Chapter 285: City in the Shadows
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Vivian's words were like a magical spell. Hao Ren and Hessiana quickly turned from neutral and friendly to something of a short fuse. If Vivian had not been beside Hao Ren, the miniature version of herself would have attacked him. Hao Ren looked haplessly at Hessiana's glaring eyes. He wanted to tell Hessiana: Vivian did not want to see her because of her unruly behaviour. If she had been behaving and refraining herself from causing any sexual disorientation in Vivian, the two of them would not have come to this point in their relationship! Vivian was kind; she had already buried the hatchet with Lily and it would be more so with the bat—her own kind.
In all honesty, he did not get the chance to tell her this; he was not sure whether Vivian or Hessiana would bite him first if actually said it?
Hao Ren got a little confused about the relationship between Hessiana and Vivian. His perspective of family relationship was being greatly challenged; were they mother-daughter or cousins? Lily's logic told her they were mother and daughter. After all, Hessiana was the "meat that fell off Vivian's body". But Hao Ren felt that there was no succession process taking place; the summoned bats were Vivian's clones and when her clones gained sentience, they became a derivative of the original. So without a doubt, they were cousins. He also remembered mitosis, which he had learned in biology class during his school years.
But unfortunately, he could not really tell what it was.
He decided not to care about what they were. Plus, he did not want to be a big mouth and end up being bitten by Vivian just because of his cognitive ignorance. He knew Vivian was mentally allergic to "the meat that fell off her body".
Fog engulfed their entire surroundings. Visibility was very poor. But, there was only one way, and that was to move forward. As long as they did not stray from the path, they were not going to get lost. However, there was something more than a densed fog; Hao Ren was almost certain that he saw something moving and disappearing very quickly in the fog. At times, he would see people in ancient Greek customes herding livestock, and other times, he would see people in modern suits moving about in a hurry. These strange visions occured on and off in the deepest part of the fog, like a mirage calling out to thirsty travellers in the desert. Hessiana quickly warned them not to stray from their path under their feet. "Don't ever get distracted by the foggy scenery. One misstep and you're stuck. The fog is a masterpiece of the Shadow Masters; it contains 3,500 years worth of memory sediments in Athens. Once you step into it, you'll be trapped in a random piece of memory, with no chance to escape I'm afraid. The fog doesn't go away, it stays there forever."
Hao Ren was filled with wonder and fear at the same time. He had no idea what kind of strange traps, or how many of them guarded the Fortress of Shadows, which lay ahead. All he knew was, there were reasons why the all-powerful demon hunters had failed to take down this sanctuary all these years. Even more incredible was the "real" Athens actually existing alongside the shadow world; people living under the sun not realising that in the shadow of the city, an entirely different world existed!
As they went further, the strange visions in the fog appeared even more frequently. Hao Ren saw a group of spear-wielding ancient soldiers walking in his direction, but as they approached, the soldiers suddenly turned into present day workers in suits; a 1920s car blasting its horn emerged from the densed fog, running through Y'zaks and disappearing at the other end of the fog; there was even a group of Nazi German soldiers behind them. This more-recent-memory was a lot more vivid as Hao Ren could see the light reflections on the buttons of the Nazi soldiers' uniform. As they went farther, more old and modern buildings lined both sides of the road. Clearer images surfaced and some of them were obviously not memories. Their behaviours were clearly different from the visions they saw; they seemed to be lost in the fog. Hessiana pointed at these phantoms and lamented. "Those are the hapless ones, trapped; some are otherworldly criminals who were thrown into the fog; some are wretched souls who offended the guards and some are naive demon hunters. No one can fight the 3,500-year-old memories of this city. Anyone who gets trapped in the fog will be consumed by it and what's left will be broken images of the moments before their death. I don't know how good you guys are, but my advice is, don't try anything stupid and don't challenge the defenses of the Shadowy Divide, those things are nasty."
Hessiana made it clear to emphasise the danger of these traps. Hao Ren knew it; this girl obviously inherited her temperament from Vivian. So he smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder, we'll be careful..."
Hessiana sneered at him and turned her head away, like a child throwing a tantrum. Hao Ren was given a cold shoulder but it caused him no harm.
Suddenly, the fog subsided and visibility was restored.
"Here it is." Hessiana pointed down at the scenery beneath them. "Welcome to the other Athens—one of the safest places on this planet."
"Whoa..." exclaiming in awe, Lily raised her neck and looked into the distance.
They were standing on the platform of a building, overlooking the city. The sky was gloomy like it was covered by a layer of curtain or a sea of clouds; it totally obscured the sun and the moon. Under the gloomy sky lay a strange city completely different from the actual Athens: the city was built up of classical architecture straight out of historical paintings. Buildings were built using stones and oddly shaped sculptures were everywhere, most of which were circular, ancient Greek columns as well as ridged houses. But there were also steeple-styled houses and castles, which looked out of place, giving the impression that this place was neither a fish nor fowl. But undeniably, the architecture in its own was valuable. No industrial architecture or technological building techniques of today could compare to them. There was no comparison because you would not find meticulously carved columns, beautifully painted doors, ingeniously lain slates and painstakingly carved reliefs in any other place. As the sky was void of sunlight and moonlight, man-made light sources were everywhere—on bthe uildings and in the streets. However, where they got the energy from was a mystery.
Looking at the city, Hao Ren felt like he was in a wrong timeline, even a wrong world: the city was full of classical architecture of different eras and regions. It was as if the city's architect could not wait to show off all his creations at once. The buildings were totally out of place yet, the everything was so detailed. Hao Ren pointed to a mansion near him. "This mansion doesn't look like it was built 3,000 years ago."
"It's just a sanctuary, not something permanent. Sometimes wanderers from other places would check in. Houses of different styles and eras in the city are passed down from generation to generation. There were people who got bored and had nothing else to do, so they would alter the houses; a mansion today, a castle tomorrow. Some would even dig a hole and live underground the next day. What we have is time and energy, but nothing to do.
"Where did they get the materials from?" Hao Ren asked curiously.
Till a moment ago, Hessiana had refused to talk with Hao Ren, but she had since forgotten about the grudge she held against him. She responded, "The elders hauled in two hills to build the Fortress of Shadows. We also found a safer way to bring in materials. We mined for stones and moved things underground; the demon hunters didn't know. They couldn't possibly monitor the whole world all the time."
Vivian looked down at the city and frowned. "Such an ignorant bunch... This is flashy and impractical."
Hao Ren hemmed and murmured to her, "Ehem, didn't you say it was your dream to stay in a castle?"
Vivian blushed and she jabbed him before glaring at him.