AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 775 - 356 "Amon’s Music Box"_2

Chapter 775: Chapter 356 "Amon’s Music Box"_2

Lin Yi could no longer distinguish if these were Pseudo-Human Sculptures, or purely sculptures carved into human form.

The notes from the Music box kept dancing, and the ’creaking’ noise of the wooden floor grew louder and louder. As he walked on, Lin Yi experienced an illusion, as if he wasn’t shuttling through the Gallery, but walking inside the swaying cabin of a ship.

Not just any ordinary ship, but one from the medieval period or even an older era, like a ghost ship lost in the sea fog, entwined with the Sea Monster’s singing and the intermittent music box movements...

Occasionally, a gust of cold wind from nowhere, causing the Mist to whirl like a group of phantoms dancing; mixed in the wind were whispers, faint yet clear, as if the captive souls in the paintings and sculptures were expressing their grief and agony.

[Lin Yi...]

[Lin Yi... it’s you...]

[It’s you... it’s you!!]

[You’re here...]

[You’ve finally come...]

Eerie calling voices faintly appeared beside Lin Yi’s ear, and what’s more hasty was that the Gallery suddenly shook as if hit by a wave. He missed a step, stumbled forward a few paces, and in the instant he was about to lose his balance, he forcibly straightened himself to stop.

Before he could catch his breath, a sculpture unexpectedly appeared in front of him.

This sculpture was enveloped by Mist, with darkness surrounding it, and the dim candlelight hitting the mist created a soft halo. However, the walls not covered by the mist seemed like an abyss of darkness, and this strong contrast made the sculpture seem more like a prisoner trapped and perishing in this mysterious and perilous jail, pushing Lin Yi’s already tense Spirit to the limit.

[Lin Yi...]

[Lin Yi...Lin Yi...]

That cold and ethereal call, echoing in his heart endlessly, as if coming from the depths of Nihility, or as if spoken by the sculpture before him.

The Mist in the Gallery flowed slowly; it wasn’t stagnant, but instead, moved like living phantoms, traversing through space. Amidst their backdrop, Lin Yi suddenly felt that the entire Gallery was filled with unsettling elements, and the surrounding environment seemed to be continuously changing, as if more sculptures were lurking or stealthily approaching...

The whole environment grew more and more blurred; even Old Mo’s silhouette seemed to merge into the Grey Mist, leaving only the notes from the Music box becoming increasingly distinct in the flowing wind.

"Old Mo... Old Mo..."

Lin Yi’s breathing became highly disordered. He followed Old Mo’s silhouette, across the ’creaking’ wooden floor, staggering forward, while the calling voices gradually receded. Yet, it seemed as if a song full of Foreign land’s melodies was blending into the constantly dancing notes of the Music box, slowly carrying over...

[Little friends, playing hide and seek~ One by one, go and hide~]

[The small courtyard’s a fine place~ Where brothers and sisters hide their trace~]

[Dig dig, flip flip~ Little sister’s waist aches and it’s no quip~]

[Sister, sister, keep it down~ Don’t let brother hear and come around~]

[That tree there is truly nice~ Where I’ll hide sister’s demise~]

[Pull and tug, tug and strain~ Little sister’s hand is numb from pain~]

[Brother, brother, you are so sly~ Laughing as sister’s saw goes awry~]

[That tree there is truly nice~ Where I’ll hang brother, slice by slice~]

[Little friends, playing hide and seek~ One by one, go and hide~]

[Brothers and sisters hide separate ways~ Look and look, but they’ve strayed~]

This seems to be a nursery rhyme. At first listen, it doesn’t sound like much, but as you keep listening, it carries an indescribable eeriness, feeling like something isn’t quite right.

The rhyme was very much like a tune carrying dark humor. Its melody, continually humming, gradually shifted from cold and ghostly fragmented song to a chillingly childish voice yet resonating with a strong sense of dark and creepy oddness...

As the childlike singing rose, from the depths of the darkness seemingly appeared a Little girl wearing a black and red Lolita dress. She had smooth long black hair, her body grimy as if covered in some kind of sticky black goop...

At her feet appeared to be an Iron shovel smeared with this liquid, and on the other side, a dirty Steel saw.

Both the shovel and the saw seemed out of place for her frail and tiny stature, creating an extreme sense of asymmetry and an almost challenging sense of high discomfort for those with obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

In her hands, she held a very delicately looking Music box, with a winding key on its side, rotating, and the ’tinkling, plonking’ sounds were emanating from this Music box, accompanied by that intermittent nursery rhyme...

[Little friends, playing hide and seek~ One by one, go and hide...]

[The small courtyard’s a fine place~ Where brothers and sisters hide their trace...]

[Dig dig, flip flip...]

[...]

The little girl, her boots oozing with black viscous muck, slowly approached Lin Yi.

"Da... Da... Da..."

Each step fell in time with the beat of Lin Yi’s heart.

As she neared, Lin Yi felt as though the air around him was being sucked away, an indescribable sense of oppression enveloping him; the Grey Mist turned into tangible walls, relentlessly squeezing his body.

He felt as if his bones were about to shatter, his breathing became more and more difficult, and the sound of bones cracking started ringing in his ears. Before he could even register the pain, his head felt as if it was clamped in a door and stuck there.

His body tensed up straight, the Grey Mist like invisible massive hands holding him in their grasp, each breath he exhaled caused the grip to tighten.

No sound but a woeful moan could come from his throat, and he felt as if his entire being was on the verge of splitting apart.

Suddenly, only the footsteps of the little girl remained by his ears, pacing in sync with his heartbeat.

"Da... Da..."

"Da..."

"..."

The footsteps halted, and did not sound again for a long time.

Lin Yi’s heart ceased to beat along with them, not making a sound for a long while.

"Mm... Mm... Mm...?" Lin Yi clenched his teeth tightly, feeling the relentless beating of his heart within his chest, as a chilling sensation rapidly spread throughout his body...

His pupils slowly dilated, and within those expanding pupils was reflected the face of the little girl.

"Faceless".

"Thud!!!"

He collapsed heavily onto the ground, his gaze dimming to grey.

The little girl took a step forward, slowly advancing towards him.

Suddenly, he heard some sounds, some... familiar sounds.

"Clatter... Clatter..."

In the darkness behind the little girl, a section of chain appeared...

The chain seemed to be an extension of her spine, its vague contours emerging as she stepped out of the dim area.

"Chains...?!"

"Could it be... That?!"

In his final moments, Lin Yi thought of the pitch-black shadow he’d encountered time and again during his hallucinations...

In the brackish sea, the rotting wooden ship’s hold...

The mysterious creature calling his name, bound by chains...

"Is it ’her’?!"

"No! It isn’t... this is just an image my cognition has conjured up..."

"Phantom Vision!"

"This, this is Phantom Vision!!"

Lin Yi bit down hard on his teeth.

"Since it’s a Phantom Vision... then don’t you fucking stop on me!"

He placed his hand fiercely over his chest, clamping down on his heart.

As if bolstered by his will, his once-stilled heart began to weakly beat once again.