Chapter 357 Amon's 8-Music Box
Chapter 357 "Amon's Music Box"
Part of those tentacle-like heads hung down to the ground, flapping and exploring like an elephant's trunk, as if trying to smell something. Finally, it slowly crawled to the fragments of the big eyeballs that remained after the explosion and had not yet been completely annihilated.
It jumped nimbly in the gray fog, eating a piece here and a piece there, like a little monster licking candy on the ground, and slowly followed the backs of Lin Yi and Lao Mo.
……
X023年5月10日，0:00，艺术楼回廊。
An invisible energy spread out from the depths of the corridor, causing Lao Mo and Lin Yi to pause.
This was a feeling that could not be described in words. Lin Yi almost realized what was going on. He lowered his head and pulled up his sleeves to see that the time had indeed passed midnight.
"Old Mo, it's midnight!" Lin Yi reminded.
Lao Mo said: "I also felt it just now... the sound of the night watchman's bell..."
"'The Night Watch's Bells'?"
"Let's talk about it later. We'll be at the gallery soon." Lao Mo didn't reply and continued to walk through the fog with a serious look on his face.
Finally, after turning a curved corner, Lin Yi heard the ding-dong-dong sound again...
This time, Lao Mo also heard the voice, and he waved his hand to signal Lin Yi to stop.
After Lin Yi stopped, he subconsciously looked at Lao Mo, but found that Lao Mo's face was extremely ugly and he did not move forward.
Lin Yi realized something was wrong and asked quietly, "What's wrong?"
Lao Mo's tone was somewhat dry and rough, "Amon's Music Box..."
"The good news is... we're at the gallery."
"Too bad, this music box is ringing..."
The clear and soothing sound of the music box slowly floated out from the depths of the gray fog and dark abyss, and fell into the ears of Lin Yi and Lao Mo. Like the sound of heavy drums, it made people feel as if they were in a huge, depressing space.
Lao Mo rubbed all his eyeballs together, threw them out fiercely, and grabbed Lin Yi's hand: "Boy, follow me!!!"
The big eyeball exploded quickly, and Lao Mo rushed over with Lin Yi.
The violent explosion dispersed all the surrounding gray fog, and a new portal was opened instead. In the aftermath of the explosion, Lin Yi saw an ancient and mysterious gallery.
The gallery lurked like a shadow in the depths of the corridor, as if forgotten by time. Except for the candles that seemed to be about to go out, which still cast some light on it, the whole world seemed to be separated from it.
Lao Mo used a butcher knife to cut a path through the ripples of the explosion and rushed to the front of the gallery with Lin Yi. Behind them, the explosion was huge, but it seemed to be blocked by an invisible ripple.
“Ding dong ding ding… dong ding dong… ding ding dong dong…”
The notes of the music box flew out of the gallery like jumping tadpoles and slowly enveloped them.
“Pop… Pop… Pop…”
The clusters of candles on both sides of the gallery began to flicker, and the originally dim gallery seemed to be lit with new fire by the lamplighter.
As the candle flame flickered, light and darkness blended together, presenting a change of light and shadow with no apparent pattern.
The moment I stepped into the gallery, a chill hit me in the face. The darkness was like thick ink, tightly wrapping every inch of the space. The faint light struggled in the darkness, like the last breath of a dying person, and could only barely outline the vague outline of the gallery.
The paintings on the wall seemed to come alive in the dim light. The originally colorful paintings now looked like distorted ghost faces, looming in the shadows.
The stone slabs under my feet had become floors at some point, and they made creepy creaking sounds as I walked, as if every step I took was awakening the evil spirits sleeping underground.
The fog in the gallery had become much lighter, but it still spread like a ghost's veil. The fog was cold and damp, with a smell of decay, slowly wrapping around the ankles, making people feel as if they were in a swamp, and every step was full of resistance.
The notes of the music box were still beating. The sound came from nowhere, surrounding them vaguely, making people shudder.
