CHAPTER 254: THE WEIRD

The sea surface wasn’t home to just this single wrecked ship, but those wriggling tentacles emerged from beneath the ocean demanded attention.

What was that?

Carlotta didn’t know, and could only approach to take a closer look.

Actually, the presence of any ship on the sea surface, even one extremely decayed, was highly strange. Generally speaking, no one could reach the Forbidden Sea; how could ships appear here? Even if there had been some in the past, they should have long since sunk to the seabed.

Yet perhaps it was exactly because it defied logic that it fits the nature of the Forbidden Sea.

As Carlotta and her companions drew near, the tentacles in the sea seemed to feel them too. One by one, pitch-black, slimy tentacles suddenly lashed out towards them.

Seeing this, Carlotta pointed into the air. Instantly, the tentacles were torn apart, severed into pieces that fell into the ocean. From their broken ends flowing black blood, emitting a disgustingly foul stench.

"Roar!"

This injury provoked a roar of fury from a massive creature beneath the waves. A colossal body surged out of the water.

It was a monster never seen nor heard of in the outside world, resembling a giant octopus, yet its body was densely covered with hundreds of eyes, too numerous to count, appearing extremely horrifying.

The monster roared once, and immediately several eyes on its body released pale, ghastly beams of light. These converged into a wave of light, blasting toward Carlotta.

"Roughly equivalent to a middle tier Listener."

Carlotta quickly made her assessment.

She struck directly. With a single finger gesture in midair, she obliterated all the pale beams fired by the creature. The annihilating force continued spreading rapidly, reaching the monster in an instant and disintegrating it completely.

"This doesn’t seem like a real living being."

Carlotta formed a new judgment.

Ordinary creatures shouldn’t appear in a place like the Forbidden Sea, so abnormality was only to be expected.

The High Priestess reached a conclusion, "This should be a phantom entity."

She explained to Carlotta and Amelia, saying that in places imbued with divine power, residual divine forces might trigger strange reactions, mysteriously forming phantom entities at random moments.

Such phantom entities can take the form of objects, or appear as life-like beings. If they resembled living creatures, they wouldn’t possess intelligence, simply wandering aimlessly and attacking everything indiscriminately, regardless of whether the targets were moving or not.

Simply put, it was merely a phenomenon.

Carlotta nodded in understanding. Judging by this, the ships on the sea surface were likely all phantom entities as well.

She looked down, her eyes glowing with a crystalline luster. Casting a spell into her vision, she gained the ability to see through all obstacles, allowing her gaze to pierce through the ocean and reveal the seafloor.

Below, decaying wrecks lay scattered everywhere. Inside some of the sunken ships, gold and jewels could still be seen.

Besides these, there were fragments of ancient structures, soaked in the sea for thousands of years, now covered in weathered marks.

After glancing around and finding nothing noteworthy, Carlotta and the others continued onward into the depths of the Forbidden Sea.

Gradually, as they looked back, even Starlight Sea had disappeared from sight.

Along the way, they encountered numerous phantom entities, appearing in various forms.

The phantom entities taking the shape of objects were relatively harmless, leaving them alone posed no danger.

But those mimicking living beings were different, they would attack whatever they saw.

Suddenly, the High Priestess asked, "Carlotta, what’s behind you?"

Carlotta turned back in confusion, but saw nothing.

"What do you mean?"

She asked, puzzled, turning her head back again.

She noticed the priestess staring at her with astonishment. Even Amelia beside her had tensed up.

Their expressions made Carlotta’s heart skip a beat. She asked quietly, "What’s happening?"

Amelia immediately said, "Behind you, there’s a shadowy figure."

Carlotta instantly cast a spell, forming a mirror above her head. She didn’t need to look at the mirror directly; the image reflected in it clearly appears within her eyes.

At this moment, she floated in midair. Behind her, a mass of black mist had emerged, faint and indistinct, appearing and disappearing, vaguely shaped like a human figure, silently following her.

When she moved forward, the shadow followed. When she stepped back, it retreated too. When she turned to look, the shadow shifted sideways, always avoiding her gaze.

When did this appear?

"Is this another phantom entity?"

Carlotta asked.

"Not quite."

The High Priestess shook her head and said, "Generally, phantom entities leave traces."

Even she hadn’t noticed when this shadow had appeared behind Carlotta.

Through the mirror, Carlotta saw the outline of the black mist becoming slightly clearer, resembling a woman, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder.

In that instant, she felt an immense pressure descend upon her, as if she were carrying two mountains on her back, nearly crushed under their weight.

"Weird!"

Carlotta whispered.

In the Forbidden Sea, what people most feared wasn’t phantom entities, it was the Weird.

The Weird was filled with mystery, growing stronger against the strong, weaker against the weak. Thus, no matter who encountered it, the pressure and difficulty felt were nearly equal.

This was exactly why it was called "the Weird."

Currently, there was no known method to deal with the Weird. The few rare cases of escape weren’t replicable.

Carlotta didn’t panic excessively. Having entered the Forbidden Sea, she had long prepared herself for encountering the Weird.

Now wielding many spells, she focused her mind. Her body turned ethereal and ultimately disappeared without a trace.

This was Void Magic, allowing one to briefly transform into nothingness, useful not only for assassination but also for survival. A highly practical spell.

As Carlotta became invisible, the Weird behind her also disappeared completely.

Amelia and the High Priestess waited for a long while before Carlotta reappeared.

But the moment she materialized, the dark shadow once again appeared behind her.

