What appeared before their eyes were five dark cells. They were no different from the other empty cells. Only the bars were brand new, and they served as a foil to the darkness behind them.
The stench was thick.
There was no sound.
There was no movement.
'No … people?'
Everyone looked at each other, and their gazes were puzzled.
Ricky patted the shoulder of the absent-minded Samel. The latter seemed to have entered a dream, and he slowly came back to his senses.
At this moment …
"Ah —"
A deep and long sigh came from the darkness of one of the cells. There was a hint of laziness in the voice.
"Bruley, are you snoring again?"
The lazy voice chewed a few times, as if it had just woken up. "Damn it, it's louder than thunder …"
When he heard this voice, Samel shuddered.
The sound of a human body turning over came from the darkness.
Everyone looked at each other, and they held their breaths.
'It's a person.
A living person. '
Samel's raised foot stopped. He seemed to be hesitating for a long time between moving forward and stopping.
He stared at the darkness in front of him in a daze, and the torch in his hand swayed slightly.
When they saw Samel's unusual behavior, Ricky and Klein looked at each other.
Stake frowned, while Lasalle was puzzled.
Soon, a muffled sound came from another cell, as if someone had punched the wall.
Everyone could not help but turn their gazes to look at the darkness in another cell.
The bleak voice of a man rang out.
"Hahahaha, you speak as if you can hear thunder in here …"
When he heard this somewhat indifferent voice, Samel shuddered again, and his whole body began to tremble.
The prisoners in the darkness and stench were silent for a while.
The first lazy voice rang out again.
"Speaking of which, do you still remember what thunder sounds like?"
The desolate voice snorted and dragged out a long nasal sound. He seemed to be contemplating.
"Of course. Listen up, Nalgi, the sound of thunder is like this." The desolate voice began to swallow his breath, and he began to imitate it vividly.
* Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Pah … *
Aside from the two cells, a few different sounds of laughter came from the darkness in the other three cells.
Thales could sense that there were about five to six people there.
Some of these laughs were mournful, some were oppressive, and some were heavy. But without exception, all of them caused one's heart to feel oppressed.
"Go to hell, Tardin." A lazy voice laughed. The prisoner named Nalgi mocked him.
"This is obviously the sound of you and Bree secretly fucking the wall at night …"
The desolate voice seemed to be amused by itself and laughed wildly.
"F * ck the wall, hahaha, f * ck the wall, hahahahahaaaah —"
Tardin's laughter was long and strange, but Thales could sense an inexplicable mania in it.
And desolation.
At that moment, a third voice sounded from the third cell.
"Ayaya … You are very pleased with yourselves, aren't you, Nalgi, Tardin?"
Thales furrowed his eyebrows. 'This sounds like the low growl of a dissatisfied beast.'
Nalgi and Tardin's laughter slowly faded.
Compared to the laziness of the first voice and the desolation of the second voice, the third voice was sharp and harsh, and somewhat sinister.
It reminded people of a predator lurking in the dark and grinding its claws.
"But I know, you can't hide it from me, I know …" The person who spoke gritted his teeth, as if he had seen something unbearable.
There was silence.
"Ah." Tardin, who had been laughing wildly just now, snorted softly. He seemed to be rather disdainful.
"Oh, here we go again, Naer, our logistics officer."
In the next second, the sinister voice suddenly erupted in a high pitch.
"Yes! I know, Nalgi, Tardin, you two chatterboxes. The boring dialogue you say every day is actually a secret code, right?
"What are you planning?!"
* Thud! *
The sound of a fist pounding on the wall came from the darkness.
Thales quirked his eyebrows in surprise. 'What's wrong with this person?'
The man named Naer punched the wall and said hysterically, "You must be planning something in secret.
"You must be planning something in the dark. You want to kill me … Yes, that must be it. You, you, yes, you want to annoy me to death with your endless trash talk. Then you can monopolize the supplies, and you can live until that day …"
"It must be like this! It must be! "
* Thud, thud, thud! *
The sound of Naer punching the wall grew louder, and he seemed to be ready to risk everything.
"I'm telling you, this is a delusion! No one can take away my rights, no one can! Delusion, ah! I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you before you do anything, ah — "
Naer's crazed roar echoed in the hall. It was filled with sorrow and hatred.
Klein scratched his ear awkwardly outside the prison cell.
