Skull Temple

Sigmonds looked around nervously, but unfortunately, there were no lights on the way down, so he couldn't see anything clearly.

"Don't mention that here," he whispered to William.

"Why?"

William lowered his voice upon hearing that.

The other party fell silent for a moment before saying, "I'll tell you later. Don't talk about it now."

After a few minutes, the gears clicked, and the elevator stopped. Ten orange beams of light lit up from the hands of the ten miners on the elevator, illuminating the originally dark mine.

The main tunnel of Mine Path #9 looked wide enough for three trains to travel side by side, and the main tunnel was like a tree branch that split into many branches. Every intersection had a simple sign.

There were spots on the stone walls of the mine that shimmered with faint silver light under the illumination of the mine lamps—ores that contained Elementium Silver.

"We'll be in charge of Path #3 today. Everyone, pay attention to the light and darkness of your magic crystal lamps. Don't go too deep inside alone. If the lights go out, retrace your steps. If you get lost, remember to shout for help. You have to keep an eye on the golden-tailed birds. Once anything amiss happens, inform everyone to gather here immediately."

Before walking out of the elevator, Sigmonds reminded everyone. Everyone sporadically answered him and walked into the distance.

Sigmonds watched everyone leave before speaking to Colt, who he had been holding.

"Your leg is injured, so don't work too hard. Come in with me. I'll help you complete your work quota for today."

Colt shook his head.

"There's no need, Uncle Sigmonds. I only injured my leg, and it's only a superficial wound. It won't affect me."

"That's good. Come with us to the depths of the mine today. You're coming too."

He patted the youth's head and turned to speak to William.

"Don't mention this in front of those people. Many of their friends died in that accident."

"Accident? The accident where Mine Path #7 collapsed?" William asked straightforwardly.

"That was a nightmare. In my opinion, the entire Silverstream Mine should have been sealed off before the reason is determined," Sigmonds replied.

"About two months ago, we dug up a boneyard in Mine #7."

"Boneyard?"

"In the beginning, someone claimed to have seen ghosts in the mine. In fact, this kind of thing isn't rare. After all, people die in the mines yearly due to all kinds of accidents. The corpses that die below can't be buried in Thorn City's graveyard, so ghosts often appear. Everyone gets used to it after a few times. Moreover, the Church sends clergymen down twice a year to organize large-scale blessings… We're getting off-topic. In short, someone witnessed ghosts appear several times in a certain spot in Mine #7."

In this world where magic and gods truly existed, mortals had several directions for their souls after death.

Most people would definitely return to the Wheel of the World to have their memories wiped out before reincarnating. If one were a Saint or fulfilled the conditions of some gods, such as dying in an honorable battle, it was also possible for them to enter the divine kingdom of the deity they believed in and obtain eternal life.

Of course, if one signed a contract with some Void Sovereign or was targeted by the Void Sovereign because of certain characteristics, their soul might also be snatched away from them to the Moon Realm.

As for leaving a ghost behind after death, it was a special state. When a person was blessed or cursed, or because their obsession was too strong, their soul might leave a specter in Currere after death.

Since it was a specter, the ghost was only a shadow of the past. All they could do was repeat what they had said and done in the past. Other than being able to be used as extremely credible evidence in court, it basically couldn't have any substantial impact on the present. They couldn't even stay in Currere for long without the help of magic to stabilize their existence.

"You're saying that those ghosts were dressed like they were in the Blackwater Kingdom?"

William asked in surprise. According to the lore history Liliana had given him, the Riel Empire had conquered the Blackwater Kingdom about 800 years ago. In other words, those ghosts had existed for at least 800 years.

For a ghost to exist for more than 800 years, it had to be something that contained powerful magic as a medium.

"Yes, in the beginning, we thought that the ghosts were the resentment of the miners who died in the mine. Later on, we discovered that they were dressed like ancient people. They were a little similar to the traditional clothes worn by people during the Blackwater Kingdom's New Year Festival every year."

Sigmonds continued, "Although we reported it to the higher-ups, it didn't seem to attract much attention. Later on, we tried to excavate in the direction where the ghosts appeared. Finally, after excavating a layer of shale, we discovered a huge burial ground. Tens of thousands of fossilized skulls piled up into a temple, and the ghosts we saw previously were worshiping something."

When Sigmonds thought of this, his expression turned adrift as he fell into his memories.

"A few of us were bold enough to enter, but I failed to persuade them. The ghosts ignored them at first, but when he approached the skull temple, all the ghosts crashed into it. An earthquake happened in Mine Path #7, and the few of them were instantly drowned by countless skulls."

As he spoke, he ruffled Colt's hair.

"The aftershocks of the earthquake caused the collapse of Mine Path #7. The rest of us were able to escape thanks to Colt's father lifting the broken support frame. For this, one of his legs was crushed, and one of his eyes was blinded by the flying shrapnel. Your father saved all of us, Colt."

"Therefore, that place was subsequently sealed off?" William asked.

Sigmonds nodded.

"Later on, the duke sealed off the entire Silverstream Mine for a month and sent people to investigate. It's said that after losing a Bramble Guard team, the duke sent three batches of adventurers to explore. The first two batches didn't return, and the third batch was the most famous Bramble Mercenaries in Thorn City. Only Chief Cass Durant came out alive. Of course, you should've heard of what happened after that, right? He became a lunatic who killed others without a whim."

William recalled the warning Cass had left him when they met.

The Soul-Ingesting Spider Demon that first appeared in the Silverstream Mine—

"The duke ultimately ordered the closure of Mine Path #7 and started the mining of Mine Path #9, which he previously found more difficult to mine. This is probably what happened. Now, can I ask you a question?"

Sigmonds stopped in his tracks and looked at William.

"What's your true identity?"