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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 223: What Is Behind Me?
Cold Snow was trapped in a nightmare. No matter how I called out to her, it seemed she couldn't hear me. Reluctantly, I had to turn on my headlamp, carrying her on my back as I walked forward.
I didn't know how I ended up here, but one thing was certain: this was where I wanted to be!
In the light, I saw that we were standing on pure black sand mud, an unnaturally dark color. I also sensed a foul odor, as if I wasn't stepping on Black Sand Mud but rather on decayed corpses.
Startled by this thought, the more I looked at the Black Sand Mud beneath me, the more it felt like what I imagined.
It felt like a maze here; the passage was narrow, only about a meter wide, with no clear direction. I could only grit my teeth and move forward. I wondered how the others were doing.
If I guessed correctly, they should be encountering similar situations. I didn't know if I was dreaming or hallucinating, or if something had awakened memories buried deep within me.
I had never felt so restless before; a sense of betrayal or counter-betrayal lingered in my heart. What was the Divine Decree Project? Was it something I had imagined? Or was it real?
Shaking my head, how could such a thing be true? A preordained world? Ha! Had my mind been too strained these days? Remembering the sight of Cold Snow's pale face when I woke up made me increasingly convinced that everything I had seen and felt before was false!
I wondered when that "Zi" would appear; there were many things I wanted to ask him. I didn't know if he was aware, but he certainly knew much more than I did.
After walking for a long time, all around me were walls—just walls!
My stomach growled with hunger. With no other choice, I set Cold Snow down and took out some food and water. Weakly eating, I pondered how to escape this cursed place. Continuing like this wasn't a solution; although I suspected some Spirit was at work, due to the lighting, I couldn't see any "people" further into the darkness.
The Ghost Ring was completely useless; thankfully, there was The Dead providing weapons and food supplies. If I struggled this much, the others must be in even worse conditions!
Sighing, I sat in a corner against the wall, staring blankly ahead. My fear of the dark had diminished somewhat through repeated terror; plus, having someone beside me gave me more courage. After all, being alone is when one's deepest fears are most easily stirred!
"Mm..."
Hearing a faint murmur, I looked down from my Consciousness. Cold Snow's head rested on my legs; light fell on her face, still somewhat pale. However, her tightly closed eyes had opened. Joyfully, I helped her sit up and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Cold Snow weakly shook her head, appearing quite exhausted.
I immediately took out the bread and water and handed them to her. "Eat something first."
Cold Snow reached out, took a sip of water, and then began to eat the bread. I removed my headlamp and quietly watched her, noticing her complexion gradually returning from pale to rosy, and her eyes, once filled with terror, slowly returning to normal. My heart was complicated; I didn't know whether bringing her down here was right or wrong.
But it no longer mattered whether it was right or wrong, because returning to the original normal world was no longer that simple. Now, we could only move downward!
"I'm full now; let's go," Cold Snow said as she leaned against the wall to stand up, still holding half a bottle of mineral water. I nodded, stood up from the ground, picked up my headlamp, and placed another one on her head before taking her hand and walking into the darkness.
As we walked, Cold Snow said to me, "This seems like a maze. The usual way to get out of a maze is to keep one hand on the wall and just keep walking; you should be able to find your way out. But..."
But is this maze really the same as those in reality? None of us could be sure.
"Okay." I nodded. Regardless of whether we were certain or not, we had to give it a try.
Tick-tock...
Tick-tock...
Tick-tock...
"Did you hear that?" I stopped and listened carefully to the sounds around us. However, just as we stopped, the ticking sound that had been audible moments ago inexplicably vanished.
"I heard it!" Cold Snow looked at me, frowning as she glanced back, seemingly afraid of something but holding herself back from looking.
I frowned as well, focusing on listening while pulling Cold Snow forward again. But after taking just two steps, the ticking sound returned from behind us. I didn’t stop; we continued moving forward. The ticking sound would occur every few seconds—no, it sounded completely random and irregular!
Every time we stopped, the ticking would disappear as if what I heard was merely an illusion. But I knew it clearly wasn’t an illusion; if it were, Cold Snow and I wouldn’t have experienced the same hallucination. So we could rule out that possibility.
Then what exactly was behind us?
