AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 774 - 356 "Amon’s Music Box

Chapter 774: Chapter 356 "Amon’s Music Box

Those tentacle-like heads, some part of which had drooped to the ground, flapped like elephant trunks, probing as if sniffing out a particular scent, and finally, they slowly wriggled towards the vicinity of the remnants of the big eyeballs that had not completely vanished after the explosion.

They hopped flexibly in the Grey Mist, nibbling here and there, like a little monster licking up candy off the ground, slowly following behind the silhouettes of Lin Yi and Old Mo.

...

Year X023, May 10th, 0:00, at the Gallery walkway.

An invisibly flowed qi emanated from the depths of the walkway, causing both Old Mo and Lin Yi to pause.

It was a kind of induction that couldn’t be described in words, Lin Yi almost instantly realized something, he looked down and pulled up his sleeve, and indeed, the time had passed midnight.

"Old Mo, it’s midnight!" Lin Yi reminded.

Old Mo said, "I felt it just now... the Night Watchman’s bell sound..."

"The ’Night Watchman’s bell sound’?"

"Let’s talk later, we are about to reach the Gallery." Old Mo did not answer further, continuing to cut through the Mist, his brow filled with solemnity.

Finally, after rounding an arched corner, Lin Yi once again heard that ting-ting-dong-dong sound...

This time, Old Mo also heard the sound, he gestured with his hand signaling Lin Yi to stop.

After Lin Yi stopped, he subconsciously looked at Old Mo, only to find Old Mo looking extremely pale, his footsteps not moving forward.

Realizing something was wrong, Lin Yi quietly asked, "What’s wrong?"

Old Mo’s tone carried an unprecedented dryness: "’Amon’s music box’..."

"The good news is... we’ve reached the Gallery."

"The bad news is, this music box has started playing..."

The clear and soothing notes from the music box drifted slowly out from the deep abyss of Grey Mist and darkness, reaching the ears of Lin Yi and Old Mo, and like heavy drumbeats, made one feel as though they were in a massive space, filled with oppressiveness.

Old Mo rubbed all the big eyeballs together, then hurled them fiercely out, and grabbed Lin Yi’s hand, "Kid, charge with me!!!"

The big eyeballs exploded rapidly, and with that, Old Mo charged forward with Lin Yi.

The intense blast dispersed all the surrounding Grey Mist, but instead, a new portal was opened up, and within the aftermath of the explosion, Lin Yi saw an ancient and mysterious Gallery.

The Gallery lay dormant like a shadow in the depths of the walkway, as if forgotten by time, except for the seemingly dying candlelight that still cast some light upon it, the whole world seemed to be separated from it.

Old Mo hacked a path through the ripples of the blast with a pig-killing knife, leading Lin Yi to the front of the Gallery, while behind them, the explosion was massive, yet it seemed to be isolated by an invisible ripple.

"Ting-dong ting-ting... dong-ting dong... ting-ting dong-dong..."

The ethereal notes of the music box leaped out from the Gallery like frolicking tadpoles, slowly enveloping them.

"Bo... Bo... Bo..."

Clusters of candlelights on both sides of the Gallery flickered to life, the originally dim gallery now seemed as if it were lit anew by the Lantern Holder.

As the candlelight swayed, light and darkness merged together, presenting a pattern of light and shadow without any discernible regularity.

The moment they stepped into the Gallery, a chill rushed over them, darkness wrapped around every inch of space like thick ink, and the faint light struggled within the darkness, as if it were the last breath of a dying person, only barely outlining the vague contours of the Gallery.

The paintings on the walls seemed to come alive in the dimness; those originally colorful oil paintings now appeared like twisted, haunting faces, glimpsing in and out of the shadows.

The stone tiles underfoot unknowingly became floorboards, constantly creaking creepily with each step, as if awakening evil spirits sleeping underneath with every step.

Mist inside the Gallery had thinned out considerably, yet it still spread out like the veil of a ghost, cold and damp with a decayed scent, slowly wrapping around the ankles, making one feel as though they were in a swamp, with each step meeting resistance.

The notes of the music box continued to dance, their sound coming from an indiscernible source, surrounding them as if from far and near, chilling to the bone.

"After passing through the Gallery, we should reach Big Golden Fur’s guidance." Old Mo dropped a sentence and then continued moving forward with his mouth shut.

Lin Yi silently followed behind Old Mo, restraining himself from looking around, ensuring he wouldn’t get distracted by things he shouldn’t be seeing.

Actually, the Gallery did not only contain paintings, there were also sculptures and artworks, but these pieces seemed even more eerie in the current atmosphere.

Because of the blockage from Mist and his own restraint, Lin Yi only had the periphery of his vision to continue capturing elements of the Gallery, yet the more he tried to ignore, the more he became subconsciously aware of things that seemed still, yet not entirely motionless.

For instance, Lin Yi saw a figure standing in the darkness, but after a moment of bewilderment, he realized it was just an oil painting, with Mist gathering in front of it, making the mysterious figure look even more illusory and terrifying, as if it could step out of the painting at any moment.

Slowly proceeding along the Gallery, some of the sculptures added an eerie ambiance, already lifelike busts, under the cover of darkness and Mist, turned into terrifying figures, their expressions blurred as if they were struggling in pain or uttering silent curses.