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墨書 Inktalez
I looked at the torches on the ground; it was clear that there had once been a path here. Perhaps it was due to a sudden movement or some special reason that the torches had fallen from the walls. "Is there another way we can go?" I asked the boy in front of me.
He shook his head and muttered, "There is, but there are dogs in other places... I don't like dogs." He lowered his head as he spoke.
"What do you mean by dogs?" I asked, confused.
"Dogs, you don't know what dogs are? They bark and can bite," he replied, looking at me as if I were the one who didn't understand.
At that moment, Death Apostle chimed in, "Don't worry, friend. Just take us there; Uncle will chase away the dogs."
I thought to myself, "This boy's dogs probably aren't that simple; this is the Cursed Realm, not reality." I turned to Death Apostle and said, "This is your responsibility; if we really encounter them, you'll have to deal with it."
Hearing the implication in my words, Death Apostle hesitated a bit. "Friend, how big are your dogs?" he asked.
The boy spread his arms wide and exclaimed, "Very big! Bigger than both of you combined!"
I chuckled softly, "You're just making things up; let's see how you handle this."
At this point, Death Apostle was already feeling a bit reluctant. However, since we couldn't turn back now that we were out here, he seemed a bit torn.
Seeing Death Apostle's silence, the boy teased, "Uncle, you're not scared, are you?"
Death Apostle insisted on saving face and replied forcefully, "Scared? What is there to be scared of? Just take us there!"
With that, the boy let out a small laugh as if waiting to see Death Apostle embarrass himself before turning to lead the way. I followed closely behind him along with Death Apostle.
After walking for several minutes and turning many corners, I suddenly stopped at an intersection and sniffed the air. "Wait... something feels off..."
"What feels off?" Death Apostle turned back to look at me. I thought for a moment before saying to him, "Don't you think this smell is familiar? Have we circled back again?"
Upon hearing this, Death Apostle sniffed the foul odor in the air. "Yeah, isn't this the smell coming from that furry corpse?" He then turned to the boy ahead and asked, "Friend, did you take a wrong turn? It seems we've come back again."
The boy confidently replied, "No wrong turns; that's just how it is here. You have to go back and forth to find your way out. We've only gone around five times so far; it's still early."
"Are we spinning in circles?" I asked, and the child nodded.
"No, if we keep spinning like this, Li Zhisheng and Yao Long might be in danger. Death Apostle and I can wait, but they can't." As I thought about it, a plan formed in my mind. "Since we're spinning, this must be a circular structure. If we can complete a certain number of laps, we might be able to get out. There are two possibilities. First, when we walk a certain number of steps or laps, something will trigger and take us away from here..."
"The second possibility is that this place has a spiral structure like a spring, creating an illusion of spinning in place due to the steep gradient. But we can still smell that odor, which means we've returned. Did I think wrong?"
Suddenly, it dawned on me that this was the Cursed Realm; creating an identical room with the same smell was not impossible.
"Wait for me a moment; I'll be right back..." With that, I dashed into the entrance and kicked open the door at the end of the hallway. The room inside was empty, devoid of any animal carcasses, yet it still emitted a foul stench.
"Just as I thought... I had misjudged the direction before!" I muttered to myself as I ran back to Death Apostle. "I figured out what's going on; this place is indeed structured like a spring and is continuously extending. If we keep walking like this, we might get trapped here."
I felt a sense of urgency, but Death Apostle understood my meaning: "You mean this place is constantly generating itself, and we may have fallen into an endless loop?"
"Yes, that's exactly it! But actually getting out is very simple! It's just that I had been misled by my previous assumptions."
At this point, Death Apostle looked puzzled and asked, "Very simple? What do you mean by that?"
I explained, "The issue was that my previous encounters with the Cursed Realm led me to believe it could only consist of one person. In reality, this Cursed Realm is made up of three individuals!"
"You mean it's formed by that family? But didn't you say before that the child's resentment wasn't strong enough to create a Cursed Realm?"
"Yes, that was one of the problems that had been bothering me. Now I've figured it out. If I'm not mistaken, it should be like this: the husband was killed by the wife, creating a powerful Cursed Realm. This particular layer corresponds to the Flesh Monster and aligns with the husband."
