Chapter 61: The Afterglow of Lamplight – Branlit – Guide of the Forsaken

The young girl's eyes grew moist.

She had no living family left in this world.

When Phyllis first learned the news, her initial reaction was a tongue-tied grief, followed by a profound, crushing helplessness.

Yet now, looking at the flowing ocean current analysis glowing across the screen, she understood.

Some things are never truly gone.

In the course of a human life, one must experience three deaths.

The first death: the heartbeat stops, breathing fades, and a person is declared biologically dead.

The second death: the burial, where people attend the funeral dressed in black, proclaiming that the interred person no longer exists in this society and has quietly departed.

The third death: when the last person on earth who remembers them forgets them. Only then do they truly die, and the entire universe ceases to have any relation to them.

However.

It was precisely because of this research that the name of Anthony Elinou would forever remain engraved in the chronicles of civilization.

[Notice: Signs of transcendent awakening detected.]
[Notice: Sublimation lineage detected: Chronicler]
[Notice: Transcendent trait 'Nascent State': Storm Watcher]

Ten o'clock at night.

Around the coastal research institute, pure white memorial lights flickered on, one by one.

At the same time, Su Wen looked toward the glowing lights outside the window.

Only then could he clearly see them.

They were rows of solemn tombstones.

Phyllis Elinou explained in a soft voice:

"Beneath every tombstone is buried a former administrator of the Samoa Islands Storm Observatory. Among them lies my father."

And just at that moment, illuminated by the roadside lamps, Su Wen spotted figures hiding in the deeper forest beyond the graveyard—mutants bearing deep-blue scales upon their faces.

Their eyes had transformed into vertical pupils, akin to those of lizards.

[Appraisal: Mutant of the Surging Tide Cult, formed through the fusion of Deep Sea Syndrome and Abyss Pollution, a genetically corrupted entity.]
[Phase Quest Update: Eliminate the mutants of the Surging Tide Cult.]

Through his appraisal, Su Wen determined that every single enemy before him was at least of the Second Tier or higher.

The Third-Tier high-ranking prelate standing at the very forefront exhibited even more pronounced traits of deep-sea scales and vertical slit pupils, towering at a full three meters in height.

In an icy, sinister tone, the prelate spoke:

"Voss-Constance transmitted the message to us before he drew his final breath. It was you who used unparseable means to kill him. Furthermore, the most vital sacrifice is right here. Kevin. You have reached the end of your road."

Right at that instant, naval warships in the distance, commanded by Colonel Ulysses, rushed to the scene.

A deafening roar of artillery shells fell precisely outside the perimeter of the graveyard, instantly obliterating seven or eight mutants of the Surging Tide Cult.

Yet the prelate standing at the front showed no fear. He said coldly:

"All sacrifices are worthwhile. Hold them back."

At that exact moment, twelve mutants of the Surging Tide Cult simultaneously chose to slash their own throats.

Cerulean storms pierced straight into the high heavens.

They sacrificed themselves.

And in doing so, they forged an impassable [Storm Rampart] that intercepted all kinetic projectile weapons.

The deep-blue wind wall acted like a wall of sighs, deflecting and isolating every missile fired from afar.

"Naval reinforcement. Was this also part of your plan? Kevin, I truly admire your formidable logical deduction. But that is all."

The leader, accompanied by his diminished cultists, continued to close in on the building.

Hearing their arrogant taunts, Su Wen stood inside the room, exhibiting absolute calmness.

He had already swiftly finished reading through the journal left behind by the coastal scientist.

And there, he saw the final handwritten passage left by a father to his daughter:

*(After 13.8 billion years, from the singularity to heat death, we have traversed countless galaxies—from quarks to atoms, from nucleic acids and proteins to Homo sapiens.*

*Humans should not fear danger because we once set forth from the singularity together, gazed across the Black Eye Galaxy, lingered within the spiral arms of the Milky Way, were captivated by the solar corona, and ultimately settled into the crashing waves of the ocean.*

*Phyllis. My daughter.*

*Once you have witnessed the faint micro-light of every breaking wave, you will likely never again fear the vast, boundless ocean before you.)*

"Some people may be completely gone, yet they are still remembered by civilization," Su Wen murmured quietly.

"While some monsters—even every single drop of blood they splatter upon their deaths—constitute a desecration of this coastline."

He closed the journal.

Then, with solemn care, he handed it to the young girl beside him, offering a gentle word of comfort:

"Don't worry. Wait for me here."

Gazing at the massive horde of deep-sea aberrations outside the window, he calmly pushed open the door of the research institute, fixing his gaze upon the deeply oppressive prelate of the Surging Tide Cult.

"I am indeed merely a First-Tier transcendent, a mere bystander. But your conclusion is wrong. Dead wrong. Because I am not alone."

In a flash, the warm, faint glow of a lantern lit up within the graveyard.

A string of brilliant sparks ascended into the sky.

A silent oath followed:

*【I mourn the dead, just as Helenina vows for the living】*
*【In silence alone, words are born; in darkness alone, light is made; in death alone, new life is attained; fireflies plummet into the void, bright as the dawn.】*
*【I am the ferryman of the forgotten—'Afterglow of the Lamp'—Branlit】*

Su Wen recalled the additional conditions Voss-Constance had specified when providing the sacrificial ritual for the storm griffin Fugarlo:

*【The heavier the oath one takes, the easier it is to receive the divine protection of the gods. But conversely, the path ahead becomes all the more treacherous. This is a rule followed by both orthodox and abyssal cults alike.】*

At that time, he had not yet gained the gaze of 'Afterglow of the Lamp' Branlit.

But now, everything was different.

Su Wen raised the lantern in his left hand and pressed his right hand to his chest, speaking with utmost solemnity:

"Branlit, Kevin-Eder swears here and now: if the will of the dead is insufficient to bring salvation, I am willing to offer my own life to carve out a path for the living."

In an instant, the faint light of the lantern surged upward, projecting a magnificent vista of the Silver Sea, grand as the Milky Way itself.

That familiar sigh echoed in Su Wen's ears:

*【Do you truly comprehend the weight of life?】*
"I do."
*【Even so, do you still possess the resolve to face death head-on?】*
"I do."
*【Do you truly comprehend the despair of death?】*
"I do."
*【Even so, are you still willing to bear the countless wills that have vanished with hope along this coastline for thousands of years?】*
"I do."
*【Never forget the promise you make today.】*
"Perhaps more terrifying than death itself is the loss of hope."
*【Very well.】*
*【Go forth carrying the lamp.】*
*【I have never left.】*
*【I am the ferryman of the forgotten—'Afterglow of the Lamp'—Branlit.】*
*【Until your journey reaches its end.】*
*【At that time, we shall meet again.】*

Behind Su Wen, the insignia belonging to the deity flared to life, and simultaneously, more lanterns rose into the air.

Those hazy, warm, and gentle lights did not merely guide souls after death.

The afterglow of the lamp surely illuminated every existence possessing a soul, every moment without pause, until the very instant of their death.

Even when unperceived, it remained tireless and unwearied, bearing silent benevolence and equal compassion.

[Obtained Sublimation Lineage: Dawn Priest]
[You have obtained a Fragment of Transcendent Knowledge (2/3): The Manifestation Point of Branlit's Lantern—The Sea of Lost Souls—The Violet Tower of the Eternal Night Realm]