**Chapter 507: Possession**
After a brief rest at the station, the Desert Arrow train set off again. As the steam engine at the front roared to life, thick smoke billowed from the chimney, and the entire train rumbled forward into the vast night.
The train sped through the late night, aiming to reach its destination by morning. Most passengers, except for a few vigilant souls, had succumbed to sleep, with only the driver’s cabin and the power room remaining active.
In the early hours, the door of an empty carriage suddenly swung open. A man dressed in an attendant’s uniform stepped inside the deserted compartment. After surveying the area, he turned back to pull the doors tightly shut.
Once he closed the carriage door, the attendant looked up at the ceiling, then reached into his own clothing to search for items. First, he pulled out a mask to wear, then unearthed a small piece of solid incense, followed by a small box of matches and a screwdriver.
After laying the solid incense and matches on the table, the attendant took the screwdriver and stepped onto a nearby chair, raising himself up. He peered into the corner of the carriage ceiling and spotted the ventilation grille. Gently, without making a sound, he unscrewed the metal grille with the screwdriver, removed it, and laid it down softly on the table.
Then he took the solid incense and the matchbox from the table, placing the incense into the ventilation pipe. After lighting a match, he used it to ignite the solid incense, which began to release a faint smoke.
Seeing the incense smoke wafting out, the attendant quickly bent down to retrieve the grille from the table and reinstalled it over the ventilation. Next, he searched his clothes again, producing a small silver coin and a sigil.
By consuming the spiritual energy stored within the coin, the attendant activated the sigil, creating a gentle breeze. He directed this breeze into the ventilation, pushing the smoke from the burning incense deeper into the ventilation system.
Carried by this subtle wind, the light smoke traveled through the pipe, emerging through various other vents in connected rooms—one of which belonged to the most distinguished guest on this train, Sister Vania.
The intangible, fragrant smoke quietly seeped out from the ventilation in Vania’s compartment, and while she lay dreaming, she unknowingly inhaled the wispy haze, thus sinking more deeply into her slumber.
After accomplishing this, the attendant climbed down from the chair, tidied up the scene, adjusted his hat, opened the carriage door, and turned to leave.
Thus, the Desert Arrow train continued its journey through the darkness as if nothing had happened, heading towards its final destination.
…
As the moon set and the stars faded, dawn rapidly approached. With the rising sun shining from the east, Kankdar Port welcomed a new day.
In the morning, the Kankdar train station was bustling with activity. The usual crowd had been cleared away, and police and city guards filled all the essential corners. A group of people stood by the spacious platform, including a prepared band, eager reporters, and many spectators from various sectors of Kankdar.
This was the setup for the welcome ceremony to greet the returning Envoy Group, personally organized by Mayor Robert of Kankdar, boasting considerable pomp and circumstance, gathering nearly a thousand people in total. Most of the platform was filled, and Robert, in attendance, had also invited important figures from various fields in Kankdar. By early morning, these notable figures arrived, some of whom were unexpectedly familiar.
“Ugh… why haven’t they arrived yet?” In front of the crowd, among a group of nobles, a plump young man clad in traditional Northern Ufeiga attire, adorned with gold ornaments and wearing a turban, yawned and complained into the empty distance of the tracks. At his side, a servant in the attire of a retainer responded.
“Please wait a moment, Prince Mazale. According to schedule, the train should arrive in about twenty minutes…”
“Twenty minutes? That’s still so long! Why are we standing here waiting for them to arrive instead of meeting them at the station?” the man known as Mazale protested, and his servant quickly added, “Your Highness, we are waiting for Sister Vania’s special train. She is an important envoy assigned by the Church to address our national issues, and we must extend her the proper respect. When Sister Vania went to Adis, Prince Ma Aide personally sent her off…”
“Other than being decent-looking, what’s so special about Sister Vania? They say at the banquet that she’s just a pretty face… She didn’t accomplish anything significant in Adus, and now she returns empty-handed. Uncle Robert really puts too much importance on this vase, making me come here to welcome her… If it weren’t for this pathetic event this morning, I’d still be sleeping soundly at the Nightingale Theatre’s Yanmeng bed… *hic*…”
Mazale let out a drunken belch as he spoke, releasing a puff of alcohol-laden breath. His servant was alarmed by his words and hastily warned, “Shh… Your Highness, please watch your words. This is a public setting, and you are the Prince of Baruch. Please don’t speak carelessly…” Seeing city nobles glancing their way, the servant was visibly anxious, while Mazale shrugged off the concern.
“Prince of Baruch? What prince? Our Baruch is long dead. What’s the point of being a prince? Only Uncle Ma Aide and his group keep dreaming of restoring the old kingdom. We’ve got more than enough to live here comfortably for several lifetimes, so why bother with restoration? I think that Adus can just go to that kid Shadi. We can live lavishly here in Kankdar. After all this time, I find Kankdar much more fun than Adis; you can enjoy the girls from all different countries. Staying here isn’t too bad, right? Why always want to go back?”
Mazale spoke freely, and his comments drew strange looks from some audience members who understood Northern Ufeiga. His servant tried to rein him in but found it futile.
As time ticked by, nearly twenty minutes passed before a long whistle echoed from the far end of the tracks. Upon hearing the sound, everyone turned to look, spotting a plume of smoke approaching slowly, beneath which was the train coming to a gradual stop.
At that moment, on the rooftop of a nearby building, a woman in ordinary Northern Ufeiga attire, with a turban and face veil, stood, gazing at the slowing train on the tracks. Her eyes focused on a specific carriage of the long train.
