Chapter 1171 - 118: The Keeper of Secrets

"World’s... End..."

Lorenzo gazed at the silent monuments, and in the next moment, he began to stride forward.

He sprinted across the ice, charging into the steel forest. Like a prisoner regaining freedom, he darted through with joyous eyes, searching for latent hope.

Turning, stepping back, advancing again, Lorenzo ran faster and faster, almost taking flight.

Footsteps echoed between them, striking the monuments and bouncing back, resonating together.

"Secret Keeper... Secret Keeper..."

He repeated incessantly, his painful mind overwhelmed by the ecstasy of hope.

Lorenzo didn’t know how long he had been running. Eventually, he slowed down, standing dazed among the monuments, looking up at the gradually dimming sky.

He had strange thoughts.

The towering monuments were like spears piercing the heavens, and Lorenzo, falling among them, was merely a corpse being penetrated on the verge of death.

He stared like this, unclear how much time passed.

...

Amid the dense monuments, sparks rose, and Lorenzo and his companions sat around the campfire, expressionless.

They had imagined the scenery at the world’s end, but never envisioned it to be like this, filled with diamond-shaped spires densely packed, engraved with names long forgotten.

This place wasn’t a site of hope, but a cemetery, a cyclical graveyard.

"Still haven’t found anything?"

Lorenzo heard the whistling of wind, high above, the Black Angel glided between the monuments, carving deep grooves into the ground before finally halting not far from the campfire.

"No, nothing at all."

Watson’s voice sounded; calm with a hint of disappointment.

Since arriving at this monument array, Lorenzo and others began searching for the presence of Secret Keepers. They ran wildly, surveilling every corner, but unfortunately, no matter their efforts, nothing was discovered.

Besides these silent monuments, there was nothing here, completely empty.

But Lorenzo didn’t want to give up. The Black Angel, with its speedy movement, ascended into the sky, peering down at the earth under starlight, but found nothing.

Just like their previous discoveries, apart from these towering monuments, there were no other structures here. Lorenzo attempted to explore based on prior ideas, eyes flickering over the flames, peering into the world beneath the ice surface, but the thickness of ice was too great. Lorenzo couldn’t see the monument’s base, only watching as iron-gray metal merged into darkness.

"How much lacquered antimony do we have left?"

Lorenzo pondered, slowly standing up, mobilizing the Secret Blood within his body.

"What are you planning to do?"

The Plague Doctor asked at this moment. He could feel Lorenzo’s urgency. They were just one step away from the gate of Truth, but now were stymied, unable to advance even slightly.

"Burn through the ice layers, like I said before. This ice appeared later; perhaps the gate lies beneath it."

While speaking, Lorenzo intended to deploy Authority·Michael, creating a large hole atop the ice layer.

"You’re gambling, Lorenzo; you can’t evaporate such a vast chunk of ice, you’ll exhaust yourself to death."

Watson replied calmly.

Not to mention the dense ice within the circular pit, the ice layer covering the monuments was immensely vast. Lorenzo’s vertical burn only scorched a pin-sized hole; a futile effort.

Lorenzo remained silent, lowering his head, gazing at the ice layer sealing darkness within its depths. It was like a smooth mirror, reflecting their pathetic and ludicrous figures.

"Perhaps this place really was established after the war, Holmes."

The Plague Doctor surveyed the surroundings, extending his hand to touch the cold metal surface, feeling the densely packed inscriptions.

"These monuments were indeed erected to commemorate the war’s sacrifices, located at the heart of the conflict."

"No, it can’t be. There must be something here, otherwise what’s the meaning behind the Watcher’s protection and the Anti-Meme?"

Lorenzo spoke anxiously, becoming afraid of failure. If they failed, all previous sacrifices would render meaningless.

"A ruse."

The Plague Doctor’s gaze dropped; he spoke somewhat sorrowfully.

"How to kill those endless pursuers of truth? Just tell them the truth lies there and set traps."

This was a hoax, a trap. These truth-chasing pursuers, having exhausted all efforts, eventually vanished here, dying before the gate of truth.

"What about Merlin? He came here and left alive. The Victoria Clan likewise obtained new knowledge here, along with the Nation-Builders."

Lorenzo felt a headache; all previous information indicated the existence of Secret Keepers, yet upon arriving here, there was nothing.

"But in fact, weren’t all the real insiders back then dead?"

Watson analyzed at this moment.

"The Victoria Clan received assistance from Secret Keepers, but all insiders from that time were dead. Even Victoria’s descendants are plagued by the King’s Curse.

Merlin? You mentioned he might have been affected by the Anti-Meme, unable to recall voyage details, remembering only the guiding aurora... perhaps he never reached this place. Merlin wasn’t clear on what the world’s end looks like either, was he?