Hearing the undisguised disgust towards the Annihilation Cultists in Agatha's tone, the old guard's expression did not change - he was still paying more attention to the latest intelligence.

Those "samples" taken away from the cemetery...showed properties in the laboratory similar to the "elements" described by the cultists.

No matter how crazy the heretics were, no matter how immoral their heresies were, as a member of the Orthodox Church, the old guard had to learn about the heretics, their crazy doctrines and their extremely polluting knowledge systems. The entire set of heresies of the Annihilation Cults always revolved around one core:

The Holy Lord of the Deep, and the various "miracles" created by the Holy Lord of the Deep.

The Annihilation Cultists firmly believe that the earthly world now favored by the gods is not a "peaceful paradise", but actually a "land of exile" that has been severely corrupted and thoroughly distorted. They believe that the brightness and prosperity of the real world are illusions woven by the gods, and that the true destination of mortal souls and the "uncontaminated real world" are not here at all, but in the depths of the world - the Abyss.

On this basis, they believe that the Lord of the Abyss and the demons represent the purest, most original, and uncontaminated state of the world, and that only by purifying their own polluted bodies can mortals "return" to the abyss and return to their original place.

However, the mortal world is blocked by the gods, and a barrier is built between the "distorted real world" and the "real real world (that is, the deep sea)". The flesh and blood of mortals is the concrete manifestation of this barrier. As long as the soul of a mortal is still trapped in this body and undergoes continuous "pollution" throughout his life, it is impossible to return to the deep sea.

Therefore, the Holy Lord of the Abyss will bring down a miracle called "Element" - the heretics believe that this sacred substance is the foundation of all things at the beginning of the world, and the Holy Lord's blueprint for planning the "real world" is hidden in the microscopic scale of "Element", and only "Element" can fight against the curse in the flesh and blood of all living beings in the world and allow mortals to return to the "pure state at the beginning of birth."

The Annihilationists described this substance called "Element" as follows:

〖…It will present all the characteristics of all things in the world and will always be in a continuous evolutionary cycle. It represents all the plans and blueprints of the Deep Lord when shaping reality, and short-sighted mortals will never be able to measure any accurate properties of the elements…〗

The old guard suddenly raised his head and stared into Agatha's eyes: "...Do you think that is the 'element'?"

Agatha answered without hesitation: "The elements are just the nonsense of those heretics. It is very likely some new substance that cannot be explained by our current knowledge system. The change of its properties may be some natural phenomenon, or it may be some supernatural power - but it cannot be a 'miracle' brought down by the Lord of the Deep."

However, in the face of such an answer, the old guard's expression did not change at all, and he just stared into the gatekeeper's eyes quietly: "Do you think that is the 'element'?"

Faced with the second question, Agatha finally fell silent for a short while. After two or three seconds, she exhaled softly: "But I have to admit that at least in terms of nature... the samples collected are consistent with the description of that group of heretics."

The old guard raised his head and looked towards the morgue not far away.

The fine snow had gradually grown heavier after nightfall, and fluttering snowflakes were continuously falling from the dark night sky. Walking sticks stood in the dim cemetery, and the lanterns on the tops of the walking sticks reflected the scattered snowflakes around them, as if adding a hazy texture to everything.

His gaze passed through the scattered snowflakes and lights and fell on an empty morgue not far away.

There once lay a special corpse.

"Those specimens... were once a person, or at least looked like a person," the old guard said as if talking to himself. "You personally led the team to deliver him here. You should still remember."

"Of course I remember," Agatha said softly, "There are very few corpses that need to be transported by the 'Gatekeeper' himself, and that corpse fell into the deepest part of the mine, which is the deepest place in the entire city-state. The dead brought out from there... are very special."

"But his specialness still exceeded everyone's expectations." The old guard turned his head and looked at the young gatekeeper. "You found the real person who fell into the well the next day, so the body is obviously just a 'replica' of the real deceased... It's no wonder that a replica made of 'elements' would attract the attention of those Annihilation heretics."

"Perhaps it wasn't because I attracted their attention, but the whole thing was their doing," Agatha shook her head. "We suspect that the fall into the mine was caused by the cultists. Their purpose was to use the victims deep in the mine to create 'replicas', similar to some kind of sacrificial ritual. But obviously, their plan went wrong, which led to the replica being discovered by mistake and even sent to your cemetery by us."

