章 547: Chapter 547: Guidance from the Light
Chapter 547: Guidance from the Light
"Susie, I suddenly feel so angry!"
In Backlund, at the Hall family's residence, Audrey looked unhappily at Susie.
"Woof?" Susie barked cautiously.
"Someone bullied me. Will you help me get revenge?"
"Woof!" Susie crouched down, baring her teeth in a fierce expression.
"Mr. Hastur, he's the one who upset me. Go and teach him a lesson."
"Woof?" Susie wagged her tail, ready to leave. Why did this couple have to involve her, a single dog, in their squabbles? Was this fun for them?
Audrey walked over, patted Susie's head, and thought for a moment. "Susie, help me write a letter to Mr. Hastur. Make sure it sounds angry."
"..." Susie glanced at Audrey, remaining silent.
"Susie, you just agreed to help me vent my anger."
Unable to resist Audrey's pleading, Susie finally agreed. She had practiced writing letters before. Knowing she couldn't write neatly, she had focused on simple drawings to convey her message with minimal ink.
Once the blank paper and ink were ready, Susie dipped her right paw lightly in the ink and began to draw seven or eight strokes on the paper.
"Susie..." Seeing the drawing, Audrey's face turned peculiar, and she couldn't help but burst into a clear, pleasant laugh.
"Let's go with this. It's quite an interesting drawing."
Audrey acknowledged Susie's effort and blew the whistle Hastur had given her to summon a messenger.
A small bird with fiery red feathers opened a passage from the spirit world. Though it looked the same as before, Audrey noticed it was different—slightly ethereal, with less bright eyes. It must have been a duplicate.
Mr. Hastur even had duplicates for his messengers...
Audrey carefully placed the letter in the bird's beak, instructing it to deliver it to Mr. Hastur.
Hastur had once told her that if his messenger was busy, it would find other ways to deliver messages. She hadn't expected it to be true.
...
In the Kingdom of Fennepot, the war spreading from the southern continent had long disrupted the previous peace and harmony.
Fields once filled with crops had become strategic resources for the invading southern armies. The fertile land turned into battlegrounds for horses and artillery.
The mercilessness of war enveloped the entire Kingdom of Fennepot.
In the southern town of Inson, the tenacious resistance of the defenders had drawn wave after wave of artillery fire from the southern continent.
The once bustling streets were now riddled with holes, and the church of the Earth Mother had been reduced to ashes by a great fire.
When the war's iron hooves moved on, only a desolate, smoke-filled ruin remained.
After nightfall, even lighting a fire for warmth was a luxury.
In the town's central square, the surviving mayor gathered the remaining townspeople around a bonfire made from wooden planks salvaged from ruined houses, roasting peanuts and sweet potatoes to stave off hunger.
No one spoke; only the sound of suppressed sobs and the crackling of burning wood filled the air.
Silence and despair hung over the place.
The town's year-long food supply had been requisitioned as strategic resources, and after the war, food became their scarcest commodity.
Devout followers of the Earth Mother, who governed fertility, planting, and life, were now worried about food and even faced starvation.
Had the gods abandoned them, or were the gods themselves too preoccupied?
They couldn't find an answer until someone whispered, "Can't the light of salvation shine upon us who have suffered so much?"
The central bonfire suddenly flared up, becoming brighter and warmer, dispelling the night's cold and even alleviating their hunger.
A figure formed from pure light stood on the orange-red carpet of flames.
Was this a response from the gods?
The onlookers, after a brief moment of shock and hesitation, began to worship the figure as a divine incarnation.
As more people joined in worship, the prayers grew louder.
The figure of light extended a finger, pointing into the dark night.
They looked in that direction but saw only darkness, an uninhabited wilderness.
While they were still puzzled, the figure of light stepped off the bonfire and walked toward the darkness.
Footprints of flames marked the path from the town center to the dark outskirts.
The figure of light moved quickly, disappearing from sight in a blink, leaving only the fiery footprints as a guide.
Without the mayor's orders, the crowd followed the trail of flames, like pilgrims.
Following the light's guidance, they reached a cave hidden by weeds and rocks.
A dozen strong young men moved the stones, revealing the cave entrance.
Inside, they found enough food to last the survivors two to three months.
With this buffer, they could cultivate the land and plant new crops, ensuring they wouldn't starve in the future.
The figure of light, the guidance of light, the miracle of light appeared before those in need, showing more mercy than the gods.
Hunger, sickness, hardship, fear—all negative emotions melted away under the pure light.
Some said that when you hold light in your heart, the figure of light would appear wherever there was light, offering help and guidance.
Although the light was not dazzling in the chaos and war, it truly existed.
When dawn broke, the warm sunlight dispelled the night's cold and despair.
In the Hall of Stars, Hastur retracted all his figures of light, closed his eyes to rest, and rubbed his temples.
Maintaining so many figures of light was extremely draining.
He had to provide specific guidance and help based on each seeker's needs.
Sometimes he had to guide the homeless back, sometimes he had to heal the sick, and sometimes he had to use his extraordinary abilities to fend off fierce bandits or stragglers...
There was so much to do that just one night of work left him exhausted.
"I'll have to limit myself to half a night in the future, so I won't get too tired. Otherwise, I'll end up dying of exhaustion in the Hall of Stars."
Hastur rested a bit longer before returning to the real world.
He instinctively reached out to the side of the bed, finding it empty. Sharon had already gotten up.
"Just as well, I can sleep a bit longer."
Hastur closed his eyes, planning to rest for another hour or two, when he noticed an envelope on the bedside table.
The bottom right corner of the envelope bore a drawing of a lying golden retriever, a custom design Audrey had made for Susie.
Hastur propped himself up, reached out, and the envelope flew into his hand.
Opening it, he found only a drawing and three thick exclamation marks.
The drawing depicted an angry, almost exploding Audrey, with a round head and bulging features, accompanied by warning exclamation marks.
Hastur immediately understood the letter's meaning: Audrey was very angry, and it wouldn't be easy to appease her.
Had Audrey found out about his honeymoon trip to the Rosside Archipelago with Sharon?
Or was it because he had been too busy using his figures of light to digest potions and hadn't written to her?
Hastur thought back over recent events, concluding that these couldn't be the reasons for Audrey's anger.
She must be upset about something else, and Susie had written the letter as a warning... No, Susie wouldn't summon a messenger on her own; Audrey must have asked her to write it.
"It seems I need to visit Backlund and soothe my lovely fiancée."
Hastur murmured, got up, changed into fresh clothes, and went to the washroom to freshen up before heading downstairs for breakfast.
Sharon and Aisala, who had already eaten, were strolling in the garden.
Hastur greeted Sharon and then opened a travel portal in the garden, returning to Backlund.
Aisala tried to follow but was caught by Hastur and thrown back, almost falling on her bottom.
"Sharon, why don't you control your man?"
Aisala complained, only to be hit on the back of the head. Sharon's indifferent voice followed.
"Practice your writing this afternoon, until dinner."
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