Chapter 64 The Hell of Cognition (Part One)
“Go.”
I waved at the Sword Ghost and continued walking forward, “Let’s see what’s happening.”
Whether she could remember or not, what was going on in this silent castle now? What was the Church doing inside? Why was the Sword Ghost suffering from memory confusion? Where did those vanished knights and refugees go? And—where were those women who had endured so much torment now, and how were they faring?
Everything would become clear once we took a look. Let’s take a look.
Then, we’ll decide what to do next.
Under the scorching sun, treading on lush grass, breathing in the natural fragrance, I quickened my pace towards the castle. Soon, the sound of the Sword Ghost’s footsteps followed behind me.
“You seem a bit angry,” she said, her tone indifferent, as if she had already recovered from her previous panic and pushed those matters aside—I didn’t turn to confirm her expression, but it sounded like that.
“Really?”
I couldn’t help but pout slightly.
She hadn’t shown any expression all along, so why would she say that? “Intuition.”
Ah.
She was saying such nonsense again. Screw intuition.
“Are you scared?”
I didn’t want to engage with her and changed the subject casually. “Scared.”
The Sword Ghost’s answer was without hesitation, but at the same time, her footsteps grew closer, quickening to catch up with mine: “I don’t like things I can’t understand.”
“Still following me even though you’re scared?”
Noticing she was on my right side, but deliberately lagging half a step behind, I glanced out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t discern anything from her expression, but I could feel her body tensing slightly, her hands hugging her sword tightly, her right hand resting lightly on the hilt, ready to draw at any moment.
Is she planning to lure me into some perilous situation and then escape?
I probed casually while observing her face covertly. My steps quickened, and the female swordsman’s pace followed suit. However, after waiting for a moment, I heard no words of justification from her.
This person has gone silent again.
Shouldn’t she say something at this point? Any excuse would do, just to ease my suspicions. Come on, show some sincerity!
Pfft.
I clicked my tongue, feeling somewhat annoyed. How boring.
Forget it, I won’t tease her anymore. “Sword Ghost.”
I called her, “You said you couldn’t remember, was it only when you returned here that you suddenly realized it? Did you never realize it during the time after leaving the Silent Castle?”
The wind blew coolly, rustling through my hair. It wasn’t cold, but it made my hair messy. I used my little finger to push away the strands that blocked my vision, hearing the slow response from the female swordsman beside me.
“No.”
She seemed to be speaking while thinking, her tone disjointed, sounding somewhat confused: “When I returned here, seeing the castle and campsite, some things came back to me. Before that, I don’t know why, but I didn’t actively think about anything specific related to the Silent Castle. I have some fragments in mind, but I’m not sure how the whole process unfolded.”
I couldn’t help but interrupt: “Because you didn’t want to think about it?”
“I don’t know.”
After a long period of thought, the female swordsman finally shook her head gently: “Anyway, I haven’t been able to recall anything. I just feel that this place is very dangerous, and I can’t come back. I need to get higher and farther away.”
…
So, rather than amnesia, it sounds more like some kind of “memory interference,” doesn’t it?
[As for those royal guards who were taken away, I later asked them. Guess what? Since their return, they’ve been acting strangely about many things in the valley…
[However, he did not remember at all.]
Suddenly, memories of what Reckt had previously told me flashed through my mind.
[It’s terrifying. I don’t know how the Church does this, but those who have been in contact with those who escaped the valley and were then taken by the Church, when they return, it’s as if some force has erased parts of their memory. They don’t even remember having been there, let alone remembering anyone who came out of the valley and spoke to them; they know nothing about it.]
[It’s like suddenly, a short blank period appears in one’s life.]
La贝尔大峡谷
The place where the mountain collapse first occurred – Ilyush深渊
The patients. And—
[None of us will harm you. You just need to sleep well. When you wake up, the world will revert to its original state. You won’t remember tonight’s events, and I won’t let you have any bad memories.]
In that nightmarish night, Angel’s voice, which was like a nightmare, resurfaced clearly in my mind again.
[Little Charcoal, go to sleep obediently. Let me take you back to your memories.]
The memories that were erased by Angel and his group using unknown means. Even after fusing with divine power, there are still many things I can’t recall. After disappearing and leaving the Valen Empire, and finally transforming into a monster and being reborn from the abyssal mud—
During those two years, the important memories I lost.
What kind of force or thing caused me to lose these memories, allowing them to deceive and control me, manipulating me like a puppet?
The answer might be here. Perhaps—
“What’s wrong?”
The words of the female swordsman beside me blurted out, startling me out of my reverie.
I exhaled lightly, calming the complex emotions surging within me, then turned my head: “Do you know if there’s something in the Church that can clear or alter people’s memories?”
After I asked this, the female swordsman’s expression visibly changed: “Is there?” She was unsure.
But such a reaction alone wasn’t enough for me to fully believe her.
“That night, when you caught me in Woodward Forest, weren’t you with Angel and his group? Do you know what we were doing there?”
“Yes,” she blinked, not understanding the meaning behind my question.
“Then how much do you know about them, those who wear black cloaks?”
The female swordsman lowered her head and thought for a moment: “They’re a very secretive group within the Church, called the Hymn Choir. Their duties seem similar to mine, doing cleanup work.”
“Anything else?” I continued to probe.
“I only know this,” the female swordsman shook her head. “That night, our tasks were different. Others, I’m not sure about. I was only responsible for combat and arrived earlier than them. Before you even entered that tree, I had already rushed over to help block an outsider for you.”
?
There was such a thing? Oh.
It seems there really was.
Just as I was about to rush into Dragon Territory and take a Moon Step, I was stopped by that old heretic. At that time, indeed, there was a flash of lightning that blasted away that old guy for me.
Was it the Sword Ghost?
I couldn’t see clearly at the time.
“We’re not on the same side,” the female swordsman seemed to sense my lingering doubt, so she emphasized once more. Apart from that, she didn’t know what else to say.
“Mm.”
I nodded, no longer speaking. Anyway, asking wouldn’t get me anything.
Before long, we crossed the grassland and followed a narrow path leading to the castle, heading north. Along the way, I was lost in thought. By the time I realized it, we were already less than a kilometer away from the camp outside the castle, with countless dilapidated tents and makeshift shacks made of earth and wood in sight.
~Wait!
Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks.