"Then there's the layer of jungle which represents dusk, combined with those leaf-like eyes reflecting the wife's mindset after such an ordeal. And now we're in this layer; looking at your diary makes it clear why it's so strange."
After hearing me out, Death Apostle suddenly realized something and began flipping through the diary's contents repeatedly while murmuring: "Juice, cat, an emptied room..."
I glanced at the confused child ahead and pulled Death Apostle closer to me, whispering in his ear: "Adding to that is the father's alcoholism and his scolding along with tearing apart his belongings, which instilled fear in him towards his father. So we need to find his father together; he may seem agreeable on the surface but subconsciously resists. That's why he keeps avoiding and sealing off those paths."
"As for why such a Cursed Realm exists, it's quite simple: the wife developed strong resentment due to her husband's torment after death. This child likely absorbed a lot of hateful emotions from witnessing his parents' arguments and insults, leading to intense resentment within him. In this Cursed Realm, their emotions intertwine and influence each other. If all goes well after we leave this place, we should meet the true master of the Cursed Realm."
“Hmm, since that's the case, does that mean we just need to take the child to meet his father?”
“I'll give it a try…” I said, kneeling down in front of the child. “Listen, my friend, that uncle just told me something that your dad asked him to tell you but he forgot. Your dad is no longer angry; he’s actually worried because he can’t find you. If we bring you to him, he’ll take you to the park and buy you your favorite juice. But you see, we can’t get out right now, so how are we going to meet your dad?”
The child looked at me with disbelief and asked, “Uncle… you’re not lying to me, are you?”
Looking at his innocent face, I felt a pang of guilt, but I had no choice. After a moment of hesitation, I replied firmly, “No, really. I’m not lying. If you know any shortcuts, could you please tell me?”
“Okay!” The child agreed eagerly and turned to run off, dropping a family photo from his hand. I picked up the photo and called for the Death Apostle to follow.
We made our way back to the previously blocked intersection. At this point, the wall had vanished, but the torches still lay scattered on the ground.
The child stood at the entrance and pointed into the dark space outside. “If we go out here, we can find him.” Without waiting for us, he dashed out.
“Hey, wait for us…” I picked up a fallen torch and hurried after him.
As soon as I stepped outside, I realized that the torch provided no light in the darkness surrounding us. I shouted into the void, “Friend, where did you go?”
Just then, the Death Apostle emerged behind me. “Did you lose him?”
“Yes! He ran too fast; as soon as he went out, he vanished. Do you know where he is?”
No sooner had I spoken than a roar echoed through the empty space, followed by the child’s cries—heart-wrenching sobs that made my heart ache.
At that moment, two blood-red eyes appeared in the darkness. A sudden wave of killing intent surged forward, and I instinctively stepped back several paces.
As soon as I moved back, a fierce wind rushed past me, extinguishing my torch with a loud “boom,” while the stone walls behind me shattered into pieces. Debris flew everywhere and left several cuts on my body.
“What was that?!” The Death Apostle seemed to have dodged the attack as well; judging by his voice, he must have moved in the opposite direction from me.
I responded quickly, “That must be the master of this Cursed Realm!”
"Death Apostle!" I heard his voice urgently calling out to me, "Didn't you say that knowing the ins and outs of the Cursed Realm would allow us to escape? You need to think of something fast!"
His tone was filled with anxiety, and I felt just as frantic, like an ant on a hot pan. There had been some light behind the stone wall, and if I could use that light to show him the photo, perhaps he could decipher the Cursed Realm. But after being slammed by that Evil Spirit, darkness enveloped us completely. I couldn't see the photo, and it was even hard to make out my own hand.
"I have an idea," I shouted back, "but I can't find where that Evil Spirit is! If I can't see the opponent, how can I use any plan? Do you think I have Yao Long's ability to discern positions by sound?"
"As long as there's light, right?!" Death Apostle yelled. Suddenly, I noticed a red glow gradually illuminating him.
In the end, he appeared to be surrounded by red flames, standing in the darkness and radiating a dazzling light.
At that moment, it seemed the Evil Spirit had also noticed Death Apostle. It roared several times in succession.
In the darkness, the sound grew closer and closer. I shouted to Death Apostle, "Get out of the way!" Gripping the photo tightly, I was ready to rush forward.
But before I could take a step, Death Apostle let out a grunt and was knocked away…
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