Gun of Ashes

”Shermans is dead.”

The Plague Doctor walked briskly into the room, delivering the latest news, while the person sitting by the window seemed not to have heard any of it. He hung his head low, facing the torrential rain outside. Countless candles quietly burned at the edge of the chair, with flowing wax outlining intricate symbols on the floor.

Lawrence had been like this lately. After acquiring a youthful body, Lawrence became increasingly inscrutable. Sometimes, even the Plague Doctor himself was unsure what Lawrence was thinking. He was like a cold, treacherous snake, lurking in the shadows, ready to strike lethally with poisonous fangs.

The Plague Doctor cautiously approached. On the table was the ink mixed with Secret Blood, and a finished letter lay to the side, just waiting to be mailed.

Lawrence seemed to have fallen asleep, but the Plague Doctor knew very well that he was traversing the [Gap]. No one knew where Lawrence’s consciousness was at that moment.

”Authority · Gabriel...”

Even the Plague Doctor, facing this mysterious power, couldn’t help but feel envy and fear, like confronting a warm flame—it can drive away the cold but also burn you to ashes.

This power had transcended material things, touching upon the ”spiritual” aspect that all Alchemists delve into. With such power, a person’s will could traverse different bodies like a Ghost, or even possess them, gaining ”rebirth.”

Just like that, silently occupying another’s life.

How could such forbidden and malicious power not incite fear? Even the Plague Doctor kept recalling that ominous scene—something crawling out of the dying body, viscous and foul-smelling, without a fixed shape, like a mass of invisible sludge, possessing life as it slowly squirmed. It gradually squeezed into another empty shell.

Since then, the Plague Doctor always felt wary of Lawrence. Besides these, it was also the first time the Plague Doctor experienced a deeper understanding of the distortion of the world.

How long is the history of the Evangelical Church? So long that it seemed to exist the moment books began recording it.

At that moment, the Revelation appeared in the Evangelical Church’s cognition, and over millennia, the Evangelical Church created the Demon Hunting Order through the knowledge in the Revelation.

The Plague Doctor recalled what Lawrence had said before, that Authority · Gabriel had long been discovered by the Evangelical Church, but for unknown reasons, it was sealed away. Later, Lawrence, due to his aging body, re-excavated it.

It was a terrifying secret, a possibility that alone was enough to make the Plague Doctor feel fear.

So, in a forgotten time in the past, the Evangelical Church mastered Authority · Gabriel. Does it mean that a creature that can seize others’ lives in such a Ghostly manner, not just Lawrence, had similar Ghost-like existences appeared in history? Did they all die?

From a theoretical standpoint, such power could continuously change bodies to achieve immortality. Although Lawrence said it was his first time doing it, did those past Ghosts, by constantly changing identities, live in the shadows of the world, achieving an alternative immortality?

Such power... the power of immortality...

No one can refuse such temptation, even the Plague Doctor himself. Yet in the end, the Evangelical Church chose to seal this power away. Did they resist the temptation of immortality? Or did something happen? Did something happen that forced them to abandon immortality and seal away everything related to it?

The Plague Doctor dared not continue thinking. Beneath the heavy robes were eerie protrusions, as if a swarm of snakes were moving beneath the clothing, the oppressive cold like a sharp blade cutting into the Plague Doctor’s heart.

He could feel an invisible veil covering the world, hiding all secrets and leaving eyes to watch every person.

Standing still for a long time, the Plague Doctor’s gaze fell on the letter opener on the table. At this moment, Lawrence was utterly defenseless. If he wanted to, the Plague Doctor was confident he could kill him in an instant.

His gaze then fell on that newborn face. No one would associate the young man before them with the dying Dean Lawrence.

After feigning death, Lawrence did many things, and the entire situation developed as he anticipated. He was like a puppeteer, controlling everyone on this stage as his puppets. You think you’re awake, having escaped Lawrence’s control, but what you don’t realize is that in the corner you’ve ignored, he’s always influencing you.

”What kind of future do you see, Lawrence...”

A slightly muffled voice came from beneath the beak-shaped mask, and at this moment, a nameless wind rose in the sealed room, blowing the candle flames. Amid the flickering light, the dead body slightly moved, and Lawrence slowly opened his eyes.

”Plague Doctor?”

He pressed his temples; frequent [Gap] traversals were significantly exerting pressure on his spirit.

”Shermans is dead.”

The Plague Doctor said, his voice very calm, though it turned into a dull hum after passing through the mask.

”Dead?”

Lawrence slightly lifted his head, briefly glancing at the Plague Doctor, then turning his gaze to the gloomy rain outside the window.

”Shermans... although anticipated, his real demise brings a bit of surprise.”