Everyone looked at each other nervously, but Ricky raised his hand and stopped them from moving. He stared at Samel's back.
Samel just listened quietly and did not move.
Amidst the repeated curses, the lackadaisical Nalgi laughed and whistled rhythmically.
Naer's curses stopped for a moment.
Then, a melodious song rose in the darkness.
"A young man rides a horse, a young lady carries a basket. They meet by the roadside, and love is born at first sight. At that time, the stars are bright in the night sky. At that time, the breeze is soft. The young man murmurs in a low voice, 'When I am rich, I shall return your deep love …' "
Unknowingly, the curses became softer.
Nalgi had a good sense of rhythm. This little song traveled faintly in the dark prison cell. It was mixed with Naer's curses. His voice was clear and could be said to be a clear stream.
"The king is old, and the woman carries a cane. He meets again in the next year, and time is merciless. At that time, withered leaves fall, and the sun is setting. The old woman sighs, 'Now that you are rich, how can you return my deep love?' "
Slowly, as Nalgi's song grew weaker, Naer's curses disappeared as well.
Only the sound of panting was left.
Naer snorted angrily. Then, the sound of something heavy falling to the ground was heard.
The darkness in the five prison cells returned to silence once more.
But Samel still did not move. He stared at the darkness in front of him quietly.
Only the light on his hand trembled slightly.
Soon, another timid voice rang out in the air, trembling.
"Nalgi, isn't it …"
This person was either born with a delicate voice, or he was a little timid. His voice was intermittent and trembling as he said, "I'm sorry.
He spoke in a faltering and trembling voice, "No, it's not …"
Nalgi sighed in the darkness and said lazily, as if he was coaxing a child, "What's wrong, Canon?"
"That's not, not …"
"Not what?"
Canon trembled as he said, "That's not the sound of thunder, and it's not Bruley's snoring either. I know, that's not …"
He sounded extremely afraid.
"That's … that's the sound of the iron curtain being lifted …"
Everyone, including Thales, shuddered. The people in the prison cells had noticed them.
Canon's voice continued, but the tone of his voice gradually changed.
"They, they're here, they're here, they're here, they're here to drag us out and behead us, for our sins, for our dereliction of duty, for our unrepentance, for our selfishness … Ah! They're here, they're here … I know … "
A rustling sound traveled into the air. It sounded as if the owner of the voice had fallen to the ground, curled up, and whimpered in panic.
"They're here, ahhhhh …"
"Ah, Canon is talking nonsense again," Tardin said faintly with a desolate voice.
"It's the same as last time, remember, Nalgi? He said that a girl appeared in front of him … You're in the same cell as Canon. Help, knock him out … "
At this moment …
"Nalgi, Canon, Tardin."
A steady voice rose slowly. It seemed to have an inexplicable power in the darkness.
"The three of you, quiet."
The person who spoke spoke very slowly, but the moment he spoke, the three of them became quiet.
"I think I did see something."
When he heard the steady voice, Samel lowered his head slightly in the hall. He seemed to have sunk into a daze.
Klein was about to reach out to remind him, but Ricky pressed down on his shoulder. Ricky shook his head at him.
Ricky, who had been paying attention to the prison cells, had a stern expression on his face. Footsteps slowly rose from behind the fourth prison cell.
Everyone's nervous gazes turned to that prison cell.
A dark, indistinct, and thin figure appeared behind the metal bars.
Thales could vaguely see that the figure had messy long hair that covered its face. Its clothes were covered in patches of black and gray, and its disheveled appearance and dirty appearance could be vaguely seen.
"Light.
"I saw light."
The deep voice said calmly.
Tardin, who had been mocking them all along, snorted in disdain.
"It's just an illusion. Naer always feels that someone wants to harm him, and Canon always sees female ghosts. To tell you the truth, sometimes, I also dream of King Aydi …"
"Silence," the deep voice spoke again.
This was a commanding tone that left no room for doubt.
Thales noticed that the other prison cells did not make a sound. They seemed to be waiting for his judgment.
The thin figure slowly approached the fence.
Outside the cell, Samel took a deep breath, raised the torch, and shone it on the man.
"Ah!"
There was a cry of pain.
In the next second, in the bright firelight, the thin figure suddenly raised his arms in front of his eyes and stumbled a few steps back. "It's too dazzling!"
"This light … this light … what's going on?!"