"After passing the gallery, we should reach the destination as directed by the big golden retriever." Lao Mo said this, then walked forward with his mouth closed.
Lin Yi followed Lao Mo silently, restraining himself from looking around to ensure that his attention would not be attracted by something he shouldn't see.
In fact, there are not only paintings in the gallery, but also some sculptures and artworks. However, these works seem increasingly weird in today's atmosphere.
Due to the obstruction of the gray fog and his own restraint, Lin Yi could only capture the elements in the gallery with the corner of his eyes. However, the more he wanted to ignore them, the more he subconsciously paid attention to some things that seemed to be still but not completely still.
For example, Lin Yi saw a figure standing in the darkness, but after a trance he realized that it was just an oil painting. The mist gathered in front of the painting, making the mysterious figure look even more unreal and terrifying, as if it might walk out of the painting at any time.
Walking slowly along the gallery, some sculptures add to the eerie atmosphere. The originally lifelike bust sculptures, shrouded in darkness and fog, have turned into horrifying figures. Their expressions are unclear, as if they are struggling in pain, or uttering silent curses.
Lin Yi could no longer tell whether it was a pseudo-human sculpture or some pure sculpture carved into a human form.
The notes of the music box were still jumping, and the creaking sound of the wooden boards was getting louder and louder. As he walked and walked, Lin Yi had an illusion, as if he was not walking through a gallery, but walking in a shaking cabin.
This was not an ordinary ship, but one from the Middle Ages or even older times, like a ghost ship lost in the sea fog, haunted by the singing of sirens and intermittent music box music...
Occasionally, a cold wind blew from nowhere, making the mist swirl like a group of ghosts dancing. There seemed to be whispers in the wind, the sound was subtle but clear, as if the souls imprisoned in the paintings and sculptures were telling their sorrow and pain.
【Lin Yi...】
[Lin Yi...it's you...]
[It’s you…it’s you!!]
【You came……】
【You finally came……】
Lin Yi heard some strange calls faintly in his ears, and what was even more urgent was that his gallery suddenly shook as if it was hit by a wave. He lost his balance and stumbled a few steps. At the moment when his body was about to lose balance, he twisted his waist and stopped.
Before he could catch his breath, a sculpture suddenly appeared in front of him.
The area where the sculpture was located was surrounded by fog, with a dark background. The dim candlelight hit the fog, forming a soft halo, while the wall next to it that was not covered with fog seemed to be bottomless darkness. This strong contrast made the sculpture look more and more like a prisoner trapped to death in this mysterious and dangerous prison, and also stretched Lin Yi's already highly nervous spirit to the limit.
【Lin Yi...】
[Lin Yi ah... Lin Yi...]
The cold and ethereal calling voice kept echoing in his heart, as if it came from the darkness of nothingness, or as if it was spoken by the sculpture in front of him.
The mist was flowing slowly in the gallery. It was not static, but was moving through the space like a living ghost. Against the backdrop of the mist, Lin Yi suddenly felt that the entire gallery was filled with disturbing factors. The surrounding environment seemed to be constantly changing, as if more sculptures were peeping in the dark or approaching quietly...
The entire environment became increasingly blurred. Even Lao Mo's back seemed to have merged with the surrounding gray fog. Only the notes of the music box remained, becoming clearer and clearer in the flowing wind.
"Lao Mo... Lao Mo..."
Lin Yi's breathing became extremely disordered. He followed Lao Mo's back, stepping on the creaking wooden planks and stumbling forward. The calling voice gradually faded, but there seemed to be a ballad full of exotic customs, mixed with the constantly beating notes of the music box, slowly coming over... [Little friends, hide and seek~one or two hide~]
[The small yard is a good place~Brothers and sisters hide~]
[Dig and dig, turn and turn ~ my little waist is sore ~]
[Sister, please keep your voice down~Don't let your brother hear~]
[That tree is really nice~ I will hide my sister’s body~]
[Pull and pull, tug and pull ~ my sister's hands are numb~]
[Brother, you are so mean~ You made fun of my sister for having a dull saw~]
[That tree is really nice~ I will hang my brother separately~]
[Children, play hide and seek~Hide one by one~]
[Brother and sister hid separately~ I searched but couldn’t find them~]
This seems to be a nursery rhyme. It seems nothing special at first, but as you listen more and more, you can feel an indescribable weird feeling, and it always feels like something is not right.
