The paper was crumpled, and many places had been contaminated by gray-black "mud". The writing on it was blurred and missing, but after Morris carefully handled it, many of the words on it were restored to a state that could barely be read.
——
"Brown Scott" recorded the strange changes that happened to him in the last stage of his consciousness:
"...At around four o'clock in the morning, it has been twelve hours since the door was locked. The increasingly intense tinnitus and paroxysmal dizziness have seriously affected my actions. I can only write something when I am in a better state. It seems that under my skin
There was bleeding, and inexplicable bruises were seen...
"At half past six, the internal organs seemed to be tumbling, as if the structure in the body had lost order, and each had its own thoughts wandering around in the body. I felt no pain, and even the dizziness was much weaker... The fear began to subside, and became more and more intense.
Clear memories appear in my mind...
"Around seven o'clock, I clearly recalled the details of my death, and became more and more convinced that my real self was actually dead long ago. My left leg was fractured inexplicably - it may be that a section of bone in the middle suddenly dissolved and disappeared.
"At 8:15, the left leg began to dissolve. First, the skin cracked on its own, and then the internal tissue flowed out like some kind of gray-black liquid. Those separated liquid substances seemed to have their own life, squirming on the floor, and even
Climbing up the wall... I was once worried whether the wooden boards I nailed to the window could block these weird and terrifying substances, but later I found that they gradually lost their activity after leaving the body, and even when they remained active, they seemed to be
Consciously avoid the sun... This may be very important information, and I hereby record it...
"...The heart stopped beating, but the consciousness still continued. I could feel that this body no longer operated according to the normal human physiological mechanism. I tried to open a wound. There was no blood in the wound, only gray-black viscosity.
The material slowly flows out... What kind of material is this body made of at this moment?
"The entire lower body began to dissolve. It took some effort to fix myself in one position and continue to write these words - I now feel no pain, no breathing, and my heartbeat has stopped long ago. Occasionally I can hear a buzzing sound.
The noise is as if the material that makes up itself is resonating... More and more viscous substances leave the body, making the room a mess...
"... I hope Garoni will not be frightened when she cleans the room... Although when I wrote this name, I can hardly recall Garoni's appearance in my mind.
"At half past ten, the thing I was most worried about started to happen. My vision was rapidly weakening and the environment was rapidly darkening. I had to fumble around the edge of the paper to make the writing below as clear as possible...
"I can't confirm the time now. It was probably between eleven and twelve o'clock. I heard a sharp and strange sound. The sound lasted for about five minutes. Then all the discomfort began to subside, and the perception of the remaining parts of the body also weakened rapidly. Can
I vaguely feel that the part below my chest is falling...
"Maybe another hour passed,"
The text stops here.
I don’t know whether the consciousness of the recorder has finally reached the end, or whether he has lost most of his perception and is no longer able to accurately write words on paper - in the end, the dead man left only a punctuation point of an abrupt end to the world.
.
Morris was silent and didn't make any sound for a long time. After an unknown amount of time, he softly spoke to himself: "Ah, it is indeed his handwriting."
"Do you need to be alone for a while?" Duncan glanced at the old gentleman calmly, "I can wait for you outside."
"No, I have already mourned for him once," Morris shook his head slightly, "I just didn't expect to see his academic records again six years later... These materials are very useful, right?"
Duncan did not answer immediately. He just got closer to the solidified "mud" and observed their edges thoughtfully. Then he picked up the last record left by Brown Scott and looked at it carefully.
The edges of the paper were completely soaked with mud.
The edges are a bit blurry and jagged, and the boundary between paper and mud seems to have disappeared, and even partially merged.
Morris noticed Duncan's behavior: "Did you find anything?"
"...Element," Duncan raised his head, "The local church of Frost is studying this substance. They believe that this 'viscous substance remaining after the disintegration of the deep sea replica' is very close in nature to what the Annihilation Cult said."
Element'."
