Deep Sea Embers

The paper was crumpled, and many places had been polluted by gray-black "mud", and the writing on it was blurred and missing. However, after Morris handled it carefully, many of the words on it were restored to a barely legible state. ——

"Brown Scott" recorded the strange changes that happened to him in the last stage of his sanity:

"...Around four o'clock in the morning, it has been 12 hours since the door was locked, and the increasingly intense tinnitus and paroxysmal dizziness seriously affected my actions, so I could only write something when I was in a better state. Bleeding, seeing bruises that appear inexplicably...

"At 6:30, the internal organs seemed to be tumbling, as if the structure of the body had lost its order, and each of them had their own thoughts wandering around in the body. They didn't feel pain, and even the dizziness was much reduced... The fear began to subside, and it became more and more serious. Clear memories come to mind...

"Around seven o'clock, I clearly recalled the details of my death, and I became more and more convinced that my real self had already died. My left leg was inexplicably broken—or maybe a section of bone in the middle suddenly dissolved and disappeared.

"At 8:15, the left leg began to dissolve. First, the skin cracked on its own, and then the internal tissues flowed out like some kind of gray-black liquid. The separated liquid substances seemed to have their own life, wriggling on the floor, even Climbing up the wall... I was worried for a while whether the wooden boards I nailed to the windows could block these weird and terrible substances, but then I found that they gradually lost their activity soon after they were separated from the body, and even when they remained active, they seemed to be inactive. Consciously avoiding the sun... This may be very important information, hereby record it...

"...the heart stopped beating, but the consciousness still persisted. I could feel that this body no longer operated according to the physiological mechanism of normal human beings. I tried to open a wound. There was no blood in the wound, only gray-black viscous Substances flow out slowly... What kind of substance is this body made of at this moment?

"The whole lower body began to dissolve, and it took some effort to fix myself in one position, and continue to write these words - I don't feel any pain now, I am not breathing, my heartbeat has long stopped, and I can hear the occasional buzzing Noise, as if the matter that made up itself was resonating... More and more viscous matter left the body, making a mess of the room...

"...I hope Galoni won't be frightened when she tidies up the room...although when I write this name, I can hardly recall Galoni's appearance in my mind.

"At half past ten, the thing I was most worried about began to happen. The vision was rapidly weakening, and the environment was rapidly darkening. I had to fumble around the edge of the paper to make the writing below as clear as possible...

"I can't confirm the current time. It was around eleven o'clock to twelve o'clock. I heard a sharp and weird sound. The sound lasted for about five minutes. After that, all the discomfort began to subside, and the perception of the rest of the body was also rapidly weakening. Energy I can vaguely feel that the part below the chest is falling...

"It might be another hour,"

The text stops here.

I don't know if the recorder's consciousness has finally reached the end, or he has lost most of his perception and has been unable to accurately write the words on the paper-in the end, the dead person left the world with only one punctuation that ended abruptly .

Morris was silent and didn't make any sound for a long time. After an unknown period of time, he said softly to himself: "Ah, it is indeed his handwriting."

"Do you need to be alone for a while?" Duncan glanced at the old gentleman calmly, "I can wait for you outside."

"No, I have already mourned for him once," Morris shook his head lightly, "I just didn't expect to see his academic records again six years later...these materials are very useful, right?"

Duncan didn't answer right away, but just leaned closer to the "mud" that had solidified and stagnated, observing their edges thoughtfully, then picked up the last record left by Brown Scott, and examined it carefully. Where the edge of the paper has been completely wetted with mud.

The edges were a bit fuzzy and jagged, and the boundary between paper and mud seemed to have disappeared, even showing a state of partial fusion.

Morris noticed Duncan's actions: "Did you find anything?"

"...the element," Duncan raised his head, "the local church of Frost is researching this substance, and they believe that this 'residual sticky substance after the collapse of the deep-sea replica' is very close in nature to what the Annihilation Cultist said" Elements'."

