Chapter 47: 46 Alchemy Council

Chris left the basement and with great agility jumped down from the manor’s window, not through the front door, but sprung on to the wall like a cat.

In the night, with his hands behind his back, he silently walked on the wall, then silently flipped down, and soon the boy disappeared behind a few trees.

The children in the orphanage were almost all asleep, even those who weren’t asleep didn’t notice Chris sneaking in.

The silver-haired boy quietly came to the yard and found Vanessa under a tree watching the stars; the girl didn’t realize he was there at all until she suddenly got tapped on the head.

“Ah! Chris, you scared me!”

Vanessa had no idea someone was approaching and her face turned pale with fright. When she saw the boy behind her, she immediately became annoyed and embarrassed.

In four years, she had grown quite a bit.

Even because girls mature earlier, Vanessa was now a little taller than Chris, although her right leg was still severely deformed, looking terrifying and nauseating.

Vanessa pointed seriously at Chris’s belly with her cane and frowned, “Apologize, Chris, you always like to scare people.”

Chris remained silent and, under the moonlight, looked very beautiful, like an angel without gender, which even stunned Vanessa for a second.

She sighed and said, “Chris, come sit, let’s watch the stars together.”

Chris calmly sat down next to the girl, knowing that Vanessa must have something on her mind, and quickly listened to her mumbling about her inner frustrations.

“Chris, I heard another story from Hospital Director Irene recently, it made me feel really conflicted.”

“In the story, a man with strong sense of justice let his enemy’s child go, which later led to all his own family members being killed by that child… Hospital Director Irene asked me if I would make the same choice as that man.”

Vanessa bowed her head, unable to figure it out, as she was too young.

“I don’t know what to do, but children are innocent either way, yet causing one’s own family members to die seems… quite foolish, doesn’t it?”

Chris didn’t utter a word, knowing that his sister was trying to gradually change Vanessa’s notions, and it was indeed becoming more effective.

But her heart seemed to be in pain, as moral dilemmas are often very fatal for those with strong morals.

For some reason, Chris suddenly remembered the girl who once claimed she would teach him a lesson. He didn’t really want Vanessa to change at all deep inside, but whatever he said, wasn’t he also actively influencing her like his sister?

“Follow, your heart.”

Under the night sky and the stars, his voice was calm and reassuring.

Vanessa turned to look at the silver-haired boy, was silent for a long time, and couldn’t help saying:

“I didn’t quite understand what you’re saying. Can’t you give me a more precise answer? Forget it, you’re terrible with words, and a bit strange, I can’t expect anything from you.”

Chris, now in a bad mood, stood up with a cold face, and the next moment, he was gone without a trace.

——

Byrne, Margaret, and their child lived in the best room of the Fischer family mansion, although it was still not comparable to Margaret’s previous living environment in Fein City.

He often stayed out all night. Many nights, he was either in the renovated workshop studying new drugs or secretly discussing hidden matters with Irene.

To protect his family in the war that was more than a decade away, for the greater good of the Fischer family, for the unfulfilled wishes of Lucius, Byrne had too many reasons not to rest easy at night.

Over the years, Margaret seemed to vaguely sense that he was hiding something, often questioning him indirectly, but Byrne managed to evade every time. The strong-willed Margaret was initially very unhappy but later stopped caring.

“Should I invest, or do something else?”

Byrne pondered what to do with the wealth the Fischer family now possessed.

Money, when continuously hoarded in hand without being put to use, always seems regrettable, but if invested unwisely or misused, one inevitable regrets it.

As he pondered over what to do, he calmly added a type of Class 0 Extraordinary Material to a vial containing his own blood, just as he had done before.

At that moment, a voice belonging to Byrne himself abruptly surfaced in his mind.

“Spirit Realm, Gate of Shadow”

He was slightly stunned, research on the Fischer family’s bloodline had been ongoing for years, but perhaps due to poor luck, he had only heard hints through the “Self-Extracted Formula’s” Extraordinary Trait twice before.

They were the Class 1 Extraordinary Material “Non-living Flower” and the enigmatic “Time of Ashes.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

According to Irene’s uncertain opinion, the so-called “Time of Ashes” might refer to the time represented by the Lord of Ashes among the otherworldly gods.

That is midnight.

As for the concept of the Lord of Ashes and otherworldly gods, Irene had suggested it was best not to speak too freely of them, as those fearsome entities do not belong to this world, and mentioning them too frequently might attract their attention.

Now, the third hint about Fischer blood surfaced in his mind, and it even mentioned the location of the “Spirit Realm!”

Byrne took a deep breath, able to smell the fresh scent of the Non-living Flower on the table.

“What, then, is this ‘Gate of Shadow’ mentioned after the Spirit Realm? It seems to exist within the Spirit Realm as some sort of ‘structure’ or perhaps refers to some other thing or concept and is not an actual physical gate?”

Byrne decided he would ask Irene the next day, as her knowledge of the mysteries of the Spirit Realm was vast, possibly the most extensive on the entire continent.

The next day, as dawn broke and the first ray of light hit the ground,

Byrne, who had found Irene, saw her sitting on the couch holding an envelope, her gaze flickering occasionally as if the contents of the letter had plunged the girl into deep contemplation.

“Irene, I would like to inquire about the ‘Gate of Shadow.’

Irene looked slightly startled, her eyes questioning as she asked Byrne, “Where did you hear about it? The Gate of Shadow is a concept of the Spirit Realm, existing on the periphery of the Spirit Realm.”

Byrne nodded and explained the hints that had appeared in his mind.

After listening to all the reasons and consequences, Irene thought for a moment and then continued, “I see, I understand now.”

She paused before going on, “The Gate of Shadow exists as a Spiritual Gateway on the edge of the Spirit Realm, but after we arrive in the Spirit Realm, we have no idea on which ‘island’ it is actually situated, so we must search repeatedly to find it, and the difficulty for you to get there is considerable.”

Byrne shook his head, unwilling to give up, and continued,

“But we must try. I’ve been researching the blood that flows in our veins for years now, and we’re finally on the brink of some results—we can’t give up halfway!”

His eyes grew steely with resolve. Sooner or later, the Fischer family had to set foot in the Spirit Realm, and it was better to start exploring it from his own generation than to leave the risk to his descendants.

Irene, after a long reflection, said indifferently, “We indeed cannot give up halfway. But if we are truly determined to go to the Spirit Realm, we must be well-prepared.”

After she finished speaking, she handed the envelope to Byrne. The text on it was like living golden tadpoles, wriggling before Byrne’s eyes.

He was startled but soon made out the contents of the letter before him, which turned out to be a very polite invitation.

The organization extending the invitation claimed to be the “Alchemy Council,” and Byrne furrowed his brow slightly as he faintly remembered having heard of it before.

It was said that the Alchemy Council was a secret organization formed by spellcasters adept in alchemy, specializing in the sale and auction of various items, including but not limited to alchemical tools and Mysterious rare artifacts, and even illegal contraband.

His heart skipped a beat; after all, many items were difficult to obtain through normal means, like Treasure class Mysterious rare artifacts that were hard to come by through transactions.

Irene calmly rose from the couch and took back the envelope, saying, “Both you and I are invited, so I suppose only we can see these golden letters.”

“Perhaps we could convert some of the family’s wealth into resources to prepare for the potential journey to the Spirit Realm.”