The tunnel was narrow, damp, and cold. Lin Xiao's footsteps echoed faintly as he walked deeper into the unknown.
The walls were made of rough-hewn stone, and the air was thick with the scent of earth and something else—something metallic, like blood.
As he continued forward, the tunnel began to slope downward, spiraling deeper into the heart of the village. Faint whispers started to reach his ears, just on the edge of perception, like the remnants of conversations long past.
They were unintelligible, but their presence sent shivers down his spine.
The tunnel suddenly widened into a cavernous chamber, illuminated by an eerie, bluish light that seemed to emanate from the walls themselves.
In the center of the chamber stood a large, ornate door, much more imposing than the one he had passed through earlier.
It was covered in intricate carvings depicting scenes of rituals, sacrifices, and what appeared to be the villagers, frozen in time.
The figures looked almost lifelike, their eyes hollow and staring, as if they had been trapped in the stone itself.
"My life is destined with doors" Lin Xia sighed.
As Lin Xiao approached the door, the whispers grew louder, more insistent, almost pleading. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should turn back. But then he remembered the mysterious woman's words and her strange request not to kill the people inside.
His hand hovered over the door's handle, and he felt a strange sensation—like the door was pulsing, alive in some way.
With a deep breath, Lin Xiao pushed the door open. It swung inward with a low, creaking groan, revealing a long corridor lined with torches that flickered with the same bluish light.
The whispers were now a cacophony of voices, overlapping and mingling into a disorienting noise that made it hard to think.
The corridor led him to another chamber, this one filled with what looked like altars. Each altar had a small, ancient-looking object placed on it—a knife, a chalice, a bowl of strange herbs.
At the far end of the room stood a statue, a towering figure with a serene face but hands outstretched as if beckoning him forward.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the middle of the room—a young woman, dressed in old, tattered robes.
She looked up at Lin Xiao, her eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and hope. "You're the one sent to end this, aren't you?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper but somehow clear over the din of the other voices.
Lin Xiao was taken aback. "Who are you?" he asked, but before she could respond, the ground beneath them began to tremble, and the altars started to glow.
The light from the torches flickered wildly, casting shadows that seemed to move on their own.
The woman didn't answer, instead, she pointed to the statue at the end of the room. "The heart of the village is there," she said, her voice urgent. "But be careful. It's not what it seems."
Lin Xiao nodded, not fully understanding but knowing he had no other choice. He moved cautiously toward the statue, every step feeling heavier as if the very air was trying to push him back. The statue seemed to grow taller, more imposing, with each step.
When he finally stood before it, the statue's eyes glowed, and the outstretched hands began to move, revealing a hidden compartment in its chest. Lin Xiao reached out, his hand trembling slightly, and opened the compartment.
Inside, there was a glowing, pulsating orb, radiating a warm, inviting light. It was beautiful, mesmerizing—but something about it felt wrong.
The young woman appeared beside him again, her expression unreadable. "This is the heart of the village," she said softly. "Destroy it, and the loop ends. But… be prepared. The gods will not let go easily."
Lin Xiao hesitated, feeling the weight of the orb in his hand. "What do you mean the gods will not let go? And who are you, really?" he asked, his voice tense with confusion and curiosity.
The woman's gaze remained fixed on the glowing orb, her expression unreadable. "This so-called heart of the village is made from the blood of the sacrificed people," she explained, her voice flat, as though recounting a fact she had accepted long ago. "It's filled with the fury of the gods, anger directed at me and my sister for our greed."
Lin Xiao's mind raced, piecing together the fragments of information he had gathered so far. "Are you… the sister of the woman outside?" he asked, hoping for some clarity.
But once again, the woman ignored his question, her focus solely on the orb. "Just crush the ball, and the loop will end. But beware of what comes after."
Lin Xiao stared at the orb, his mind whirling with thoughts. He suddenly regretted bringing a ghost hunter character into this game.
He had initially thought this was a simple haunted village story, but the narrative had taken a sharp turn into something much more complex and unsettling.
The genre had shifted right under his feet, and now he was dealing with gods, ancient rituals, and the anger of forgotten spirits.
His hand trembled slightly as he considered the orb. The woman's words echoed in his mind—filled with the fury of gods. What would happen when he destroyed it?
Would the village be free, or would something far worse be unleashed?
His character's strength as a ghost hunter suddenly felt irrelevant in the face of divine wrath.
But there was no turning back. He had come this far, and the curiosity that drove him to explore every corner of the game now pushed him to see this through to the end.
With a deep breath, Lin Xiao tightened his grip on the orb. He could feel the pulsing energy within it, almost like a heartbeat, as if the orb was alive.
"Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself, raising the orb high.
Then, with a decisive motion, he brought it down hard against the stone floor.
The orb shattered with a deafening crack, and a blinding light filled the chamber, forcing Lin Xiao to shield his eyes. The ground beneath him trembled violently, and the air was filled with a deafening roar, like the sound of a thousand voices crying out in unison.
The walls of the chamber began to crumble, the carvings of the villagers seeming to weep as the stone cracked and fell away.
The whispers that had followed him through the tunnel now became anguished wails, and the once steady blue light turned into a chaotic, swirling mass of colors, disorienting and terrifying.
Lin Xiao's heart pounded as he watched the destruction unfold around him. The woman was nowhere to be seen, her warning still echoing in his mind.
As the chamber collapsed, Lin Xiao's screen went black. A single message appeared:
[You have awakened the gods' wrath. The loop is broken, but the village's fate is sealed. Completion: 100%]
[Your Ghost Hunter Character Earned the Attribute: Wrath of God, Lsatar]
[Your Ghost Hunter Character has Earned the Attribute: Blessing of the Demon King, Bulsar]
[Wrath of God, Lsatar: You will Receive 20 % More Damage by Divine Objects Related to Time Law]
[Blessing of the Demon King, Bulsar: Any Lower Level Demon You Meet will Treat you Favourably]