Sacrifice

This sewer system was enormous in scale, far exceeding what Duncan would consider necessary for the single function of "urban drainage" in his eyes, and the rune-inscribed gas lamps and reinforced structures capable of serving as shelters scattered throughout the sewers only fueled his many speculations about the true purpose of this underground facility.

But regardless of what the builders had originally intended when designing this place, one fact was obvious: deep within this vast facility, beyond the gaze of the surface world, this dark and cold place had become a nursery for some kind of evil power.

A cult that nominally worshipped the sun, yet only inspired a sense of dread.

At the intersection of several sewer corridors lay a spacious underground chamber, where sturdy concrete pillars supported a brick-and-mortar vault, metal pipes crisscrossed near the ceiling like a spider's web, and bright gas lamps illuminated the entire space, as well as the crowd gathered in this "junction"—

At a glance, at least several hundred people in black robes had gathered in this filthy, damp place, and in their midst stood a raised platform, upon which a tall figure in a black robe was standing, clearly the highest-ranking among these black-robed individuals.

This person on the platform wasn't wearing a hood like the others, but instead donned a golden mask. The mask was oddly shaped, like a disc radiating endless flames in all directions, its surface covered in countless fragmented cracks.

Behind this masked figure, there was also a peculiar totem on the platform—a tall wooden stake, with a blazing fireball fixed at its top. The core of the fireball seemed to be some kind of metal, its surface riddled with small holes from which flames erupted.

When Duncan was "escorted" here, this was the scene he saw.

The black-robed people gathered in the assembly hall also noticed him.

"We caught an escaping sacrifice on our way to the assembly hall!" one of the black-robed escorts stepped forward and said respectfully to the "leader" on the platform, a hint of boastfulness in his tone. "This sacrifice has been in the dark for too long, his mind is already somewhat confused. May you exercise your power and let the glory of Our Lord descend upon this pitiful body!"

The cult leader on the platform, wearing the golden mask, turned and stared intently at the expressionless Duncan, his tone carrying a hint of surprise and coldness: "An escaping sacrifice?"

But Duncan didn't react at all. He was just curiously observing this place, including the golden mask on the cult leader's face and the burning fireball totem behind him.

Perhaps these symbols seemed bizarre and strange to ordinary people in this world, but he could tell at a glance... these things were imitating the sun.

Not imitating the "light ball" currently in the sky, bound by massive streams of flame and two layers of rune rings, but imitating the sun Duncan was familiar with—the one that radiated brilliant light and burned fiercely.

These people truly worshipped the sun, a sun that seemed to have "fallen" in a very ancient age, and they worshipped it as some kind of deity.

Duncan looked up, his expression calm as he gazed at the black-robed priest overlooking him from the platform, but perhaps due to the necrosis of his facial muscles, his composed demeanor appeared to the other as a kind of mindless numbness.

The priest wearing the golden mask locked eyes with Duncan for less than two seconds, then turned to instruct a person standing beside the platform: "Go check the place where the sacrifices are held. Go quickly and return quickly."

After giving the order, he nodded to the black-robed men who had "escorted" the sacrifice back, a hint of approval in his tone: "You have done well. Even if this is a minor merit in the eyes of Our Lord, it will transform into your eternal glory once the sun shines upon all things again."

It was merely a routine, lukewarm compliment, but the few black-robed men seemed immensely encouraged, growing excited one by one, praising the "True Sun God" as they pushed Duncan to the front of the platform. Only then did the masked priest speak to Duncan: "O pitiful one who has strayed from the path... have you felt the deep cold amidst the lightless rock and soil?"

