Chapter 711: The Spirits in the Abyss
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As they continued downwards, it got darker. Dick was so afraid that he dared not move, and Benjamin could only rely on the water element sensing technique to identify his surroundings.
And from what he sensed, the lower it got, the more concentrated the dark elements became, in addition to the whole abyss gradually became narrower.
"You need to relax, the force is getting stronger." The System suddenly chirped. "Although I cannot find the source of this force, I feel the surrounding space structure becoming more and more unstable."
...Space structure?
Benjamin scratched his head. To be honest, he did not know the source of force, but the space structure being modified was something that was unheard of.
He had no choice but to slow down and try to fight against the power from below as it got closer bit by bit.
Suddenly, he saw a light emerge from the darkness from below.
Benjamin’s eyes instantly lit up.
The light looked very vague and distant, but under such a dark environment, any source of light would be especially noticeable. Dick shuddered at the sight of it, the look he had on his face was as though he had just got out from hell.
"Th-there is light..."
Benjamin nodded and moved the ice hockey ball towards the direction of the light.
A light that appearing in the abyss must signify some kind of extraordinary anomaly.
The closer they got, the brighter the light got, and the clearer their surroundings became. However, when the eerie environment of the abyss reappeared in front of them once again, Benjamin could not help but be shocked.
Was that... a crack?
While floating in mid-air, some small black cracks began to emerge. It was like the cracks on a piece of glass, but it was just that these cracks were not attached to anything, they were floating in the air, moving at a very slow pace, looking something like fish gills.
"A crack in space? Interesting, can such a thing really exist in reality?" The System mumbled.
Benjamin stopped the ice hockey ball. His intuition suggested that they might be dangerous, therefore, he thought for a moment before summoning a water ball and throwing it towards the cracks.
Whoosh! The water ball went through the crack, and the crack retained its original form, totally unscathed.
The water ball, on the other hand, was not so lucky. The water ball split in half with the middle part of the water disappearing without a trace – Benjamin hypothesized that it might have been transported into another place by the crack.
Benjamin could not help but take a deep breath.
This thing could probably "split" anything in half, regardless of what the object was.
Fortunately, there were not many cracks, so Benjamin can still control the ice hockey ball pass them safely as he continued to move towards the source of light. However, as they got deeper, the cracks in his surroundings became more concentrated.
The size of the cracks was also increasing; eventually, Benjamin even found a crack that was large enough to fit a full-grown human. From this, he was able to see a vague light coming from the dark cracks.
Benjamin could not help but wonder where these cracks led.
"The force and light source should be coming from the other side of the crack." The System said slowly, "But who knows where the cracks will lead you to, perhaps another world? Or someplace in this world? You can go and have a look."
"... No thank you."
"Why?" The System sounded astonished. "These cracks are very stable, and you have the leaf of the Tree of Time, so there will be a high chance of you passing through safely."
Benjamin frowned and asked, "How do you know that they are stable."
"Intuition."
"..."
Benjamin dared not entrust his life to the instincts of the System.
As he continued on, he found that the source of the suction seemed to be these cracks, since the greater the number of cracks, the greater the attractive force. Benjamin could currently still retain control over the ice hockey ball, but if the force continues to increase... He was not sure...
Should he leave?
While Benjamin was hesitating, he suddenly saw a piece of red and black ground.
This was surprising.
"We... are we at the bottom?"
After flying for quite some time, Benjamin found that they had really gotten to the bottom of the abyss. The ground was in quite a desolate state; it extended endlessly at both ends, leaving only a path down the middle. There were not many cracks in the ground, however, Benjamin saw the bones of humans and beasts scattered all over the place.
Also... there were some unknown objects floating in the air.
"Oh my God! Oh my God... th-that, is that a ghost?" Dick almost wet his pants on the spot.
To be honest, the term "ghost" was rather appropriate to describe what they had just seen.
Under the vague light, virtual shadows drifted in the air. They had no appearance, and they lacked a stable form. They were like a jellyfish without tentacles, constantly swimming around the cracks in a strange way.
Moreover, the System detected a spiritual energy fluctuation in them.
"Even though I am not able to provide you an exact definition, I will say that these things exist in a form that is pretty much the same as the shadow left behind by the oversea sacrifice." The System said slowly, "You can refer to them as ghost or spirits."
Benjamin took a deep breath.
Were they... really ghosts?
To be honest, the abyss was filled with dark elements, so it was no surprise that some spiritual beings were attracted here. However, they were too little spirits in this world, and what he saw in front of him might be some kind of settlement of the spiritual beings.
But, there was apparently quite a large number of ghosts here, Benjamin had already seen a few dozen of it. Moreover, this abyss should extend all the way from the west side of the Kingdom of Helius to the east side of Ferelden - with such an incredible length, how many ghosts could there be?
Benjamin could not even imagine.
He was fortunate that these ghosts did not seem to be aware of the existence of Benjamin and Dick; all they did was float around, occasionally drilling into the cracks. Occasionally, a ghost would come out of some of the larger cracks.
As soon as the System saw this, he said proudly: "See, I told you that the cracks in these spaces are very stable, even if you go through it, nothing will happen."
"..."
Benjamin was still reluctant to try.
A bunch of ghosts were moving in and out, so what would there be at the other end of the crack? Hell? The Underworld? A space belonging to the spirits? He really did not want to go into it and experience the habits of spiritual beings.
While Benjamin was thinking about this, he suddenly opened his eyes widely.
... Wait a minute.
He saw a shadow – but it was a human being’s shadow which suddenly flew out of a huge crack.