The nursery rhyme sounded like a tune that exuded a dark sense of humor. The tone of the song gradually changed from a cold, ethereal, intermittent singing voice to a cold, childish, yet strong, dark and strange childish voice as the humming continued...
As the child's voice sounded, a little girl wearing a black and red Lolita uniform seemed to appear from the depths of the darkness. She had long, smooth black hair and was dirty all over, as if covered with some kind of sticky black liquid...
There seemed to be a shovel covered in the liquid at her feet, and a large hacksaw covered in filth at the other side.
Neither the shovel nor the hacksaw fits her thin and small figure. In the strong contrast, they appear extremely asymmetrical, giving a sense of disobedience that challenges the obsessive-compulsive disorder of the human body.
In her hands, she held a delicate-looking music box. On the side of the music box, there was a rotating spring. The sound of "ding ding dong dong" came from the music box, along with the intermittent nursery rhymes...
[Children, play hide and seek~ hide one by one or two...]
[The small yard is a good place~ Brothers and sisters hide...]
[Dig and dig, turn and turn...]
【…】
The little girl, wearing small leather boots covered with black dirty slime, slowly approached Lin Yi.
“Da…da…da…”
Every step seemed to be stepping on the beat of Lin Yi's heart.
As she approached, Lin Yi felt as if the air around him was sucked out. An oppressive feeling that could not be described in words enveloped him. The gray fog seemed to have turned into a material wall, squeezing his body tightly.
He felt like his bones were about to be crushed, he found it increasingly difficult to breathe, and his ears began to ring with the sound of bones cracking. Before he could even feel the pain, his head was stuck there as if someone had clamped it with a door panel.
His body was stretched straight, and the grey fog was like a pair of invisible hands holding him in its palms. Every time he exhaled, the hands would hold him tighter.
Nothing came out of his throat except a humming sound, and he felt like his whole body was about to break apart.
Suddenly, the only sound in his ears was the little girl's footsteps, which were synchronized with his heartbeat.
“Da…da…”
"clatter……"
"..."
The footsteps stopped and didn't sound again for a long time.
Lin Yi's heart stopped beating and did not beat for a long time.
"Hmm... Hmm... Hmm...?" Lin Yi gritted his teeth, feeling his heart no longer beating in his chest. A cold feeling instantly spread throughout his body...
His pupils slowly dilated, and the little girl's face was reflected in the dilated pupils.
"Faceless".
“Boom!!!”
He fell heavily to the ground, his eyes gradually turning gray.
The little girl took a step forward and walked slowly towards him.
Suddenly, he heard some voices, some... familiar voices.
“Clatter… clatter…”
In the darkness behind the little girl, a piece of iron chain appeared...
The chain seemed to be growing on her spine, and a vague outline appeared as she walked out of the dim area.
“Chains…?!”
“Could it be… this?!”
At the last moment, Lin Yi thought of the dark shadow that he had seen repeatedly in his hallucinations...
In the black ocean, in the rotten wooden cabin...
The mysterious creature bound by chains that called out his name...
"It's 'her'?!"
"No! No... This is just a picture given by my cognition..."
"Vision!"
“This is a hallucination!!”
Lin Yi gritted his teeth tightly.
"If it's a vision...don't fucking stop!"
He placed his hands hard on his chest, covering his heart tightly.
As if blessed by his will, his stopped heart began to beat slowly again.
(End of this chapter)