The old guard shrugged. "It also attracted the attention of an unknown 'visitor'."

"...Yes, an indescribable visitor." Agatha's always calm expression finally changed a little, and her tone became cautious. "We still don't know what his purpose is."

The old guard looked up at the sky, and after a moment of silence, he said, "It's late at night."

The cemetery fell silent for a moment. An indescribable weirdness and silence enveloped the paths and platforms, and was soaked in the night wind carrying snowflakes.

Everyone is waiting - waiting for an unknown visitor, or for an uneventful sunrise.

This silence lasted for an unknown amount of time. Just as Agatha was about to persuade the old guard to go back to the hut to rest, a soft knocking sound suddenly rang out in the night.

A clear, deep voice came from a nearby coffin:

"Why don't you continue talking?"

Such a sound suddenly came from the silent cemetery, and even the well-trained church guards could not avoid being startled and stunned for a moment. Agatha even felt that the snowflakes falling in the light seemed to be still for two seconds - the next second, all the guards quickly came to the coffin where the sound came from, and the sound of boots stepping on the snow rang out frequently.

Agatha turned into a pale shadow almost instantly, and appeared beside the morgue like teleporting. She stared at the coffin that made the sound. After taking two deep breaths, she made her voice as calm as possible and said, "Are you... the visitor from the day before yesterday?"

"I hope I didn't scare you by coming here presumptuously," Duncan in the coffin thought for a moment and greeted casually, "I did come here once two days ago, but there were cultists causing trouble at the time, and the contact with the guard was not smooth."

Footsteps were heard from the side, and the old guard with a gloomy look came to the coffin cautiously. He quickly glanced at the dark coffin with the corner of his eye, and quickly retracted his eye the next second.

Although his clairvoyance did not go out of control due to the influence of the incense this time, and he even drank drugs to resist mental pollution in advance, the psychological trauma brought by the last "contact" was so serious that even he, a veteran who had experienced many battles, seemed extremely cautious at this moment.

"...You just arrived?" After calming down a little, the old guard finally broke the silence.

"When you started discussing that 'element'," Duncan's voice came from the coffin, "I felt like I heard some very interesting information - but you suddenly stopped talking about it."

Agatha raised her head and looked at the old guard in surprise.

Her lips moved slightly, but her voice went straight into the old guard's mind: "Is this visitor... so approachable?"

The old guard shrugged and moved his lips slightly: "How should I know?"

The two church priests exchanged a brief conversation, and then Agatha gently waved to the people around her.

The black-clad guards gathered around the coffin immediately dispersed slightly to the side, in case this overly cautious response was seen as a provocation by the "visitor" who descended upon the corpse.

Duncan had actually sensed the surrounding atmosphere in the coffin for a long time. He had been lying there for more than a few minutes. Ever since the old guard and the young woman started talking about the "Element", he had been listening patiently and curiously. At this moment, he felt the surrounding atmosphere spreading, so he smiled and said casually, "There are quite a few people here tonight."

"...We have no intention of offending you," Agatha responded immediately and cautiously. She could not confirm the origin of this "visitor" for the time being, but the other party at least did not show any initial hostility. So when facing a superior non-hostile "quasi-god" existence, showing enough courtesy is the first step in communication. "The arrangements here are only to protect our own sanity."

"Oh, I understand. People often have brain problems while talking to me. Frankly speaking, it's quite troublesome," Duncan said with a smile in his tone. "You know how to protect yourself, which is good."

Agatha frowned.

She had dealt with many supernatural beings, some of whom were extremely vicious or chaotic and dangerous, but this was the first time someone had chatted with her like this.

"Can we know who... you are?" After a moment's hesitation, she finally mustered up the courage to ask.

Duncan in the coffin thought seriously.

Then he recalled the glorious feat of the Lost Homeland in dragging the Thirteen Islands of Veselan into the warp, as well as the connection between the thirteen islands and the Death Cult that he had learned from his previous conversation with Morris and Vanna.

"Just an unknown traveler, don't be curious about my name - it's good for both of us."