Chapter 17: 17

Chapter 17: The Cave

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There was a stench of cold, wet, rotten flesh and the noise of an iron chain dragging along the ground.

Many strange sensations flooded Duncan’s mind. He failed to open his eyes immediately. At this instant, he felt his soul was torn into two parts. One part was left on the Lost Home while the other was stuffed into an utterly foreign body. This body was akin to an old, broken machine. It was hard to maneuver around in it. His nervous system was cluttered with all sorts of sensations, with a mixture of numbness. He tried to open his eyes and exercise his fingers. However, he could not sense any of his body parts at all.

This suffocating sensation lasted for a few seconds before the indescribable numbness in his nervous system gradually ceased. Duncan felt as though his body was awakening from a long hibernation. Slowly, he regained his ability to move.

His eyes finally opened, and he examined the situation he was in.

The space he was in was ill-lit, seemingly a crypt. Burning torches were hanging on the stone wall far from where he was. Under the flickering torchlight, Duncan slowly made out a horrifying scene in this confined space. He saw many men, or more precisely, many corpses, lying on the ground in a disorderly manner. The dead bodies were placed carelessly on the wet rocks and puddled ground. Most of them were garbed in tattered rags; only a few were still wearing complete clothes.

Water condensed and dripped from the top of the cave. The sound of water flowing could be heard from a distance, indicating the presence of either an underground river or a drain. The sound of iron chains rattling came from the depths of a passageway connected to the cave, but the sound was fading.

Duncan blinked his eyes and tried to figure out what was happening. He looked down at his right hand and saw a strange and frail palm, followed by torn clothes covering his arm. The brass compass which he had been holding had long disappeared.

He looked to his side. He remembered seeing a shadow following beside him while traversing the web of light. The silhouette of the shadow looked like that of a bird. Of course, his search for the bird was in vain.

The bird-like shadow seemed not to have followed him into this reality.

Duncan clenched his fists slowly to subdue the fear and nervousness he felt. Then, he rubbed his fingers together.

A very tiny green flame lit up at the end of his fingertips.

This flame was far weaker than the green flame that Duncan was used to. However, he felt slightly at ease when seeing it. The moment the flame illuminated, he felt his cloudy mental state clear. Moreover, he could clearly sense a ripping and pulling sensation acting on his soul.

He could distinctly sense that the other half of his soul was not here. He could feel the existence of the Lost Home. He could also detect the other half of his soul residing in his own body, sitting in front of the table and holding on to the brass compass.

This sensation was miraculous. Duncan soon had a vague idea of what had happened.

His soul had undergone some form of projection. Or it could be said that his spirit had expanded outwards. A part of his soul traversed an unknown distance and was currently residing in the body of a stranger.

Under such a projection state, he could still clearly sense the existence of his own body.

This was definitely related to the brass compass. Could it be that projection was the ability of that abnormal item?

Duncan had his speculation. However, he did not allow his mind much time to wander into endless possibilities. He calmed down after making sure that his own body was safe on the ship and that his soul was still within his control and was only temporarily residing in this nameless body. He was now ready to explore what kind of situation his new body was in.

Firstly, he was sure that he was not on a ship.

He was on land that he failed to discover after drifting on the ocean for many days!

Secondly, this gloomy cave did not look like a safe place. The scattered corpses did not look like a typical scene where people passed away peacefully. What unfortunate events did the actual owner of his current body go through to have been trapped in such a living hell?

Duncan took a deep breath and sat up straight while supporting his body. Before this, this body had been leaning against a huge boulder. It was not a comfortable pose to be in.

As Duncan drew in a breath and moved, he felt something was very off with his body. The air that he sucked in was quickly leaking out. There was a bizarre and empty sensation coming from his chest. Even his action of lifting his body was distorted.

Puzzled, Duncan looked down and saw a massive hole in his body.

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The hole was right where his heart should be. His heart was gone. Cold air passed through his chest, along with the air Duncan drew in just now. In the end, the air dissipated in the damp surroundings.

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Duncan could even look behind him through the hole from a certain angle.

“What the fuck!” he cursed.

Duncan was usually a happy-go-lucky guy. He had also gained some experience in dealing with supernatural phenomena when he was on the Lost Home. Even then, he still broke out in cold sweat at this moment. He had goosebumps everywhere while his hair stood on end.

After having the shock of his life, Duncan quickly realized that he was still moving and kicking.

Even though his heart was missing, and his chest was penetrated with a huge hole, he did not feel any pain at all.

“Is this body… a corpse?”

A moment later, Duncan figured out the situation. He also had a clearer understanding of his current condition. He calmed down.

Occupying the body of a dead person and moving around in it was nothing astonishing. After all, he had a ghost ship that could drive itself and a garrulous wooden goat head as a first mate. He was recently acquainted with a cursed doll that could detach her head and sail the boundless sea. Any one of the things he had encountered before this was more terrifying than a corpse moving and speaking.

At the very least, he was only missing a heart. Alice’s head could barely remain on her shoulders.

He thought of all this and returned to his composed self at a speed that even shocked him. Then, he checked the mobility of his current body and tried to get used to moving in a weird state with a hole in his chest. After he was done adjusting himself, only then did he move towards the corpses left behind in the cave.

“As expected…” He mumbled.

Duncan examined the first corpse and was not surprised when he saw a hole in the other party’s chest.

The corpse was garbed in tattered clothes, and the deceased was a pale-looking, middle-aged man. He looked like a beggar. He had been dead for a long time. However, his angry and bulging eyes still conveyed the struggle and despair he felt in the very last moments of his life.

Duncan advanced forward and saw many corpses with missing hearts. All of them lay lifelessly on the cold rocks in a miserable state. There were only two exceptions. Two men had severe wounds on their heads. They seemed to have passed away from banging their heads forcefully against the rocks.

Duncan could not help but begin a train of thought. It might be that these were two people who ended their own lives before experiencing the pain of having their hearts gouged out.

Honestly speaking, the things in the cave were too intense for ordinary people to experience. Even Duncan lost his appetite after taking a look around the place. After he inspected the corpses’ condition, he had to sit down on a clean stone a distance away from this place and pull himself together. As he calmed himself down, he tried to deduce the truth behind these events.

These were horrific murders. Yet, judging from the way these corpses were cruelly and uniformly executed, they seemed to be more than just mere murders. There was a wicked sense of ritual to these murders.

Duncan once again summoned the spirit fire. He sensed his connection with his main body. He knew that he could sever this projection of his at any given moment and return safely to the Lost Home.

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He felt that he needed to get to the bottom of what happened to this place, even if it was just to get hold of some intel about land.

Duncan took in a breath and felt the air leave his lungs. He got up from the rock that he had temporarily rested on. He looked towards the passageway deep within the cave. He recalled that the sound of iron chains being dragged along the floor came from there.

There were not just corpses in the underground space. Other people were also moving around inside. The people who could move around freely in this terrifying place should be able to provide him with some answers.

Of course, it was unsafe to just barge into the passageway to check the situation, but Duncan did not mind.

After all, he could escape whenever he wanted.

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