Having experienced over 3,000 loops, Ulrich started to lose count. His encounter with Zheng San was supposed to reset that count, or he’d hope it did, yet it seems to be useless. Truly, he was never good at counting!

  No matter, counting or not, the loop continues. He raised his hand, glancing at his wrist, only to realize that he didn’t have a watch. A bit awkward, Ulrich looked up at the sky.

  Is the sun already about to go down? Weird… It’s just about nightfall in the shadow realm!

  Immediately, he recalled his appointment with Donnie Shelby and the negotiation that was set to take place. Before entering the shadow realm, Rosaline had promised to inform him beforehand; this way, he’d be able to make the appropriate preparation to return to the surface world.

  Learning that there’s little time left, Ulrich stood up from his seat. He had only one goal in this loop, and that was to meet with Ma'am Felanor and raise some questions.

  At this moment, intuition took over as he repeated the pattern from the previous loops, making his way to Gu Lan’s antique store, obtaining the necessary items for a ritual, then using Gu Lan’s apartment as his ritual site. Since the man was working anyway, there’s no harm, no foul done!

  Having obtained the method to contact that mysterious senior member under the Night Mother, he didn’t need to visit that isolated island. Or at least, he hoped so. However, recalling her tone of words when he asked the question, Ulrich was confident the range of this ritual was rather large. The real question was, how large?

  Standing in the guest room, he cleared the tables and chairs, creating an empty space before him. The watchman placed the candles in the correct position, forming a triangular shape. Having learned from his lesson last time, Ulrich walked to the room, found the dead Shadowfin, then plucked the gem from its forehead, using it as the main sacrificial material to the goddess.

  Praise the goddess, this is a proper gift!

  He tapped his chest thrice, lighting the candle one by one, then closed his eyes and whispered:

  “The Lady of Night. “

  “The dusk after dawn. “

  “The Perpetual Listener beyond the Stars.”

  With that said, Ulrich's voice dropped to the floor and spat one final line:

  “, pray for the truths and secrets behind Belham, the city of Respite, the house of the Ministry, and the Sanctuary of the Keepers!”

  The response was immediate and clear. All three candles flared with raging flame, scorching the room with an otherworldly power that shouldn’t be possible. Ulrich hissed with cold breath. Once again, he tapped his chest thrice, giving his praise to the mother.

  It’s effective, that’s good. I wasn’t entirely sure the distance was this large, but this will save me a great deal of time in future loops.

  From the darkness before him, a shadowy figure slowly ‘entered’ reality. The phenomenon threw physics out the window, and if Isaac Newton were here in Ulrich’s place, he’d have retired on the spot!

  In that moment, ‘she’ turned her head, looking at the scattered table and chairs, before meeting Ulrich’s smile. Ma’am Felanor's expression was confused and somewhat baffled. She opened her mouth, about to speak. However, Ulrich was faster, taking the initiative to clear the air.

  “Ma’am Felanor. It’s an honor to see you.”

  Her eyes flickered, then narrowed. “I have never met you.”

  You have. Well, you did, but only I remember.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  He’d like to speak his true thoughts, but Ulrich still had things to do, and ending this loop now meant he’d lost the chance to speak with her directly.

  “I’ve heard of your name, Ma’am.”

  She didn’t respond and instead, pointed at the candles and ‘offering’ on the floor. “You know our God?”

  “Praise the Mother, I do.” He nodded, tapping his chest thrice.

  “The goddess is pleased with your pious sacrifice,” Her eyes flickered, as though she had grasped some truth, before asking, “What is your name?”

  You’re more curious this time around than our last meeting, interesting…

  “Ulrich Constantine, ma’am. I’m also a Servant of Night.”

  There was silence, one that was abnormally oppressive. Ulrich knew that she wasn't a malevolent figure, and that she'd certainly not have killed him on the spot. Truly, if it were not a dream, he'd be drenched in sweat by now. Fortunately, a dream it was, and worries he had not.

  Frankly, her reaction to his name was more intense than he’d expected, much more than their first meeting. Eventually, Ma’am Felanor looked at him with a blank expression and nodded.

  “I have heard your prayer—“

  Ulrich coughed, cutting her sentence midway. Belham? He'd already seen it, heard it. Going through that motion again would waste too much time.

  Sorry, I will have to skip this cut scene!

  “Actually, ma’am, I have other questions to ask you.”

  She paused, not taking any offense to his action, and tilted her head. “What questions?”

  “Have you heard of a Shadowmancer named William?”

  Seeing the visible confusion on her face, Ulrich added with a smile. “He was once a Rank 5 Weaver in the Shadow Realm, Lord of Cadry Castle.”

  Felanor frowned, trying to recall if she’d heard this name somewhere, and failing. “I never heard of this person before.”

  Never heard of a Rank 5 Shadowmancer? Is he too low-level? Or… Ulrich gulped, suddenly finding her unfathomable. Reeling in his astonishment, Ulrich changed the topic.

  “Ma’am, I’d like to know if you have any clues regarding the formulas of the Rune of Shadow,” Saying so, he quickly assured her, “If you can’t answer due to some external reason, consider that I never asked.”

  She waved her hand. “This question, I can answer. I assume you asked about that 'William' because you believe he possesses the formulas, correct?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Let me guess further. This ‘Lord’ is already dead, his castle became a ruin in the Shadow Realm, and you’d like to confirm if there’s any latent danger when exploring this ruin. Am I correct?”

  Uh. Did you read my mind?

  Ulrich failed to conceal his bewilderment, making her chuckle. “You should be aware of the procedures, our little Watchman.”

  “Why not obtain it through the official channels? Are you that impatient?”

  She had no idea. It was his life and the lives of many at stake! Once again, not being able to speak the truth suffocated him a little, though he was used to it.

  Saving so, Felanor explained with a pleasant smile. “Since you are a Watchman, you must be under the Ministry. Since you are under the Ministry, there must be a Captain above you, and beside that is the Keeper.”

  As he listened, Ulrich grew increasingly confused. Where exactly was she going with this?

  Her eyes glancing at his appearance top down, “Speak to your Keeper, tell her your talent. I’m sure she will help you. This is the only clue that’s available to you, other than exploring that ruin.”

  “And if you still wanted to explore that ruin, there's a certain chance she will help you.”

  For a moment, Ulrich didn’t respond. The tone of her voice was confident, too confident. It was to the point that Ulrich started to doubt her words, though he knew better than to question the expert. He gave it a thought, a bit tempted, but one question lingered in his mind:

  My talents? Does she mean my athleticism? Or… My ‘Blessings of the Shadow’?

  Either way, Ulrich raised his hand, intending to tip his hat as a gesture of gratitude, only to realize that he had no hat. Noticing her tilting head, Ulrich felt a bit awkward.

  “Ahem. Thank you for your wise advice, ma’am.”

  She nodded. “Any other questions?”

  He gave it a thought, shaking his head.

  “That’s all.”