Samel hesitated for a moment and moved the torch back a little.
This time, Thales saw it clearly. A figure appeared in the darkness behind the prison cell's bars.
It was an abject man with long hair and a beard that reached his chest. He stood in front of the bars and slowly lowered his arms.
Samel stared at the person in front of him in a daze. He was sallow and emaciated. His eyes were lifeless, and he looked old and dispirited. Based on his appearance alone, he looked to be in his fifties or sixties.
Samel felt a dull pain in his heart. He remembered that the person in front of him was once handsome and had a strong physique.
But now …
Thales saw something else.
The prince watched as the man parted his long hair to reveal a thin, wrinkled face, and a brand that stretched from the right side of his face to his chin.
Thales was stunned.
The one who was like Samel, the one with the letter'S 'from the Ancient Empire …
The brand of a sinner.
Samel's lips moved, and he said in a quivering voice, "Barney Junior?"
The prisoner in the prison shuddered!
"Chief vanguard." Samel looked at the disheveled prisoner in front of him and said laboriously,
"Quill Barney Junior?"
Across him, Barney Junior's bloodshot eyes were fixed on Samel, who was separated by a door and outside the prison cell.
He did not move, as if he had been petrified.
The other voices in the prison cell also fell silent. Only the sound of panting slowly became louder.
In the darkness on the other side, the man called Canon spoke again with a trembling voice, "Wait, this voice, it's like, it's like …"
After the noise of someone getting up from the floor, a second figure appeared in another prison cell.
Samel turned around gently and illuminated the other person.
"Canon?"
Thales saw the prisoner. He was hunched over and leaning against the wall. He inched closer to the bars bit by bit. He covered his face tightly with his hands, revealing only his eyes, as if he was afraid that something would hurt him.
Soon, Canon slowly put down his hands and revealed his extremely filthy face.
"You, you are … No, no …" The prisoner stared at the fire outside in a daze. His face was filled with terror, and he trembled more violently.
And on his right cheek, there was also an "S" branded in the Ancient Empire's language.
Thales suddenly understood something.
Samel stared at the person in front of him. There was an unknown bitterness in his words.
Jonah Canon. He was once the bravest man, and he dared to fight against wild beasts …
'But …
"Something's not right …"
In the same prison cell, a languid voice rose from behind Canon. "I think … I think I'm hallucinating too. I actually … actually saw the iron curtain really open, and I … I even saw Samel?"
In the flickering light from the fire, a person who was also covered in filth appeared beside Canon.
His hair was untidy, his beard was unkempt, his eyes were lifeless, his face was old, and he had a foul stench about him. He looked like a hairy savage.
Samel took a deep breath and turned his gaze, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice. "Nalgi.
It's indeed me. "
Nalgi's filthy face froze.
There was a commotion in the other three prison cells as well. A few figures appeared one after another from the darkness where the light from the fire could not reach.
Samel slowly turned around and looked at the other two people in the third prison cell. He slowly called out their names.
"Guti Tardin." The prisoner tilted his head and stared at Samel. He widened his eyes, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up to reveal a terrifying smile.
"Sol Bruley." The man was rather robust, and he did not say a word.
The remaining two people were in separate cells. When Samel called out their names, his tone was exceptionally different.
"Second Logistics Officer, Sazel Naer." This was a 'savage' whose entire body was tense. He stared at the torches outside the bars with a gaze filled with suspicion.
"And you, Chief Penal Officer, Luton Beldin."
Samel looked at the last person and slowly exhaled.
"Long time no see."
The other party only stared at him coldly.
Thales looked at these prisoners who were unkempt, did not look well, and were not young. It was obvious that they had suffered for a long time. He noticed that, without exception, all of them had the brand of an'S 'on different parts of their faces.
'So, they're all …'
However, the people in the five cells reacted in a surprising way.
"What's going on?"
In the end, Beldin lowered his head indifferently and muttered to himself.
"Who's the crazy one this time? Maybe they don't have enough supplies? Or have they really seen a ghost? "
"Nothing," Barney Junior interrupted him coldly.
Barney Junior cut him off coldly. His gaze passed through Samel as if he was looking at air.
"It's impossible for him to be real."
Disgust appeared on his filthy face. He turned around. "Everyone, go back to sleep. Everything will be fine when you wake up.
"It's just … another illusion."
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