The island's law enforcement agencies arrived quickly.
They wore deep blue uniforms with a unified badge on their chests. Jumping out of several small black cars, they quickly cordoned off the scene.
The leader was a middle-aged man in his forties with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a serious expression.
He stood by the explosion crater, staring at the charred corpses at the bottom for a long time before looking up at a nearby Sect of Deliverance devotee.
“What happened?”
The devotee’s face was ashen, his voice raspy. “Someone started a fire. We caught him, but he detonated explosives, taking our followers with him...”
The lead officer’s brow furrowed even deeper.
He crouched down and carefully examined the corpses.
“Who was the arsonist?”
The Sect of Deliverance devotee shook his head. “We don't know. He was masked and very skilled; he didn't seem like an ordinary person.”
The leader stood up and waved his hand.
Several subordinates stepped forward, placed the bodies in body bags, and loaded them onto a vehicle.
“This matter will be handled as a joint case with the fire at the Sect of All Spirits from last night,” the leader stated.
The devotee was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
“Much obliged.”
...
Two hours later, in the law enforcement office.
The leader sat at his desk with two files spread out before him.
One was the scene report of the fire at the Sect of All Spirits church from the previous night.
The other was the preliminary investigation record of the explosion at the Sect of Deliverance square this afternoon.
He rubbed his brow, staring at them for a long time.
Regarding the Sect of All Spirits, they had no clues.
How the fire started, why it burned so fast and fiercely that even spells couldn't extinguish it—no one could explain these phenomena. No traces of arson were found at the scene, there were no witnesses, and no suspicious persons. It was as if the fire had fallen from the heavens.
But regarding the Sect of Deliverance...
He flipped to the last few pages of today's record, his gaze stopping on a line of text.
“Based on evidence left at the scene and witness identification, the preliminary identity of the arsonist is confirmed...”
A name followed.
Below that name, a line had been drawn in red pen.
He was actually a follower of the Sect of All Spirits.
A follower who had luckily survived the great fire last night.
The leader stared at the name, remaining silent for a long time.
A young subordinate leaned in nearby and lowered his voice. “Boss, could there be a connection between these two events?”
The leader looked up at him.
The young subordinate swallowed. “The Sect of All Spirits was just burned, and today someone comes to burn the Sect of Deliverance. Since this person is a follower of the Sect of All Spirits, could it be revenge?”
The leader looked thoughtful. He lowered his head again to look at the two files.
After a long time, he closed the files, stood up, and said, “Both cases were committed by people from the Sect of All Spirits. Just close the case like that.”
The young subordinate was stunned. “Is... is that right?”
The leader glanced at him. “What’s wrong with it? We need to close the case as quickly as possible; we can't drag this out.”
The young subordinate started to say something but stopped. There were clearly many suspicious points in the fire at the Sect of All Spirits.
However, the leader just wanted to close the case and didn't care about the truth at all. Just like many previous cases, sometimes the person reporting the crime would be arrested as the culprit just to make up the numbers.
The young subordinate had a sense of justice, but he wasn't a fool; he wouldn't speak out of turn.
Perhaps in a few more years, his sense of justice would also vanish, and he would become just like his leader.
The leader picked up his coat and walked out.
When he reached the door, he paused.
“Regarding those Sect of Deliverance followers killed in the explosion, let them handle the funeral arrangements themselves. The bodies can be picked up tomorrow.”
With that, he pushed the door and left.
The young subordinate stood there, dazed for a long while.
Outside the window, the sky had completely darkened.
In the distance, the silhouette of the Sect of Deliverance church's spires could be faintly seen, glowing with an eerie light in the night.
...
The next morning.
In the basement of the Sect of Deliverance church, a heavy iron door slowly opened.
Several devotees entered carrying stretchers. On the stretchers were the charred corpses.
The iron door closed behind them.
In the darkness, low murmurs could be heard.
It was the sound of chanting, identical to the lingering, low chants from before that seemed to surge from deep underground.
At the same time, a devotee took out some powder and scattered it over the corpses.
A long time later, the chanting stopped.
The iron door opened again.
A group of devotees walked out, but the corpses were gone.
However, the eyes of several of those devotees were hollow and vacant, devoid of any spirit.
They walked out of the church's back door. The morning light fell on their faces but reflected no warmth.
In the distance, the traces of the fire in the square had completely vanished, and the islanders were once again lining up in long queues.
They were waiting for the arrival of the Resurrection Festival.
...
The day of the Resurrection Festival.
As the first light of dawn pierced the horizon, a bell rang out.
The bell was melodious and deep, echoing from the highest spire of the Sect of Deliverance church and spreading across the entirety of Dusk Island.
Those still in dreams rolled over, while those already awake stopped what they were doing and looked toward the direction of the bell.
The special bell of the Sect of Deliverance only rang once a year.
The first event of the Resurrection Festival was the ritual parade.
As the starting and ending point of the parade, the area outside the Sect of Deliverance church was already packed with people.
The stone slabs in front of the church were scattered with a certain red powder. In the square, a dense mass of heads extended all the way to the street corner.
In the crowd, there were those watching the spectacle, islanders who had joined the parade spontaneously, and cultists weaving through the throng to maintain order.
There were also some people who were pale and sluggish, standing silently by the stone pillars at the edge of the square, facing the church without moving.
The bell continued to toll.
It rang seven times in total.
As the resonance of the seventh toll slowly dissipated in the sea breeze, the church doors opened.
The sound of the hinges turning was very soft. The first to walk out was a young boy.
Around seven or eight years old, he wore a pure white robe and held a burning oil lamp in his hands.
His skin was very pale, his eyes were large, and he walked very slowly.
Behind him was a second child.
Same attire, holding an identical lamp.
There were seven children in total, forming a line as they walked out from the darkness deep within the church and into the morning sunlight.
The sunlight fell on them, and the flames of those seven oil lamps flickered slightly in the wind.
The children stepped across the stone slabs covered in red powder and walked toward the crowd.
The crowd automatically parted, making a path.
The children reached the edge of the square and faced the crowd, holding their oil lamps high.
Then, the true parade procession began to appear.
First were the Sect of Deliverance Priests, Deacons, and other personnel, wearing robes different from their usual ones.
The colors were deeper and darker, with the hems dragging on the ground, embroidered with silver patterns that shimmered in the sunlight.
They walked very slowly, stopping every few steps to recite a passage of scripture and scatter some powder before continuing forward.
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