There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

They will repent in their names.

When they return, hope will return to darkness.

Chapter 397 Black Ship

The church seemed to form its own dark canopy, both silent and noisy, both holy and terrifying, accompanied by a quietly rising atmosphere of piety, like the slowly diffusing scents of frankincense and myrrh in the air.

The person praying made no unnecessary movements, only gesturing to the music, and then maintained a precious silence.

I stared at this distorted ceremony, like a pitiful person attending their own funeral, filled with sorrow and despair. I didn't even know how to break through this eerie atmosphere and find the familiar faces.

My intuition tells me that there will be no good-natured jokes or long-awaited hugs if I break in.

I gently jumped off the stepping stone, disappearing back into the darkness as I prepared to turn and leave. But then I saw a series of blurry diamond-shaped patterns carved on the broken stone beneath my feet. The moss-covered stone also bore marks of varying depths. The markings seemed to be...

tombstone?

Something's not right. When did these tombstones appear outside the church?

Judging from the voice of the person who just preached, he wasn't the lazy and decadent Father Carter!

"Something's definitely wrong with the church..."

I secretly rejoiced that I hadn't rashly entered the church. Judging from the current situation, there seemed to be something eerie and unknown about the area near the church, and without knowing the enemy, a direct confrontation was definitely not advisable.

“If the man who calls himself ‘Rhodes’ is trying to lure me to the church, then I must do the opposite. This town isn’t big, and besides the perilous Mount Mades, where else can I hide?” I muttered to myself.

Going back to the tavern would be the worst possible choice. Returning covered in mud would instantly reveal my location, so I need to find a place to hide and gather more clues.

During the pastor's sermon just now, it seemed he mentioned that a ship had arrived in town... Who could possibly approach this island in such a storm?

The unpredictable sea seemed perfect for me to hide away for a while.

…………

The trek in the heavy rain became even more difficult; the icy rain was constantly taking away my body heat and hindering my progress. I was still wondering where the figure had disappeared to after entering the church, so I had to look back every few steps to see if anyone was following me in the same way.

Such paranoia was undoubtedly a huge blow to my courage. Feeling uneasy, I took a roundabout route, passing through the deserted Rose Square, before finally arriving at the town's beach.

There should be Zach's house and the town's dock here. There seems to be an empty house behind his house, which looks like a perfect place for me to take shelter from the rain.

The wind at the seaside was particularly fierce, and the howling wind almost extinguished the raging rain. Facing the direction of the wind and waves, the wet clothes clung to the skin, while behind, it was as if the sails were being hoisted, and the clothes were fluttering.

Neither torrential rain nor fierce winds seemed to be preventing me from approaching this beach, hindering me from reaching my destination. I shielded my eyes with one hand and clutched the hem of my clothes with the other to reduce wind resistance, taking two steps forward, each foot digging deep into the sand for support.

The lonely house slowly came into view. Further away, the sky was an impenetrable, thick darkness. The horizon was so dark that not even the faint light of stars and moon could be seen. It was as black as a canvas covered with ink.

I took two quick steps and approached the wall of the seaside house. After slowly coming to a stop, I felt the wind disappear from my side in an instant. Finally, I found a place to stand in the midst of danger.

At that moment, I noticed something strange.

The dock in Mineral Town was originally a small dock rooted in the sheltered bay. Although it was not large, it was exceptionally sturdy and, according to Zack, could withstand the strongest storms in the area.

However, the dock I saw seemed to be missing a large section of the platform, and the incomplete part was particularly glaring.

"The dock collapsed?"

I was puzzled, but then I noticed something trembling slightly on the dilapidated dock, like the finest hairs on a body being blown by the wind, very subtle.

I observed for a while longer before I could see that the dock did not seem to have collapsed. It was just covered with a layer of black substance, long and curved in shape, blending seamlessly with the surrounding darkness. In such a dim and dark environment, it was impossible to spot it at a glance.

But where is the ship? Has it sailed away?

I peeked out halfway, keeping myself as concealed as possible in the corner, avoiding the hurricane and torrential rain and any potential accidents.

Observation in the dark is very difficult, but I cannot directly approach the rough seas of the dock, so I decided to use some methods to test it.

I picked up a stone from the ground and threw it using my superhuman arm strength. Even with the interference of the strong wind, I was able to calculate the trajectory in advance and hit the target accurately. It seems that my precision shooting skills were not sealed when the colonist system was shut down.

The thrown stone traced an arc and disappeared from my sight, only to make a thud shortly afterward, ending its brief flight.

I tried two more and found that the stones I threw at the dock hit something and were intercepted on the ground at a much closer distance than I had imagined.

"A protective shield? An energy barrier?"

