After spending a few minutes to observe the fifteen newcomers, Gaius decided to blend in. Going back up onto the rooftop, he felt their gazes fall on him for a moment, only to return to the cathedral. Clearly, they were working in a group, but they weren’t going to attack anyone they didn’t recognise.

For them, and for Gaius, there was little point in fighting — it would just draw the attention of the guards stationed around here. Everyone was here just to spy on the Dragon of Time, after all.

It wasn’t just the sixteen of them, either. On the nearby buildings, Gaius could see indistinct moving shadows too. Sleepy people — like the guards posted around the area — wouldn’t notice, but every single person wearing a mask and dark clothing on the rooftops would.

Gaius watched as the group began to produce small parts of what looked like a machine, and with a jolt, he surmised that they were probably professionals that worked as a group. Slipping into the group, Gaius watched as a small machine took shape, and before long, something like a computer monitor had been assembled. There was something like a scope stuck in a black box on its top, which was pointed at the cathedral.

The screen lit up as the lead infiltrator pressed a few buttons on the machine to reveal a black structure in the shape of the cathedral. The lead infiltrator made a few signs, and some of the other shadows peeled away from the group watching the screen to make their way to the edge of the rooftop.

Two white figures sidled into the image displayed on the screen, drawing a stark contrast with the black cathedral that served as the background. The lead shadow fiddled with the scope, and the black cathedral began to fade out slowly.

Gaius turned his attention to the other infiltrators, who were busy scoping out the area. There was little he could observe from them other than their physique; most of them were thin and lanky or thin and small. As he continued to look around, one of those shadows approached him.

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly, but he couldn’t sense any hostility off the approaching shadow, so he didn’t do anything. As for the approaching shadow, it stopped three metres away, before putting down a piece of paper and a card. Gesturing at Gaius to take it, the shadow took a few steps back with both hands at its chest, and then returned to the machine.

Intrigued, Gaius went over to pick both items up. The card was actually the same card that everyone else here was wearing. There were no words written on it — it was just a purple card with a red smiley emoticon on it. On the other side was a similarly coloured emoticon, just that it was a sad face.

Oh, and there was a clip.

After examining the card a few more times and finding nothing special about it, Gaius turned his attention to the piece of paper and began to read it.

Good day. We’re the Subversion and Surveillance Section, the largest spy group in the whole world. By receiving our patented Friend-or-Foe Identification Card™, you’re automatically accepted as a member. To make full use of your membership, bring your card with you during a mission. If you want to work together with other members of the Section who might be on the same mission, simply display the card, with the smiley face facing outwards. If, however, your mission is one of assassination or other destructive purposes, display the sad face, which communicates a desire to parley.

Do note that entry or exit is up to individual ability, however. The Subversion and Surveillance Section takes no responsibility for failed missions or dead agents.

All the best to you, agent.

Gaius looked up from the introduction, and felt a whole bunch of eyes fall on him again. Clipping the card onto his chest with the smiley face facing outwards, the boy looked back up at the others, who flashed a thumbs-up in return before turning back to the machine that they had set up.

The boy glanced at the card, an indescribable feeling in his chest, and then sidled closer to look at the images the machine was displaying. From the looks of it, the machine was displaying the cathedral’s interior, and other than a few white, human-sized shapes, Gaius could see a coiled white mass.

The Eternal Cadence.

Gaius was curious about Aldnath’s current state. To him, the great gods were a mysterious bunch. Did they have physical forms? What did the world look like to them? Out of respect, the boy had never asked the Chanter of Innocents about things like these, but it was something he really wanted to know.

As the boy continued to observe the great god, a rush of thoughts flooded his mind.

Some time ago, Gaius had made a hypothesis that the great gods of Orb had a blind spot in the form of Heritage. The Phantom Blade’s revelation had brought the original Orb into public awareness, but that didn’t mean that the great gods would know about Cybral.

In that case, how did Aldnath and the Sentinel of Space know about it? The latter, in particular, had even dispatched a familiar spirit into Cybral, but when and how did Hereward do that? How about the other great gods? Why weren’t they here? These questions continued to whirl around in Gaius’ head, and the boy shook his head twice.

His head pounding slightly, Gaius tore his eyes away from the screen and backed away slowly. Without making a sound, the boy left the scene, leaving the other shadows behind. Somewhat dazed, he crossed rooftop after rooftop in a reverie, making a beeline straight for his lodgings.

A moan leaked out of his mouth when he arrived at the small house arranged for him, and with a slight jerk, the fog clouding his mind began to lift. Gaius blinked twice, and his head, which felt like a few hammers had been drumming a mad solo on the inside of his skull, began to throb painfully.

“Have you forgotten that great gods have a Divine Kingdom?” a familiar voice asked. “What made you think that Aldnath’s wasn’t active here?”

Gaius rubbed his head twice, his mind still clouded, and forced himself to look at Weiwu. “Do I also get a Divine Kingdom of my own then?”

“Technically, you do have one.” The Chanter of Innocents patted his head. “It’s just too small.”

His head was still hurting, but now, for some reason, Gaius’ face was beginning to smart too.