The cellar beneath the bell tower was plunged into a deathly silence, with only the faint crackling of the torches echoing in their ears. Cale, Darlene, and Lucas stood in front of the sarcophagus, forming a defensive posture with their backs to each other. Dense figures were silently approaching from all around.
"What on earth are these?" Darlene asked in a low voice, a hint of involuntary trembling in her tone.
Lucas gripped his silver blade tightly, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. "Are they dead... or alive?"
Cale's eyes swept coldly over those blurred figures, finally resting on the corpse that slowly sat up beside the sarcophagus. Those eerie eyes stared straight at him, as if they could see through his entire being.
"These shadows aren't an illusion," Cale said in a deep voice. "They really exist..."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Lucas suddenly drew his sword. The firelight reflected off the silver blade, exuding a chilling coldness.
However, the next moment, those figures suddenly stopped in their tracks and all bowed their heads and prostrated themselves on the ground in unison, paying homage to the corpse in the sarcophagus like pilgrims.
The air suddenly fell into a deathly silence. Darlene swallowed hard and whispered, "Are they... worshipping?"
The corners of the corpse's mouth in the sarcophagus twitched slightly, revealing a strange smile. Its eyes slowly swept over everyone, and its voice was hoarse and low: "You've finally... come..."
"Who are you?" Cale's eyes were fixed on the corpse, and his short blade was slightly raised.
The corpse slowly lowered its head, and its tone seemed to carry a bit of pity. "I've been waiting for you."
These words made Cale's heart sink suddenly, and an indescribable sense of familiarity spread in his heart. He stared at the face of the corpse. Although the features were blurred, there was a faint, familiar outline between the eyebrows.
"Ivan?" Cale called out tentatively.
The corpse slowly raised its head, and its black hole-like eyes stared straight at him. "You've finally recognized me, Cale..."
Darlene and Lucas were instantly stunned. They widened their eyes and stared at the corpse in the sarcophagus in disbelief.
"How could Ivan be..." Darlene murmured, her eyes full of shock.
Lucas gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "It's impossible. He should have been dead long ago! We saw his grave with our own eyes..."
Cale remained silent, his eyes firmly fixed on Ivan in the sarcophagus, trying to find the truth on his face. However, Ivan just smiled and slowly stood up from the sarcophagus, his steps as light as a wisp of shadow.
"Did you really think... that I was dead?" Ivan's voice was soft, but it carried a power that made people shudder.
Cale gripped his short blade tightly and said in a low voice, "What exactly are you waiting for here?"
Ivan slowly walked up to them, his gaze sweeping over Cale and then turning to Lucas and Darlene. "Waiting for someone who can break the cycle of reincarnation... or, someone who can replace me and continue to guard this place."
"Guard?" Lucas sneered. "Guard what? These ghostly shadows?"
Ivan shook his head calmly, and his eyes became profound. "What we're guarding isn't the ghostly shadows, but the secret of this village."
——
Cale took a deep breath, and the questions in his heart surged like a tide. "You've known the secret of the village for a long time?"
Ivan was silent for a moment and finally nodded slowly. "This cellar beneath the bell tower is a seal. It seals the 'Shadow Spirits' that date back a thousand years. They can't completely dissipate and can only be suppressed here. The vitality of the village is used to continuously sustain them. Every ten years, someone in the village will 'disappear' and become a new vessel, maintaining this sacrifice..."
"So, that's why Huck became like that?" Darlene asked nervously.
Ivan nodded. "He was just the next vessel that was chosen. And I... was the previous vessel."
The air suddenly grew heavy. Cale said in a low voice, "You said that you were already dead."
Ivan's eyes flickered. "I died once, but reincarnation brought me back again and turned me into what I am now..."
Darlene's fingers involuntarily tightened, as if she sensed something ominous. "You... don't mean to make Cale the next vessel, do you?"
Ivan slowly raised his head, and the smile on his face gradually became eerie. "Fate has chosen him."
——
The atmosphere in the cellar suddenly dropped to freezing point. Lucas stepped forward abruptly and pointed his sword at Ivan. "What on earth do you want to do?"
Ivan stood where he was and looked at Cale quietly. He slowly said, "Cale, you should have already felt it, right? Since the day you stepped into the village, you've formed a contract with this land..."
Cale's heart suddenly raced. He vaguely felt that his blood seemed to be throbbing, and a strange power was slowly awakening in his body, as if he was resonating with the seal beneath the cellar.
"No, I won't become a vessel," Cale said coldly.
Ivan smiled slightly. "But you have no other choice."
Suddenly, the shadows around them began to squirm. Those blurred figures gradually closed in, surrounding the three of them tightly, as if they would pounce on them and tear them apart the next moment.
Lucas roared, "Withdraw!"
Darlene immediately pulled the string of her crossbow, and an arrow whistled out, piercing a black shadow in front of them. But the shadow twisted instantly, turning into a black mist and gathering back in place, as if it were an immortal being.
Cale's eyes were cold. "Follow me," he said in a low voice.
He gripped his short blade tightly and forced his way out of the encirclement, dashing towards the stone door. However, just as they were about to escape from the cellar, the stone door suddenly slammed shut with a loud crash, trapping them in the dimly lit cellar.
Ivan stood in the darkness, his eyes glimmering. "Cale, only if you stay... can they leave."
Cale suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around, and stared at Ivan. His knuckles turned white from gripping the short blade.
"Cale, don't agree to him!" Darlene shouted anxiously, pointing her crossbow at Ivan.
Cale, however, slowly exhaled a breath, lowered his short blade, and walked slowly towards Ivan. "If this is fate, then I'll break it with my own hands."