“The Allen family’s... son-in-law?”

Earl Rekar Allen shoved the queen off his lap, rose to his feet, and looked straight down at Karon. Beneath that gaze, Karon felt as though he were standing at the edge of the sea, marveling at its boundlessness, while the sea itself silently mocked his insignificance.

“The sea tells me you did not lie.”

Karon forced himself to remain calm as he nodded. He had not lied, but this reaction also proved that selectively telling the truth could lead to entirely different results. This was a being who was arrogant to the marrow of his bones. His personality seemed to be built from a trunk of wantonness, with only a few other traits hanging off of it as decorations. Karon had deliberately avoided the family’s founder and his tombstone earlier, whereas this man had taken the initiative to drag Karon in. Even after death, the corpse in the grave still carried an instinctive arrogance.

“This year is...” Rekar suddenly stalled mid-sentence. His brow furrowed, as if he had fallen into deep contemplation.

At the same time, pain flared across Karon’s forehead, like someone was pulling at his brain.

“Not long ago, I wiped out the pirate coalition of the Pyros Sea and sank three adepts of the Morovin family, sacrificing them to the ocean. I should have just returned to port. Three days ago, the queen had received my letter and was already waiting in the harbor, washed clean and dressed in her most precious ceremonial gown, wearing the crown that symbolizes Veyn’s royal authority. She was ready for my favor, and I presented her with the Morovin family’s violet soulgem, for her to add to the crown when she returned. That is our privateers’ tradition. We never owe whores their pay, because they are the faith that lets us face storms and enemies and still come back alive.”

He paused, then frowned. “But... something feels wrong. It feels like this did not just happen, but happened some time ago... Right, I remember now. After that, I fought the Battle of Marcil Isle, and there was also that encounter in the Dyknon Strait. No, there was even more still after that...”

As Rekar continued recalling his recent memories, Karon felt the pain in his head grow even more intense, like a tube had been driven into his skull and was siphoning out his brain.

“During the Third Longlute Sea War, I defeated the Sidran Coalition and personally killed their commander, but my own brother, Bowen, and the five men I trusted most all died in battle. I myself was gravely wounded. I think... I think I began to grow tired of the life of a privateer. I went ashore and returned to Allen Manor. I lay in bed, watching autumn outside my window, and I suddenly understood that I was not tired of the sea, because I had already given the best years of my life, my finest memories, entirely to the sea.”

Rekar’s gaze suddenly sharpened. “I am already dead.”

“Aaah...” Karon collapsed to his knees, clutching his head. The pain had escalated from having his brain siphoned out to having his skull split open with an axe. The next instant, all the sailors’ revelry vanished, and Queen Gloria the Third, who had been pushed aside, also disappeared. From the entire ship, only Rekar remained standing above, with Karon kneeling below.

What relieved Karon was that while his head was in absolute agony, the escalating progression of pain had stopped. He braced himself with one hand on the deck, and tried to stand, but he could not even find his balance. After several failed attempts, he still could not rise.

Then he felt hands grip his shoulders, lifting him up. Rekar stood before him. “I am already dead.”

“Yes,” Karon nodded.

“If I am already dead, yet you can still see me, you must belong to the Church of Order. Only the Church of Order possesses the ability to awaken the dead, rather than just manipulate corpses. They can awaken them.

“No, that is also not right.

“In my life, I was a Tier-8 adept, and for a brief time, I even crossed into Tier-9. I know the Church of Order does possess methods to awaken corpses, but the cost of awakening a corpse that retains spirituality is extraordinarily high. For those who possessed a faith system while alive, both the difficulty and price are multiplied again.

“I once joked with the Chief Archbishop of York City, asking him that, if I were to die, he could awaken me. He told me that even if he paid with his own life, he would still not be able to do so, because my faith system was too advanced. Awakening me would require the Bishop of Veyn, and even then, only at tremendous cost.” Rekar paused, then frowned slightly, as if something did not add up. “Above an Inquisitor stands an Adjudicator. Above an Adjudicator stands an Expositor. Above an Expositor stands a Bishop.

“A country like Swillen is small, constituting only a single ecclesiastical region. That means the highest authority in Swillen is its Chief Archbishop. There is no higher rank within its borders.

“Veyn is different, as Swillen is merely a vassal state. York City alone is treated as an independent region within the Church of Order. Its status is equivalent to that of the entire Swillen region. Therefore, the Chief Archbishop of York City stands equal to the Chief Archbishop of Swillen, and in practice, is actually half a rank above.

“As for the Bishop of Veyn, that position stands entirely above both.”

Rekar’s expression slowly shifted. Above those ranks he had listed were the High Cardinals, which granted entry into the true inner council of the Church of Order. Those seated at that round table decide the direction of the Church itself. The High Priest, Rasma, presided over that table, and while his title differed, his rank was actually equal. The title of High Priest itself was merely a post, while the actual rank is equal to a High Cardinal.

All of this was to say that when the Chief Archbishop of York City had told Rekar that only the Bishop of Veyn was qualified to awaken him, what the man had really been saying was that with one further promotion beyond that, the next step would be the same as Rasma’s, meaning someone who was qualified to enter the Order Temple itself.