Duncan couldn't understand a word this preacher was saying, so he could only remain silent, and the priest clearly didn't care about any reaction from the "sacrifice" before him. His words weren't meant for Duncan, but rather for the surrounding believers, and for the "Sun God" he firmly believed in:

"Cold and darkness are the sufferings left to this world by the false sun. Under the rule of the false sun, the dark and deep ocean rages across the world, leaving only fragmented patches of land for living beings to barely survive. Yet even on these broken lands, people find it hard to escape suffering. The shadows of old lurk underground, their devouring claws writhe in lightless caverns, and the surface is filled with hatred and conflict, the pure souls of humanity tainted by the breath of evil gods...

"How can we endure this long suffering? How can we endure the twisted, absurd world brought by the false sun?

"We cannot endure it. We only wish for Our Lord's return, for the True Sun God to descend upon the earth once more, burning fiercely from blood and fire, bringing order and prosperity back to the world!"

Under the highly inflammatory tone of the Masked Priest, Duncan could clearly feel the atmosphere in the assembly hall change. The black-robed believers grew excited one after another, first echoing him, then turning their echoes into fervent shouts: "We only wish for the True Sun God to descend upon the earth once more! Burning fiercely from blood and fire!" "We only wish for the True Sun God to descend upon the earth once more! Burning fiercely from blood and fire!"

"We only wish for the True Sun God to descend upon the earth," the priest on the platform declared loudly, then pointed at Duncan. "And today, Our Lord will further awaken from slumber—the blood of the lost will soothe the wounds left by the sun's collapse!

"Bring forth the sacrifice!"

Several black-robed men rushed forward from the side, but Duncan was faster than them—he didn't even need to be pushed; he climbed onto the altar himself.

This body wasn't very functional, but climbing a platform was still doable.

Once he was up, he came face to face with the Masked Priest, who was still maintaining the majestic and mysterious posture he had just assumed when giving the order. The sudden change, completely beyond past experience, caught the cult leader off guard. He stared at Duncan through the golden mask, and the area around the altar fell into an eerie silence.

But Duncan seemed completely oblivious to the change in atmosphere. He was just feeling that he had gathered more information about this world and was eagerly wondering if he could see even more rare sights before this temporary body "gave out."

"So," with a sense of anticipation for exploration, Duncan rubbed his hands together and asked very seriously, "what's next? What do we do now?"

The Masked Priest: "..."

"Didn't you hear me?" Duncan frowned—but because his facial muscles weren't working well, the frown didn't form. "I said, what's the next step?"

Only then did the priest finally snap out of it. Although a mask separated them, a flash of confusion was evident in his eyes, but he quickly spoke in a low, deep voice: "The shadows in the darkness have indeed affected your mind, but rest assured, the most high and holy sun will end your suffering... Bring the sacrifice to the totem!"

Two black-robed men immediately stepped onto the platform from the side, grabbing Duncan by the arms and leading him toward the totem pole topped with the fireball. Duncan didn't understand this step, so naturally, he couldn't "cooperate in advance," but he still remained non-resistant, obediently standing under the blazing fireball under the "restraint" of the two black-robed men.

Although Duncan showed no physical resistance, the two black-robed men holding his arms still used tremendous force to restrain the "sacrifice's" arms, as if afraid he would violently break free at the last moment. Their strength was abnormally great, and Duncan could even feel the bones of this temporary body slowly cracking, which made him look at the two black-robed men with considerable surprise.

And then, the Masked Priest walked over again.

Duncan's attention was immediately drawn to him. He saw the priest pull out a strangely shaped dagger from his bosom. The dagger was curved and bizarre, like a withered, twisted knuckle, its blade pitch-black as if made of obsidian, reflecting the firelight from the totem, looking extraordinarily eerie.

Duncan silently prepared to sever the "soul projection." He knew that the intelligence this temporary body could gather was probably at its limit.

The cult priest's prayer rang out from the platform:

"O most high and holy Sun God! Please accept this sacrifice on the platform! I offer You the heart of this sacrifice, may You return from blood and fire!"

Duncan immediately stopped his attempt to sever the soul projection, staring at the cult priest before him like he was looking at an idiot.

(Holy crap!)