Ebner had already noticed someone approaching, so he wasn't surprised by the sudden voice. While instructing Fors to handle the materials on the "three-eyed thunderbird," he adjusted the positions of the five fireballs, letting them illuminate the direction the voice had come from.
Soon after, under the firelight, three thin and frail figures appeared before the two of them.
They were in tattered clothes, gaunt and filthy, with dirt caked on their faces and bodies, emanating a foul stench. It seemed they hadn't bathed in ages.
After sizing them up for a while, he could just barely distinguish that they were two men and one woman. On their torn and barely concealing clothes, he spotted the damaged holy symbol of the "Church of the Eternal Sun."
Church Beyonders? Ebner gestured for them to keep their distance and not come any closer. Then he opened his mouth and asked, "Light of Purification?"
The Church of the Eternal Sun's official Beyonder teams were known as the "Light of Purification."
"Yes, sir. Don and I are from the Light of Purification." The man in the lead pointed to himself and the relatively younger man beside him, then continued, "But Darcy isn't. She's a member of the Machinery Hivemind…"
He paused, then politely added, "I'm Diff, captain of the Light of Purification squad… May I ask how we should address you?"
Machinery Hivemind wearing Light of Purification's clothes? Makes sense. Resources must be extremely scarce in these ruins. Just having a whole set of clothes when going out is already a blessing—who would nitpick at that point…
Still, this does show that the Eternal Sun Church's uniforms are made with better quality.
As his thoughts wandered, Ebner didn't hide his identity and answered simply, "You can call me Ebner."
Before the other party could continue with pleasantries, he followed up directly: "Are only the three of you still alive?"
Based on the intel he and Fors had gathered, there had originally been six official members who disappeared along with the thunderbird—three from Light of Purification and three from the Machinery Hivemind.
"Only the three of us remain… Ed, Braun, and Ban have all returned to the Lord's embrace… Ed and Braun died in the temple at the center of the ruins. Ban was devoured by that damned bird!"
"Oh, and Mr. Ebner, I forgot to thank you for avenging Ban!" Captain Diff looked at the thunderbird, whose feathers and eyes Fors was currently extracting, and despite the satisfaction, he couldn't help but gulp.
At that moment, the only woman among them—Darcy of the Machinery Hivemind—suddenly spoke: "Sir, after you've taken the Beyonder materials, would you be willing to give us the bird's body?"
Upon hearing this, Ebner fell silent and stared at them for a moment before nodding. "You may."
By now, Fors had already extracted all the mystical organs from the thunderbird. She quickly returned to Ebner's side and tossed the featherless, gutted bird carcass to the three.
"Thank you!" Captain Diff accepted the bird's corpse, his throat moving slightly. Then he tore off a leg and began roasting it over a fire conjured by one of his companions.
Moments later, a savory aroma wafted out. The three couldn't hold back and each tore off a piece, ignoring how dirty their hands were, chewing it eagerly.
Although they appeared famished, they didn't eat it raw, nor did they fight over it, and they restrained themselves to just one leg… This indicated that their mental state wasn't too far gone—at least they weren't insane like that bird...
With that in mind, Ebner casually—though in reality, carefully using his "Mind Reading"—asked, "What do you usually eat?"
Upon hearing the question, Captain Diff crunched down the bird leg bones and swallowed them, then took a few blackish blocks from a torn bag he carried. He roasted them briefly over the fire and then explained, "Though there's no light in the ruins and all animals and plants have long perished… we were fortunate to find a few types of mushrooms that grow here. They've given us misplaced souls a faint thread of hope to survive.
"As for water, it rains occasionally in the ruins. When it does, we store as much as we can… though it's just barely enough for us to drink."
He had likely guessed what Ebner was concerned about, so he gave a detailed explanation of their food sources.
Mushrooms? Probably the result of the real-world dead tree's roots spawning mushrooms that echoed into this dreamlike world... Same with the rain... Ebner thought briefly and made the connection. His demeanor softened slightly, no longer scrutinizing them as before, though he still remained on guard.
Captain Diff was perceptive as well. After finishing his share of the bird meat, without waiting for Ebner to ask more, he voluntarily began explaining their current status and the general events of the past twenty years.
From his account, Ebner learned that Diff himself was a Sequence 6 "Notary." The still-eating Don and Darcy were Sequence 7 "Solar High Priest" and "Appraiser," respectively. The deceased Ed, Braun, and Ban had been a "Detective," a "Sorcerer," and an "Artisan."
They had originally formed a joint investigative team made up of two Sequence 6s and four Sequence 7s. When they first stumbled into the ruins, the thunderbird would only avoid them, never daring to come close.
But as their exploration of the central palace progressed, casualties became inevitable. The team's overall strength dwindled, and the thunderbird began to turn predator, eventually ambushing and devouring Ban when he was alone…
After listening attentively with Fors, Ebner thought for a moment, then asked cautiously, "So you're saying… there's a powerful ancient wraith guarding the collapsed central palace? And with the ruins' residual power aiding it, it's nearly on par with a demigod?"
As he spoke, Ebner glanced at Fors. If he remembered correctly, one of the main ingredients for the "Scribe" pathway was a "Cursed Object of an Ancient Wraith."
Although Fors was still a "Trickmaster," she had already obtained the Beyonder characteristic of "Astrologer" from him. Advancing to Sequence 7 would only take a month or two…
Was this sheer luck, or deliberate arrangement?
From the God's Casket being left to Fors, to the recurring dreams pulling her in, to this ancient wraith—it all seems like the plotter is luring Fors into that palace!
As his thoughts raced, Ebner asked Captain Diff again, "Are you certain the way out lies within that palace?"
"Not certain… but it's our only hope…" Diff's expression dimmed. That half-explored palace ruin had, in a way, become their reason to keep living. If even that hope was crushed, they would truly lose themselves.
"You're going, right? I can guide the way! I'll even serve as bait…" This time, the lone woman, Darcy, spoke. "I just have one request. If you do manage to leave, please apologize to my son… Tell him his mother is sorry she didn't get to see him grow up… but she's always loved him."
She had witnessed Ebner's power during the battle with the thunderbird and believed he might actually stand a chance of breaking through the ancient wraith's defense.
The previously silent "Solar High Priest" Don also rasped out, "Me too… My request is that you visit my parents if you get out. If they're in trouble, please try to help them... I can give you my Beyonder item as payment."
Hey now, don't go raising death flags before we've even left the camp! Ebner muttered internally, then cut off the about-to-speak Captain Diff and said first, "Take us to the palace first. Whether we go in or not… I'll decide after I've had a look."
"Alright." Captain Diff nodded without hesitation. "Follow me."
He then packed up the remaining bird meat, and with the others providing cover, headed into the darkness.
Ebner pulled Fors along and followed. As they walked, he whispered his earlier speculation to her. At the end, he added, "Whether we enter the palace or not… will be your decision."
"But if we don't go into the palace, can we even leave these ruins?" Fors asked in surprise.
"Not a problem. This 'world' may be unique, but it's ultimately a dream. A demigod-level 'Dream Traverse' ability should let us escape… and it just so happens I possess such a method." Ebner answered confidently.
Fors glanced at the three figures ahead, hesitated, then said, "Since we can leave at any time, I want to figure out why I was 'summoned' here in the first place… Otherwise, if I run now, I might not get such a safe opportunity to explore next time."
Though usually a bit of a slacker, she never hesitated when a real decision needed to be made.
Just like when she helped her teacher find someone to kill Mr. X in the original story—she was resolute then, and she was resolute now.