I suddenly turned around to look. Although I felt a bit scared of suddenly seeing a bloody face, figuring out the truth was the most important thing right now. However, when I turned back, there was nothing in the area illuminated by the light. I furrowed my brow in confusion; if I hadn’t misheard, that ticking sound had been very close to me, as if something was following us.
There was no choice; Cold Snow and I exchanged glances and nodded at each other before looking back as we walked backward. But after taking a few steps, we didn’t hear the ticking sound anymore.
I thought for a moment and turned the headlamps of both of us in a different direction. In other words, we were still walking backward, but the light was shining behind us, leaving the front shrouded in darkness.
After taking a few steps, that "tick-tock" sound echoed once again. It was irregular, with intervals that varied between fast and slow. I stared ahead without blinking; the sound was coming from within that darkness. Unfortunately, my vision couldn't penetrate the ink-like blackness, so in this eerie atmosphere, all I could hear was the rhythmless ticking and our faint footsteps. Everything else was dead silent...
Cold Snow tightly grasped my hand. Anyone would instinctively feel fear and aversion toward the unknown, but alongside that fear, curiosity also lingered.
Curiosity killed the cat; I had long understood this principle. Yet despite that, I still wanted to give it a try.
Cold Snow seemed to sense what I was about to do. She nervously grabbed my wrist with her other hand and shook her head, saying, "Don't do that..."
I shook my head in response. "Continuing like this won't work. Here’s the plan: you hold onto this rope and don’t let go. If I find something, just shake the rope three times, and then you can come over."
"Alright, but be careful!" Cold Snow looked reluctant but nodded. She took the rope from my hand, cast me a worried glance, and then walked back.
I stood still, silently watching her and offering a reassuring smile until Cold Snow's voice completely faded away. Only then did I turn around and listen carefully to the sounds ahead.
Tick-tock...
Tick-tock...
The delicate "tick-tock" sound rang out again. I closed my eyes; when vision is shut off, hearing becomes amplified. So as I closed my eyes and focused on listening to the sounds around me, that "tick-tock" grew increasingly clear.
I felt as if the "tick-tock" sound was getting closer and closer to me. Just when I thought it would ring out right behind me, unexpectedly, it vanished!
I felt a small surprise in my heart, but after that initial shock, I quickly realized that whatever it was hadn't disappeared; it was very likely hovering around me!
Still keeping my eyes closed, I listened intently to the sounds around me and the energy of air vibrations. Ever since I absorbed Mountain Ghost’s essence into The Dead, I felt my sensitivity to energy fluctuations had increased tenfold. No, previously I could hardly sense any energy at all.
Everything was changing...
From acquiring The Dead, to opening my third eye, and then absorbing Mountain Ghost, this series of changes had been unexpected. I didn’t know what side effects they might bring me, but I knew these changes were beneficial for me at this moment!
Because!
When I felt the energy on my right vibrating, I instinctively reached out my hand and opened my eyes at the same time. To my astonishment, a surprising scene unfolded!
I was indeed holding something cold in my hand, resembling a human wrist, yet there was nothing in front of me!
"Who are you?" I asked coldly, looking in the direction I was grasping.
There was no sound; it felt as if time had stopped. If it weren't for the fact that I was still holding something, I would have almost believed there was nothing there! I was no longer the person who believed in science and technology; no matter how strange or bizarre things became, I would not dismiss them!
"Are you human or a ghost?" I asked again in a low voice, unable to hear any response.
Just then, footsteps approached from behind. I knew it was Cold Snow responding to my signal.
"Feng, did you discover something?" Cold Snow rushed over and eagerly asked me.
I nodded, keeping the hand that grasped the invisible object raised in the air. Cold Snow looked at my hand and seemed to understand something; she tentatively reached out to touch it. However, after just one touch, she quickly withdrew her hand, looking at me with surprise and disbelief. "Is it a Spirit?"
"It shouldn't be," I shook my head. I knew Cold Snow couldn't see Spirits, so she must have thought I grabbed this thing because I could see it. However, "If it were a Spirit, I should be able to see it."
"You can't see it?" Cold Snow looked at me in astonishment. From her expression, I could tell she was wondering how I could grasp something without seeing it.
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