"But... but I still feel those people haven’t given up, they haven’t given up on electricity."
"What’s wrong?"
Lorenzo, interested in this city’s past, pressed on.
"It’s simple, the Dunling Plan failed, but the area covered by electricity wasn’t erased, and bit by bit, electricity is expanding. Although it hasn’t conquered the city after all this ti, it’s beco ubiquitous, hasn’t it?
This is why Old Dunling is so captivating; it’s like a microcosm of the entire Western world, where you can feel the transformation."
A cold wind blew through the sewer, so icy that even Heracles found it unbearable.
"That’s enough reminiscing, Lorenzo, now your issue is the priority."
Heracles said as he stood up, motioning for Lorenzo to follow him.
"Where are we going?"
"To a safe place."
Heracles looked back at Lorenzo.
"Didn’t you say it yourself? Those Mission people won’t give up easily, they might be scouring the city with knives looking for you as we speak."
"Is there really a safe place in these sewers?"
Lorenzo was doubtful, he knew the terrain was complicated, but only that—complicated, not safe.
"You know, there are two types of rats."
Heracles laughed.
"One kind is wild rats, they usually mingle in the filthy sewers."
As he spoke, he lifted Polo, perhaps its diet was indeed good, for the big rat was even bigger than when Lorenzo last saw it.
"The other kind is like Polo, a dosticated one, living in a nice little nest."
...
After walking along the sewer for a long ti, through a series of intricate passages, Heracles laboriously pushed open a hidden door, climbed a few flights of stairs, and a warm living room appeared before Lorenzo’s eyes.
Rather than Inferior Rats, Lorenzo thought they were like termites, tunneling beneath the ground into a chaotic maze of uncountable paths and doors, perhaps only soone like Heracles could rember the route.
"One of the Rat King’s safe houses."
Heracles said, placing Polo down, and the little creature joyously bounced around the room, though due to the limited space, it bumped into things along the way.
"There are clothes prepared in the wardrobe, change out of your wet ones."
Heracles continued, this guy was really soaked through.
Lorenzo nodded, then opened the wardrobe beside him, though what he found inside gave him a complex expression.
Different uniforms hung neatly, from workwear to doctor’s outfits, making Lorenzo question whether Heracles had so strange hobby.
"It’s just to handle ergencies. Like if this place got exposed, we could dress as repairn to escape, since blending into the environnt is the best way."
Perhaps aware of Lorenzo’s look, Heracles quickly explained.
Lorenzo said nothing, taking out a plain gray shirt to change into, while Heracles fetched a blanket from another room, handing it to Lorenzo as they sat facing each other on the sofa, with Polo still scrambling around the little house. Lorenzo gazed out the window.
He was unsure of his location, but he could still see the towering Dunling Tower, amid a relentless downpour and suffocating clouds that blurred day into night.
The rainy season in Old Dunling was just like this, possibly the heavens venting upon mortals, like a doomsday of sorts.
However fierce it was, with Old Dunling’s mature and advanced sewer system, it wasn’t enough to cause any severe natural disasters.
"So, where should we start talking about your issue?"
Heracles looked at Lorenzo, the interior unlit; he could only rely on the oppressive light to see Lorenzo’s face.
Lorenzo seed like a lost child, his forr mania and rage had vanished.
"mory Palace... I wish to learn that... I guess I must still rember sothing, just forgotten, like how I don’t rember being 047... it must be hidden deep in my mories."
Lorenzo’s words were hesitant, though he firmly believed he was 042, faced with indisputable evidence, he remained uncertain.
"Rather than that, let’s talk about yourself first."
Heracles tried to help Lorenzo, who had said much while in the sewer, although more confidential parts were omitted by Lorenzo, like going to the Demon Hunting Order or the Pseudo Holy Grail. In Heracles’ eyes, Lorenzo seed like a person with a split personality.
"You said you split off a 047 personality... more accurately, that 047 personality split off you, the 042 personality, and then 047 died, while you believed yourself to be normal, until now."
Heracles tried to sort out the relationship, then marveled.
"Your situation is sowhat like when I encountered a shipwreck, but I didn’t have a split personality, I beca like this."
He continued to babble.
"Lorenzo, sotis I feel like you, a bit unsure of myself."
Lorenzo shifted his gaze from the window, unsure why Heracles would say such a thing.
"I’ve read many books, and they remain stored in that grand palace in my mind, so are truly fascinating, exploring ourselves.
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