Cold, damp, the stench of rotting flesh, the noise of chains scraping against the ground.
Many strange perceptions flooded into Duncan's mind, but he was not able to open his eyes at first—in that moment, he felt as if his soul had been split into two parts. One part remained on the Homeloss, while the other had been stuffed into a completely unfamiliar body, a body that was as difficult to control as an old, broken machine. Various, chaotic perceptions crashed through his nervous system, mixed with a certain dullness and numbness. He tried to open his eyes, to move his fingers, but he couldn't feel these corresponding parts of the body at all.
The uncomfortable sensation lasted several seconds before the indescribable numbness and dullness in his nervous system finally began to fade away. Duncan felt his "body" awakening from a long hibernation, slowly regaining the ability to move.
He finally opened his eyes and saw the situation around him clearly.
Before him was a space as dim and heavy as a cavern. Burning torches were inserted into distant stone walls, and the trembling light cast terrible images all around. Duncan saw many people—or rather, many dead bodies, thrown haphazardly across the damp, soaked earth and rocks. Most were dressed in tattered clothes, while a few still wore intact garments.
Droplets of water condensed and fell from the ceiling of the cave. In the distance, one could faintly hear the sound of what seemed like an underground river or sewage flowing, while the sound of chain friction seemed to come from a corridor connected to the cave and was growing fainter and fainter.
Duncan blinked, trying to understand what was happening—he looked down at his right hand, only to see a completely unfamiliar, thin palm and the ragged clothes on his arm, the brass Compass that had always been in his hand was now nowhere to be seen.
He looked up again, beside him. He remembered seeing a shadow following him as he traveled through the stars and light webs—a shadow that looked like some kind of bird. But of course, he found nothing.
The bird-like shadow didn't seem to have come to the physical space with him.
Duncan slowly clenched his hand, forcefully suppressing the anxiety in his heart, then tried rubbing his fingers together.
A cluster of very weak green flames emerged from his fingertips.
It had to be said that this cluster of flames now appeared much weaker than what Duncan was familiar with. Still, he felt a bit of reassurance. As the flames began to burn, his still somewhat confused spirit also perked up slightly and felt a more distinct sensation of tearing and connection on a spiritual level.
He clearly sensed that another part of his spirit was not here. He sensed the presence of the Homeloss, and sensed his own self sat at a desk, holding the brass Compass.
This feeling was very peculiar, but Duncan immediately had a vague understanding of what the situation might be:
His spirit had undergone some kind of projection, or rather, extension. That projected part of his mind had traversed a distance unknowable and now entered another foreign body.
Even in this projected state, he could still clearly feel the existence of his "original body."
It 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 didn't let himself dwell on them too much. After confirming that his original body was still safe and sound, and his spirit was still under control, for now, it was just temporarily inhabiting a remote, nameless body. With that, he had calmed down a bit and was ready to first ascertain what exactly this "new body" was all about.
First and foremost, one thing was for sure, the environment around him was certainly not on a ship.
This was land—the land he had been unable to find after drifting on the sea for so many days!
Secondly, this sinister cave didn't seem like a good place. The bodies scattered around didn't look like a normal "burial" scene, and the body he currently occupied... How had it become trapped in this hell on earth for some unfortunate reason?
Duncan took a deep breath and pushed himself to sit up—his body had been leaning against a large rock, a position that could not be called comfortable.
It was this inhalation and movement of getting up that suddenly made Duncan feel a massive abnormality in his body—he felt the air he breathed in quickly evacuating his body, an eerie and hollow feeling coming from his chest, and even the motion of rising became distorted.
Duncan, puzzled, looked down and saw a large hole.
A huge cavity had opened where the heart should be, and naturally, whatever had been inside had flown the coop. A crisp, cool breeze flowed through it, mixing with the breath Duncan had inhaled moments before, which hadn't yet fully dissipated and was now vanishing into the damp air.
From a certain angle, Duncan could even clearly see the scene behind him.
"...What the fuck?!"
Even with nerves of steel, even having seen his fair share of the world aboard the Homeloss, Duncan still felt a layer of cold sweat break out on his skin at that moment. Goosebumps piled upon one another like mountain upon mountain, and every single hair on his body stood on end!
But after that moment of intense horror, he quickly realized that he was still standing here, very much alive, even able to curse.
Despite the fact that his heart had taken flight, leaving a gaping hole in his chest, he felt no pain from his body whatsoever!
"Is this... a corpse?"
A moment later, Duncan had come to his senses. He further understood his situation and quickly regained his composure.
Occupying a corpse and rising to move might not be anything astonishing, considering he had a Ghost Ship that could sail by itself and a wooden goat first mate that could chatter one's brains to boiling, plus he recently met an individual capable of moving independently, adept at sailing the Endless Sea—a cursed doll. Weren't all these more startling than "a dead man speaking"?
After all, he was only missing a heart at the moment. Alice's head often wasn't even on her neck...
With these chaotic thoughts swirling in his mind, Duncan returned to a state of Calmness with surprising speed. Then, he checked the mobility of his new body and, after slightly adjusting to the peculiar sensation caused by the hole in his chest, he began to walk towards the bodies discarded in the cave.
"As expected..."
Upon seeing the first body, Duncan wasn't surprised after observing the terrifying cavity in the person's chest.
It was a middle-aged man, gaunt and in tattered clothing, who looked as though he could have been a beggar by the roadside. He had been dead for some time, but his wide, angry eyes still conveyed his struggle and desperation in his final moments.
Duncan continued to move forward, encountering one heartbreaking body after another, all without hearts. They lay pitifully upon the cold stone, with two exceptions—those two had horrific wounds on their heads, apparently from violent collisions with rock that had killed them instantly.
Duncan couldn't help but theorize—perhaps these were two individuals who had chosen to end their own lives rather than face the agony of having their hearts gouged out.
Truthfully, the cave's contents were a bit too stimulating for the average person. Even Duncan felt overwhelmed by the end of his inspection, so much so that he had to find a relatively clean rock to sit on some distance away, where he composed himself bit by bit and, in that process of regaining his composure, speculated about the truth behind all this.
Clearly, this was a horrifying murder—but given the excessively ruthless and uniform manner of the killing, it seemed to be more than just a murder, betraying some sort of evil... ritualistic nature.
Duncan once again summoned the Spectral Flame, feeling the connection between himself and his "true body," knowing he could sever this "projected state" at any time and return to the safety of the Homeloss.
But he felt it was necessary to understand what exactly had happened here.
Even if it was just to gather some information about the land.
Duncan exhaled, feeling the draft through the hole in his chest, and stood up from the large rock where he had briefly rested. He looked towards the passageway leading deeper into the cave, recalling that the sound of chains dragging had come from that direction.
This underground space contained more than just bodies; there were others moving around, and those who could freely operate in such a dreadful place... ought to provide him with some answers.
Heading in recklessly to check things out was certainly not the safest option, but Duncan didn't mind—
after all, now he had nothing to lose.