Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 700 - Chapter 700 Chapter 697 Phantom in the Tomb

Chapter 700: Chapter 697: Phantom in the Tomb Chapter 700: Chapter 697: Phantom in the Tomb The ghostly green flame illuminated the entrance of the corridor and rendered the distant dim lights even more oppressive and gloomy. In that unsettling darkness, the “Corrupted Historical Incarnation,” having already been contaminated by some force, suddenly came to a halt. It stood like a stone statue in the distance, oblivious to Duncan’s words.

But this silent and eerie standoff lasted only for a very short time–before Duncan’s eyes, the “Corrupted Historical Incarnation,” which had been still for just a few seconds, shuddered once more. In the next instant, it violently turned its head!

Its former facial features had twisted into dark hollows and vortexes, while only the tearing laughter spread across that chaotic face. The creature contorted its body at an angle impossible for humans, its limbs in the blink of an eye transformed into tendrils clinging to the walls and ceiling. Accompanied by a sudden, sharp, and discordant shriek, the twisted terror lunged fearlessly in the direction of Duncan!

Duncan frowned instantly. The next second, a blazing ghostly green fire ignited along the entire corridor–the flames, like layered barriers, filled everyone’s sight. The contaminated horror screamed and laughed, burning as it fearlessly rushed toward the exit of the burial chamber. It passed through barrier after barrier of the spiritual fire–only when it came less than four or five meters from Duncan did the already charred wreckage finally twitch and collapse on the ground, coming to a complete stop.

A few minutes passed and the fire gradually subsided.

Duncan furrowed his brow and cautiously approached the remains, which had nearly burned to ash. He saw that only a shrunken, charred lump was left in the ashes–a result of his conscious control of the fire. The characteristics that once belonged to the Senkin People were entirely wiped out, but still, there was a twisted, chasm-like crack on the charred lump, as if a smiling mouth remained open in a terrifying glee.

After a moment’s hesitation, he picked up the remnants with a strange feeling and cautiously backed out from the corridor of Anomaly 004, returning to the outside of the main door.

Those waiting outside immediately gathered around, looking at the “charcoal” Duncan brought out with a mix of nervousness and eerie curiosity. Helena frowned at the laughter-like tear marks on the remains and after a moment, raised her hand and gently traced the symbol of the Storm Goddess across her chest, “Goddess bless… Frem, this is the ugliest smile I have ever seen.”

“I’m glad to see you can still joke in such a situation,” Banster glanced at Helena, his voice hoarse as he shook his head, then his attention returned to the remains, “…It’s the aura of the Subspace.”

“How could the power of Subspace be in Anomaly 004?” Rune’s brow furrowed deeply, while glancing at the burial chamber’s door, “Although it has always been dangerous, its danger lies in the strictly enforced rules within the tomb and that powerful and strange Tomb Guardian… I’ve never heard of it having the power of Subspace…”

Duncan thought for a moment and then asked, “What’s the structure inside the tomb like? What exactly is this so-called ‘Nameless King’?”

The people on the scene looked at each other, and after an awkward silence, it was Fenna who answered the captain’s question: “Apart from knowing some basic ‘operating rules,’ no one knows the true appearance of the tomb.”

“No one knows?” Duncan’s face showed confusion.

“When leaving Anomaly 004, the ‘Listeners’ forget all memories related to the interior of the tomb, and only a few fragments get carried out on pieces of parchment. We can only be sure there is a chamber inside Anomaly 004, and an ancient and mysterious entity awaits the Listener’s visit,” Fenna explained patiently, “But as to what the chamber or the master of the chamber looks like, nobody can remember.”

“Protective amnesia…” Duncan echoed softly, then suddenly, as if he sensed something, he sharply raised his head to look inside the burial chamber door.

A series of heavy, sluggish footsteps appeared abruptly in the corridor, and a tall, shadowy figure accompanied by the sound of footsteps, entered everyone’s view.

The Tomb Guardian of Anomaly 004 appeared!

The Guardian, who was “late,” emerged so suddenly that not even Duncan saw how it came into being–as if the burial chamber itself had suddenly “generated” an entity. The eerie Guardian, with footsteps as stiff and heavy as a corpse’s, approached, the iron chains wrapped around its body making a series of grating noises with every step.

Helena and the others immediately tensed up, and Fenna subconsciously leaned forward slightly, ready to spring into action–with the Tomb of the Nameless King already showing clear signs of abnormality, this “Tomb Guardian” that came out of the tomb was obviously no longer safe.

However, the “Tomb Guardian” seemed to pay no heed to these cautious actions. Like usual, he walked out slowly, eventually stopping in front of Duncan.

