"Given the current circumstances, I'd say that I'm likely inside some kind of secret realm with a very strong possibility of it being related to ghosts."
"The barren wilderness, death-like stillness, and that sudden weakness that overcame me moments ago… all of these point to haunting ghosts or similar spectral entities."
Sigh!
Arriving at this conclusion, Duncan sighed once again, his frustration mounting as he double-checked the various clues just to reach the same conclusion.
His final conclusion was based on years of extensive jaw-dropping and near-death experiences in dealing with such phenomena, and needless to say, he wasn't exactly happy with what he concluded.
"Not again," Duncan lamented in exasperation.
"Of all the black-bellied creatures I could possibly be dealing with, why did it have to be ghosts?"
His face wore an expression of helplessness as he fell deep in thought…
Regarding ghosts, out of all the supernatural entities that existed in the world, ghosts were some of the most common types encountered by ordinary people, and they could be very troublesome to deal with.
Being spiritual bodies that are linked to souls and life force, they could often be found almost anywhere there was a strong presence of living beings gathered together—i.e., local villages, towns, and cities.
These entities, unlike the traditional view, are not simply born from the residual souls of deceased individuals but are more often created naturally in the world due to the cumulative presence of living creatures occupying a certain region for very long, along with a catalyst that aided in the existence of ghostly energy.
Living and dying are an integral part of the natural process of life. As people are born and grow, they generate a kind of spiritual energy stemming from the exuberance of their life force, and in death, this energy transforms and is fed back into the environment, thus creating a cycle of endless renewal and rejuvenation, thereby becoming the catalyst needed for the existence of ghosts to be possible.
Without this cycle of life and death, it is impossible for ghosts to exist. This is why in places where death has never occurred, it is impossible to find the presence of ghosts at all, leading people to believe that they are creatures born from the lingering spirits of the deceased coming back to haunt the living out of grievance for their death—which is a complete misunderstanding.
It didn't help that ghosts sometimes take the forms of those that have died, but this is only due to the strong lingering emotions or obsessions of the deceased that sometimes linger long after death, influencing the form a ghost takes after forming. It is these emotions that make ghosts very dangerous entities to begin with.
Recalling what he knew about ghosts, Duncan thought, "Although ghosts are formed naturally in this world, they are greatly influenced by the environment in which they are born. As such, they can either be seen as harmless or completely disastrous."
"But judging from the rumors regarding those missing people that later turned back up in a completely deranged and murderous state, I'm going to take a wild guess and say I'm dealing with a highly dangerous group of malicious ghosts."
By now, Duncan had finished analyzing all that he could and reached his conclusion; as for the rest, he didn't have enough information to determine exactly what he was dealing with.
Especially the cause of his sudden loss of strength just moments ago.
Thinking back to that moment and the feeling he got, Duncan shuddered involuntarily.
Were it not for his curse, Duncan was fairly certain that he would've died back then.
"It's definitely not safe here. I don't know what kind of ghosts I am dealing with here and I have no intention of finding out. I just have to get out of here as quickly as possible and try not to provoke any malicious entities that may reside here."
With that thought, Duncan no longer hesitated, and he quickly prepared to set off to look for a way out of here.
"I definitely can't go back the same way I came, so I'll have to rely on you, old friend, to lead me out of here."
Saying this, Duncan raised the pocket watch he'd been holding in his hand all along.
While thinking, Duncan had constantly kept a close eye on the clock hand of the watch to notice the instant it moved.
As a supernatural detective, Duncan's life was a constant episode of unfortunate incidents and dangers that threatened to end his life on a daily basis.
Not many people in his line of work had lasted as long as Duncan had, with many either quitting or dying before they had the chance to do so.
The only reason Duncan could still do what he did while remaining alive was because of this pocket watch, which served as an early warning system that alerted him to the presence of danger wherever he was.
That is why Duncan cherished it so much; without it, he couldn't do what he did at all.
But that wasn't the only reason the locket was so important to Duncan.
Apart from its function as a supernatural danger detector and another deeper, more underlying significance it held, the locket had one other function.
Closing the pocket watch to reveal the brass body of the locket, Duncan turned it around to face the other side and once again pressed the switch at the top of it.
But this time, instead of releasing his finger instantly, Duncan pressed it for three seconds before releasing.
Immediately, the back side of the locket sprang open, revealing another item hidden within it.
It was a compass with a broken needle that constantly spun around.
As soon as the compass was revealed, the needle spun frantically for a few seconds before suddenly halting and pointing in a particular direction.
Seeing this, Duncan was elated and without any hesitation hurriedly walked in the direction the compass was pointing.