Morris was startled for a moment, but now he was more or less used to the captain's situation of getting new clues from nowhere, so he was not curious to ask about the source of this information. He just said after a brief thought: "...
…I know the term ‘original element’, and if you want to study the historical origins of cultists, you can’t avoid these mysterious things they talk about.”
He paused, as if sorting out the information in his mind, and continued after a moment: "Just like the Sun Cultists firmly believe that the ancient real sun will save the world sooner or later, the Annihilation Cultists also have similar 'salvation prophecies'. They preach about a certain day in the future.
One day, the Holy Lord of the Deep will wake up from his slumber, and in his rage destroy this world that has been distorted and deceived by the gods. The Deep Sea, which represents the 'real world', will rise from the depths of the world and become a paradise for mortals to live in again.
, and before that day comes, there will first be a large amount of 'elements' pouring out. The elements are the cornerstone of the world and the blueprint of all things. They will cover all things and restore the world to its true appearance..."
Listening to the old scholar's narration, Duncan was silent for a few seconds and then raised his head: "A large amount of gush... from the deep sea?"
Morris didn't speak for a while.
"I am becoming more and more interested in those Annihilation Cults, but rather than their so-called 'salvation prophecies', I am more curious about how they have established a 'connection' with the place a thousand meters deep under the frost," Duncan
Shaking his head, "The replica comes from the deep sea, as does the Obsidian and the submersible on Dagger Island, but a group of blasphemous Annihilation cultists...how do you think they came into contact with the power under thousands of meters of water?"
"... Even for a powerful city-state, it is not a trivial matter to build a submersible that can travel to and from a thousand-meter-deep sea. At the very least, this is not something that a group of cultists can master," Morris said in thought,
"But they can guide the power of the deep sea through some indirect rituals, or communicate with the...'powerful existence' of the deep sea."
"So, Frost must have a larger cult stronghold, a hidden place where large-scale rituals can be held, enough for them to continuously mobilize the power in the deep sea to create replicas of the city-state, and even invade Dagger Island." Duncan slowly said
As he spoke, he raised his head and looked around the room - the only window in the room was nailed shut with wooden boards, and the roof, walls and ground were covered with dried "mud" that had lost its vitality. All traces here seemed to be silently
It tells the story of a thrilling death and confrontation.
In his perception, the Lost Home was setting sail, heading in the direction of Dagger Island and Frost Island.
"Perhaps we should finally give the cultists here a little 'Hometown Shock'." He said softly, rubbing his fingers at the same time, and a small cluster of green flames fell from his fingertips and fell silently.
On the ground, it quickly melted into the air and disappeared.
Of course Morris saw this scene, but he said nothing and just took one last look at the table next to him.
That was the place where Brown Scott "worked" for the last time - maybe it was just a short-lived replica, but when the body that was constantly collapsing and disintegrating was sitting at the desk writing, it still had a noble soul.
"...How to deal with things here?" The old scholar raised his head and looked at the captain, "The traces in the room, the information left by Brown, and...Garoni on the first floor."
"We have got enough clues, let's leave the rest to the Frost Man," Duncan said calmly, "Keep the room as it is, leave the letter in a conspicuous place on the table, and prepare a report letter.
Garoni..."
Duncan paused.
"The cognitive interference Garoni suffered is obviously not over yet. After the replica in this building disappeared, she still showed no signs of regaining consciousness. She even believed that her teacher was resting in the room, which shows that interference occurred.
The 'source' is not her teacher, but something that is still active and hidden deep in the city-state. She will not truly recover until that source is eliminated."
Speaking of this, he frowned slightly and seemed to think of more.
"And... I'm not sure how many 'Brown Scotts' and how many 'Garonis' there are in this city-state."
Morris' expression froze: "What do you mean..."
"Rumors of the return of the dead are circulating in the city, but at the same time, completely opposite news has reached Tirian." Duncan glanced at Maurice, "This city-state is probably infiltrated by clones and cognitive interference phenomena.