Morris was taken aback for a moment, but now he is more or less used to the situation where the captain gets new clues without knowing when and where, so he was not curious to ask the source of this information, but after a short thought, he said: "... ...I know the term 'element', if you want to study the historical origins of cultists, you can't get around these gods and gods."

He paused, seeming to sort out the information in his mind, and continued after a while: "Just as the Sun Cultists firmly believe that the ancient real sun will save the world sooner or later, the Annihilation Cultists also have a similar 'salvation prophecy'. One day, the Lord Youshen will wake up from his slumber, and in his rage, he will destroy the present world, which has been twisted and deceived by the gods, and the deep sea, which represents the "real world", will rise from the depths of the world and become a paradise for mortals to live in again. , and before that day comes, there will first be a large number of 'elements' gushing out. Elements are the cornerstone of the world and the blueprint of all things. They will cover all things and restore the world to its true appearance..."

Listening to the old scholar's narration, Duncan was silent for a few seconds, then raised his head: "It's gushing out in large quantities...from the deep sea?"

Morris didn't speak for a while.

"I am more and more interested in those Annihilation Cultists now, but compared to their so-called 'Salvation Prophecy', I am more curious about how they have established a 'connection' with a place a thousand meters deep under the frost at this moment," said Duncan Shaking his head, "The replica comes from the deep sea, both the Obsidian and the submersible on Dagger Island, but a group of oblivion cultists talking about gods and gods... How do you think they came into contact with the power under the thousand-meter deep water?"

"...Even for a powerful city-state, it is not a trivial matter to build a submersible that can travel to and from the deep sea of ​​a thousand meters. At the very least, this cannot be something that a group of cultists can grasp," Morris said in thought, "But they can channel the power of the deep sea through some kind of indirect ritual, or communicate with the...'powerful beings' of the deep sea."

"So, Frost must have a larger cult stronghold, a hidden place where large-scale ceremonies can be held, enough for them to continuously mobilize the power in the deep sea to create replicas in the city-state, and even invade Dagger Island." Duncan slowly As he spoke, he raised his head and looked around the room—the only window in the room was nailed to death by wooden boards, and the roof, walls, and ground were covered with dry "mud" that had lost its vitality. All the traces here seemed to be silently It narrates a thrilling death and confrontation.

In his perception, the Lost Homeland is sailing, heading towards Dagger Island and Frost Island.

"Perhaps we have to give the cultists here a little 'Lost Homeland Shock' in the end." He said softly, rubbing his fingers at the same time, and a small cluster of dark green flames fell from his fingertips, falling silently. On the ground, it quickly melted into the air and disappeared.

Maurice saw this, of course, but he said nothing, just glanced one last time at the table next to him.

That was the last place where Brown Scott "worked"—maybe it was just a short-lived replica, but when the body that was constantly collapsing and disintegrating was writing at the desk, it still had a noble soul.

"...How to deal with things here?" The old scholar raised his head and looked at the captain. "The traces in the room, the documents left by Brown, and...Galonia on the first floor."

"We've got enough clues, let's leave the rest to Frostman," Duncan said lightly, "Leave the room as it is, leave that letter in a conspicuous place on the table, and prepare a report letter. As for Galone..."

Duncan paused.

"The cognitive interference Galone suffered is obviously not over yet. After the replica in this building disappeared, she still has no signs of regaining consciousness, and she even firmly believes that her teacher is resting in the room, which shows that there is interference The 'source' of this is not her teacher, but something that is still active and hidden in the depths of the city-state, and if that source is not eliminated, she will not truly recover."

Speaking of this, he frowned slightly, as if thinking of more.

"Also... not sure how many 'Brown Scott's' and how many 'Galonia' are still in this city-state."

Morris' expression froze: "You mean..."

"Rumors of the return of the dead are circulating in the city, but at the same time there are diametrically opposite news reaching Tirian." Duncan glanced at Morris. The sieve."