Cold, damp, the stench of rotting flesh, the noise of chains rubbing against the ground.
Many strange perceptions flooded into Duncan's mind, but he was unable to successfully open his eyes for a while - at this moment, he felt as if his soul was divided into two parts, one part remained on the Lost Homeland, and the other part was stuffed into a completely unfamiliar body, which was as difficult to control as an old and broken machine. The chaotic perceptions were rampant in his nervous system, mixed with a certain dullness and numbness. He tried to open his eyes and move his fingers, but he could not 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 have awakened from a long hibernation and gradually regained the ability to move.
He finally opened his eyes and saw clearly what was happening around him.
What came into view was a dim, cave-like space with burning torches stuck in the stone wall in the distance. The flickering flames reflected the horrible scene around. Duncan saw many people - or rather many dead bodies, thrown in a mess among the wet and waterlogged soil and rocks. Most of them were in tattered clothes, but a few still had intact clothes on their bodies.
Condensed water droplets dripped from the top of the cave, and in the distance one could vaguely hear the sound of sewage flowing in an underground river or sewer. The sound of the friction of the iron chain seemed to come from deep in a corridor connected to the cave, and was gradually fading away.
Duncan blinked, trying to figure out what was happening—he looked down at his right hand, and saw a completely unfamiliar and thin palm, as well as ragged clothes on the arm, and the brass compass that he had been holding in his hand had long disappeared.
He looked up at his side again. He remembered that when he was traveling in the starlight and light network, he had caught a glimpse of a shadow following him. The outline of the shadow looked like some kind of bird, but of course, he found nothing.
The bird-like shadow did not seem to come into the real space with him.
Duncan slowly clenched his palms, forcibly suppressed the nervousness in his heart, and then tried to rub his fingers.
A very faint green flame emerged from the fingertips.
It must be said that this cluster of flames now looked much weaker than what Duncan was familiar with, but he still felt a little relieved. As the flames burned, his still somewhat confused mind was slightly refreshed, and he felt more clearly than before a certain... tearing and connection on the spiritual level.
He clearly sensed that another part of his spirit was not here. He sensed the existence of the Lost Hometown and himself sitting at the desk, holding a brass compass in his hand.
This feeling was very strange, but Duncan immediately realized what was happening:
Something happened to his mind... some kind of projection, or extension. The projected part of his mind crossed an unknown distance and now entered another unfamiliar body.
And in this state of projection, he can still clearly feel the existence of his "real body".
This must be related to the brass compass! Could this be the ability of the "anomalous object"
Duncan had some guesses in his mind, but he didn't let his random thoughts occupy too much of his time. After confirming that his body was still safe and sound, and his mind was still under control, and that he had only temporarily entered a distant and nameless body, he had calmed down a little and was ready to confirm what his "new body" was like.
The first thing that can be confirmed is that the surrounding environment is definitely not on a ship.
This is land—the land that he had been drifting on the sea for so many days and couldn't find!
Secondly, this gloomy cave did not look like a good place, and the corpses scattered around did not look like a normal "burial" scene. The body that he was occupying now...what bad luck had trapped him in such a hell on earth
Duncan took a deep breath and pushed himself up to sit up - he had been leaning against a large rock, and that posture was far from comfortable.
And just with this inhalation and standing up, Duncan suddenly felt a huge strangeness in his body - he felt that the air he had breathed into his body was released all at once, and a certain empty and weird feeling came from his chest, and even the movement of getting up was deformed.
Duncan looked down in surprise and saw a big hole.
There was a big hole at the heart, and the things inside had naturally disappeared. A cool wind blew through it, mixed with the breath that Duncan had just inhaled and had not completely dissipated, and finally dissipated in the humid air.
Duncan even saw the scene behind him clearly from a certain angle.
“… What the hell?!”
No matter how thick his nerves were, and even though he had gained some "worldly experience" on the Lost Homeland, Duncan still felt a layer of cold sweat at that moment. He felt goose bumps appearing all over his body, and every hair on his body stood up!
After this sudden shock, he immediately realized that he was still standing here and even had the energy to curse.
With his heart missing and a huge hole in his chest, he didn't even feel any pain in his body!
"Is this... a body?"
After a moment, Duncan came to his senses, further understood his situation, and quickly calmed down.
Occupying the body of a corpse and getting up and moving around might not be something to be surprised about. After all, he also has a ghost ship that can sail on its own and a wooden goat first mate who can make people's brains boil. He also recently met a cursed puppet that can act separately and is good at riding the waves on the vast ocean. Which of these things is not more terrifying than "the dead talking"
At least he only lost his heart now, Alice's head is often not on her neck...
With all these chaotic thoughts running through his mind, Duncan regained his composure at a speed that surprised himself. He then confirmed the movements of his current body, and slightly adapted to the abnormal movements caused by the abnormality in his chest. Then he walked towards the corpses thrown in the cave.
"Sure enough..."
Duncan looked at the first body and was not surprised to see the horrifying hole in the other's chest.
He was a middle-aged man with a haggard face and ragged clothes, looking like a beggar on the street. He had been dead for a long time, but his angry eyes still conveyed his struggle and despair at the moment of his death.
Duncan continued to walk forward and saw one heartless corpse after another, falling miserably on the cold stones. There were only two exceptions - those two people had hideous wounds on their heads, which seemed to be the result of hitting the stones violently and dying on the spot.
Duncan couldn't help but make some associations - perhaps, these were two people who committed suicide before facing the pain of having their hearts torn out.
To be honest, the things in this cave were a bit too exciting for ordinary people. Even Duncan felt a little overwhelmed after checking all the bodies. After checking the conditions of all the corpses, he had to find a relatively clean stone in a far place and sit down. He sorted himself out bit by bit and guessed the truth of it all while calming down.
Obviously, this was a horrific murder - but judging from the overly cruel and uniform killing method, it seemed that this was not just murder, but also revealed some kind of evil... ritual.
Duncan summoned the spiritual flame again, feeling the connection between himself and his "original body". He knew that he could cut off this "projection state" at any time and return to the safety of the Lost Homeland.
But he felt he needed 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 from his chest, and stood up from the big rock where he was resting temporarily. He looked towards the corridor deep in the cave and remembered that the sound of the friction of the iron chain came from there.
There are not only corpses in this underground space, but also other people moving around. Those who can move freely in this terrible place... should be able to give him some answers.
It was certainly not safe to rush over to check the situation, but Duncan didn't care.
Anyway, I feel at ease now.