Vol 2 Chapter 5: The Deserted Ghost Town
This world was once highly advanced.
That was Abyss’s conclusion after reaching the town.
It wasn’t a large town, nor was it a bustling hub of activity, but it was unlike anything he had seen in Hai-Teweru. The houses were neatly arranged, the streets clean and well-maintained. Compared to this, towns of similar size in Hai-Teweru were as filthy as a ghoul’s mouth. Abyss could sense a well-designed sewage system beneath the streets, a luxury only found in major cities in Hai-Teweru. Smaller towns were lucky to have a few functioning gutters.
Most of the buildings were two-story structures, some likely shops, others residential houses.
Their architectural style was uniform, with a minimalist aesthetic, but Abyss felt something was missing—the residents.
This seemingly idyllic town was completely deserted. He cast a heartbeat detection spell, but it returned no results. There wasn’t even a rat in sight.
“Could this be a world that has already been destroyed?” Abyss wondered, walking down the empty street.
Only remnants of civilization remained, but no one lived here. No animals, no plants, perhaps not even microbes… This utter silence, this absence of life, even Abyss found it unsettling. Even graveyards, despite being filled with the dead, were teeming with life: microbes, insects, scavengers. They were all part of the ecosystem.
He continued walking, then spotted a building that stood out.
Unlike the other houses with their silver roofs, this one was larger and had a shimmering purple roof. It was a single-story structure with small windows and a large double door. It didn’t resemble any of the shops or houses he had seen earlier.
“What is this place…” Abyss wondered, approaching the building and pushing open its wooden doors.
Dust covered the floor, suggesting it had been abandoned for a long time. The interior was spacious, with only a few support pillars obstructing the view. A large, square platform in the center resembled an altar, but it was empty, devoid of any statues. Perhaps the statue had been removed, or perhaps the people of this world worshipped a deity without a physical representation.
Abyss knew he couldn’t decipher the mysteries of this world so easily. He shook his head and stepped outside. His priority was to find Rebecca. She had explored this world. He could ask her directly.
He chanted a spell, summoning his magical catfish.
Summoning familiars was a form of magic. Since he could use wind magic in this world, he could also summon his familiar. He reached into the catfish’s mouth, grabbed something, and pulled.
The catfish’s body expanded, its mouth widening, and Abyss pulled out a petite girl with long, silver twintails, her hand clasped around another girl’s hand, a blonde one.
Leona and Flora stood before him.
“What now?” Leona asked, her voice filled with annoyance. “I already crawled into your giant catfish’s belly. What more do you want?!”
“Abyss, is there anything else… Huh? Leona, wait, we’re here?”
Flora, about to ask Abyss what he needed, noticed the unfamiliar buildings surrounding them. They were standing on a street. She realized they had arrived at their destination. They had assumed they were pulled out immediately after entering the catfish’s belly, but time was frozen within the catfish’s internal storage space, creating a disorienting time discrepancy.
Leona also realized where they were. “What is this place? Is this the new world Rebecca discovered? Why are there houses?”
“Yes, this is the new world. There are buildings, but I haven’t found any signs of life,” Abyss shrugged. “Not even a single insect. You noticed the barren landscape, right? There aren’t even any plants.”
Flora wrinkled her nose. “The air smells strange…”
Undead could breathe, but they didn’t need to. They primarily used their respiratory systems for speech and smell. They didn’t absorb any substances from the air, so they were immune to toxins. Flora and Leona didn’t need to worry.
“There might be toxins in the air. Look, ABC is wearing a gas mask,” Leona said, sniffing the air. “Are you sure that thing can filter out alien toxins?”
“Not sure, but it should keep me alive for a while,” Abyss said, shaking his head nonchalantly. “Rebecca had time to activate the World Conduit after arriving here. If there are toxins, they can’t be that deadly.”
“You really have no sense of danger, do you?” Leona rolled her eyes.
Abyss had explained everything to Leona and Flora on their way to Lannis’s house, so they knew about Rebecca’s journey.
“Now, we need to find Rebecca. I told you, when I activated the portal, I saw some images in my mind. The last image was a girl in a white dress lying at the bottom of a clear pool of water… And the water’s surface was reflecting light, like sunlight, so it’s probably an open area…”
Abyss paused, organizing his thoughts.
“The river flowing over there is bright yellow. It looks like paint,” Flora said, noticing the unusual color of the river in the distance. “So either the water is polluted, or this is what water looks like in this world?”
“Then we just need to find a place with clear water to narrow down our search, right?” Leona said, chewing on her finger thoughtfully.
“Exactly!” Abyss said, clapping his hands excitedly. “Hold onto me! I’m going to fly up and survey the area, looking for a place with clear water!”
“I can fly using my Dou Qi!”
“Alright, then Flora can hold onto me, and Leona can fly using her Dou Qi…”
“…No! I’m too lazy to fly! Help me, stupid ABC!”
“Why are you angry again…?”
Leave a Reply