The date of the Dark Tide's arrival was never fixed.
It only vaguely followed a loose pattern.
It always arrived at the end of the year, when the snow began to fall.
It could be in October, November, or even dragged out until December.
Because of this, these three months were heavily referred to by scholars and those in the know as...
“The Final Month.”
Year 42 of the Dark Age, October 25th.
Whitestone City.
Fine snow fell like salt, sparsely dusting collapsed roofs, frozen streets, and silent ruins.
Hanging at the entrance of a crudely reinforced stone house was a slightly rough wooden sign:
【7-Copper Post Office, Whitestone City Branch.】
Inside.
“...I remember, it was just like today, with a light snow falling.”
An old, raspy voice with a thick accent echoed softly in the empty room.
“The mist rolled out from the eastern valley, so quietly...”
“First, the livestock stopped making noise, and then the children stopped crying...”
“And then...”
The voice rambled on, recounting the events of over a decade ago.
The scene when this small city-state was swallowed by “The Silent End.”
At the other end of the room.
Lin Gui and Eve sat side by side on two upturned wooden barrels.
Both of them had their hands stuffed into the pockets of their thick robes, their necks drawn in.
Their faces wore identical expressions of near-numb resignation.
The old gentleman before them had started reminiscing about the past the moment he walked in.
He had fallen into a loop of nostalgic remembrance.
Lin Gui didn't actually mind letting the man talk.
But the problem was...
The old gentleman talked far too much.
He had been lost in his memories since the moment he entered...
...and nearly twenty minutes had already passed.
The exact same story was repeated over and over, down to the tiniest detail.
Lin Gui finally couldn't take it anymore.
When the old man began describing how “the mist swallowed people in silent annihilation” for the eighth time, he decisively cut in:
“Um... old gentleman.”
“Do you have... a letter to send?”
“Or is there a letter addressed to you on our list?”
The old ghost's narration came to an abrupt halt.
A momentary blankness appeared on his translucent face.
Then, he scratched his head in embarrassment.
“Sending a letter...”
“Well, I've been single my whole life, so I don't have a partner.”
“As for friends, old buddies... I've pretty much ‘sent them all off’ already.”
His tone was casual, as if he were speaking of something entirely ordinary.
Hearing this, Lin Gui and Eve were taken aback.
“Sent them off?” Eve repeated softly.
“Yeah,” the old ghost nodded, his spectral form swaying slightly in the air.
“When I died... well, when I became like this, I was already eighty-nine.”
“And I've been floating around here for another sixteen years...”
He counted on his transparent fingers, then looked up, showing a hint of pride:
“Adding it up, I'm almost a hundred and five years old now!”
“I'm someone who witnessed the arrival of the Demon God, the rain of blood, the collapse of order, and the rise of city-states.”
“I was already about to be buried in the dirt. Who would've thought that after going through that mess, I'd still be ‘alive’ like this for so long?”
“It's an absolute steal.”
“I really have to thank the Dark Tide.”
He chuckled twice, sounding quite pleased with himself.
Lin Gui: “...”
For a moment, he didn't know how to react.
This was the first time he had ever met someone who considered encountering the Dark Tide a good thing.
“Old-timer, if you're not sending a letter...”
Lin Gui tried to steer the conversation back on track.
“We still have to head to our next stop, so...”
“Oh, I know, I know!”
“Let me finish first... Wait, where was I just now?”
Before the old ghost could reply...
Several hushed yet urgent “voices” suddenly came from the corners of the room, outside the windowsill, and even from under the crack of the door.
“Old Gery, are you done rambling yet?”
“The messenger lad still has so many letters to deliver!”
“Exactly, you're holding up the progress for the rest of us!”
“Hurry up and let them go! We still need to ask them to deliver our replies to Blackwater!”
It turned out that, without anyone noticing, quite a few glass beads belonging to other ghosts had quietly floated over.
They were currently “staring” at Old Gery, their mental fluctuations filled with silent urgency and exasperation.
Being scolded by his “neighbors,” Old Gery felt a bit embarrassed.
“Fine, fine...”
He waved his translucent hand at Lin Gui and Eve.
“Young man, young lady, thank you.”
“Safe travels...”
After sending off the chatty Old Gery and handling the mail collection and delivery for the other glass beads...
And seeing that no more faint blue lights lingered outside...
Lin Gui closed the creaking wooden door of the temporary post office.
He shut out the fine snow and the dead silence of the ruins outside.
Inside, he flicked his finger.
A spark ignited by 【Ignite】 fell into the small stone hearth.
The dry wood crackled as it caught fire.
The dancing flames chased away the chill, casting their long shadows onto the mottled wall.
Lin Gui and Eve sat around the small fire.
They organized the letters collected and delivered today, sorting them into labeled wooden boxes.
More than ten days had passed since they left Blackwater City.
Lin Gui had taken Eve along the edge of the Wailing Corridor, passing through nine city-state ruins swallowed by “The Silent End.”
Whitestone City was the tenth.
Every time they arrived at a new city-state ruin, Lin Gui's routine was fairly consistent.
First, he would choose a relatively intact and prominent building.
Usually, it would be an old city hall, a plaza clock tower, or a shop along the main road.
After a quick sweep, he would hang up the portable wooden sign for the Whitestone City Branch, and they would be open for business.
He was in no rush to activate his Eyes of the Netherworld to search around and scare the ghosts.
Instead, he would take all the letters that needed to be delivered to this city-state...
And hang them up neatly one by one on a large display board he had rigged onto the post office's outer wall.
Just like what he had done at the Labor Dispatch Center when he first arrived in Caran City.
He believed the “residents” here would come to look for themselves.
Sure enough.
Often, in less than a night, while he and Eve rested inside the post office...
The system notification sounds would begin to ring in his mind one after another:
【Ding! Letter delivery rate has reached 5%.】
【Ding! Letter delivery rate has reached 7%.】
...
By the next morning...
In the shadows beneath the display board and in the cracks of the walls...
A few slightly reflective glass beads would usually gather quietly.
Only then would Lin Gui step outside.
He would calmly introduce his identity and purpose to those “hidden” beads.
As the first batch of ghosts who received their letters couldn't contain their excitement...
And actively showed themselves to ask questions or express gratitude, a bridge of communication would be built.
Once they confirmed that “this mage is not a Netherworld messenger,” their fear would gradually dissipate.
It was replaced by a cautious anticipation and trust.
After that, the regular collection and delivery services would fully get underway.
Rate on N.U.
