Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 480 The Sun Sets (The Finale)

The three-day celebration in Red Tide City has finally come to a close.

With the weighty "40th Anniversary Contributor Medal" in her arms, Ini returned to her home in the capital as the evening sun set.

As soon as you open the door, the aroma of stewed meat wafts out.

The sound of a pot lid gently rattling came from the kitchen. John, wearing an apron, was intently watching the stove.

"You're back?" He turned his head, casually wiping the water off his hands. "Sit down quickly, the water's just boiled."

As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze involuntarily fell on Ini's chest.

The dark gold medal shimmered slightly under the indoor lights, making it impossible to ignore.

Seeing this, Ini's lips curled into a smug smile.

She deliberately puffed out her chest, as if she were showing off a newly completed achievement in a laboratory.

“Look closely, Comrade John,” she said, half-jokingly.

"This was put on me by Lord Louis himself. From today onwards, shouldn't you be fully responsible for logistical support tasks such as washing dishes and taking out the trash?"

John paused for a second, then realized what was happening.

He stood up exaggeratedly and raised his hand in a slightly comical gesture of respect.

“Yes, Your Excellency Academician.” His tone was overly solemn, but his eyes were full of smiles. “It is my honor to work under your leadership.”

Laughter soon filled the living room.

An elderly mother came over with a tray of food, the husband's father put down his newspaper, and the children scrambled for seats at the table.

Laughter rose and fell, and no one needed to deliberately lower their voice.

A lively waltz was playing from the magical broadcast on the wall, its melody echoing throughout the room.

Suddenly the music was abruptly cut off.

Then, instead of a melody, the voice of the chief announcer came from the loudspeaker.

The voice tried to remain calm, but it still couldn't hide the trembling and hoarseness within.

A brief pause.

"Issue an emergency announcement to all citizens..."

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing.

"The terminator of the old era, the destroyer of false gods, the savior of the world, the creator and the father of the nation... Comrade Louis Calvin..."

The announcer's voice almost cracked here.

"Due to overwork, he passed away at 5:09 PM today at Red Tide Castle, thus ending his glorious life."

The last sentence was squeezed down to an extremely low pitch.

"The sun... has set."

John's father was the first to speak.

The old man, who had been a slave for half his life, suddenly knelt down, his forehead slamming hard against the cold floor with a dull thud.

He was curled up, his shoulders trembling violently.

To this first group of slaves liberated by the Red Tide, Louis was a god.

He raised his hands with trembling hands, looking at the palms that had been rubbed raw by the chains.

"Gone... Lord Louis... Gone... If those monsters return, who will protect our child?"

Mary stood to the side, clutching the Broken Edge Knight's Medal left behind by old Smith.

Her eyes were terrifyingly empty, and tears silently soaked her clothes, as if she had lost the strength even to cry.

John stood by the window, where towering chimneys and rows of factory buildings stood silently in the night.

That was something he and countless engineers built inch by inch, according to the blueprints left by Louis.

He closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing violently, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Inee lowered her head, her fingertips gently touching the medal on her chest.

The medal still carried warmth, the lingering warmth from when Louis personally pinned it on her a few days earlier.

“Just three days ago…” her voice was barely audible, “on the reviewing stand, the adults looked so energetic… they hadn’t even seen us yet…”

For her generation, Louise was a mentor, a guide, and a voice that always provided answers when the fog was thickest.

An overwhelming sense of loneliness slowly crept in.

From now on, when the truth is once again obscured by the fog, no one will ever again point out the way to her in that gentle tone.

The children didn't understand any of this; they didn't know what war looked like, nor did they know what famine was like.

All they knew was that the radio said the greatest person in the world had passed away.

The youngest child stood by the window, watching the streetlights go out one after another, and cautiously tugged at Ini's clothes.

"Mom." His voice was very soft.

"The radio said... the sun has set, so... will it rise again tomorrow?"

The entire capital city seemed to have been put on pause by some invisible force.

On the street, a magic vehicle that had been speeding along stopped in the middle of the tracks.

The driver slumped over the steering wheel, his shoulders heaving violently, and his sobs spilled uncontrollably from the car.

The train doors were open, but no passengers got off, and no one urged them to leave; instead, they all cried.

Further away, the roar of the factory disappeared.

That deep, resonant echo that had lasted for forty years was completely extinguished at this moment.

Thousands of men and women in overalls emerged from the workshop and stood in the shadow of the towering chimneys, no one talking, no one giving orders.

They simply knelt down silently, their foreheads pressed against the cold ground, as if paying homage to something that could no longer respond.

There was no rioting in the city, but it changed in less than an hour.

White flowers began to pile up in People's Square.

