming in here... surrounding us... Shit! What the hell is that? My eyes are blurry!"

Before the Deep Hound finished speaking, Shirley suddenly noticed that the light from the street lamp pouring into the room from the window began to become distorted and dim!

It was as if a thick black curtain suddenly enveloped the entire house. The street scene that was clearly visible in the field of vision a second ago suddenly became blurry. The light of the street lamps was cut into pieces, turning into pale glimmers that fell into the house. Then, the pale glimmers and the ubiquitous black shadows began to wriggle in unison, accompanied by a series of disgusting low murmurs, and several figures suddenly emerged from the light and shadows.

They were dressed in tattered black robes, with their arms exposed from beneath the robes looking skinny and withered. Around their waists hung dark books that seemed to be soaked with ink-like dirt, with dark suspicious liquid constantly seeping out and dripping from the books. On the chest of each of them hung an iron emblem that looked like it was surrounded by thorns, with a pale and turbid flame jumping in the center of the emblem.

The black-robed leader raised his hand and pointed at Shirley. An ambiguous and hoarse syllable that no human could pronounce came from under the hood of his robe: "You will be defeated..."

Agou's exclamation finally reached Shirley's ears at this time: "CNM is the Preacher of the End!!!"