Cave

Cold, damp, and the putrid stench of decaying flesh. The sound of iron chains scraping against the ground.

Numerous unfamiliar sensations flooded Duncan's mind, but at that moment, he couldn't seem to successfully open his eyes. He felt as though his soul had been split into two parts, with one part still aboard the Misery, while the other had been shoved into a completely unfamiliar vessel. This vessel was like an old, broken machine, difficult to control, and the chaotic, mixed sensations roiled through his nervous system, accompanied by a certain dullness and numbness. He tried to open his eyes and move his fingers, but he couldn't feel the existence of these corresponding body parts at all.

This uncomfortable feeling lasted for several seconds, and the inexplicable numbness and dullness in his nervous system finally began to fade away. Duncan felt as though his "body" had awakened from a long hibernation and slowly regained his mobility.

He finally opened his eyes and saw the situation around him.

What he saw was a dim, dungeon-like space, with burning torches placed on the distant stone walls, casting flickering flames that illuminated the terrifying scenes around him. Duncan saw many people or, rather, many dead bodies, lying haphazardly in the damp, waterlogged soil and rocks. Most were in tatters, but some still wore intact clothing.

Water droplets condensed and dripped from the cave ceiling, and he could faintly hear the sound of sewage flowing through an underground river or drain in the distance. The sound of iron chains rubbing against each other seemed to come from a deep tunnel connected to the cave, and it was getting fainter and fainter.

Duncan blinked, trying to figure out what had happened. He looked down at his right hand and saw a completely unfamiliar and emaciated palm, as well as tattered clothes on his arm. The brass compass that he had been holding in his hand had long since disappeared.

He raised his head again, peering into the darkness alongside him. He could still remember glimpsing a shadow trailing him as he wove through the starlight and luminous web. The silhouette had resembled some kind of bird, but naturally, he found nothing.

That bird-like shadow didn't seem to have followed him into this corporeal realm.

Duncan clenched his fist, suppressing the unease gnawing at his insides. He rubbed his fingers together experimentally.

A feeble green flame flickered to life at his fingertips.

It was undeniably weaker than the fire he was accustomed to, but it brought him a small measure of comfort. As the feeble flame danced, his scattered thoughts grew slightly more focused, and he felt a clearer connection to something—a spiritual tearing and fusing.

He was acutely aware that part of his consciousness wasn't here; he sensed the presence of the Exile, the other self seated at a desk, grasping a brass compass.

The sensation was peculiar, but Duncan quickly surmised the situation:

His mind had... projected or extended somehow, with that fragment traversing an unfathomable distance before embedding itself into a foreign body.

Even in this projected state, he could still feel the presence of his "original self."

It had to be connected to that brass compass! Could this be the power of that "anomalous object"?

Duncan's mind raced with conjecture, but he didn't allow aimless speculation to consume him for long. Upon confirming his original self was unharmed and his mind still under control, merely inhabiting a distant, unknown body temporarily, he felt somewhat at ease. He prepared to assess the situation regarding this "new body" he now occupied.

The first thing he was sure of: he wasn't aboard a ship.

This was the land—the land he'd been unable to find during his aimless drifting at sea!

The second thing: this gloomy cavern didn't seem like a friendly place. The scattered corpses surrounding him hardly resembled a typical "burial" scene. What ill fortune had trapped the body he now occupied in this hellish landscape?

Duncan took a deep breath and sat up, pushing away from the large stone against which the body had been propped in a decidedly uncomfortable position.

As he inhaled and rose, he suddenly sensed a great strangeness within the body. It felt as if the air he'd just drawn in was expelled in an instant, accompanied by an eerie, hollow sensation in his chest. The motion of sitting up had become distorted.

Duncan glanced down in bewilderment and saw a gaping hole.

The hole was right where the heart should have been. Its contents, of course, were long gone. A chilling breeze blew through the cavity, mingling with the remnants of the breath Duncan had taken, and finally dissipated into the damp air.

Duncan could even clearly see the image behind him from a certain angle.

"Holy shit!"

Even with his nerves of steel and the experiences he'd gained aboard the Exile, Duncan still felt a cold sweat break out at that moment. He was covered in goosebumps, each hair on his body standing on end!

Following that sudden shock, he quickly realized: he was still standing here, even capable of cursing aloud.

With a missing heart and a gaping hole in his chest, he hadn't felt any pain from this body at all!

"Is this... a corpse?"

Moments later, Duncan had grasped his predicament and rapidly regained his composure.

Occupying a corpse and moving about might not be worth making a fuss over. After all, he had a ghostly ship that sailed on its own, a wooden goat first mate whose chatter could drive anyone mad, and he had recently met a cursed doll that could split and navigate the boundless sea with ease. Which of these wasn't more horrifying than a "talking dead man"?

At least he had only lost his heart; Alice's head often wasn't even on her neck...

With these messy thoughts swirling in his mind, Duncan regained his composure at a surprisingly rapid pace. He assessed the condition of the body he now occupied and adjusted to the strange contortions caused by the hole in his chest. Only then did he take steps toward the corpses strewn about the cave.

"As I thought..."

Duncan looked at the first corpse, unsurprised to see the terrifying hole in its chest.

It was a haggard, raggedly dressed middle-aged man who looked like a beggar from the side of the road. He had been dead for quite some time, but his wide-open eyes still conveyed his struggle and despair in his final moments.

Duncan continued forward, encountering one heartless corpse after another, lying pitifully on the cold stone. Only two exceptions existed—these two had gruesome gashes on their heads, seemingly the result of violent impact with the stone, leading to instantaneous death.

Duncan couldn't help but speculate that perhaps these two had chosen to end their lives before facing the agony of having their hearts ripped out.

Truth be told, the contents of the cave were a bit too much for ordinary people, even for Duncan. After making a round and inspecting the corpses, he had to find a relatively clean stone to sit on at a distance, slowly gathering himself and attempting to deduce the truth behind it all as he regained his calm.

It was evident that this was a horrifying case of murder, but the chilling and uniform method of slaughter suggested that it was more than just murder – it hinted at an evil... ritualistic aspect.

Duncan summoned the ethereal flame again, feeling the connection between himself and his "main body." He knew he could sever this "projected state" at any time and return to the safety of the Lost Shore.

But he felt it necessary to find out what had happened here.

Even if it was just to gather some information about the land.

Duncan took a breath, feeling the draft in his chest, and stood up from the large stone where he had taken a temporary rest. He looked toward the passage deep within the cave, recalling that the sound of chains scraping had come from that direction.

There was more to this underground space than just corpses; there were others active within. Those who could move freely in such a terrible place... should be able to provide him with some answers.

It was, of course, not entirely safe to recklessly investigate the situation, but Duncan didn't mind.

After all, he was currently heart-expanded.