Gun of Ashes

This is a very peculiar feeling...

Countless emotions collide with Lorenzo’s mind, shattered memories pour over him like a torrential rain.

In this moment, Lorenzo once again realized the downside of Authority: Gabriel. Its power is beyond doubt, but it also has an extremely fatal flaw. In the intrusion of the [Gap], what is shattered is not only a person’s will but also the memories and emotions that have marked his life.

These things wash over Lorenzo’s will like a torrent. He stands like a stubborn rock in this flood, bearing the impact but not yet knocked down.

”Establish the Orthodoxy.”

”The founding of the Choir... you will be the first believers.”

”Sing of this beauty, pray for God’s blessings.”

”Secret Blood...”

Countless voices speak out, as if someone is whispering in Lorenzo’s ear, accompanied by a cacophony of noise. The scene before his eyes is fragmented, each piece a scene of a man’s personal experience, now all presenting themselves before Lorenzo.

It seems only a second has passed, yet it also feels like over ten years. Lorenzo has briefly glimpsed the man’s life in its entirety, a difficult emotion slowly rising.

The pressure gradually increases until there is a slight change in Lorenzo’s state of mind.

He felt it.

At this moment, Lorenzo felt a bizarre coldness, not a physical sensation, but a threat perceived by his inner will.

”Go and kill Erin Adler, she knows too much...”

”Ivar.”

”In the north of the Viking nations, at the end of that world...”

In the void world, Lorenzo was changing bit by bit, his familiar face starting to contort into the man’s appearance. As he received more and more information, Lorenzo was gradually being twisted into a completely different shape.

Just when success seemed near, he suddenly became aware of the threat of Authority: Gabriel.

”I am... Lorenzo Holmes.”

The man muttered absent-mindedly, and in the next moment, his voice turned into a roar. Flames burned beneath his dull gaze, the nameless force changing his body, correcting the twisted figure back again.

Lorenzo regained himself, taking a deep breath.

He realized the cost of this power and felt a chill in his heart.

When Lorenzo invaded the man’s [Gap], the man was simultaneously invading Lorenzo. It’s a mutual process, and under the flood of the man’s memories and emotions, a weak will can easily get lost, even if Lorenzo is the dominant party.

It was like when Lorenzo invaded 047 on the Night of the Holy Arrival, 047’s shattered will affected Lorenzo for a long time. Even though he recalled all of this and had the ability to completely destroy the man’s will, some stubborn remnants would always remain in Lorenzo’s own will.

”The more you invade, the closer you are to getting lost...”

Lorenzo murmured to himself, starting to understand why this Authority was deliberately sealed away.

This is a powerful force, but it absolutely cannot be abused.

The result of abuse is that the remnants of will accumulate more and more, and when they start affecting oneself... Lorenzo is not sure what would happen.

However, Lorenzo was not overly worried. Since he possessed this power, including this time, he has only destroyed the will of others three times.

047, Horner, and now the man he is dealing with.

”So, let me see if there’s any useful information...”

Lorenzo ”looked” toward those fragments of memory.

Based on Lorenzo’s current understanding of the [Gap], it is a consciousness space that everyone possesses, storing the human soul.

The scenes presented by the [Gap] vary for each person, Lorenzo speculates it depends on where personal emotions are most intense.

For Lorenzo, it is the boundless ice field beneath which the deep sea buries the ships he used to escape the Seven Hills, with the wrecks resting one by one with the Demon Hunters.

If Lorenzo could know Hig’s [Gap], he would realize his speculation is correct, as Hig’s [Gap] is his hometown.

These are the places where emotions are most intense.

Humans themselves cannot actively spy on their own [Gap]. It usually requires some means to assist, such as Wind Tobacco or the influence of a Demon... these can all be understood as a deepening pathway, heading deeper into the darkness.

Authority: Gabriel allows Lorenzo to easily invade others’ [Gaps], destroying others’ wills within those [Gaps]... or what is known as the soul, thus killing others and taking over their bodies.

Now Lorenzo has destroyed the man’s will, and as the will dies, the [Gap] begins to collapse into a void of darkness, where broken lights emerge. Those are his emotions and memories, like embers after a burn, emitting the last of their faint light.

He is not quite sure if the rules he is familiar with in reality apply here, but like an instinct, he managed to ”peek” at those memories.

Lorenzo silently recited his own name, reminding himself of who he really is, and then began to touch these memories.

...

”This is the Secret Blood.”

The Plague Doctor stood before everyone, holding up a syringe containing a liquid as clear as a ruby, transparent and brilliant.

This seemed to be a chapel, but there was nothing sacred about it at this moment. Instead, it was filled with a sense of evil anomaly and oppression.