My mind raced, and I came up with all sorts of bizarre possibilities. But my doubts weren't resolved until a bolt of lightning struck.

The dazzling electric light illuminated a wide area, but for an extremely short time. The overly cold light failed to reveal the colors of objects, illuminating only a monotonous black and white world.

But the brief burst of bright light had already imprinted the scene firmly on my retina, and I could make out a clear outline even with my eyes closed.

The place I was facing was not an empty, dark expanse of water on the dock of Mineral Town, but a huge, dark shadow standing there. The towering mast, the strong keel, the sharp ram, and the prominent figurehead all indicated that this was an exceptionally large sailing ship, moored on the shore of Mineral Town.

The dilapidated dock I saw was actually made of wooden planks used for boarding ships. Its dark exterior and broken outline blended seamlessly with the ships behind it, making it appear as if it were completely dark.

Due to the lack of color, I cannot confirm whether this ship is a huge black ship that came from the sea, but its massive size does seem to suggest that it could indeed sail safely to its destination.

Something's not right... Such a large sailboat must have dozens or even hundreds of crew members, so why is it so quiet? Can the mayor hide so many people?

In the light of another flash of lightning, I saw some strange sights in the distance.

The ship anchored effortlessly on the undulating sea, showing no sign of shaking. But the strange figurehead at the bow seemed to have shifted direction?

In the chaotic environment, I seemed to see the ship's figurehead slowly turning around, rotating in all directions like a compass. But amidst the swaying, it gradually stabilized and finally faced one direction.

The direction I am in.

Chapter 398 A Corner of the Nightmare

In that instant, it seemed as if the entire darkness had received a command, turning its direction as the figurehead statue turned, unleashing immense malice upon this lonely little island.

The dark seawater waves gradually subsided, and the flowing liquid retreated uncontrollably, churning up waves and resisting the storm, as if it had been swallowed whole by the deep-sea monster Behemoth, frantically sucked into its belly, revealing a dried-up, muddy seabed.

This barren seabed, devoid of fish and algae, exudes an even more indescribable dark atmosphere, blending seamlessly with the overcast skies above the sea.

The towering black ship remained perfectly still amidst the raging waves, as if countless limbs and tentacles had sprouted from its hull, firmly anchoring it to the unfathomable depths of the ocean.

The darkness was so pure that I couldn't find a single characteristic of any object in my sight. In the dimness, the torrential rain, and the flashes of lightning, I doubted that there were even twisted reefs, strange corals, or unclean black mud there. Perhaps beneath the ocean surrounding the entire island lay an unfathomable abyss. The only reason I was able to stand was because the island clung to a single straw, maintaining a fragile balance.

Beneath the sea's surface, in the abyss, roam countless bizarre and unbelievable creatures. They need no eyes, ears, mouth, or nose, nor do they possess joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. They wander day and night in the unfathomable abyss, their mad laughter and stubbornness proving their disdain for life. Even the bravest person, upon peering down even for a moment, will lose all reason and plunge into the abyss of madness.

Yes……

The relentless storm clouds lingering in the sky, isn't their source this malevolent ocean? Isn't this seemingly calm sea the burial ground for countless sins and the silence of ambitions?

Not to mention the ocean floor, which is impenetrable to sunlight. Isn't it a place where all the decaying, corrupt, and broken things from ancient times to the present are buried, and where countless ghosts and demons gather from ancient times to the present?

The howling wind gradually echoed with the sinister laughter of the siren, manipulating people's hearts. The strange, piercing cries transformed into imperceptible blades in the violent storm, peeling away and dismembering the listener's reason, luring the innocent to take intoxicated steps and plunge themselves into the abyss.

The black ship stood facing me at a distance, without any strange, menacing creatures emerging. But my fear did not lessen, for through the gaps in the darkness, I saw the ship's sails, like a bloated inchworm, wriggling its obese body up the angular, bony mast.

A soft and cunning anchor cable on the bottom of the strange ship is quietly moving its body from the seabed, gradually withdrawing from its rooted position, like the tentacles of a sea anemone approaching a school of fish, carefully disguising its ill intentions and retracting into the anchor chain hole of the strange ship.

Whether due to the force of the wind or not, several windows on the side of the strange ship suddenly opened, opening and closing at different but continuous speeds, yet no cannons were pushed out. This mechanical and irregular movement was like a deformed hundred-eyed giant blinking unconsciously, lifeless and devoid of consciousness.

The seawater suddenly stopped its retreat, halting at a dangerously close distance. I could see the waves had transformed into mountain peaks, echoing within the ocean, yet contained by a clear dividing line.

A fleeting realization dawned on me, but my body involuntarily lurched forward. My clothes were still damp, and pulled by the sea breeze, I felt like a seagull taking flight against the wind, its feathers standing on end as it struggled to flap its wings, yet it remained rooted to the spot, unable to move even half a step.