As the train approached the station, the woman on the roof sat down slowly, closed her eyes, and with a wave of strange power, an ethereal spirit body identical to her emerged from her form, swiftly floating toward the distant train. Although the train station was guarded predominantly by the city guards with extraordinary defensive abilities, no one noticed this soul’s presence as it effortlessly slipped through the train, penetrating the body of one of the carriages.
Once inside the carriage, the spirit found Sister Vania still asleep in bed. At that moment, a series of urgent knocking sounds came from the door, accompanied by a frantic voice calling from outside.
“Sister Vania! Sister Vania! Are you in there? Please hurry and get ready! We’re about to arrive, and there’s a welcome ceremony outside! Please open the door!”
The urgent knocking and calls from outside went unanswered, and Sister Vania continued to lay in bed, drifting deeper into her dreams, as if she had not heard the knocking or the calls at all.
Seeing the scene unfold, the spirit that had infiltrated Vania’s carriage smiled slightly, leaned down, and entered Vania’s body. The sleeping Sister Vania opened her eyes, sitting up in bed, and gazed at the carriage door, her expression now reflecting a coldness she had never displayed before.
Then, “Vania” immediately got out of bed. After searching around, she found a neatly folded white nun’s robe, quickly changing out of her nightgown. After a brief check of her appearance in the mirror, she walked to the carriage door, opened it, and was met by an anxious attendant, who paused momentarily upon seeing her, then spoke.
“Uh… Sister Vania, you’re awake at last! Please hurry and get ready, we are currently in the process of arriving at the station, and a welcoming ceremony is prepared for you!” The attendant looked out the carriage window toward the bustling platform where many people were already gathered, and a band had begun to play, spreading a celebratory atmosphere.
“Understood, you may go first. I’ll get ready and join you shortly,” “Vania” replied to the attendant. Upon hearing her response, he nodded and, after a brief pause, casually asked, “Oh, then I’ll wait for you over at number seven. By the way, do you need me to prepare anything?”
Hearing the attendant’s words, “Vania” paused slightly before responding, “Then… please prepare some toiletries for me.”
“Sure thing… Sister Vania,” the attendant said, handing a box marked ‘toiletries’ to “Vania” before quickly leaving. After the attendant departed, “Vania” opened the box, only to find a handgun inside.
…
On the Desert Arrow train during the early morning, Dorothy, who had been peacefully sleeping, was suddenly awakened by the loud sounds of festive music from outside. Rubbing her eyes and yawning, she sat up in bed, her disheveled long hair falling over her shoulders, her expression one of confusion.
“Ugh… it’s so noisy outside! What’s that sound?”
Inside the compartment, a sleep-disoriented Dorothy glanced out the window. As she pulled the curtain aside, the bustling scene on the platform came into view, packed with people and a sizable band performing the music she heard.
“This is… a station? Am I at Kankdar train station? Is that band here for the welcoming ceremony? Have we already arrived at Kankdar?”
Realizing the situation, Dorothy understood that they had reached their destination, the site of the Kankdar welcome ceremony.
Though she knew they were supposed to arrive in Kankdar that morning, she couldn’t help but tug at her unruly hair in confusion. Her mind raced with thoughts.
“Why are we here already? Weren’t we supposed to arrive around eight-thirty? Did I really sleep that long?”
Dorothy pondered this, pulling out her pocket watch to check the time. Confirming it was indeed eight-thirty in the morning, she realized she had overslept.
“cr*p… I actually overslept! How could this happen? I normally don’t sleep in this late…”
Caught in her confusion, Dorothy recalled her habit of maintaining alertness, which consumed mental energy. She preferred to enter deep sleep during the latter part of the night rather than fighting off sleepiness. Thus, she had not kept her vigil fully and was unaware of events outside the train. Yet, this delay didn’t seem typical for her.
“Hmm… I should have woken up early, right? Oh yes… Vania usually has morning prayers at seven, and I wake up when I hear her. If I needed to get up early, I would, otherwise, I would just block it out and continue sleeping… But today… Vania didn’t do morning prayers?”
As these thoughts zipped through her mind, Dorothy realized something was off with Vania’s morning routine. Unlike her, Vania, being a devoted believer, was extremely punctual—habits of when to eat, pray, sleep, and wake were fixed for her. Vania didn’t require an alarm clock, while Dorothy often relied on Vania’s prayers to mark her daily schedule. This morning, because Vania had skipped her prayers, Dorothy had awakened late.
Recognizing this abnormality concerning Vania’s prayers, Dorothy surged with renewed energy, shaking off her sleepiness. Although missing one prayer might have seemed trivial, after their experiences in Navaha with the Black Dream Cult, Dorothy could no longer afford to underestimate such matters. It could well be a sign that Vania was affected by some force and had lost control over herself!
Realizing this, Dorothy immediately activated her information channel to connect with Vania’s senses, checking if she was again under deep sleep.
Upon linking up with Vania’s perception, Dorothy began to see through Vania’s eyes. She observed that Vania stood at the door of the carriage, gazing out the window at the slowly passing platform, where many gathered for the welcome ceremony.
Currently, Vania appeared to be preparing to step off the train at its halt and participate in the ceremony. There were no signs of her being in deep sleep; it seemed she had simply come to the door after waking up. She had likely forgotten her morning prayers.
In Vania’s perspective, Dorothy didn’t detect any obvious anomalies. However, she did notice something odd—Vania was surrounded by train attendants, but none of the Envoy Group’s guards accompanied her. Although those guards were injured, some were capable of walking, and not a single one had come to join the ceremony. That was certainly suspicious.
Recognizing this strange detail, Dorothy swiftly decided to employ the other miniature zombie puppets hidden on the train to observe Vania from different angles.
