Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 867: The Awakening

As the grotesque sounds of chewing ceased, Anna tossed the remaining mangled artery on the floor. She wiped the corners of her mouth, and with a hint of disdain on her visage, she muttered, "What a terrible taste. Life on the surface is surely great. Even the blood vessels are clogged with fat."

The blood stained Anna's lips with a crimson hue as though she was wearing lipstick, adding a touch of eerie, seductive allure to her.

With twelve people hunched over and drawing on the floor, the sacrificial ritual circle was completed in no time. Anna did an inspection and adjusted a few details before she instructed everyone to stand in the circle.

"What is this? What are you doing?" The blond-haired man, Wang Sheng, muttered in a trembling voice. The bizarre array made him uncomfortable and he felt something terribly amiss. However, he dared not run.

Li Long grabbed Wang Sheng and pulled him into the array.

"Don't worry. I've done this before. Nothing bad happened. Come on in. I'll join you guys," Li Long reassured.

Anna took a glance at Li Long but remained quiet. The next moment, she unsheathed a dagger and slashed her palm open. Pressing her wound against the drawn array on the ground, she began chanting.

The alien incantation without any audible consonant resonated through the room, blanketing the hall with an air of eeriness.

Wang Sheng's heart raced and pounded hard against his ribcage. It wasn't just from fear; he felt as though he was about to trigger some forbidden taboo.

"It's fine, really," Li Long continued to reassure everyone. "Once Boss is done with her chanting, we'll be able to get out. Just relax, alright?"

Seconds dragged into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. The faint light of dawn began to creep in through the gaps in the curtain, but nothing had happened. Everyone began to relax slightly. Some of them watched Anna, still focused on her chanting, but their hearts were already slowly filling with hope.

I need to put my phone on silent and quickly call my dad! Wang Sheng thought.

Just as the group exchanged anxious glances, a strange, almost mosquito-like buzzing entered their ears.

They weren't the only ones who heard it. Anna heard the same. A smile played on her lips, and her chanting grew louder and more fervent.

As the murmurs intensified, everyone trembled involuntarily. Their knees buckled, and one by one, they collapsed within the glowing sacrificial circle.

The blood-drawn patterns on the ground began to lift off the ground, emitting a malevolent light. The shadows of the sacrifices rose along with the sacrificial array. Like a viscous liquid, they merged into each other and eventually formed a writhing octopus tentacle.

Just then, Anna noticed tat the sky outside growing brighter. She walked over to the window and drew the curtains. Gazing out into the horizon, she watched as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the darkness.

Anna stood still and watched the sunrise before her in silence. The warm light gradually bathed her alluring figure in its glow.

"How beautiful," Anna whispered.

***

The Subterranean Sea's Hope Island remained as lively as ever and was bustling with activities. Its exclusive fruit trade, coupled with its strategic position in the Northern Seas, made it one of the wealthiest and most stable places in the region.

While the islanders carried on with their daily routines, a sense of unease was spreading among the upper echelons of Hope Island. Their governor had gone missing. It wasn't entirely unusual for Hope Island's governor to disappear for periods of time every now and then. Perhaps he could have gone on an exploration expedition, but the duration of his absence this time had stretched for far too long. Moreover, his ship, the Narwhale, had never left the docks.

Speculations ran wild, and some tried to exploit this opportunity to consolidate or expand their influence. However, not everyone on Hope Island was interested in playing political games.

Bang!

Dipp's webbed right hand slammed down onto the table. He shot up from his teeth and spat through gritted teeth, "This is impossible! Captain is not the type to run away! He would never abandon us!"

Seated at the head of the long table, Bandages spoke in his usual slow manner of speech, "How many... times... do I have to... repeat myself? I saw it...with my own eyes...He... has returned home..."

"Something must have gone wrong somewhere!" Dipp countered. "Captain is not that type of person! If he's really returning home, he'd have said it clearly to us in person!"

Sensing the tension in the room, James stepped in, trying to ease the mood. "Dipp, let it go. You know that for the past decade, Captain has always been searching for a way to return home. Think of all the sacrifices he had made just to go home. Now that he's finally home, we should be happy for him."

Dipp clenched his sharp teeth. He pondered for a brief moment before he whipped his head toward the corner of the room.

"Lily, you were there too. What did you see?"

All eyes in the room turned toward the young woman.