The Creatures that We Are

The Aurora Town, Northern Snow Nation, one o’clock in the morning.

The night sky extended like a deep, richly black drape, under which sat the snowy mountain range. And at the foot of the mountain range, hundreds of modern houses arranged into dense rows to form an isolated town.

Amid the pouring snow, the town quietly slumbered. Save for the street lamps lining the main road and the light coming from the two bars, the windows of all the other houses looked into darkness.

Three figures walked in the snow storm. Their every step squelched as their feet sunk into snow that was half a meter tall.

They were all wearing long, black down jackets and winter boots, and fleece-lined hats covered their ears and faces, revealing only their eyes.

Taking the lead, War Tiger grumbled, “This damn place snows even in summer.”

“The northern part of this nation snows throughout the year,” Azure Dragon said in a low voice. He glanced back at Colorless, who was lagging behind a little. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Colorless’ androgynous voice had a hint of resentment to it. “I hate the cold.”

War Tiger patted on his puffed up jacket pocket. Inside was a military liquor flask half filled with local spirit.

“Did I not make myself clear?” Colorless said in a steely voice. “I said I hate the cold, not that I am cold.”

War Tiger shrugged at the cold shoulder and kept trudging forward. Dusting snow off his fat, he looked up at the houses on the sides and mumbled, “No. 103. We’re only at no. 31. There’s still a long way to go…”

It all started two days ago.

After the meeting of the big three in the Mouse Room, Azure Dragon, War Tiger, and Colorless immediately booked a ticket for the next evening, which was the earliest flight to the Snow Nation.

According to the information they had—mainly from the Qilin Guild—all leads pointed to one particular location, the Aurora Town in the northern part of Snow Nation.

It was Lilia’s hometown and where the Godbearer Cult originated from.

In the Aurora Town, though, the Godbearer Cult had another name that was better known: the Otherworld Order.

Most residents of the Aurora Town were followers of the denomination. They believed that all devout followers of their Lord would go to the blissful otherworld where they would be happy forever, free from the eternal struggle of reincarnations, which trapped them in the misery of the mortal world.

It sounded like a moderate denomination no different from the other mainstream ones.

However, that was but the front of the Otherworld Order, hardly representable of the whole thing like the tip of an iceberg. And its true face, the Godbearer Cult, was the large ice under the tip.

The night Black Tortoise was killed, Vermilion Bird immediately questioned his body.

She and Azure Dragon had compiled a list of twenty questions. Due to the cadaver having been severely damaged, though, they only got a little more than one minute for the interrogation, and they extracted answers to only half of their questions.

They deduced the basic doctrines of the Godbearer Cult based on the answers, completing them with their own interpretations.

Put simply, the founder of the Godbearer Cult was the Heavenly Godbearer the followers referred to. She was mysterious, dignified, and powerful, never showing her true self to the world.

She claimed that there was an ultimate creator of the universe and the one true god, and that God was everlasting.

Their form shall not be observed, and their name shall not be uttered.

The Heavenly Godbearer claimed to be the incarnation of part of God’s divinity, which represented God’s mercy and care.

She also claimed that the Heavenly Way people had felt the presence of wasn’t what people perceived it as, but an embodiment of another part of God’s divinity.

It represented God’s authority and cold judgment.

The Heavenly Way was a divine punishment God imposed on the world, for all lives in this world had been corrupted by ‘_ _’.

‘_ _’ were two syllables Black Tortoise’s body couldn’t utter even though he had opened his mouth. And because his lips and chin were malformed from how he had been killed, Black Tortoise and Azure Dragon couldn’t read his lips.

There were two possibilities: one, Black Tortoise didn’t know what it was either; second, Black Tortoise couldn’t utter the two syllables because of an unknown power.

Anyhow, the Cult believed that the current Heavenly Way would one day meet its end, which would be the Apocalypse.

And the Heavenly Godbearer, as an incarnation of the merciful and caring part of God’s divinity, was here to save those who were worth saving, be it humans, monsters, or other forms of lives.

As long as one became her devout followers and gave her their everything, their corrupted soul and blood would be purified. Only then would the followers go to the blissful otherworld with the Heavenly Godbearer when Apocalypse arrived with the end of the Heavenly Way.

And the Gates of Closure, naturally, was the only entrance to the blissful otherworld.

Those who had become God’s true subject would enjoy eternal happiness, while all other living beings would disappear with the Heavenly Way at the end of the world, becoming the eternal entropy and void that could not be comprehended or changed.

One would be hard-pressed to deny how well-thought-out and convincing the doctrines were.

Vermilion Bird and Azure Dragon were stunned when they first heard about it.

According to Black Tortoise’s body, the man wasn’t actually wholeheartedly devoted to the Heavenly Godbearer, but he did believe that the Mist World would one day meet its end, and that the Heavenly Godbearer would be able to take him to another world.

That was why he was willing to join the Godbearer Cult and served her.

…

After a fourteen-hour flight, Azure Dragon, War Tiger, and Colorless arrived at the airport of the Snow Nation in the morning, the third day after the meeting.

Without rest, they took a bus to the northmost part of the Snow Nation, the Aurora Town. This was the only official route to the town.

They arrived in the evening and claimed to be landscape photographers from other countries, settling down at a small inn.

To avoid attracting attention, they waited until after midnight to head to where Lilia’s mother lived.

Their investigation told them that Lilia’s only family was still alive—her mother, Sarah. The woman was 44 years old and lived on her own in the town, at no. 103.

She was a devout follower of the Otherworld Order. One day, she went mad for a mysterious reason.

The three decided to start with her.

The town wasn’t big, and soon, they reached the fringe of it.

Before them lay a frozen stream. On the other side were about a dozen run-down cabins that belonged to the previous century, now abandoned.

One of the cabins, however, seemed to have been regularly maintained. At least the rooftop remained intact, and the snow in front of the door had been cleared. Under the roof, there was a pile of freshly chopped firewood, covered by a tarpaulin.

They approached the cabin and saw the plaque on the door lintel, which said, 103.

They exchanged a glance.

War Tiger went up to the door and gently knocked on it.

Rat-at-tat.

Houseau3's Thoughts

Is this the first time we get a whole chapter from a different character's point of view? Anyhow, we're digging more into the Cult!

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