Pillar of Yita

The night at Crosswind Harbor seems to come earlier than elsewhere; twilight descends subtly, with the sunset sinking into the Cloud Sea, painting the sky with fiery clouds. Soon, even the last trace of red light gradually fades away.

Lights illuminate the harbor, resembling stars fallen onto the earth, lighting up sequentially from afar to near, gathering into a vast river in the darkness, reflected in Fang Hong’s eyes, dark, cold, yet carrying a sliver of warmth.

This boundless universe, in the eyes of humanity, seems to contain the ultimate answer to all questions—but cannot answer the doubt in his heart at this moment:

Did he come to this world out of his own volition? Or is it an inevitability amid countless possibilities?

Is someone manipulating this possibility?

Just like the events that happened to his parents years ago.

The understanding of seventeen years was overturned overnight, making it hard for him not to have such thoughts. Is his life in his own hands, or is it being manipulated by an unseen large hand in the Netherworld?

Of course, Fang Hong realizes rationally that manipulating a person’s trajectory is theoretically almost impossible; the more complex and intricate the plan, the harder it is to speak of its feasibility. But his mindset right now struggles not to consider it all from the angle of conspiracy theory—

Perhaps it’s irrational, but it aligns with the emotional need.

What kind of face is hidden behind the ID Rekehtopa?

Due to the death of that Stargate Port employee, it’s difficult to believe that its intentions were benevolent or inadvertent.

The reason is so straightforward, just as the Raven accompanies the corpse, death always follows the conspiracy like a Shadow—

Assuming this ID hides a vast network enveloping him, Fang Hong still finds a shred of reason amidst layers of fear. This stems from the instincts honed over these days, learning to find opportunities within dire straits, and the method of calm reflection taught by Miss Tata in crises.

The key is, when did this vast network come to his side?

The possibility of identifying him from his inadvertent comments in the community almost doesn’t exist. That would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, especially when his uncle’s family protects him so meticulously that even he doesn’t know his biological parents’ lives, let alone how others could confirm?

Thus, it seems possible to rule out any suspicions regarding his teacher; his acquaintance with R was full of chance, and the other party never encouraged him to come to this world. In his eyes, R’s teaching is more like throwing out pranks, wanting to see him give up, but time and again he defies expectation, both enjoying the feeling.

Of course, whenever he finds it hard to solve a problem, the other would not miss the chance for sneering comments; even the teacher-student relationship was something he persistently sought.

As for Shana—Shana, mentioning this ID brought Fang Hong slight doubts, and he couldn’t yet exclude these people as possibilities. He didn’t understand their intentions for him, just as he didn’t understand Rekehtopa’s.

If Rekehtopa intentionally sent him to this world, it’s possible the other still supervises him through some unknown method, which is a natural thought, just as one wouldn’t easily let their investment go to waste.

Therefore, the objectives of Shana and these people are highly suspicious. Fang Hong also learned another thing in these days: not to draw conclusions rashly before a fact is confirmed. He can harbor doubts but should remain cautious, as prejudice can cloud the recognition of truth.

Setting aside those acquaintances from the community for the time being, the only avenue remaining for the other party to find his identity is through reality, which actually has quite a few methods, given his relationship with his uncle’s family and his birth are apparent.

The military can trace back his guardianship with his uncle’s family from more than ten years ago and retrieve records from the local court. Thus, those with intentions could find out through other means. Although it’s not something ordinary people could accomplish, he finds it hard to believe that the force behind an orchestrated air crash is ordinary.

The Invoker’s files have a certain level of secrecy, but so-called confidentiality measures are often relative. After experiencing so much, the most important lesson Fang Hong learned is, you can never be sure whether the person in front of you isn’t a Dark Follower, so most confidentiality measures hold little meaning.

In fact, the military’s biggest headache is this: the existence of Dark Followers breaks an established recognition, that most extreme religions and cult organizations usually maintain believers’ fighting power through their radical fundamentalism. It’s only natural; humans are inclined to comfort, and if they cannot self-brainwash, then the religion would scatter and lose combat ability like Ascetic Monks.

The more extreme the religion, the more so.

However, Dark Followers seem to break this norm. Most Dark Followers blend into normal society without appearing different, they don’t require any religious rituals for self-identification, nor need mutual supervision for faith consolidation.

But once the time comes, when the Dark Saints need their Believers to offer devotion, these Dark Followers will act efficiently, seemingly unwaveringly loyal and passionate. This isn’t to say there aren’t traitors among Dark Followers, but relatively few exist.