"Yes, yes, you will succeed." Charles casually responded to Kod's ramblings, not taking them seriously.

  After taking another swig from his bottle, Kod suddenly stood up nervously and asked Charles with a jittery tone, "Tell me, do you think the God of Light will reject me because I didn’t perform the ritual? Will he deny me entry into the divine realm?"

  "Don’t worry, your God of Light isn’t that petty. Besides, you’re so devout."

  "Right, right, you’re absolutely correct. I’ve been praying every day for over thirty years. No one in the entire church is as devout as I am. The God of Light surely won’t mind such a small thing." Kod repeated Charles’ words, trying to reassure himself.

  "Do you want to know what the Land of Light looks like? If you beg me, I might tell you." Charles, slightly tipsy, teased Kod.

  "You… hic! Go ahead, tell me." Kod’s face was flushed red, and he was so drunk he could barely stand.

  Gazing at the dark sea in the distance, Charles began to recount his memories of the surface world, his voice tinged with nostalgia.

  As the conversation grew more animated, Charles even pulled out some of his old drawings depicting the surface and shared them with Kod.

  "No, no, the Land of Light can’t possibly look like this. It’s completely different from what’s recorded in the New Testament. You must be drunk!" Kod shook his head vigorously, rejecting Charles’ description of the surface. He tossed his empty bottle aside and snatched the bottle from Charles’ hand.

  He took another gulp and began to speak with an air of authority.

  "Let me, a holy man of the Church of Light, tell you what the Land of Light truly looks like. It’s the realm of the God of Light, a pure land that rejects all filth and darkness. There, every desire is fulfilled, and devout believers will attain eternal life under the divine radiance. And…"

  At this point, Kod suddenly stopped as if he had forgotten his lines.

  Charles, lying on the deck with his legs crossed, chuckled. "Hahaha, keep going. Why did you stop?"

  Kod’s body began to tremble. He pointed at the sea and stammered, "Am I… am I seeing things? Over there… it just lit up."

  "What?!" Charles instantly sobered up. He quickly flipped over and stood up, looking out at the distant sea.

  At the horizon, a faint yellowish glow appeared, like the first light of dawn faintly visible on the edge of the world.

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  As their ship drew closer, the glow seemed to grow brighter.

  "What… what is that? Charles, tell me, what is that?" Kod’s voice was filled with both fear and anticipation as he shook Charles vigorously.

  Charles stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the yellow light. All he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat growing faster and faster.

  The anomaly on the coastline quickly caught the attention of the other crew members. Soon, the entire crew of the exploration ship gathered on the deck, pointing and discussing the strange phenomenon.

  Just as they were heatedly debating what it could be, a piercing scream erupted on the deck.

  The scream snapped Charles out of his trance. He turned around and saw his vampire crewmate emitting white smoke from his body.

  "Mother above!! Aaaaah! My skin is melting! It hurts so much!! Aaaaah!!"

  Odrick screamed as he stumbled toward the cabin, trying to escape.

  Kod burst into maniacal laughter. "That’s sunlight! That’s the Land of Light! The Land of Light rejects all creatures of darkness, including vampires!! We’ve reached the Land of Light!!"

  His words echoed across the deck, and everyone’s expressions turned to astonishment. It seemed Kod’s claims were true—they had indeed found the Land of Light.

  "Slap, slap, slap." Deep kept hitting his own face, trying to wake himself up from what he thought was a dream.

  "Big guy, I don’t have the strength. Hit me."

  James, standing beside him, grabbed his neck and punched him squarely in the face. Blood immediately streamed from the young man’s nose.

  "Does it hurt??"

  "It hurts. So this is real."

  Strange reactions spread among the crew. Some wept, others laughed hysterically, and many, like Deep, slapped themselves to ensure they were awake.

  As the ship slowly approached, a blinding light, like a sword of radiance, pierced through the dark sea.

  At the center of the light was an island completely bathed in sunlight—a vibrant, green island full of life.

  Soon, the island’s features became clear to Charles. It was a tropical island, larger than Coral Island by half, with several peaks in the distance.

  Unlike other islands in the sea, Charles immediately recognized the trees as familiar surface plants—majestic palm trees, broad-leafed banana trees, and coconut trees heavy with fruit. Everything felt so familiar.

  Facing the legendary land, no one could contain their excitement. The moment the ship docked, everyone rushed onto the white sandy beach like madmen.

  The first thing they did was look up, searching for the source of the light. Even Charles was no exception.

  The sunlight was too intense, causing tears to stream down Charles’ face, but he couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes. He was afraid that if he did, the hopeful light might disappear.

  Charles noticed that the source of light wasn’t directly above the island but slightly off to the side. This life-giving sunlight was streaming through a crack in the celestial dome above.

  Charles stared in awe, and suddenly, he spoke.

  "Buddy, it’s so high up. How do we get there?"

  "Yeah, how do we get there?" Though it was a question, Charles’ voice was filled with joy, and a wide smile spread across his face.

  "Thud." Kod suddenly collapsed onto the ground, his fingers pressed against his white triangle hat. Tears of excitement streamed down his face.

  Charles, who had been looking up, glanced down and saw black spots in his vision. He wasn’t alarmed; it was just the afterimage from staring at the sun for too long.

  "Hey, Kod, stop looking. You’ll get cataracts if you keep this up." Charles walked over and nudged Kod’s yellow-robed body with his foot.

  "I’ve never felt such peace in my heart… I feel… I feel the God of Light has come to take me…" Kod murmured through his tears.