Half-step Purgatory

Durin stroked the black cat on the armrest of his chair, sitting on the black leather sofa. Through the glasses perched on his nose, his gaze passed over the long table in front of him and settled on the man kneeling on the carpet:
"I understand, you've made money in Naples, your business has been very successful, and you've led a happy life. You've had those secret police, friends in both the law and the underground, and even the Royal Family speaking on your behalf."
"You don't need a friend like me, I know that. You're afraid of owing me a favor, and you don't want to get involved in troubles."
"But now you come to me and say, 'I beg you, Mr. Durin of the Corleon family, please help me seek justice, so that my life and my family will not suffer and sink into despair.'
Yet, in your eyes, I was nothing more than a second-rate artist involved in movies and music. Even at the brink of death, you still show me such disrespect, not even willing to call me by my title... Keeper of Secrets."

Durin's Diary

Durin was eager to understand the stories above the clouds and uncover the secrets among the stars above this vast land.


But unable to break through gravity and with no possibility of extracting the truth from the gods, Durin ultimately could only come to the front of the small building.


Anta gave him a hug, rubbing Durin's face: "This time, what mysterious places did you visit, what bizarre sights did you see?"


"I have just witnessed a past unimaginable by the people of our time; I saw brains placed within pods, living and dead without any difference..." On the way to the dining table, Durin shared everything he had just seen with Anta.


An Old Era warehouse, brains independent of their bodies—these things held a fatal attraction for Anta as a mage, but she also felt deep regret when she heard the story of that brain—regret over the long sentence that the prisoner had endured.


By comparison, the death penalty seemed like a merciful punishment.


Chapter 164: Analysis