“Hahahahahaha...” Rekar suddenly burst into laughter. He released Karon’s shoulders. The man’s entire demeanor shifted, and there was even a trace of respect that appeared.

“So, after my death, the Allen family has already grown to such an extent? To the point of being able to intermarry with a Bishop?”

“...” Karon said nothing.

Rekar looked exhilarated. He even began gesturing animatedly, none of the cold arrogance he had demonstrated earlier while lounging on the ship with a queen in his arms remained. At this moment, he almost looked like a child, given his blatant delight.

Watching this, Karon suddenly understood something. He finally understood what “family” meant in this era, within this cultural framework, and the kind of spiritual bond it created: Even if I am already dead, simply knowing that my family has continued to grow and flourish still brings me genuine joy.

That was because “family” was their honor, their continuation, their totem. It was something they could never sever from their lives, something that truly existed as a part of their very being. It was the vessel that carried their existence itself.

This was something Karon had never truly understood before. His earlier understanding had only skimmed the surface. In his previous life, the soil that nurtured the concept of “family” had long since eroded. He had never lived within such a family culture, and even in places where remnants of that still existed, the core had faded, leaving behind little more than form.

When he had first awakened in this life, the Immers household had resembled a small family, rather than a clan. What Karon felt as warmth within the Immers household could be carried over perfectly with the perspective of his previous life.

This was why Pu’er, despite living as a cat for so many years, still held such a strong attachment to her family.

That day, when Karon had stood atop Aseros’s head while holding Pu’er, the cat’s vulnerability had not been simple homesickness. It had been her attachment to her family, a return to the other half of its life. This was a depth of feeling that one could never truly understand without having lived inside it.

People like Pu’er and Rekar held faint notions of “nation” or “state.” As those concepts weakened, the idea of “family” absorbed part of the emotional weight that might otherwise be given to one’s country.

Karon finally understood why the black cat had become so fervent after returning home, so driven and restless that her attitude had seemed excessive to him at times, like she had been fitted with a small motor as she constantly rushed about, urging everyone forward.

From Karon’s perspective, Pu’er had been busy for the sake of her family’s interests, but from the perspective of the black cat racing around on the back of a golden retriever, her actions were closer to saving her nation from extinction.

Karon felt his mind empty out, the boundary between reality and unreality suddenly becoming sharply defined.

At the same time, he could clearly sense that Rekar possessed the ability to confine him here. Just as Rekar had forcibly dragged him in earlier, Karon now understood that he was standing within the spirituality that was preserved inside Rekar’s corpse.

Mandira’s warning had been correct; The Church of Order’s “awakening” differed fundamentally from the Beguiler’s corpse manipulation. Awakening meant allowing the dead to rise back up with their memories intact, granting them genuine autonomy. The price was that, after a period of time, their spirituality would dissipate entirely, leaving behind nothing but flesh.

Karon’s ability was indeed special, but his strength was insufficient. While he could cross multiple ranks to awaken a corpse, he lacked the ability to withstand the risks involved.

If Rekar wished it, he could easily annihilate Karon’s soul here, which meant that the idea Karon had once discussed with Alfred, of digging up powerful corpses to summon them at will, had been nothing short of courting death.

Fortunately...

He was the Allen family’s son-in-law.

“I am not fully awakened,” Rekar said after calming down, looking at Karon with a composed expression. “Do you think I could awaken completely? I believe I could attempt it.”

“No... don’t,” Karon said immediately.

Rekar’s partial awakening alone, merely recalling and thinking through his memories, had already caused Karon unbearable agony. He could not imagine what would happen if Rekar attempted a full awakening. He might be drained dry in an instant.

There was another possibility. Once Rekar’s spirituality fully awakened, the awakening would be able to complete itself, but Karon did not dare gamble on that. Not yet.

The reason he had secretly come to the Allen family’s cemetery was to find some external combat power for the family to increase their strength as quickly as possible and ensure that they at least possessed the means to protect themselves, rather than waking one day to find the entire family driven into a pigpen.

He had hidden this from Master Anderson’s family for two reasons. First, this was only a test. If it failed, no one needed to know about it. Second, even if the test succeeded, this would also be Karon’s personal trump card. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to reveal it too early, especially while he was still weak.

Though Karon also knew that if he told Master Anderson about this ability, the old man would probably be the first to arrive with a shovel, enthusiastically digging up his forebears on Karon’s behalf, allowing the young man to choose whichever one he wanted.

After all, if the Allen family truly fell into ruin, not only would the living suffer miserable fates, even their ancestors’ corpses buried on the manor grounds would not be preserved. Corpses retaining spirituality were valuable materials.

For the sake of the family’s survival, Master Anderson had already been willing to hand the position of patriarch to an outsider by blood. Ancestral corpses would hardly be an obstacle.

“Then I will return to slumber,” Rekar said. “I can feel my spirituality slowly draining as I speak with you. Why did you awaken me?”

