Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 721 - Chapter 721 Chapter 718 Falling into the Profound Depths

Chapter 721: Chapter 718 Falling into the Profound Depths Chapter 721: Chapter 718 Falling into the Profound Depths In the valley of Holy Land Island, where Fenna was leading the camp at the tunnel entrance, she received news from the cave and widened her eyes in shock, “Sherry and the dog have disappeared?”

“In strict terms, they were ‘transitioned’ to somewhere by some time-space mechanism in the cave,” Duncan’s voice resonated within Fenna’s mind, “Have you observed any changes on the surface?”

“No, everything on the surface is normal. Amber just led a team to search deeper into the valley and found nothing but a few empty huts and some human remains swallowed by the island,” Fenna responded immediately, “The island is currently very calm…”

In the underground cave, Duncan nodded slightly after hearing the report from the surface, then his gaze fell on Morris and Alice beside him.

“The surface is all normal, and no ‘activation’ phenomenon has appeared on Holy Land Island. It seems that what happened to Sherry and the dog is different from what those Extinction Cultists encountered.”

“Where did they go?” Alice asked anxiously, “Didn’t you say you could still feel their ‘markings’? Are they alright now?”

“They’re still alive but in a place I cannot pinpoint. I suspect…”

Duncan paused midway through his sentence and did not rashly conclude, but it was clear he had a guess–after a brief silence, he had already looked up, thoughtfully staring into the depths of the cave.

In the dim, heavy darkness, a massive object loomed vaguely.

Each time he blinked, a giant prism embraced by numerous cables and pipes revealed itself, its surface flickering with lights as if emitting a silent invitation.

He approached it, letting the fire dispel the darkness–under the light of the Spiritual Fire, a grand door stood silently, seemingly embedded directly into the rock walls on either side.

Scattered tools could be seen around the space near the door, and some human structures, melted beyond recognition and seemingly swallowed by the mud and stone, were embedded in the surrounding ground and walls, appearing ferociously terrifying.

Unquestionably, this was the “final chamber” Sherry had mentioned, the last excavation site deep beneath Holy Land Island, the place where those Extinction Cultists finally “awakened” the entire island.

Duncan reached the door, quickly examined its structure under the light–the dark stone door was tightly closed, its surface rough and uneven as if once covered with dense vines, now turned into chaotic pits and patterns on the door. However, amid those chaotic markings that were almost undecipherable, Duncan discerned something.

It was the unfamiliar script he had seen in that “hall,” the symbols he had encountered in the vision when the New Hope had crashed.

He frowned slightly, but before he could decipher the hidden message in those markings, Alice, who was standing next to him, whispered before him, “Helmsman Two… Interface intervention?”

Duncan sharply turned his head, looking at the human figure who was raising her head observing the door, “You understood the message on this door?”

But Alice frowned, slowly shaking her head, “I didn’t see any message on the door… It just suddenly popped into my mind…”

Duncan stared into Alice’s eyes, his thoughts spinning, then withdrew his gaze and turned back to the door–after a few seconds of hesitation and thought, he placed his hand on the door, and concentrated while slightly closing his eyes.

The greenish flame spread from his fingertips, then disappeared with a flicker on the door.

And in another layer of his vision, in a dark and distant, unfamiliar dimension, a light, as if suddenly blown by the wind, flickered slightly in the deep darkness.

Within that flickering dim light, Duncan heard Sherry’s voice–clearer than before but still behind a thick veil.

She was very scared, very cold, she had just lost something very important–she was cautiously building a protective shell around herself, and something malevolent… was gathering around her.

Duncan abruptly opened his eyes.

“Lucy,” he called out in his mind to the “witch” waiting on the Brilliant Starship.

Lucrecia’s voice immediately came through, “Do you need me?”

“Bring that ‘saint’ here, I’ve found the ‘connection point.’ Now I need to open a door to retrieve someone from the Mysterious Deep Sea.”

“Understood.”

As the voice in his mind faded, Duncan slowly raised his right hand–a particularly bright, almost dazzling firelight gradually took shape in his palm.

He pressed that flame against the dark stone door, watching it gradually seep into the door, into the unfamiliar, dark dimension behind it, and before the firelight completely vanished, he whispered softly to it, “Sherry, don’t be afraid.”

