Deep Sea Embers

After passing through a long slope and a small town that was devoid of any living people, leaving only many rough humanoid shapes embedded in the ground and mountain walls, the exploration team entered a valley covered with strange black stones.

The entrance to the valley is secretive, hidden in a large expanse of "plant" debris that intersects like thorns, but the information in Shirley's "memory" clearly points to the specific location of the entrance.

The black rocks in the valley are rugged and unsettling, showing a strange and complex appearance. They do not seem to be the result of natural weathering, but they are obviously not the product of artificial carving.

They are more like many deformed monsters struggling to be "born" from the earth and cliffs, and then suddenly turned into stone in the last step of growth. You can even see almost differentiated claws on some of the black rocks. , tentacles, and even the structure of the eyeballs, mouth and nose - after noticing these details, even an experienced judge like Vanna couldn't help but frown. A sense of weirdness and horror seemed to seep into her bones, making her extra vigilant.

The flowing mist is pervasive and permeates this quiet valley.

"These stones feel alive to me..." A Marine wearing a black smock and wearing the Triangle Holy Emblem of the God of Death muttered in a low voice, "Some kind of living thing is sealed in these black shells. ...I always feel like they will move at any time."

"Control your imagination and don't sketch this impression in your mind." The death priest from the Restless Ship, who had hardly spoken since landing on the island, immediately interrupted the murmurs of his soldiers.

Duncan glanced at the taciturn God of Death priest - he was a tall, bald man wearing a black burqa, and all of his exposed skin was covered with intricate black rune tattoos. Those dense runes were The text even covered his eyelids, making the priest look weird, gloomy and scary.

Probably because there was still an embarrassment between the Death Church and the Homeless Ship, the leading priest did not communicate much with Duncan on the way, but after noticing the latter's gaze, the strange-looking bald man turned around. With a straight face, he nodded politely: "What do you want to ask?"

"I remember your name is Norm," Duncan nodded and said, "After the Frost incident, a large number of 'element' samples collected from the Frost pipeline system were sent to the Death Church headquarters. You know this. ?"

"I've been up close and personal with those specimens," Norm replied casually, "and I'm impressed."

"What do you think of these 'traces' on this island?"

"...the same origin, but it gives me a different feeling," Norm thought for a moment. Although his expression was a little unnatural when answering Duncan's question, he still spoke seriously, "The 'sample' sent from Hanshuang It is a disgusting and cold substance. They are completely in a state of 'stasis' and no longer change, but here..."

He paused and picked up a small stone from the ground beside him.

"Others may not be able to see it on the surface, but I can feel...it is still 'operating' internally, and is still undergoing slow 'changes'. This feeling is difficult to describe. This is only for us, the God of Death." A 'feeling' that can only be produced by believers. If I have to say it... just like Miss Shirley said, this entire island is 'alive', even if it has calmed down again, every time it is One part is still 'alive', but in a state of near-death."

Duncan nodded slightly and didn't speak for a while.

According to existing information, this entire island was transformed by the power of Holy Lord Netherworld, and according to the information Shirley saw from those "phantoms", it can even be regarded as a piece separated from Holy Lord Netherworld " "Flesh and blood" - if it is really the flesh and blood of the ancient gods, then it does not seem unimaginable that it would still remain active after being separated from the main body for thousands of years.

The only thing that feels unbelievable is that... it would evolve into what it looks like on this border of reality - trees, stones, soil, streams flowing through mountains, and various resources that can be collected on the island. mineral.

Those Annihilation cultists even used the resources on the island to build towns and docks.

This made Duncan couldn't help but think - what kind of "individual" is the so-called "Holy Lord of the Netherworld"? Before becoming the "ancient god" of the deep sea era, what was the essence of the "Pilot No. 1" numbered LH-01?

And what about "Rachem, the God of Wisdom" who also has an LH number and should be called "Pilot 2"? He looks completely different from Holy Lord Netherworld in terms of power and "form"... What is the nature of this difference? Why is there this difference between LH-01 and LH-02?

For some reason, Duncan always felt that he had overlooked something. Besides the two numbers LH-01 and LH-02, there seemed to be another issue that he had not paid attention to...

But his thoughts did not last.

Shirley, who was leading the way, suddenly slowed down.