After a moment of silence, the towering sentinel wrapped in bandages, as if between life and death, turned its body and lifted a hand to point toward the tomb passage, wordlessly making an inviting gesture.

Duncan raised an eyebrow: “You want me to go in?”

The Tomb Guardian nodded slowly.

Rune promptly warned in a low voice, “Be careful, something’s not right.”

Duncan ignored the warning and calmly looked into the murky eyes of the Tomb Guardian that were exposed beyond the bandages. After a few seconds, he suddenly spoke, “What if I refuse the invitation?”

The Tomb Guardian fell silent, and just when everyone thought this special entity created by Anomaly 004 would not answer, it actually spoke, “When will you be free?”

Duncan: “…”

He was still taken aback when the Tomb Guardian spoke again: “He doesn’t have much time left.”

“He? Doesn’t have much time?” Duncan looked surprised, his expression changing immediately, “Are you referring to the master of the tomb? What do you mean by ‘doesn’t have much time’?”

The Tomb Guardian this time did not respond; he simply continued standing silently in front of Duncan, saying nothing, yet seemingly saying everything.

“…Alright,” after two minutes of serious contemplation, Duncan suddenly nodded, “then I’ll go meet ‘him’.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Helena immediately said, “Are you sure? The current situation inside anomaly 004…”

“Subspace isn’t contamination for me,” Duncan shook his head, clearly resolute, “I’ve heard the ‘bell sound,’ and it seems this time it’s prepared for me–my intuition tells me I shouldn’t refuse this ‘invitation’.”

“Intuition…” Helena paused, then seemed to realize something, promptly retracting the advice she was about to offer and stepping back slightly, “Okay, I understand.”

The Tomb Guardian then slowly turned his gaze to Helena and others like Rune.

“Keep your distance, do not cross beyond the facility’s gate,” he suddenly said, “Protocol Tree C-32-E7 is now unstable.”

Helena and the others were taken aback upon hearing this, and Rune instinctively asked, “…What protocol tree?”

However, the Tomb Guardian had no intention of answering, merely stepping aside to open up the entrance to the tomb passage, making a gesture of invitation to Duncan.

Duncan looked at the guard with a deep gaze, then stepped forward, and before entering the dark corridor, he turned back slightly to nod gently at Fenna, who stood still with an uneasy expression, “Wait in peace, I’ll be back soon.”

As his words faded, he had already walked into that deep and seemingly endless dark corridor.

The heavy doors of the tomb slammed shut, blocking out all sight from the outside, isolating all sounds from beyond anomaly 004–the not-so-bright lights silently burning on the walls along both sides of the corridor, an odd silence enveloping from all directions.

Duncan could only hear the heavy footsteps of the Tomb Guardian and the grating sound of chains rubbing against each other.

Yet as he walked, he suddenly noticed the footsteps behind him change, and the sound of the chains vanished.

Curious, he turned around–a look of astonishment emerged on his face.

A tall, silent man with slightly dark skin, dressed in a white robe, was walking through the corridor.

Startled for a moment, Duncan suddenly realized, “…This is your true appearance!?”

The tall man with slightly dark skin turned his gaze, his unusual pale golden eyes seemingly adjusting and focusing on Duncan, then he gently nodded, “Yes.”

Duncan frowned but as he was about to ask something more, something caught his eye from the corner of his vision, interrupting his train of thought–

At the depth of the corridor, a structure like an intersection had appeared out of nowhere; it fluctuated unrealistically, like an illusory scene, and in front of this phantasmal intersection, a group of hazy figures in white robes emerged, stepping toward a distance.

They passed through the illusory intersection, through the deep corridor, and disappeared into the solid, thick walls on the other side.

Duncan looked at this scene with surprise and curiosity, asking, “What is that?”

“As the Protocol Tree becomes unbalanced, the folding of time is unfolding back to the source–That’s a scene of them embarking a long time ago.”

A thought struck Duncan, “They? Who are they?”

The Tomb Guardian, now in “human” form, was silent for a few seconds before replying in a deep voice, “…Apocalyptic Observers, the Survey Team of the End.”

Duncan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

His eyes widened slightly as if he had made a sudden connection, his thoughts in turmoil, and he took a deep breath, looking forward to the long corridor ahead. Just then, another vague phantom appeared within his blurred vision–

Another figure in a white robe walked by.

It was a young man with black short hair, walking proudly with a calm yet resolute gaze, striding through the corridor. In the moment they brushed past each other, it might have been an illusion… Duncan felt the figure seemed to slightly turn its eyes in his direction.

And then, they passed by one another.