Shrouded Seascape

Time was essential to ease the Haikor's suspicions toward Shindy. The Foundation hadn't paid that much attention to Shindy, but Charles felt that it was better to play safe.

After all, it wouldn't be that easy to find another Haikor defector from the Sea of Mist.

So Shindy stayed at home for half a month. He stayed cooped up in his home that his parents were starting to worry if he had fallen ill from the ordeal.

Fortunately, Shindy finally left the house the following day.

Shattered Heart Isles was a scattered archipelago where boats were more practical than carts. Shindy acquired a small boat and started working as a transporter between the various islands. Of course, the idea was naturally suggested by Charles.

The purpose wasn't to earn money. This work allowed Shindy to roam freely between the islands without arousing suspicion.

As a small boat operator who ferried passengers around, chatting them up to build a friendly rapport and solicit regulars was a routine occurrence as well, hence providing the perfect cover for him.

During one of their wanderings, Charles passed by the home of that jellyfish prophet who had once helped him.

However, he wasn't sure whether the jellyfish prophet was affiliated with the Foundation or not. So he dared not reach out casually

"Miss, we've arrived at Heart's End. Be careful when disembarking; the boat might wobble a little," Shindy reminded with a polite smile.

Draped in colorful robes, the woman towering over three meters tall held her head high as she stepped off the boat. She walked gracefully down the slick steps and onto Heart's End—the smallest island at the lowest end of the Shattered Heart Isles.

With a gentle tug of the reins, a giant, python-like earthworm writhed in the water and pulled the boat along the edge of the island as Shindy navigated to his next destination.

Shindy's movements seemed as if he was in search of his next passenger. However, his voice was barely audible as he whispered, "Governor, look at that building on our upper left. From the information I've gathered, that's where they are holding all Fhtagnists on Shattered Heart Isles."

As the boat drifted closer to the building, a massive gate made of giant bones came into view.

Shindy slipped into the boat's cabin, his voice a mix of agitation and urgency as he pleaded to the eyeball in his hand. "Governor, our brothers and sisters are inside. We need to find a way to get them out."

Charles pondered for a brief moment before he replied, "Don't make any rash movement. Try to find somewhere discreet and drop me off; I'll scout the area. Pick me up at the same place tomorrow."

Compared to Shindy's towering three-meter stature, Charles, in his spider form, would have a much easier time slipping in unnoticed.

Shindy complied immediately. Just as a portly man insisted on taking a ride on his boat, he created a distraction by stopping the man from boarding. Meanwhile, Charles' eight spider legs moved swiftly, propelling him into the shadows of a nearby building.

Without electronic lights, the dim light provided by the oil lamps on the island could hardly illuminate the entire place. The darkness worked in Charles' favor, as it gave him ample cover to sneak around.

After making a swift circuit of the area to assess the situation, Charles controlled the spider to climb up a wall and slipped into the second floor of the building.

A Haikor girl who was passing by rubbed her eyes in confusion. She turned to her mother, and in a puzzled tone, she asked, "Am I seeing things? I thought I just saw an eyeball scurrying across the wall."

Her mother cast a glance at the eerie building and instantly recalled the people imprisoned within. A shiver ran down her spine; she grabbed her daughter's hand and hastened her pace away from the place.

Jumping down from the window, Charles scurried at his fastest possible speed to hide under a nearby bed. He stayed perfectly still as he waited, remaining in the same spot until deep into the night.

When it was finally night, he emerged from his hiding spot to survey the surroundings. Looking around, he found himself in what appeared to be a storage space.

Judging by the thick layer of dust that coated everything, the room had been long forgotten and unused for quite some time.

Charles swiftly squeezed through the gap on the top of the door. He crept along the edges of the ceiling in search of the area where the lunatics were being held.

It wasn't that hard to locate the area he wanted in this building. After all, the place wasn't that big, and the walls even conveniently displayed signs to indicate the purpose of each room.

The flickering torches in the basement barely provided enough illumination for the area. Countless hands dangled limply from the bars of their cells, and Charles felt as though he had descended into the depths of hell when he saw the shadowy figures within whose heads were bowed in despair.

Jist then, an arm shot out from one of the cells with lightning speed. It grabbed Charles' spider eye and tried to shove it into their filthy, gaping mouth!

Charles reacted instinctively and sank his venomous fangs into the grimy hand. The attacker released Charles with a howl of agony, and Charles quickly scurried up the wall to the safety of the ceiling.

Back in the Governor's Mansion on Hope Island, Charles' breathing increased rapidly. He didn't expect that to happen. Catching a spider was one thing, but trying to eat it immediately upon seeing it? That was unexpected for him.

"Fuck! Where did it go?! A spider that big; imagine the juices!" the prisoner cursed.

His outburst ignited the rage of the others in the cell. They began shouting and cursing at each other for disturbing their rest.

As Charles watched the chaotic scene below, he found himself in a bit of a predicament. Though his spider form was ideal for stealth infiltration, it made revealing his identity a challenging task. And if he didn't make himself known, these lunatics would only continue to see him as nothing more than an insect.

Charles continued to crawl within the shadows as he scanned each and every face, seemingly looking for someone.

Judging from their disheveled appearances, it was clear that the king of Shattered Heart Isles had no intention of treating these madmen. They were being imprisoned here like dangerous criminals rather than patients.

Suddenly, Charles stopped in his tracks. He noticed one figure standing out from the rest. He wasn't a Haikor, but a human. The human was a bald young man with octopus tentacles tattooed across his face.

Hunched over, the man was frantically scrawling something on the wall with his bloodied fingers. His dark circles hung low under his eyes, and his eyes were bloodshot. It seemed like he hadn't slept for days.

However, he didn't seem to look exhausted. Instead, there was a feverish intensity in his actions as he continued to draw on the wall with relentless energy. The entire wall was covered in blood-red scribbles. There was a crude depiction of Fhtagn in the middle with poems and praises to the god scribbled haphazardly around the image.

The combination of the blood-red scribblings and the flickering flames from the torches further amplified the unsettling eeriness in the building.

Charles recognized the man. Even though many years had passed, the bald head and the distinctive tattoos were unmistakable. He had met this man a long time ago when the latter was just a boy.

With his face suffused with manic excitement, Gavin stared at his masterpiece on the wall. He felt as though the image of God Fhtagn had come alive. His Lord was acknowledging his devotion and his unwavering faith.

All of a sudden, a small spider with a single eye on its back crawled across the face of God Fhtagn, instantly shattering Gavin's hallucination.

Due to the lack of sleep over a prolonged period of time, Gavin's emotions were on a knife's edge, and the sudden intrusion filled him with a blinding rage.

Clenching down on his jaw so tightly that his gums began to bleed, traces of murderous intent filled his gaze. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a jagged stone, ready to crush the spider that had dared defile his sacred artwork.

Just as he raised his hand high up and was about to bring the stone down, he came to a screeching halt. He watched as the spider weaved something with its white silk and formed words before his eyes.

"Gavin, do you remember that person who let you touch the tattoo on his neck?"

The moment those words entered Gavin's gaze, the stone slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor with a dull thud. Tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his cheeks uncontrollably.

"Are you the one who bears the Lord's mark? You haven't forgotten me!" Gavin asked, his voice trembling with tumultuous emotions.

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