"...I've 'seen' this place before," she blinked, standing in an open and gravel-strewn clearing, looking around the mist-filled valley, while recalling what she had seen from the numerous illusions before. While seeing the scene, he said, "Those cultists gathered in this open space. When the sun went out, they gathered here and screamed wildly, thinking that they had been 'enlightened'... The digging site of those idiots" It should be nearby... This place was originally a closed place, and for some reason they have been afraid to approach it. But when the sun went out, their minds were not normal, and they were no longer afraid..."

Amber, who was standing near Shirley, frowned slightly.

The Priestess turned her head slightly and looked at Vanna: "...I just seemed to hear Miss Shirley naturally say very rude words..."

"Did you just notice it?" Fanna was surprised, "She's always been like this."

Amber: "...?"

Shirley didn't pay any attention to the chatter of the people next to her. Her attention seemed to be completely attracted by the memory fragments that kept emerging in her mind and the familiarity of the valley in front of her. She took two steps forward. His eyes, glowing with blood, slowly swept through the surrounding mist, and soon he felt a familiar breath coming from the front.

A deep breath.

"This way," she blinked, her eyes recovered, and she immediately raised her finger to point to a narrow entrance between the cliffs ahead, "This is where they dug down!"

It was a rock crevice that could probably accommodate two people entering side by side. It seemed to be part of the natural cracking of the canyon, but traces of manual excavation and expansion could be seen in its depths. There were also some digging tools scattered around the entrance, but the tools The users have obviously been swallowed up by the surrounding rocks and soil - those excavation marks are the final proof that they have lived in this world.

"...It's narrow down there and the situation is unknown. It's best not to go in all the time." Amber poked her head and took a look inside, then quickly exited and turned to others, "I suggest that most people camp around the entrance of the cave. , a few elites went down to take a look at the situation."

"I'll take people down first," Duncan said casually, "Alice, Shirley, Agou... and Maurice, you guys come down with me. Vanna, you, Amber, Norm and the others are outside. Set up camp and monitor the situation on the island.”

His arrangement makes sense - first of all, one of the purposes of his coming to this holy island is to confirm the connection between Alice and Holy Lord Netherworld, so naturally he has to bring the doll, and Shirley and Agou He is the guide after going down. Morris is knowledgeable and an explorer of secret places in his own right. This kind of exploration is his specialty.

But obviously Fanna had other ideas: "Don't you need to take me with you? You may encounter enemies below, and you need a fighting force..."

"There may be enemies outside," Duncan said, then he glanced at the low and narrow space inside the crack, then turned to look at Vanna seriously, "And it's very short down there, so you can't jump up."

Fanna was startled when she heard this, and it took her two or three seconds to react. She felt a little embarrassed: "...I don't know how to do that trick..."

But she just muttered and nodded quickly: "Then I understand, we will stay here to camp, and at the same time briefly search the situation in other areas of the valley."

Duncan nodded slightly: "Well, very good, keep in touch and call my name immediately if you encounter any situation."

"Yes, Captain."

Then, Duncan led Maurice, Alice, Shirley and Agou towards the dark entrance that seemed to be sloping to the very depths.

Fanna watched several figures disappear into the darkness, and then saw green light appearing in the depths of the passage. Then she exhaled slightly, and then turned around to see Amber standing beside her. He stared at this side with a subtle expression on his face.

Fanna suddenly felt awkward: "...Why are you looking at me?"

Amber thought for a while, but still couldn't hold back: "...Under normal circumstances, shouldn't you call the goddess's name immediately when encountering a situation?"

Fanna's expression was stunned: "..."

Miss Inquisitor fell into deep thought.

But she soon came to her senses and looked at the young junior in front of her seriously: "You can call them both together."

This time it was Amber's turn to look dumbfounded: "...is that okay?"

"Can."

"...Goddess allows it?"

Fanna looked pious: "I asked, and He didn't object."

Amber continued to look blank: "...?"

Norm stood next to the two of them, his face expressionless throughout the whole process (mainly because his face was covered with paint and no expression could be seen). After a long time, he stretched out his hand on his chest to silently outline the triangular emblem representing the God of Death, and let out a long sigh that no one noticed. .

At the same time, in the narrow passage that continued to slope downward, Shirley and Agou were moving forward cautiously.

The green flames slowly spread on the rock walls on both sides, illuminating the road ahead. Shirley held the chain connected to Agou with one hand, and held on to the cold and smooth stones on the roadside with the other hand. There was a nervous expression on his face.

A glimmer of blood floated slightly in her eyes.