Certified by the sea as being an “Allen family son-in-law,” Rekar held no hostility toward Karon. Combined with his own assumptions, his tone had even become respectful.

“There may be a major event involving the Allen family soon,” Karon said carefully. “Because of the Church of Order, I cannot act personally, but I can awaken you to witness it.”

Karon did not know whether the sea was still verifying the truth of his words at the moment, but he still chose his words with caution.

“That must be a great event for the Allen family,” Rekar said sincerely. “Thank you. Truly, thank you for giving someone already dead a chance, a chance to rise and see the strength of his family today.”

Karon forced a smile. A strong family... One with only three Tier-3 adepts, one of them crippled.

He even worried that if Rekar ever fully awakened and saw the current state of the Allen family, his pride might drive him to slaughter his disgraceful descendants to avoid staining the family’s name.

As for Karon himself, an outsider sitting in the patriarch’s seat, he would likely be the first target.

“I should go,” Karon said.

“Thank you for coming,” Rekar replied solemnly.

The final restraint loosened. Karon’s body rose upward, and the pirate ship shrank beneath his feet.

A thought surfaced in his mind. If death meant living forever within one’s own dream, then perhaps death was not such a bad destination. But how many could possess the strength Rekar had, to preserve their spirituality even after death?

At last, Karon opened his eyes.

“Young Master?”

“Young Master!”

As Alfred and Borg’s voices finally reached him, Karon realized he was kneeling before the pirate ship headstone, blood flowing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.His face was slick with it. A pool had already formed on the ground, and more was still dripping into it.

A line he had once read in The Light of Order surfaced in his mind: The God of Order once awakened twelve powerful beings and knighted them as the Twelve Knights of Order, to stand at his side.

Then, Karon lost consciousness entirely.

***

Lisa, Mike’s wife, placed Karon’s hand back beneath the blanket and addressed the family members nearby, “Young Master Karon fainted due to extreme mental exhaustion from severe overexertion. With rest, he should recover. It’s just that...”

“Just what?” Master Anderson pressed.

Lisa came from a family with its own faith system, and though her family was very small, it oriented towards healing. “He’s still young. His body and spirit can endure this for now, but if he continues to overdraw himself like this, it will cause irreversible damage.”

“I understand,” Master Anderson said, exhaling deeply. He turned to Borg. “What did Young Master Karon do to exhaust himself like this?”

Borg shook his head. “Without the young master’s permission, I will not disclose anything about him.”

Master Anderson’s jaw clenched, but then, instead of lashing out, he reached out and patted Borg’s head. “Good. You did well. That is how it should be.

“Everyone, leave. Let the young master rest. After a good sleep, he will wake.”

***

“What exactly did Karon do? Why did this happen?” Pu’er demanded, glaring at Alfred. “What have you been hiding from me!”

Alfred calmly replied, “Young Master practiced the ritual arrays from Hoffen’s notes.”

“He’s insane! He hasn’t even undergone purification yet; How could he withstand the drain of a ritual array? That could have emptied him completely!”

“And whose fault is it that someone’s been pressuring him nonstop these past few days?” Alfred shot back.

“...” Pu’er fell silent. Alfred turned and left.

The cat quietly entered the bedroom. She jumped onto the windowsill and lay there, watching Karon on the bed. She stayed that way until night fully fell.

Kevin, the golden retriever, entered the room and froze. On the windowsill, there were two Pu’ers. One sat upright, wearing a top hat and pearl necklace, elegant and proud. The other lay lazily in the moonlight, basking as if asleep, the cold light giving its fur a soft sheen.

Kevin lowered its head, rubbed its eyes with a paw, and looked back. Only one Pu’er remained, and she slowly stood up.

At that same time, Karon woke up.

Woof! Kevin excitedly rushed over and started licking Karon’s hand.

Pu’er hopped down from the windowsill. She moved onto the bed, walking along the blanket until she finally stood on Karon’s chest. She peered down at his face.

“How long was I asleep?” Karon asked.

Pu’er did not answer, lowering herself onto his chest.

“How long?”

Still no answer. Karon reached up and rubbed Pu’er’s head. She gently pushed his hand away with a paw.

“What’s wrong?” Karon asked.

“Karon...”

“Yes?”

“Leave the manor. Take Eunice with you. She’ll be willing. The radio demon can take care of you. Take the stupid dog too.”

“And you?”

“I... don’t know.” Pu’er rolled onto her side, raising her tail up as she hugged herself with her paws. “Every time I enter that study and look at those portraits, I can’t help it.”

“I understand. This is your home.”

“But 13 Mink Street is also my home. I lived there longer than I ever lived here.” Pu’er sprawled on Karon’s chest, her limbs splayed. “Go. Living freely is the most important thing, isn’t it? That’s what Tiz wanted for you, too. He wants you to live freely and happily.”

Karon rested a hand on Pu’er’s belly and gently rubbed.

“It’s tickles, meow...” Pu’er curled up, clinging to his arm like a bundle of fur.

Karon spoke softly, “But Tiz told me one more thing.”

“What?”

“He told me to take good care of you.”