Cold, dampness, the stench of rotting flesh, the noise of iron chains scraping against the ground.
Many strange perceptions flooded into Duncan's mind, but he couldn't manage to open his eyes at first—the moment he felt as if his soul had been split into two parts, one part still on the Homeloss, yet another stuffed into a completely unfamiliar body, a body like an old, broken machine, difficult to control. The jumbled and chaotic sensations collided in his nervous system, accompanied by a certain numbness and dullness, he tried to open his eyes, to move his fingers, but couldn't feel those corresponding body parts at all.
This uncomfortable sensation lasted for several seconds, until at last the indescribable numbness and dullness in his nervous system began to fade away. Duncan felt his "body" awakening from a long hibernation, gradually regaining the ability to move.
He finally opened his eyes and saw the situation around him clearly.
What met his gaze was a dim, cave-like space, with burning torches inserted into distant stone walls, their flickering flames casting terrifying images around him, Duncan saw many people—or rather, many dead bodies—scattered haphazardly across the damp, water-soaked mud and stones, most in tattered clothing, though a few still clad in intact garments.
There were congealed droplets falling from the top of the cave, and in the distance, one could faintly hear the sound of filthy water flowing in an underground river or drain, while the sound of chains scraping seemed to come from deep down a passage connected to the cave, getting fainter.
Duncan blinked, trying to figure out what had happened—he looked down at his right hand, and what he saw was an utterly unfamiliar and frail palm, and the ragged clothes on his arm, while the brass Compass, which he had been holding, was nowhere to be seen.
He looked up again at the area beside him, he remembered seeing a shadow following him as he moved through the webs of starlight and light, a shadow that looked like a bird, but as expected, he found nothing.
The bird-like shadow did not seem to have followed him to this reality.
Duncan slowly clenched his hand, forcibly suppressing the panic within, and then tried to rub his fingers together.
A cluster of very faint green flames emerged from his fingertips.
It must be said, this flame was indeed much weaker than what Duncan was accustomed to, but he still felt a bit of reassurance, and as the flame began to burn, his still somewhat disoriented mind perked up, and he felt a clearer connection and tearing on a spiritual level.
He vividly sensed that part of his spirit was not here, he sensed the presence of the Homeloss, sensed himself sitting in front of a desk, hand holding a brass Compass.
This feeling was extremely peculiar, but Duncan soon had an inkling of what his current situation was:
His mind had experienced... some sort of projection, or an extension, and the projected part had traversed an immense distance and now inhabited another strange body.
Even in this state of projection, he could still clearly feel the presence of his "real body".
This must be related to that brass Compass! Could this be the power of the "anomalous item"?
Duncan came up with some conjectures in his mind, but he did not let wild thoughts occupy too much of his time. After confirming that his real body was still safe and sound, and his mind was still in control, currently inhabiting a distant, nameless body only temporarily, he settled down a little and prepared to ascertain what was going on with this "new body".
First and foremost, one thing was certain, the surrounding environment was definitely not on a ship.
This was land—the very land he had not been able to find after so many days adrift at sea!
Second, this gloomy cave didn't look like a pleasant place, the scattered bodies around didn't resemble a normal "burial" scene, and the body he now occupied... how unlucky must it have been to be trapped in such a hell on Earth?
Duncan took a deep breath and propped himself up to sit—this body had been leaning against a large rock, a posture far from comfortable.
It was this inhalation and motion of sitting up that made Duncan suddenly feel a huge anomaly in his body—he felt the air he breathed in instantly let out, an empty, eerie feeling coming from his chest, the act of sitting up deformed.
Duncan looked down in surprise and saw a large hole.
The hole was where his heart should be, the insides naturally gone, a cool breeze passed through it, mixed with the breath that Duncan had just inhaled which hadn't yet completely dissipated, eventually escaping into the damp air.
Duncan could even see the scene behind himself clearly from a certain angle.
"... What the fuck?!"
Even someone as tough as Duncan, who had seen a fair share of "the world" aboard the Homeloss, felt a cold sweat break out this instant. His goosebumps seemed to sprout like a densely packed forest, and every hair on his body stood on end!
After the initial shock, he quickly realized: he was still standing here just fine, even managing to curse.
Despite his heart flung out and a gaping hole in his chest, he didn't feel any pain from his body!
"Is this... a corpse?"
A moment later, Duncan had come to his senses. He understood his condition better and quickly calmed down.
Occupying a corpse and getting up to move might not be something to be shocked about, after all, he had a Ghost Ship that could sail on its own and a wooden goat first mate that could drive people crazy with its noise. He had recently encountered an Eli that could act independently, skilled at sailing through the Endless Sea. Which of these wasn't more astonishing than "a dead man talking"?
At least he had only lost his heart for now—Alice's head often wasn't even on her neck...
With these chaotic thoughts spinning in his mind, Duncan recovered his Calmness at a surprisingly fast rate. Then he checked the mobility of his body as it was now, and after a short while, adapted to the awkward movements caused by the hole in his chest. Only then did he step towards the bodies dumped in the cave.
"As expected..."
Looking at the first body, Duncan wasn't surprised when he saw the horrifying hole in the chest.
It was a middle-aged man with a gaunt face and ragged clothes, who looked like a beggar on the street. He had been dead for some time, but his eyes were wide open in anger, still conveying his struggle and despair in the last moments of his life.
Duncan continued forward to see one after another heartless corpse, lying miserably on the cold stone floor. There were only two exceptions—these two had fierce wounds on their heads, seemingly the result of their heads forcefully striking the stone, killing them instantly.
Duncan couldn't help but speculate—perhaps these were two people who had chosen to end their lives before undergoing the agonizing heart removal.
Honestly, the things in this cave were a bit too stimulating for the average person. Even Duncan felt overwhelmed after inspecting all the bodies. He had to sit down on a relatively clean stone, slightly further away, to sort out his condition. While calming down, he speculated about the truth behind all this.
Clearly, this was a heinous murder—but the method of killing was too cruel and uniform, suggesting it was not just a murder, but also hinting at some kind of evil... ritualistic feeling.
Duncan summoned the Spectral Flame again, feeling the connection between himself and his "physical body". He knew he could sever this "projection state" at any time and return to the safety of the Homeloss.
But he felt he needed to understand what exactly had happened here.
Even if only to acquire some information about the land.
Duncan exhaled, feeling the draft through his chest, and rose from the large rock where he was temporarily resting. He looked towards the deeper tunnels of the cave, remembering that the sound of the chains scraping had come from that direction.
This underground space held not only bodies, but other people were active too. Those who could move freely in this horrific place... could probably provide him with some answers.
It was, of course, not very safe to barge in and inspect, but Duncan didn't care—
After all, he now had quite a heartless attitude.