Deep Sea Embers

Cold, damp, the stench of rotting flesh, the noise of chains scraping against the ground.

Many strange perceptions poured into Duncan's mind, but he failed to open his eyes for a while - at this moment, he felt as if his soul was divided into two parts, and one part remained on the Lost Country, However, the other part has been stuffed into a completely strange body, which is as uncontrollable as an old and broken machine. The chaotic perception is rampant in the nervous system, mixed with some kind of dullness and numbness, he tries to open Eyes, moving fingers, but can't feel the existence of these corresponding body parts at all.

This uncomfortable feeling lasted for several seconds, and the unspeakable numbness and sluggishness in the nervous system finally faded away. Duncan felt that his "body" seemed to wake up from a long hibernation, and gradually resumed activities. ability.

He finally opened his eyes and saw the situation around him clearly.

Upon entering the eyes, there is a drowsy, crypt-like space. There are burning torches inserted on the distant stone wall. The flickering firelight reflects the terrifying scenes around. Duncan saw many people—or It is said that many dead bodies were thrown in disorder among the damp and water-soaked soil and rocks. Most of them were in ragged clothes, and a small number of them still had intact clothes.

Condensed water dripped from the top of the cave, and the sound of sewage flowing in underground rivers or drains could be faintly heard in the distance, while the sound of iron chains rubbing seemed to come from the depths of a corridor connected to the cave, and has drifted away.

Duncan blinked, trying to figure out what happened—he looked down at his right hand, and what he saw was a completely unfamiliar and thin palm, and the ragged clothes on the arm, which he had been holding before The brass compass in his hand has long since disappeared.

He looked up to his side again, and he still remembered seeing a shadow following him when he was walking through the starlight and light net. The outline of that shadow seemed to be some kind of bird, but of course, He found nothing.

The bird-like shadow didn't seem to come to the real space with him.

Duncan shook his palms slowly, forcibly suppressing the nervousness in his heart, and then tried rubbing his fingers.

A cluster of extremely faint green flames emerged from the fingertips.

It has to be said that this cluster of flames now looks much weaker than what Duncan is familiar with, but he still feels a little at ease, and while the flames are burning, his still somewhat chaotic spirit is also slightly lifted, and he is stronger than he is. Just now, I felt more clearly...a kind of tearing and connection at the spiritual level.

He clearly sensed that another part of his spirit was not here. He sensed the existence of the Lost Country, and he felt himself sitting at the desk with a brass compass in his hand.

This feeling is very strange, but Duncan immediately vaguely realized what the situation is now:

His spirit happened...some kind of projection, or extension, that projected part of the mind has crossed an unknown distance, and now it has penetrated into another strange body.

And in this projected state, he can still clearly feel the existence of his "noumenon".

It must have something to do with that brass compass! Could this be the ability of that "abnormal item"?

Duncan had some guesses in his mind, but he didn't let his wild thoughts take up too much time. After confirming that his body is still safe and sound, his spirit is still under control, and now he has only temporarily entered a distant and nameless body, he has calmed down a little, and is going to confirm what his "new body" is like first. .

First of all, the first point can be determined, the surrounding environment is by no means on a certain ship.

This is land—the land he has been unable to find after wandering the sea for so many days!

The second point is that this gloomy cave doesn't look like a good place, and the corpses scattered around it don't look like a normal "burial" scene. The body I occupy now...is trapped for some unlucky reason In such a hell on earth?

Duncan took a deep breath, and sat up with his body propped up—his body had been leaning against a big rock before, and that posture was not comfortable.

And with this inhalation combined, Duncan suddenly felt a huge strangeness from his body - he felt that the air he sucked into his body was released at once, and a certain empty and strange feeling also disappeared from his body. The chest came, and even the movement of getting up was deformed.

Duncan looked down in surprise and saw a big hole.

The big hole was in the heart, and the contents inside had disappeared naturally. There was a cool wind blowing through it, mixed with the breath that Duncan sucked in that had not completely dissipated just now, and finally dissipated in the humid air .

Duncan even had a clear view of what was behind him from an angle.

"...What the hell?!"

No matter how thick his nerves are, even if he has more or less increased his "worldliness" on the Lost Homelander, Duncan still feels a layer of cold sweat at this moment. He feels that his goosebumps are emerging endlessly. The hairs are standing on end!

And after this sudden shock, what he immediately realized was that he was still standing here, and even had the power to swear.

With his heart missing and a big hole in his chest, he didn't even feel any pain from this body!

"Is this...a corpse?"

After a while, Duncan woke up. He further understood his situation and calmed down quickly.

Occupying the body of a corpse and getting up and moving may not be a big surprise, after all, he also has a ghost ship that can sail by himself, a wooden goat mate who can make people's brains boil, and recently met a Cursed dolls that can act separately and are good at riding the wind and waves on the boundless sea, which of these is not more terrifying than "the dead are talking"?

Anyway, he just lost his heart now, and Alice's head is often not on the neck...

With these messy thoughts in his mind, Duncan regained his composure at a speed that surprised him. Afterwards, he confirmed the movement of his current body, and adapted a little to the distorted movement caused by the abnormality in his chest. Only then did he walk towards the corpses thrown in the cave.

"really……"

Duncan looked at the first body, not surprised after seeing the horrific hollowness in the other's chest.

It was a middle-aged man with a haggard face and ragged clothes. He looked like a beggar on the side of the road. He had been dead for a long time, but his glaring appearance still conveyed his struggle and despair at the moment of death.

Duncan continued to walk forward, and what he saw was one after another corpses that had lost their hearts, and they fell miserably on the cold stone, with only two exceptions-the two had hideous wounds on their heads, which seemed to be violent wounds. The result of the force hitting the stone and killing him instantly.

Duncan couldn't help but have some associations—perhaps, these are two people who committed suicide before facing the pain of cutting out their hearts.

To be honest, the things in this cave are a bit too exciting for ordinary people. Even Duncan felt a little overwhelmed after checking all the corpses, so that he had to go to a place far away I found a relatively clean stone and sat down, sorting out my state little by little, and speculated about the truth of all this while calming down.

Obviously, this is a horrific murder—but judging from the too cold and uniform killing method, it seems that this is not just a murder, but also reveals some kind of evil...a sense of ritual.

Duncan summoned the spiritual body flame again, feeling the connection between himself and the "main body", and he knew that he could cut off this "projection state" at any time and return to the safe homeless ship.

But he felt the need to figure out what was going on here.

Even if it's just to get some information about the land.

Duncan exhaled, feeling the air leaking in his chest, and stood up from the big rock that was temporarily resting. He looked at the passage deep in the cave, and remembered that the sound of the iron chains rubbing was coming from there.

There are not only corpses in this underground space, but other people are also active. Those who can move freely in this terrible place... should be able to give him some answers.

Of course it's not safe to rush over to check the situation, but Duncan doesn't care—

Anyway, I feel relieved now.