Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 718 - Chapter 718 Chapter 715 Entrance

Chapter 718: Chapter 715: Entrance Chapter 718: Chapter 715: Entrance After passing through a long slope and a small town that no longer held any living souls, only many rough human shapes embedded in the ground and on the mountain walls, the exploration team entered a valley filled with strange black stones.

The entrance to the valley was hidden, concealed amidst a large expanse of brambles and the remnants of “plants”, but Sherry’s “memory” clearly guided them to the exact location of the entrance.

The black rocks in the valley were ghastly and rugged, presenting an unsettling and bizarrely complex appearance. They did not seem to be the result of natural weathering, but it was also clear that they were not products of human carving.

They were more like a multitude of malformed creatures struggling to be “born” from the earth and cliffs, turning into stone only at the last step of growth; on some of these black stones, one could even discern nearly fully formed claws, tentacles, and even structures resembling eyes and mouths–awareness of these details caused even an experienced Judge like Fenna to frown involuntarily, a creepy and spine-chilling sensation as if permeating her very marrow, making her exceptionally alert.

And the swirling mist penetrated everywhere, also enveloping this eerily quiet valley.

“These stones feel as if they’re alive…” a Marine wearing a black cloak and adorned with the Triangular Holy Emblem of the Death God muttered softly, “Some kind of creatures, sealed within these black shells… I always feel like they’re about to move.”

“Control your imagination, and do not casually sketch such impressions in your mind,” the Reaper Priest from the Homeloss, who had been nearly silent since setting foot on the island, immediately interrupted the soldier’s mutterings.

Duncan glanced at the reticent Reaper Priest–a tall bald man clad in a black cloak with complex and dense black symbols tattooed all over his exposed skin, the multitude of symbols even covering his eyelids, giving the Priest a weird, gloomy, and terrifying demeanor.

Perhaps due to the awkward relationship between the Death Church and the Homeloss, the leading Priest did not interact much with Duncan on the way, but upon noticing the latter’s gaze, the oddly-appearing bald man still turned his head and nodded politely, “Do you have something you wish to ask?”

“I remember you are called Norm,” Duncan said with a nod, “After the Frost incident concluded, a large quantity of ‘Prime Element’ samples collected from the Frost pipeline system were sent to the Death Church headquarters, are you aware of this?”

“I’ve had close contact with those samples,” Norm answered offhandedly, “they made a lasting impression.”

“What is your opinion on these ‘traces’ on the island?”

“…They have a common origin, but they feel different to me,” Norm pondered for a moment, and although looking slightly uneasy as he spoke, he still earnestly began, “The ‘samples’ sent from Frost were a disgusting and cold substance, they were completely in a ‘static’ state, no longer undergoing any changes, but here…”

He paused for a moment, casually picking up a small stone from the ground.

“The others might not notice anything on the surface, but I can feel… its interior is still ‘functioning’, still undergoing slow ‘changes’. This feeling is difficult to describe, it’s a ‘sensation’ only we Believers of the Death God can have. If I must describe it… it’s just like what Miss Sherry said, this entire island is ‘alive’, even though it has now become quiet again, every part of it is still ‘alive’, just living in a state almost akin to death.”

Duncan nodded slightly, but did not speak for the moment.

According to the intelligence they had, the entire island was a manifestation of the Saint’s power, and based on the information Sherry saw from those “illusions”, it could even be considered a piece of “flesh” that parted from the Saint’s body–if it truly was the flesh of an ancient god, then its continued vitality after detaching from the main body for tens of thousands of years seemed not unimaginable.

The only thing that felt inconceivable was… that it would evolve into this form in this reality–trees, stones, soil, creeks flowing through mountain gorges, and a variety of resources and minerals that could be collected on the island.

The Heretics had even used the resources of the island to construct towns and docks.

This led Duncan to ponder–what kind of “entity” was the so-called “Saint”? Before becoming an “ancient god” of the deep sea era, what exactly was the nature of this entity denoted as LH-01, “Pilot Unit One”?

And what about “God of Wisdom Rahm”, who also bore an LH code and should be referred to as “Pilot Unit Two”? He seemed entirely different from the Saint in terms of power and “form”… what was the essence of this difference? Why was there such a distinction between LH-01 and LH-02?

For some reason, Duncan always felt as though he had overlooked something–beyond the codes LH-01 and LH-02, there seemed to be a question he had never paid attention to…

But his train of thought did not continue.

Sherry, who had been leading the way, suddenly slowed down.

