Deep in the Darkness

Cold, dead, viscous... The wind blowing from the darkness was like a huge nest of cold, damp snakes, and the air reeked of rust mixed with rotting soil.

Something seemed to be watching from nearby, and the faint rustling only made the unease in his heart grow stronger.

"Crack~"

A wisp of flame flared up, then someone covered it with a glass shade, creating a simple lantern.

The light was not particularly bright, but it was just enough to envelop one person.

"Dave, how much farther until Longwind Fortress?"

A man's low voice rang out in the darkness. The shadow stretched by the lantern flickered in and out, as though it were about to be swallowed by the dark.

"Based on the route taken here, we will arrive in ten minutes if we do not get lost."

A mechanical female voice came from the watch on Lincon's wrist.

"Whew—good!"

"The darkness is arriving faster and faster than predicted. Today, it descended about fifteen minutes earlier than last time."

His footsteps were heavy, and even Lincon's breathing grew labored along with them.

A writhing lump of flesh appeared on the back of his elongated shadow.

Lincon remained expressionless as he continued, "The twenty-sixth search for the fortress comrades has failed. I passed through what used to be Great Cang Village on the way, but unfortunately, it has already become a completely dead zone. Still, I can record this route... If the light is completely devoured by darkness, this route may prove useful!"

"Understood, sir!"

Dave was an artificial intelligence AI, a remnant from before the Dark Age. It had no human emotions, yet it could be treated as a person for conversation. No matter what you said, it would answer.

Lincon had been alone for too long. Ever since the commander of Longwind Fortress had taken everyone away in search of a new way out, Lincon had remained behind at the base.

One day, two days... three years.

He had never belonged to this world in the first place.

So his only sense of belonging in this world lay with the comrades at Longwind Fortress.

But they had been gone for far too long!

Perhaps they had already died somewhere.

After all, in the dense darkness, the only thing people could rely on was this little bit of light.

Lincon shook the lantern in his hand.

But how long could a single lantern shine? How long could it hold back the darkness? Against those pervasive dark creatures—

One lamp was not enough to protect himself!

Lincon extended his right hand.

At the same moment, the monster on the back of his shadow bared its claws and fangs.

Just as it raised its sharp claws and was about to strike, Lincon had already seized its body and slammed it viciously into the ground.

The lantern in his left hand swayed slightly as Lincon hammered the monster with one punch after another.

First Law of Darkness: As long as one was within the light, dark creatures could be touched.

What Lincon had pinned to the ground and beaten was a human head.

The head was nearly as large as a wheel. Arms grew from either side of it, and its eyes bulged outward, revealing pale whites streaked with blood vessels.

Bizarre, horrifying...

But so what?

As long as I can touch you, I dare to beat you to death.

Lincon swung his fist into the Head Ghost's skull. His strength was far beyond that of an ordinary person, and blow after blow cracked its cranium and smashed it into pulp.

Second Law of Darkness: Dark creatures could be killed, but not all dark creatures could be killed.

The head that had already been smashed to pieces laughed with its ruined mouth. Its laughter was shrill, like coins scraping across glass, and it involuntarily stirred up irritation in one's heart.

This was one of the traits of certain dark creatures that could not be killed.

Through some ability or method, they could continue to parasitize people even after death, only crawling out of their hosts' bodies once the hosts had completely died.

There were also dark creatures that could spread like plagues. After dying, they became even more dangerous than when alive. They had been one of the main causes of humanity's massive casualties during the early days of darkness's descent.

The sound echoed in Lincon's mind, constantly lingering there like an inescapable nightmare as it steadily eroded his sanity.

Holding the lantern, Lincon tossed the mangled head back into the darkness.

Being targeted by a dark creature was troublesome, but it did have one benefit.

Until the current dark creature was dealt with, other creatures of the same rank would temporarily not regard Lincon as a target.

This stemmed from a predator's possessiveness toward its prey. Dark creatures retained such biological traits as well.

"With this Head Ghost attached to me, the way back should be much easier."

The surroundings were silent. Apart from the small patch of light before Lincon, no other sight could be seen.

Wrapped in the viscous darkness, Lincon took every step with extreme caution.

The ground beneath his feet was hard and foul-smelling. After walking some distance, he came upon a cluster of shrines crudely made from stones.

Shrines were landmarks in the darkness. There were no idols inside them, only a small oil candle. If he had enough oil candles, Lincon would even light the shrines around the fortress every day.

The candlelight within the shrines could not only drive away darkness, but also light the way home for those who had lost their way.

Lincon had made these shrines himself.

Ever since his comrades had left, every time he went out to search for them, he would place the shrines he had made along the way.

Gradually, quite a few shrines had been erected around Longwind Fortress.

Lincon took some wax oil from the backpack he carried and added it to the empty oil dish in a shrine, then lit the wick inside.

Whoosh—

The moment the shrine lit up, the sounds of insects crawling erupted densely all around him.

Something in the darkness was retreating from the area illuminated by the shrine's candlelight.

"Looks like I didn't take the wrong path!" Lincon let out a slight sigh of relief.

Within the range illuminated by the shrine's candlelight was a gravel path that had clearly been cleared by human hands.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

The laughter in his mind grew sharper and more piercing, and it had even begun to affect Lincon's judgment.

But Lincon had basically grown accustomed to such things. He stepped onto the gravel path. As long as he followed it for about another five minutes, he would return to the fortress.

Five minutes was not long, yet in the endless darkness, it felt incomparably drawn out.

Fortunately, with the Head Ghost's laughter ringing in his mind, no other dark creatures came to trouble Lincon along the way.

And the so-called fortress was really just a small city that looked somewhat run-down.

Having endured repeated impacts from the Black Tide, the high walls built around the city were already pockmarked, exposing broken wiring within.

These wires connected to large lamps erected every ten meters, but all of them had long been abandoned, standing on the city walls like lifeless objects.

In the Dark Age, electricity had basically become a scarce resource.

Therefore, in order to conserve power, Lincon had not chosen to repair the lamps, which consumed enormous amounts of electricity.

After arriving at the fortress, Lincon's mood visibly settled.

He entered a house built entirely of earth and stone. Candlelight burned within at all times, keeping the darkness outside.

The room was not richly furnished. Aside from a workbench and a chair, there was only a wooden bed beside them. Several large barrels of wax oil and bundles of wicks were piled in one corner.

"Now I can deal with the voice in my head!"

Lincon placed his backpack on the workbench. A seed-shaped mark appeared in the center of his right palm.

He raised his right hand and lightly tapped his forehead. The Seed Mark suddenly flashed, and a translucent Head Ghost was drawn out by the mark.

As the Head Ghost was absorbed, a translucent panel visible only to Lincon appeared.

[You have successfully absorbed one hundred dark creatures. Career Panel unlocked.]

[Bound User: Lincon]

[Main Career: Longwind Fortress Guardian]

[Level: Beginner]

[Talent: Lord]

[Abilities: Firearms Mastery, Xingyi Fist, Crude Shrine-Making Method]

[Lord: You may designate territory belonging to your own sphere of influence. Within your territory, you may perform higher-dimensional manipulation.]

[Secondary Career: Plant Cultivator]

[Level: Beginner]

[Talent: Seed Mark]

[Abilities: Plant Affinity, Accelerated Growth]

[Seed Mark: You can identify any plant and use sunlight stored within the Seed Mark to increase a plant's level and direct its evolution.]

[Remaining Sunlight: 100]