The Underground Gathering

The hooded figures, naturally, noticed Duncan standing boldly in the middle of the path.

At that moment, Duncan still appeared as he had when he left the cave—his thin, withered body dressed in tattered clothes, a makeshift cloth covering the gaping hole in his chest. He stood nonchalantly in the center of the path, looking as if he had been startled by the sudden appearance of the "hooded people." The cloaked figures seemed surprised as well; they hesitated for a moment before the one in the lead suddenly cried out, "A sacrifice has escaped!"

Duncan watched as they rushed toward him, one of them shouting as they ran, "Quick! Stop him! Don't let him get away!"

Duncan just shrugged, showing no emotion as he continued to watch these people who, no matter how you looked at them, did not seem like good people. After weighing the situation, he had no intention of running, but the people kept yelling as they approached, "Don't let him get away! A sacrifice has escaped!"

As a result, Duncan's honest and unyielding stance in the middle of the path made the atmosphere awkward. The people who were running and shouting clearly realized something was off midway, and their cries involuntarily ceased. Nevertheless, they continued to run toward him, and Duncan could almost smell the embarrassment mixed with anger emanating from beneath their dark hoods. Then, these awkward and angry people surrounded him from all sides.

At this point, Duncan glanced around at the figures encircling him and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Should I have tried to escape just now? I mean, considering the atmosphere…"

The hooded figures seemed not to hear Duncan's sarcastic remark. They just looked at him warily and cautiously, then glanced in the direction behind him. Two of them quickly exchanged a few words in hushed tones, and Duncan faintly heard their conversation:

"Why did one come out?"

"Did the church dogs discover our hideout…? But he doesn't look like he was released by someone…"

"Anyway, we need to take him back. This escaped sacrifice is strange… We need to deal with him quickly."

"Let the messenger decide."

Duncan had no idea what these people were all about, let alone what they meant by "messenger." But, considering the situation he had witnessed and their mention of a "sacrifice," he had a vague idea of the truth.

Unsure of how a "normal sacrifice" should react and having no intention of cooperating with these people's "performance," Duncan found himself with little to worry about outside of the confines of the ship and within his temporary body. After briefly observing his surroundings, he simply asked, "Where are you taking me?"

The cloaked figures seemed taken aback when their calm "sacrifice" spoke up. Although their hoods were completely covered with a black veil, Duncan could still guess their surprise. One of the cloaked figures looked menacingly at the "sacrifice" through the veil, his voice low and menacing, "You have no right to ask questions. Just come with us."

The figures moved forward, but before they could lay a hand on him, Duncan took a step forward on his own accord, "No need to get physical, I'll go with you."

The cloaked figures exchanged glances, probably thinking that the "sacrifice" in front of them was not in his right mind. However, the leading figure waved his hand, "That's better. Anyway, you won't be able to escape… Follow us, and perhaps you'll be able to face your glory with dignity."

Thus, the cloaked figures surrounded Duncan, sealing off any possible escape routes, and led him deeper into the sewer.

The stench and filth in the sewer were nauseating, but the cloaked figures seemed completely unfazed as they strode confidently along the moldy path. Duncan remained expressionless and silent, following them while listening intently to their conversations. The cloaked figures didn't talk much, but Duncan picked up on a few useful words in their occasional exchanges: "Pland," "governor," and "church."

"Is this Pland City?" Duncan suddenly asked, as casually as if he were chatting with an old friend.

"No shit…" one of the cloaked figures replied reflexively before realizing his mistake and giving Duncan a haunted look. "You're quite calm, kid. Do you know what's going to happen next?"

"I have an idea," Duncan nodded, even managing a smile. Then, he ventured another question, "The true Sun God… right?"

The cloaked figures' steps faltered for a moment, clearly misunderstanding Duncan's unusual response. One whispered to his companion, "Wait, could he be a follower of the Master too?"

"No way, he's obviously an escaped sacrifice…" another cloaked figure whispered back before turning to Duncan, "You're quite clever, but don't think you can avoid the sacrifice… The Master has already decided your fate, and you'd best accept it gracefully."

Duncan neither agreed nor disagreed. He knew that his excessively calm reaction had led these cult-like people to make the wrong assumption. They probably thought he was pretending to be calm and masquerading as a "follower" in an attempt to survive, but the real situation was known only to Duncan.

This temporary body struggled even to move normally, and the muscles in his face were as stiff as if they were dying… of course, all that was left was a calm, expressionless face!

But he didn't care what these cultists were thinking. All he wanted was to gather as much information as possible during this "disposable exploration mission." So, he casually asked, "You believe that the current 'sun' in the sky is a false one? And that it'll eventually fall?"

"Of course, the false sun shall eventually fall!" This was clearly a topic that could provoke the zealots. Duncan got what he wanted – an enthusiastic response from one of them. "Even the Church's lapdogs have to admit in their history that the sun in the sky is a twisted, bizarre thing that appeared after the Great Annihilation! The true Sun God, who brings life and order to the world, has had his authority usurped by that vile impostor... The day will come when that vile thing will collapse from the sky!"

Immediately, the other cultists joined in: "The false sun shall fall! The true Sun God shall soon awaken! The excess seawater will be expelled back into the void by the Sun God's might, and the earth will return to a fertile and stable era!"

Listening to the cultists' heated words, Duncan's thoughts raced. He knew that fanatical zealots could not be reasoned with using common sense, and that their beliefs were often based on twisted and altered information. However, some of the information they revealed could still be useful.

The "sun" hanging in the sky was a fake...

The true sun had its authority usurped...

They firmly believed that the real sun was a fallen deity and that this deity would "rise again from blood and fire"...

They also mentioned the excess seawater and the era of fertility and stability... What did these words mean?

Duncan's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, while the cultists soon calmed down, remembering their task at hand: escorting an escaped "sacrifice." The ones closest to Duncan resumed their silence, and the two at the back of the group whispered to each other:

"Do you think there's something off about this 'sacrifice'?"

"He doesn't seem quite right... I'm a little uneasy."

"Maybe the 'sacrifice' spent too long in the lightless underground while escaping and his mind was... affected?"

"Well, the Master's power will purify him."

Duncan listened to the conversation behind him, paying particular attention to the phrase "lightless underground." But just as he wanted to gather more information from their exchange, the leading cloaked figure stopped walking.

"We're here."

The voice of the black-robed cultist was low and icy.

Duncan was momentarily disappointed, but his attention was quickly drawn to the scene before him.

At the end of the path, several sewer tunnels converged, and in the spacious area resembling a small underground hall, there stood a gathering of black-robed cultists!