The long dusk has ended and night has fallen.

The electric lights were turned on, dispelling the darkness in the room. Taran El stood in front of the window, frowning and gazing at the streets outside the window - the light of the gas lamp illuminated the streets, and occasionally one could see patrolling knowledge guards with warning dogs appearing near the intersections. Apart from that, the whole city seemed to be dead in the night, empty and silent.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally withdrew his gaze from the window, looked at the piles of organized materials and books on his desk, and sighed imperceptibly.

He had sorted all these things out before the sun set, and next, it was time to pack them up and send them to the academy's library - there was a new office there, blessed by the God of Wisdom and with many divine protections, where he could safely conduct research and reading.

But only a few scholars are eligible to get a "safe room" in the college library. For the vast majority of people, "reading" becomes a taboo after the sun sets. For safety reasons, all books must be sealed during the night until the next sunrise - this is also part of the "night ban" just issued by the Government Affairs Office.

At the same time, teaching activities in schools everywhere must also be stopped - the young students do not have enough strength and experience to deal with the monsters chasing them from the spirit world and the deep sea, which is too dangerous.

Of course, some people think that the situation in Breeze Harbor is not that bad, because the luminous geometric object next to the city-state has power similar to that of the sun. Within the coverage of its "sunlight", people may still be able to live and conduct research in a normal way - but this is just a guess after all. People have never tested the power of the luminous geometric object in such a long night, and they cannot be sure of the limit of its protection, so they naturally cannot take the risk.

As far as Taran El knows, there is already a group of scholars conducting tests in this regard near the luminous geometric objects. They are fully armed and protected by equally armed guards. They will try to "read under the cover of night" at different times and locations to confirm the protective effect of the "sunlight".

But not even Taran Eyre knew how long this test would last or how many times it would need to be verified.

The door opened, and the young apprentice Joshua walked into the room, pushing a cart. He was a little stunned when he saw the teacher: "...You haven't been to the library yet?"

"I'll go with the next group of people," Taran El said casually, pointing to the things on the table. "The things have been sorted out. Just take these on the table and leave the others here... I'll be back after dawn."

"Okay, teacher." Joshua agreed honestly, and began to quietly bundle and pack the organized books and materials on the table and move them to the cart. He kept his head down the whole time, as if to avoid seeing the words on the materials, or as if to avoid seeing the teacher's eyes.

"After you finish cleaning up here, you can go home with the others," Taran looked at his young apprentice and suddenly said casually, "You have a holiday."

"Can I go to the library with you?" Joshua hesitated and looked up. "I... still have a paper to finish."

"You're starting to make progress now?" Taran raised his eyebrows and said in a deliberately teasing tone, "Don't you usually clamor for a holiday?"

Joshua pursed his lips, seeming a little embarrassed: "I..."

"Okay, just kidding," Taran laughed and shook his head gently, "Go home and don't think about your thesis - those 'safe houses' in the Great Library are not that safe. Experienced scholars like me know how to conduct research carefully with the cooperation of those protective measures, but young people like you can't do that... Even if the safe house blocks the entities of those evil spirits, the whispers from the books will make you lose your mind.

"Go on vacation, have a good rest, and recharge your batteries. We will have long days ahead of us... and then you won't have such a comfortable vacation."

Joshua just nodded slowly after listening to the teacher's words. Then he hesitated for a while before he boldly asked, "Will the day really come after this?"

"...Yes," Taran looked into his apprentice's eyes and said with an extremely serious expression, "Remember? You and I calculated the sun's setting speed together, and it fell below the sea level on time according to our calculations - it will also rise according to our calculations later, but it will take some time."

The somewhat tense expression on the young man's face seemed to finally relax a little. He silently packed up the remaining things, respectfully said goodbye to the teacher, and then pushed the cart out of the room.

Taran El watched Joshua leave. After a long while, he suddenly turned his head toward the window and said, "How long are you going to watch over there?"

The air near the window suddenly twisted slightly, and the figure of Ted Lill, the Keeper of Truth, emerged from the air: "I just don't want to disturb your communication with your apprentice."

"...You still dare to use 'miracle' to travel?" Taran glanced at the keeper of the truth, "Have you forgotten about the last time you did the warp butterfly stroke?"

