AnalogHorror: Rule Kaidan 4016
Chapter 781 - 359: The Secret of the Music Box

Chapter 781: Chapter 359: The Secret of the Music Box

"The Original Apostle... ’Designer’... Amon?" Lin Yi muttered as if to chew over these words, yet what truly shocked him wasn’t the string of titles associated with the Original Apostle but the tangible ’results’—

"The creator of over 90% of the Black Moon Outpost?!"

Old Mo spoke faintly, "To be precise, the entire Black Moon Outpost was designed by him. However, according to the records in the Law Code, during the actual construction phase, Apostles such as the ’Star Builders’ and ’Divine Craftsmen’ made subtle adjustments based on certain circumstances, causing the Black Moon Outpost to differ from Amon’s original designs."

"That period of time is too distant in the past; we can only find fragmented records in the Law Code, with no way to verify the true situation back then."

"But objectively speaking, it’s not incorrect to say that ’Amon is the designer of the Black Moon Outpost.’"

The shock in Lin Yi’s heart intensified, yet for some reason, the term ’Star Builder’... even though he heard it for the first time, it strangely evoked a sense of familiarity, as if he had always known it.

"It’s incredible; I never thought that the Black Moon Outpost would be designed by a single individual..." Lin Yi had initially assumed that the Black Moon Outpost was a collaborative design effort by many Apostles.

"The design is his, while the construction was a joint effort by many Apostles, after all, his main focus was always ’design’." Old Mo shook his head slightly, always speaking dramatically, "But if you think Amon, the ’Designer’, was only that, then you are gravely mistaken. The vessels used by successive generations of Apostles for their sea explorations, among other things, were almost all his creations."

"His designs are numerous, including but not limited to architecture; there are also some special works of art, like..."

"That music box."

Lin Yi’s mind stirred.

Old Mo said, "That music box... from design to the finished product, no one else was involved; it was designed and handcrafted by Amon himself."

The wind blew through the corridor with a ’whoosh’, flickering the candle flames, casting strange, twisted shadows as if merely talking about Amon could induce some eerie phenomena in the Art Building.

"’Amon’s music box’ is more than a playback device; in fact, it doesn’t even play sounds. It was installed on the ships that went to sea, accompanying the Apostles on several voyages. After each return, Amon would upgrade and adjust it... And, as such, the music box developed a pollution resilience beyond imagination, and later, it seemed to have undergone some unknown supernatural mutations due to the influence of the ’Root’, gradually self-forging into a ’Forbidden Artifact’."

"The ’terror’ of Amon has never been experienced first-hand, and his designs never encountered problems ’beyond’ the designs themselves, so the compilers of the Law Code maintained conservative speculations about the mutation of the music box, thinking that perhaps it was inherently a ’design’ — Amon’s design."

"In his own way, Amon captured some of the characteristics of the ’Root’... like taking a rubbing from an inscribed tablet, each voyage deepened the impressions on the rubbing cloth, and after several journeys, the existence of the music box became something beyond conventional cognition."

"The music box runs on its own from time to time, but without any pattern."

"When we approached earlier, and it made a sound... I hope it was just a coincidence."

Lin Yi instinctively pursed his lips: "What if it’s not a coincidence?"

Old Mo gave him a sidelong glance: "Your little mouth is really as sweet as if it’s been smeared with honey at the crucial moments..."

Lin Yi quickly shrank his neck.

The two of them walked deeper into the corridor, with the damp chill gradually floating in the air.

"By the way, Old Mo..." Lin Yi suddenly asked.

"Hmm?"

"Is Amon a girl?"

"Hmm?" Old Mo was taken aback, "Why would you ask that?"

Lin Yi hesitated before saying, "I had an illusion in the corridor; in the illusion, I saw a dirty little girl holding a music box... You don’t know, but I often have unexplainable ’Phantom Visions,’ where I see strange things..."

"Like on my first day at school, in a Phantom Vision, I saw that cliff we just passed, and the Night Watchman on it..."

"I don’t know if that little girl could be Amon... and maybe somewhere in the Layers, she’s watching us..."

"Hss..." Old Mo involuntarily shivered, reaching out to stroke his arm, "Even though I’m a dead man, what you said still gives me goosebumps on my already dead body..."

"Let’s not talk about this anymore... Besides, whether Amon is male or female, or something else human or non-human, there is no record in the Law Code..."

"He occupies a place in the Law Code, and the code wouldn’t waste limited text on recording his gender..."

"As for the little girl you mentioned..."

"I don’t know..."

"Maybe the next time you are fortunate enough to see her again, ask for her contact details to keep up a pen pal relationship?"

"Old Mo..." Lin Yi frowned, "That’s not funny at all."

"You know it’s not funny!" Old Mo said sternly, "Kid, now that you know what ’Amon’s Music Box’ is, and you’re telling me you saw a little girl holding it looking for you?"

"I had been praying that thing just happened to start up on its own, and now you’re telling me it made a sound because of you... Could you be the very essence of the Grey Mist?"