Chapter 1056: Chapter 25: And Gifts in Return
"Mom, I’m so hungry..."
The soft, timid voice rose amid the sound of breathing.
A woman curled up in the corner was awakened by her daughter’s call, struggling to get up. Her face masked by weed-like long hair, she wearily pulled her daughter into her arms.
Rustle...
The woman unbuttoned her clothes, slightly turned her body into the shadows, and quickly lowered her head to bite her finger.
A faint sucking sound echoed.
"Why does the milk taste salty?"
The child’s innocent question sounded amid the silence.
"So you can grow up faster," the woman said, stroking her child’s rough hair.
The surrounding sounds of breathing gradually became clearer as the other citizens, using sleep to while away time and hunger, began to wake up.
Then, they heard faint shouts coming from outside the iron bars of their "house."
The shouting grew clearer, just like a tide approaching.
The oil lamp illuminated bewildered faces, the shouting making them uneasy, reminiscent of rumored plagues and strange invasions... But they slowly discerned that the shouts were not of pain or fear, but joyous cheers, as if Mayor Matteus himself had arrived.
The citizens huddled in the "house" became curious instead of uneasy, crawling through the hay to peer through the fence at the source of the cheers.
Soon they heard the familiar, chaotic clatter of boots below the cheers,
as soldiers clad in Anti-Magic Armor forged in Midnight City appeared in the corridor, dragging two massive barrels half as tall as a person.
Withered arms eagerly stretched out of the cage, open-handedly waiting.
The soldiers grabbed two pieces of food from the barrels and placed them into the nearest open palms.
The holders of the palms eagerly retracted, then froze with the food: a palm-sized loaf of bread and a fist-sized piece of cooked meat.
"Captain sir, is this..." a citizen asked with hope and tension.
"Brought by Mayor Matteus and His Excellency Luli, eat at ease," a steely voice resonated from beneath the helmet. A soldier opened the iron gate at that moment and continued, "For New Year, you’ll be free to roam until nightfall."
Offering the last two portions of food to the woman and the little girl, the soldier captain scanned the faces, from numb to ecstatic, and moved to the next room.
"Hurry and eat... once we’re full, we’ll head outside..." The woman trembled as she hid a portion of food, tearing apart the remaining bread and meat, not caring about the blood from her pale forefinger staining the food.
...
"We’re being treated like prisoners!"
"The plague from the north is spreading here!"
"The digging tremors are getting closer! They might reach us soon, maybe they’re already next door!"
"Nobody cares about us, no one worries, we have to rely on ourselves to survive!"
"We are the livestock of noble officials in the refuge center. They have warm beds, ever-burning lamps, delicious food, and clean water!"
Bang!
A fist smashed against the wall, skin splitting open.
Just then, they heard footsteps approaching from the corridor behind the closed iron door, growing clearer.
"The soldiers are here to grab us—"
Click—
The iron door was suddenly opened, light from the corridor spilled into the room, and the exclamations ceased abruptly.
The soldier captain gazed over the citizens, fists clenched in tension, indifferently distributing bread and meat: "New Year’s food brought by Mayor Matteus and His Excellency Luli."
And the door that wasn’t locked.
"Be back in your rooms before nightfall."
Even after the soldier captain left, the citizens held their food and stared at the open iron door.
"Maybe His Excellency Luli won’t abandon us..." someone said.
Michaelde, his bleeding fist clenched, gritted his teeth: "They let us out... we’ll go out and see for ourselves!"
...
In the dim shadows, Mitra fumbled to plug the last gap with rock.
The piercing winter wind and sound of waves were sealed outside.
Fleeing footsteps sounded, as Mitra rushed back to the flickering warmth of the campfire.
The cave’s light wavered with the fire’s flames.
"Watch out! Mitra," others in the cave exclaimed.
Mitra said nothing, drawing close to the fire and stretching out her hands to warm up.
The cold was terrifying, and in the sea breeze, he heard a crackling sound, ice being pushed ashore by the sea. Perhaps after today, Vena Ice-Free Port would become Vena Port.
"How many more days do we have to wait here?" Porter looked to the edge of the fire, curled under what clothes they all had. "Gael’s had a low fever, he might die if this goes on."
"That’s why we brought him away from there," the middle-aged man replied.
Porter continued his chatter: "Does the Land of Light really exist? Maybe it’s just a scam, Andrea is a heartless monster, everyone who boarded her ship was eaten..."
"Shut up! That’s His Excellency Luli’s mount."
"But we haven’t seen His Excellency Luli, maybe he was already—"
"Who’s there!"
The middle-aged man looked alertly towards the darkness beyond the campfire.
A silhouette slowly emerged. In fright, the middle-aged man recognized the figure: "The merchant...?"
"Andrea is about to set sail; here’s your New Year’s gift," the merchant said, placing down chunks of meat.
"Is it from His Excellency Luli..." Those by the fire looked at the food, swallowing eagerly.
"Yes."
The merchant retreated into the mist-like darkness.
"Wait!" Mitra suddenly called out: "We have someone sick; can you bring us medicine?"
"15 shillings."
Mitra exchanged glances with his comrades and suddenly said: "Headed to the Land of Light, we’ll become His Excellency Luli’s subjects... Mr. Luli also brought New Year’s gifts, didn’t he? Could you possibly... let us owe you, and we’ll repay when we reach the Land of Light..."
The merchant didn’t answer, disappearing once more, but soon reappeared, bringing the medicine they needed, along with a few eyeballs.
...
Thud, thud, thud—
A staggering figure burst into the cabin.
"I saw it! I saw it!"
His shouting drew out the passengers in the cabin.
"I saw... light..."
He collapsed to the ground, his voice weakening, losing breath with satisfaction and longing.
Touching his neck, Lumb said somberly, "He’s dead..."
The passengers backed away in fear, and Lumb, recalling his last words, looked towards the cabin leading to the deck: "I’ll go take a look..."
Under their watchful eyes, he climbed the steps, nearly reaching the deck when he suddenly stiffened.
"The Land of Light... does exist... we’ve... we’ve arrived!"
Amidst disbelieving whispers, the excited passengers scrambled onto the deck, in the cold darkness, they saw colors beyond the distant darkness.
Buzz—
Andrea’s horn blared across the dark sea.
In the distance, on the dusky sea, holy, beautiful golden beams poured through the clouds, falling into what seemed like a lost Old Belfast—the Land of Light.
The people basked in the sunlight, feeling nostalgic and curious as they embraced the dispelling warmth...
Ten minutes later, Andrea docked.
Ready to become citizens of the Land of Light, they pilgrimaged, stepping onto the staircase-like path that led up Sugard Mountain.