Ted's expression twisted for a moment, and then he suppressed the trembling of his eyes: "Of course I have confirmed that it is safe... Do you have such a big grudge?"

Taran didn't say anything, but just silently gave a middle finger.

Ted's mouth twitched, then turned into an embarrassed smile.

"Shouldn't you be taking your guards to protect the city at night?" Taran asked casually, "How come you still have time to join me in the fun?"

"I finally don't have to face the cram school essays that a bunch of rookies put together, and I'm in a good mood now, so I came to talk to you - is this an okay reason?"

Taran didn't say anything, just silently looked at the keeper of truth in front of him.

"...Okay, I'm here to personally escort the second group of scholars, including you, to the Great Library," Ted shrugged, "A squadron of knowledge guards is already on standby downstairs. When the others are ready, you can come with me."

"Is it really that necessary? The Keeper of Truth will personally escort us?" Taran frowned. "It's only a 10-minute drive from here to the library. I can just drive there myself..."

"In the city-state of Moko, two scholars disappeared on their way to the library for refuge. The night swallowed them," Ted interrupted him. The keeper's expression gradually became serious. "The night has become more dangerous than we realize, and the 'knowledge' in your mind... is particularly sweet to 'them'."

Taran El was stunned for a moment, then turned silently and walked towards the low cabinet beside him.

"What are you going to do?" Ted asked curiously.

"Take my revolver, and the dagger and amulet for protection."

※※※

The sound of pages turning rang out in the room. Morrisby was writing on a thick notebook, following the records he had written previously. He would stop from time to time to think and adjust his train of thought.

His large notebook is filled with densely packed text records and abstract symbols, as well as many dazzling schematic diagrams that outline the appearance of the world.

He is completing one of his most important studies - trying to build a "model" that can explain the entire world, from the beginning of the Great Annihilation, to the opening of the deep sea era, to the current status of this "sanctuary" and its possible future.

This research had been going on for a long time, and he did not see the possibility of its completion until the world came to an end.

Not far from Morris's desk sat Shirley, who was dozing off, and Agou, who was concentrating on looking through some documents.

After an unknown amount of time, a low and vague murmur suddenly appeared in Morris's ears.

As the murmurs sounded, a chilly air suddenly filled the entire cabin! The room seemed to have suddenly turned into an ice cave, and the chill condensed on the roof like a substance, turning into white mist that drooped down. Invisible shadows gradually seeped out of the white mist, and stretched out a tentacle in the direction of Morris...

Without even looking up, Morris continued writing in his notebook and said casually, "Hit it down."

Before he finished speaking, Agou beside him suddenly turned into a whirlwind of broken bones and black smoke. Bone fragments and black mist whistled across the roof, and in the blink of an eye, it devoured the twisted creature that came in pursuit of knowledge.

The next second, Agou's figure returned to its original state and fell back to the ground.

Shirley woke up with a start: "Ah...ah?! What happened?!"

"Another shadow chasing knowledge," Agou muttered casually, turning his head to look at Shirley, "...You can continue to sleep, this is not coming for you."

Shirley thought about it and nodded: "Oh."

She simply crawled next to Agou, leaned against him and half-lytook down, and the next second she began to snore loudly.

Morris stopped what he was doing, raised his head and looked at Shirley helplessly, then sighed and lowered his head again, solemnly leaving the last footnote on this page of notes.

And just as he wrote the last letter, a strange voice suddenly came into his ears——

"Excellent research... You have lingered at the last gate of truth."

Morris was startled for a moment and looked up in the direction where the sound came from.

A figure in a tattered white robe was sitting quietly beside him, looking at the notes and materials spread out on the table with a gentle smile.

All his muscles tensed up instantly, and Morris reached for the revolver under the desk in the blink of an eye. Agou beside him also reacted immediately and stood up instantly - Shirley fell to the ground with a cry, and then she saw the uninvited guest who appeared in the room. She immediately widened her eyes, and a bone spur shot out from behind her like a sharp arrow, as if it would pierce the figure of the uninvited guest in the next second -

However, the figure in the tattered white robe just sat there quietly, as if unaware of the sudden rise in vigilance and hostility around him, and was still immersed in Morris's manuscript.

After two or three seconds, he slowly raised his head with a gentle smile on his face: "I want to talk to your captain."