Flowers were delivered from all the neighborhoods and placed in the center of the square, on street corners, and in front of every statue of Louis.

The white flowers piled up layer upon layer, quickly engulfing the stone steps, like a silent yet surging torrent.

The crowd stood outside the sea of ​​flowers, sobbing softly, staring blankly at the white expanse, motionless. Their grief had no outlet; it was real and heavy, like a stone pressing on their chests.

It was as if everyone had lost a loved one.

The broadcast continued.

The sound was much calmer than before; it was the last recording Louis left behind.

"I was just a passerby who brought the spark to you, and now it's in your hands. Use it to work, to learn, and to love this world..."

…………

Traveling thousands of miles to the northernmost point of the continent, this is the end of extreme cold.

On this frozen land, almost devoid of life, a black pyramid stands silently.

It is built from pieces of black starstone, and the tower is not smooth. Dense primordial runes cover every inch of its surface.

Dark red and purplish light flowed slowly among the runes, forming a complete and functioning magical structure.

This building is not meant to commemorate anyone; its sole purpose is isolation.

We must isolate those original sins that, if left unchecked, could plunge civilization back into barbarism.

The old man was standing at the foot of the pyramids when the capital's radio announced to the world the death of Louis Calvin.

Louis's cheeks, neck, and even the back of his bare hands were already covered with twisted and spreading runes.

The runes, like living things, clung to his skin, flickering with his breath.

This is the price he paid; for forty years he used himself as a seal to forcibly suppress, divide, and bind the seven original sins.

Every act of suppression is a silent overdraft.

Now his breathing has become difficult, and each inhale is accompanied by an unmistakable tremor.

The erosion of original sin had long been nearing its breaking point, and he knew very well that he had reached the end of his life.

But he cannot die naturally in the outside world.

Once unrestrained, those sealed powers will instantly turn against the world.

Sif and Emily held his hands tightly, one on each side.

Time has not taken away their beauty, but has left its mark on the corners of their eyes.

They didn't cry out, but their tears kept falling, freezing into tiny crystals before they hit the ice field.

Although they had known this day would come.

The children knelt in the snow.

They are no longer young, in their forties, and bear heavy responsibilities.

The eldest son, Orsus, lowered his head, his hands clenched tightly, while the eldest daughter, Aurelia, never looked away from her father's face, her eyes filled with reluctance...

Louis slowly raised his rune-covered hand and placed it on the children's heads, stroking them one by one as he had done many years ago.

The officials standing in front of the pyramids were already pale from the cold.

Even so, none of them spoke up to leave first.

The youngest of them finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He shivered in the cold wind, his voice strained with suppressed emotion: "My lord... please, give us one last bit of guidance."

As the wind and snow swept across the outer walls of the pyramid, the faint glow of the runes flowed across the black stone surface.

After listening, Louis chuckled softly: "You guys."

He slowly turned around and looked at those familiar faces that were no longer young.

"Having sat in this position for so many years, do you really need an old man like me to teach you how to walk?"

The officials were speechless for a moment; some lowered their heads, while others nodded unconsciously.

Louis's smile gradually faded.

"Then I'll say that sentence, which I've repeated countless times, one last time." His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the wind and snow.

"Remember that development is the right thing to do, but you must always remember that all development is ultimately for the benefit of the vast majority of people, not for the selfish desires of a few powerful people."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"At no time should people be treated as anything other than human beings, but rather as consumables used to drive society forward."

The wind and snow howled, and Louis's tone became low and solemn: "If you forget this, if you let the Red Tide become cold, rigid, and decaying..."

Louis turned around, his back to the crowd, and casually waved his hand.

“I will emerge from this pyramid again and settle accounts with you all myself. Go back, I will go in alone.”

After saying that, he didn't linger. He started walking towards the pyramids.

Weil stood still.

The old general, now a peak knight with a house full of children and grandchildren, stepped forward with red eyes.

“Lord Louis,” his voice was low and hoarse, “let me stand guard outside.”

Louis paused in his steps.

He didn't turn around, but let out a long sigh in the wind and snow: "Whatever."

The gates of the Black Stone Pyramid slowly opened with a deep rumble.

There was no light inside the door.

It was an absolute darkness that seemed capable of devouring everything.

Louis walked alone into the darkness.

The heavy black stone door then closed.

The roar echoed across the far northern wilderness, lingering for a long time.

The runes on the tower shone brightly for a moment, with dark red and dark purple intertwining and surging, before quickly returning to silence.

The wind and snow covered everything again.

In the desolate wilderness of the far north, only heavy snow remained.

And an old knight standing like a statue in front of the pyramid gate.

(End of this chapter)