“…I’ve ‘seen’ this place before,” she blinked, standing on an open space filled with rubble, surveying the misty valley around her while recalling the scenes she had witnessed in those manifold illusions, “Those Heretics gathered on this open ground when the sun disappeared, raving madly, thinking they had received ‘enlightenment’… The damn fools’ excavation site should be nearby… This place was originally sealed off, I don’t know why they were always afraid to approach, but when the sun vanished their minds weren’t right, and fear was forgotten…”

Amber, standing near Sherry, slightly furrowed her brow.

The female Priestess turned her head slightly, looking at Fenna, “…Did I just hear Miss Sherry naturally utter extremely rude words?”

“Are you just noticing?” Fenna seemed surprised, “She’s always been like that.”

Amber: “…?”

Sherry paid no mind to the conversations around her; her attention was seemingly captivated by the memory fragments constantly surfacing in her mind and the familiar sensation emanating from the valley before her. She took two steps forward, her eyes, shimmering with a blood-colored gleam, slowly swept through the surrounding mist, swiftly sensing a familiar presence ahead.

The profound aura.

“Over here,” she blinked, and her eyes returned to normal, immediately raising her hand to point out a narrow entrance between the cliffs ahead, “This is where they’ve been digging down!”

It was a fissure that could barely accommodate two people side by side, appearing to be a natural part of the canyon’s fissure but with signs of artificial excavation and expansion deep within. Tools scattered around the entrance indicated human activity, but their users had long been consumed cleanly by the surrounding rocks and soil–these traces of excavation were their last testament to existence in this world.

“… Below is narrow and the situation is unclear; it’s better not to all go in,” Amber peered into the entrance for a glance before quickly backing out and turning to the others, “I suggest most of us set up camp around the cave entrance and send a handful of elites to explore.”

“I’ll lead the way down,” Duncan said offhandedly, “Alice, Sherry, A-Dog… and Morris, the few of you follow me. Fenna, you and Amber, along with Norm, set up camp here and keep an eye on the island.”

His arrangements were reasoned–firstly, one of his aims in coming to Holy Land Island was to confirm what connection Alice had with The Saint, so naturally, he needed the puppet with him. Sherry and A-Dog were to serve as guides once below, while Morris, with his profound knowledge and being a mystic adventurer, excelled in such exploratory endeavors.

However, Fenna had a different idea: “Don’t you need me to come along? We might encounter enemies below; you could use some combat power…”

“We could also encounter enemies outside,” Duncan replied, then looked once more into the narrow, low space in the fissure, turning to look at Fenna with a serious expression, “And it’s too cramped down there to jump around.”

Fenna was taken aback for a moment, taking a couple of seconds to catch on, then feeling somewhat embarrassed, “… It’s not the only move I have…”

She only muttered that, but quickly nodded, “Understood. We’ll set up camp here and do a quick search of other areas in the valley.”

Duncan nodded slightly, “Good, keep in touch and call out my name immediately if anything happens.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Then, Duncan led Morris, Alice, Sherry, and A-Dog toward the dark entrance, a descent seemingly leading deep into the earth.

Fenna watched their figures vanish into the darkness, observing a gentle green flame flickering in the depths of the passage before letting out a slight breath and turning to see Amber standing nearby, staring intently at this direction with an inscrutable expression.

Fenna felt instantly uncomfortable, “… What are you looking at me for?”

Amber considered for a moment but couldn’t resist, “… Under normal circumstances, shouldn’t one call out the name of the goddess immediately in a situation?”

Fenna froze, “…”

Judge fell into deep thought.

Yet, she quickly regained her composure and looked earnestly at the younger one before her, “We can call both.”

It was Amber’s turn to pause, “… Can we?”

“Yes.”

“… The goddess permits it?”

Fenna with devout sincerity, “I have asked, and She did not object.”

Amber continued to look perplexed, “…?”

Norm stood by their side, expressionless throughout the conversation (mainly because his face was painted in a way no expression could be seen), and after a long while, he traced the Triangular Holy Emblem that represented the God of Death before his chest, emitting a long sigh unnoticed by the others.

Meanwhile, in the steep, narrow passageway below, Sherry advanced cautiously alongside A-Dog.

The green flame spread slowly along the rock walls on either side, illuminating the path ahead. Sherry held one end of the chain that connected her to A-Dog in one hand while the other hand braced against the cold, smooth stone beside her, her face tense with a sense of urgency.

A blood-colored gleam flickered faintly in the depths of her eyes.