But I can't turn back.

Because I could sense that the dark sea had already revealed a malevolent smile. The retreat of the waves was merely a temporary accumulation; its surging ambition had already taken shape, all for the purpose of crashing onto this land under the torrent of the giant waves and completely submerging this isolated island in the vast ocean.

The fierce winds and torrential rains before it are only part of its tools. With bone-scraping gales and blood-dissolving acid rains, it relentlessly erodes the foundation of the land, hollows out the flesh and blood of the isolated island, until it turns this place into a skeleton before swallowing it whole, and then sinking into eternal silence along with the raging sea.

I can even picture that strange ship with four masts, a foredeck, and a very high stern, about to easily leap onto waves higher than mountains, materialize into a lateral arthropod, and be the first to rush onto this land.

"Tsunami!"

I kept repeating the word as I ran forward with all my might, but I didn't know how far I had run, or whether I hadn't taken a single step.

In the howling sea wind, I could hear the surging waves crashing against the ground and destroying buildings behind me, and I could feel the strange ship moving with the waves, waving its tattered sails on the raging flood peaks. I could even feel the earth beneath my feet trembling, countless cracks appearing in the solid ground, each spewing out foul, rotting seawater, submerging any foothold...

Suddenly, I felt the pressure on my body ease, and I fell onto a hard stone brick. The cold brick surface made intimate contact with the bridge of my nose, and a sore sensation immediately welled up in my nasal cavity, making it difficult to see anything in front of me.

I groped my way across the ground, gripping the cracks between the bricks and splashing water in the puddles. Finally, I felt the intricate engraved patterns on the ground with my palm and realized that I was lying on the ground in Rose Square!

I escaped!

The relief of escaping death had barely begun to rise when I glanced back. Just inches away, a wave was stubbornly plunging back into the water, its surging tide making its last stand as it crashed against the beach, scraping off a patch of sand before finally receding back into the sea.

After the storm subsided, only a desolate beach and shattered buildings remained. The strange ship also pretended to be nonchalant and retreated back into the sea, drifting on the undulating ocean surface.

If I hadn't experienced it firsthand, I would have thought I was just having a nightmare. But was this sudden tsunami an accidental natural disaster, or the manipulation of a supernatural force? Were the images I saw in the darkness illusions or reality?

"here……"

I stood up from the brick floor, speaking softly, my left hand on my right arm, my eyes closed, and slowly exhaled.

Just now, while I was running around in a panic, I deliberately used the blade on my arm guard to cut a wound on my arm. But now, although the wound is still painful, I can only feel smooth skin and there are no signs of external injury.

"...There must be some force influencing my rationality."

"But it is indeed afraid of me."

I felt the meme imprint left on my body by the old man was burning hot, as if something was stimulating it.

"They said that before I left, some mysterious force was interfering with them and rejecting my words... and then I understood..."

I straightened my clothes, put my hood back on, stretched my stiff limbs, and walked steadily toward the town.

Chapter 399 Facing the Ghostly Shadow

The strange rituals continued inside the church, as if the tsunami that nearly engulfed the island had never happened. The massive mudslide was like a scar across the town, preserving the pain and fear that the residents dared not confront.

I can now confirm that there is a force on the island trying to expel me, using every means to eliminate me here. However, the aura of the "ultimate calamity" on me is probably as Old Man Hook said, making it extremely wary, and therefore it dares not face me directly.

That being exists on a level far higher than mine, but for some reason cannot directly descend here. Just as humans cannot enter an egg, but can deal with the person inside by shaking, inverting, or soaking it.

Judging from the fact that I just cut myself, the effects of madness are only on the mental level; the meme imprint of the "Ultimate Catastrophe" can resist harm to the body. Therefore, as long as my mind is strong enough, I don't need to worry about these things.

But the strange state of affairs in the town worried me, so I decided to continue closer to the church, looking for clues. With the colonist system restricted and meme communication severed, all I could rely on was my brain.

Quietly approaching the church, I bypassed the front row where people were gathered and instead crept directly towards the back room from another direction, making my way silently and cautiously along the corner of the wall.

I seemed to hear two people talking in front of a window.

"The dead come back to life? That's impossible... There's absolutely no way such a miracle could happen except to the supreme ruler..."

A deep voice echoed from inside the room, sounding like the pastor who had just preached and played music in the church. But upon closer listening, while the pastor's voice was clear and strong, it revealed signs of vocal cord fatigue and a lack of breath control due to age. It seemed that the pastor was much older than his voice suggested, and could not possibly be Father Carter.

Then another voice rang out, "I saw it with my own eyes...it came back to life without any reason..."