October 9th, early morning.
A deep humming sound filled the air as a pillar of purple light shot into the stormy, gray-black night sky.
It slowly shrank down until only a thin glow remained—and then vanished completely.
From within that light, four figures appeared.
They quickly stood up beside the teleportation lamp, drenched in the heavy rain, eyes sharp and scanning their surroundings with caution.
At midnight on October 9th, Germain witnessed a crimson beam shooting out from the teleportation lamp's projection.
He caught fragmented information—something about a long-lost colonial expedition team.
He rang the bronze bell, summoning everyone to the top of the tower, and explained what he had seen.
The group quickly reached a unanimous decision—they would head to the sudden appearance of the teleportation lamp and investigate.
Whether from duty or conscience, they couldn't ignore what might have happened to the Hunter Association's exploration team.
The team was the same reliable group of four: Germain, Ging, Bisky, and Shizuku.
Everyone else quickly helped prepare the supplies they would need.
Medicine, food, flashlights, binoculars—everything matched the usual weight and standards they used whenever venturing into disaster zones or lands of hope.
At 12:33 a.m., Germain's team was teleported straight into an unfamiliar world.
Germain looked down at the teleportation lamp embedded in the ground.
It was stuck in the center of a deep crater—like it had been blasted into place by an explosion.
Spreading outward from the crater were markings similar to those found on the top floor of the ancient labyrinth tower.
But here, the marble tiles carrying those patterns had shattered into dozens of broken pieces.
Each path ended at what looked like a mechanical-looking hibernation pod.
All the pods were uniform in design.
Some had their transparent lids pushed open.
Some were completely broken.
Others had been knocked over entirely.
However, they all share one thing in common: they are all empty.
The ceiling had been completely torn off, nowhere to be found. It felt like a can that had been opened, left to be assaulted by the pouring rain.
"The ancient ritual, releasing the ancient god, the weak newborn tasting the frenzied and brutal soul amidst the embrace of monsters..."
Germain had gained such "knowledge."
"There are a total of thirteen." Bisky, with her hair tied in a bun, raised her hand to shield herself from the falling rain, quickly counting, "There are thirteen of these dormancy pods."
"Fourteen." Ging suddenly pointed to the deep crater where the transmission lantern had been, not far away. There, scattered pieces of mechanical shells lay in ruins.
"An explosion or something else must have destroyed it. But, it was the center where all the patterns converged. Now, it has been replaced by the transmission lantern. Its importance is unquestionable."
Germain put away the transmission lantern and looked around at the dormancy pods, where the patterns ended, lost in thought. He recalled the past life.
At that time, he had witnessed the final moment of a plot where the first sacrifice appeared among the fourteen princes of the Kakin Empire.
The body of that sacrifice was stored in one of these dormancy pods, resting atop these very patterns.
At this point, Germain could already confirm their position: they were on the yacht at the "lake on the ship" on the top floor of BW1.
This was a yacht that could only be boarded by the Kakin royal family, nobles, and high society.
It could be said that these dormancy pods were, in fact, "coffins."
In the original storyline, there should be a total of fifteen coffins here, with fourteen placed around the perimeter and one at the center.
Their presence nearly suggests that most of the fourteen princes of the Kakin Empire will end up lying in these coffins, becoming nothing but cold corpses.
But why are there fourteen coffins around the perimeter? Is it possible that they were prepared for the worst-case scenario, where no one survives?
But then, why is there a vertically placed cabin in the center?
If the only purpose was to select the heir to the Kakin throne, what significance does such an arrangement hold?
Germain reached out, brushing aside the rain curtain, and stepped forward a few paces, releasing his aura in all directions.
"Circle!"
A spherical aura expanded outward, sweeping across the marble floor covered in patterns and dormant chambers, passing through the long corridor and hall, through room after room...
After a long while, Germain withdrew his aura and gave the group a heavy answer, "Within my range, there is no sign of life."
There was no trace of living beings, nor any scent of pets, livestock, or even insects that could have been brought here.
This place... was a complete "dead zone."
Bisky, as his body morphed into a strong form, furrowed his brows and said, "How is that possible? Over twenty thousand people... Even if it were twenty thousand pigs, it couldn't be..."
"Not a single one remains," Ging added. "It does indeed appear to be a human-made structure... Look over there."
The group followed his pointing direction.
In the distance, through the grey curtain of rain, the outline of mountain peaks appeared, towering and jagged, like silent giants.
"Those are likely the mountains of the imagined Dark Continent," Ging said.
"If this really is BW1, then if there are any survivors, they might be heading in that direction."
Germain took the lead and began walking forward. "Let's see what happened here first, then confirm the rest."
Ging, Bisky, and Shizuku followed closely behind.
As they reached the hallway outside the massive room, they were greeted by the sight of scattered corpses in every direction.
The corpses of these soldiers were all dressed in standard bulletproof vests, holding firearms, but clearly, these didn't save their lives.
Skulls were crushed, eyeballs popped out, chests caved in, and bones pierced through flesh... Each death was gruesome.
"It looks like claw marks from a beast," Ging crouched down, examining a few of the bodies. "They easily tore through their armor."
Bisky grew somewhat agitated.
"These people were probably soldiers tasked with protecting the Kakin Royal Family, capable of using Nen, but they were killed so easily..."
"The ones who attacked them were definitely Nen users," Ging said.
"Yeah…" Ging scratched his chin, still showing a bit of stubble after shaving off his thick beard. "But there's something odd about this."
"What's odd?" Bisky looked at him.
Ging paused before saying:
"If they were all Nen users, their Nen would dissipate quickly after they died, but there would still be remnants left in their bodies."
"For some people, their resentment is so deep that even after turning to bones, Post-mortem Nen remains, driving their bones to move like vengeful spirits…"
Germain already had the answer. "It's the same type of Nen ability as mine."
Everyone looked at him. After thinking for a moment, they quickly realized what he meant—
The "resentment" from these dead bodies had all been absorbed. Only this could explain why there was no trace of Nen left.
They continued walking forward, with mutilated bodies scattered everywhere. Some wore suits, others were dressed beautifully, some in standard military uniforms...
Without exception, they were all lying in pools of blood, their flesh mingled together. Their faces showed fear, contortions, or blankness.
They pushed through the foul-smelling heap of corpses at the entrance of the hall and walked out onto the yacht's deck.
The strong stench of blood lingered in the air, and even after being washed by rain for over half an hour, it hadn't dissipated.
The yacht's bow was deliberately arranged with a heap of blood-drenched heads stacked into a grotesque monument.
Each head had empty eyes, pale faces, and mouths slightly agape, as if silently screaming in pain.
They passed by this twisted monument and arrived at the "lake in the ship," where the water was filled with wooden planks, iron barrels, and a few overturned rubber boats.
The human corpses had all sunk to the bottom of the lake. It would be a long time before they resurfaced, swollen and almost unrecognizable in their grotesque state, only to see the light of day again.
And the vessel holding this "lake in the ship" was the massive BW1, resembling a sluggish whale. By this point, it was engulfed in flames, with thick smoke rising into the air.
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