…

It was dark, cold, the body felt as heavy as if filled with lead, a strange stinging sensation spread from the arm, over the shoulder, then half the body, gradually turning into numbness, as if this body no longer belonged to her, as if her flesh had unknowingly transformed into something she could not comprehend or control.

The surrounding “mire” had gradually receded, yet a more intense malice and sense of danger surged continuously around her. Sherry hid in a cluster of bone-like, chaotically entangled “bushes,” curling up without moving.

Chaos and madness roared and murmured from afar; invisible hunters roamed in the darkness, seeking uninvited guests who had trespassed. It was only a matter of time before the prey would be discovered.

But this time, there was no Abyssal Hound to protect her.

Sherry hugged her twisted and deformed arm tighter and shrunk further into the bushes. She had “smelled” the scent here and understood where she was.

This was the Mysterious Deep Sea, the “homeland” of A Dog.

The den of demons.

The faint thumping in her ears and the throbbing sensation from her chest woke Sherry from her daze. She looked down dumbfounded, gazing at the two hearts she was holding in her embrace.

“Daddy… Mommy…”

She whispered softly, just as she used to when she didn’t want to sleep as a child, whispering secrets in bed with “them” —

“I’m a little scared… I want to hug you…”

The two hearts continued to beat slowly, thump-thump–so vividly clear. Over the past many years, they had always been beating inside a Profound Demon, separated by thick bones and chaotic dust. Never before had their thumping been so distinctly audible to Sherry.

Sherry slightly tightened her grip on her arm but felt something unusual.

She looked down and saw her arms covered with thin bone armor, blade-like structures extending from the elbow joints, slowly unfolding as if alive. She then saw her chest–a horrifying hollow, within which a damaged, dark red organ struggled to beat amidst the bones and rising black smoke, getting weaker by the second.

That damaged organ was known to humans as the “heart.”

“…So it turns out A Dog had bitten through my heart back then… No wonder it’s been so cold…”

Sherry whispered softly, shifting her position slightly amidst the bushes. She saw her legs gradually getting covered in grotesque black bone plates, and the smoke signifying the Profound contamination continuously seeping from the bone plates into the air.

She felt increasingly sleepy.

Would she die as a Profound Demon? Or had she already been a Profound Demon in human skin, ever since merging with A Dog twelve years ago?

This fleeting thought surfaced in Sherry’s mind, but soon, even that thought dissipated in the growing drowsiness.

She didn’t want to think about that question, nor would she think about it.

She didn’t understand such profoundly “philosophical” dilemmas… they were too complex for her.

She was more concerned about water, food, heating fuel, and winter clothes.

The growling and murmuring grew closer. The hunters in the darkness were nearing this edge of the area. Amorphous forms cast even darker shadows in the darkness, and an icy sensation touched Sherry’s skin, as if reaching her a moment sooner.

But her body was slowly toppling over–the two continually beating hearts could no longer keep her awake in her shattered chest as the heart gnawed by demons slowed in its final beat.

In the darkness, warm light emerged, as if a warm sunbeam was shining on her face. Sherry squinted her eyes, comfortably, and exhaled softly.

It was a warm winter afternoon.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, falling on the peeling, faded wooden windowsill. The kettle on the stove was making a cheerful hissing sound. Mom was busy in the kitchen, the aroma of freshly baked cookies wafting into the living room. Dad didn’t have to work today–he was squatting by the dining table, fixing the always creaky table. The crisp sound of the postman’s bicycle bell rang through the street as he crossed the intersection, along with the noise of carriage wheels over the cobblestone road.

Sherry dozed off on the sofa, about to fall asleep.

Then, Dad would come over, lift her up to carry her to the bedroom bed, and Mom would emerge from the kitchen, tapping Dad’s head with a soup ladle because his dirty hands had dirtied his daughter’s dress…

Sherry lay on the sofa, a gentle smile slowly spreading across her face, just like that afternoon many years ago. She lightly turned over, her arms falling from the back of the sofa onto herself, curling up at her chest.

Her hand touched a heart that had stopped beating.

All warmth collapsed in an instant, darkness and coldness shattered the warm sunlight of the afternoon like an avalanche. Her eyes wide in the darkness, but as terror swooped in, she saw the figure by the dining table, which should have dissolved along with the “collapse,” slowly stand up and begin to move towards her.

The figure transformed in the flames, incinerating everything in the darkness.

“Sherry, don’t be afraid.”