Chapter 1432 - 17: Preparing to Set Out

Farewell gathering.

The atmosphere inside suddenly turned cold. Except for Rod, who was too drunk to know anything, everyone sobered up a bit and glanced toward the door, where Watson, who had taken over Oscar’s body, was standing.

Lorenzo looked like he understood everything. His expression twisted slightly, switching from cruel to smiling, repeating this process several times before sighing helplessly. He picked up the wine bottle, walked back to the sofa, and moved it toward the door, then sat down heavily.

"Farewell gathering..."

Lorenzo muttered the word and then forcefully drank wine.

No one spoke this time; they just waited quietly. They didn’t know what they were waiting for, but they maintained a calm silence by mutual agreement.

"A farewell gathering... I’ve always thought funerals could count as farewell gatherings, only not as joyful as this.

Lorenzo understood why this group gathered here. It wasn’t just for reunion or joy; it was also a wartime assembly.

As books often say, the train waits on the tracks, soldiers and their families share thoughts of longing and reluctance, and then, under many gazes, they walk down the path of no return.

Lorenzo was prepared for this, but he didn’t expect it to happen now.

Unexpected, yet not so unexpected, his feelings were quite complex. The hard-won joy vanished at this moment, but Lorenzo also felt another sensation.

A sort of... wondrous relief.

Finally, this lengthy journey was nearing its end.

It was something worth celebrating and also something making people anxiously uneasy.

Lorenzo took deep breaths, transforming back into his expert persona. He crossed his legs, and despite being wrapped in a blanket, looking rather ridiculous, the laughable aspect couldn’t mask the chilling aura spreading from him.

"So, what happened? Watson,"

Lorenzo asked in a deep voice.

Watson didn’t waste words and answered decisively.

"The Well of Ascension is unrestful; perhaps the Static Holy Temple has already fallen."

As the words fell, invisibly, the indoor temperature seemed to drop dramatically. Even the flames in the fireplace dimmed a bit. Apart from the passed-out Rod, everyone’s spirits were overshadowed by clouds, with cold hands, feet, and pale faces.

This was different from the issues they dealt with before. This time, they faced the root source of demons, the end of erosion, the enemy of disorder and chaos.

For thousands of years, glorious civilizations never completely exiled it, leaving only the smallest spark handed over to the later people of the ages, and now, they would wage the final battle to end this lengthy war.

"So, The Inexpressible is more ’awake’ than we imagined. It hasn’t completely fallen into slumber; its murmurs still possess the ability to interfere with the present world," Lorenzo said hesitantly.

"I initially suspect that it’s due to the eradication of ’paths’ and the demonstration of anti-meme power, making it feel threatened, which is why it no longer lies dormant and chooses to forcefully interfere."

Watson responded, her consciousness swiftly traversing these days, crossing through one [gap] after another. Though powerful, this also brought her an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.

"It’s difficult to kill, but it can be exiled from our cognition, rendered forgotten and obliterated forever."

Watson confirmed, this was humanity’s only chance of victory. They didn’t need to kill The Inexpressible, only exile it.

"So, what’s this? Pre-war mobilization? The monster has awoken; surely we can’t just sit idle, right?"

The long-despressed Red Falcon finally spoke, lying on the back of the sofa in a comically similar posture to Lorenzo, though without the solemn expression. Even at this moment, he was still cracking odd jokes.

"Thinking about it, we could count as witnesses of history, right? Would we be written into textbooks?"

"Stop imagining, Red Falcon. All of this right now, every bit, is a flawed history that should be corrected."

Bola spoke at this time.

"Whether it’s the Evangelical Church or the Purification Mechanism, we should be the forgotten entities of history, not to mention The Inexpressible."

"So we won’t be in textbooks?"

Red Falcon hadn’t thought that far; he only cared about the damned textbook.

"Instead of worrying about textbooks, I think you’d better worry about whether we can win this battle first. If we fail..." Shao Liangxi walked over and knocked on Red Falcon’s head.

"If we fail, the Nation-Builders will continue the war, keeping the population below the alert level, and we’ll do everything possible to repair the Well of Ascension, trying to restore its dormant state."

Shao Liangye continued Shao Liangxi’s words.

"Is there still a chance for correction? Though this chance sounds extremely bloody."

Heracles rubbed Polo’s head, talking softly, then raised his head, asking the others.

"So at this farewell gathering... or funeral, anyway, the role I’m supposed to play is being a family member saying goodbye?"

Heracles was very candid, "I’d only be a hindrance on the battlefield, so am I here to say farewell to the ’deceased’?"

No one answered, but everyone seemed to understand the positioning of their roles.

This was a gathering, a farewell gathering, a funeral, with both the living and the deceased.

"The deceased, the families..."