Seeing this, Amelia and the High Priestess both wore grave expressions.

The High Priestess immediately stepped forward. Divine creative power emerged in her hands, as she attempted to help Carlotta erase the shadow behind her.

Yet even with her intervention, after considerable effort, the dark shadow still clung to Carlotta, proving that even the power of an Exalted was unable to eliminate it.

Is the Weird truly indestructible?

Even the High Priestess’s intervention had changed nothing, causing everyone’s hearts to sink.

At this moment, however, Carlotta became unexpectedly calm.

She said unhurriedly, "Forget it. Since the Weird has already latched on, let it follow. I’ve realized it can’t actually do much to me, it just feels like carrying a mountain while moving. So be it. If I must carry a mountain, then I’ll carry a mountain."

According to what she previously understood, the Weird seemed only able to exist within the Forbidden Sea. Once leaving the Forbidden Sea, the Weird would naturally depart.

As for when inside the Forbidden Sea, Carlotta could do nothing but let the Weird follow her.

Hearing this, both Amelia and the High Priestess exchanging looks strange.

"You really are fearless."

The High Priestess couldn’t help but chuckle.

"There’s nothing I can do, so I won’t force it."

Carlotta shrugged.

Since Carlotta had said this, the High Priestess said no more.

The three continued onward, but after flying for not long, Carlotta’s lips twitched.

She felt herself being entangled by a new Weird presence, as faint, intermittent sobbing sounds began echoing in her ears, sometimes near, sometimes distant, endlessly repeating, tormenting her mind.

"Do you hear anything?"

Carlotta couldn’t help but ask.

The High Priestess and Amelia both shook their heads, looking at her in confusion.

Seeing this, Carlotta had no choice but to explain her own situation.

She didn’t know why the Weird phenomena particularly liked targeting her, but if they insisted on tormenting her, fine, just as long as they left Amelia alone.

The three continued flying deeper into the Forbidden Sea.

The Forbidden Sea was far more vast than the Starlight Sea, for long ago, this place had once been an entire continent. That continent had sunk, transforming into an endless ocean.

After flying for several hours, Carlotta felt increasingly uneasy.

The Weird phenomena latched onto her kept multiplying one after another. Bloody-eyed occasionally surfaced before her, staring from faces afar. One after another, eerie phantoms appeared around her, tugging at her as if trying to drag her down into an endless abyss.

Carlotta mentally calculated, after several hours, the number of Weird entities clinging to her had reached at least seventeen.

Yet crucially, neither Amelia nor the High Priestess had a single one on them.

Why was that?

"The Weird never came after me. I don’t understand why either."

Even the High Priestess couldn’t make sense of it.

Amelia was equally confused.

Only Carlotta, vaguely, seemed to grasp something.

The High Priestess wasn’t from their world, and Amelia, likewise, didn’t belong to this world.

Amelia herself didn’t understand this either. Strictly speaking, saying Amelia wasn’t from this world wasn’t entirely accurate, rather, Amelia possessed bloodline from another world.

After arriving in this world, Amelia naturally integrated into it, and her body now contained this world’s bloodline as well.

Was this the reason she remained unaffected by the Weird?

Carlotta pondered deeply. The only common point she could find between Amelia and the High Priestess was this.

If there were no other similarities, then this must be the sole answer.

Carlotta hadn’t told Amelia about her ancestors originating from another world. She couldn’t explain how she knew that, and revealing it wouldn’t serve any purpose anyway.

"It’s fine. If all the Weird phenomena concentrate on me, it’s not necessarily a bad thing."

Carlotta remained confident.

Flying through the air, her aura surged, her magic overwhelming. Even with numerous Weird entities constantly affecting her, she could still hold herself together.

Although the Weird grew stronger against stronger foes and weaker against weaker ones, if the target possessed strength comparable to an Exalted being, the Weird’s influence would inevitably weaken somewhat.

"Let’s go down and take a look."

Carlotta gazed at the ocean below.

On the surface of the Forbidden Sea, there seemed to be nothing noteworthy except for the Weird phenomena appearing from who-knows-where.

What truly mattered lay beneath the waves.

There lay a sunken continent, every trace of an entire ancient landmass now buried beneath the endless sea.

Amelia and the High Priestess nodded, following Carlotta as they descended into the ocean.

So cold!

The moment they entered the ocean, all three felt this sensation.

Naturally, they weren’t directly touching the seawater, they had sealed it outside their barriers. Yet even so, a chilling coldness seeped through their defenses, making them feel as if they were about to be frozen solid.

The deeper they went into the ocean, the more pronounced this freezing sensation became. No matter what methods they used, they couldn’t dispel it. It even made them shiver involuntarily.

But overall, this frigid cold was still bearable.

Gradually, Carlotta and the others reached the ocean floor.

For Carlotta, it was a strange sensation, like arriving at the seabed, yet not arriving truly at the seabed.

Before her eyes stretched an endless continent!

The entire continent had sunk beneath the ocean. Although shattered into fragments, it largely retained the appearance of a terrestrial landscape.

Even the area where Carlotta and the others descended still revealed the presence of a vast, ancient city.

This had once been a city of the Central Continent, but now it could only lie submerged in the ocean.

Within the city, numerous temples were clearly visible, so many that they dotted every corner of the urban landscape.

In ancient times, the people of the Central Continent all walked the path of faith. Their immense need for spiritual belief naturally gave rise to countless temples.

"I’ll scout around the surroundings."

Seeing this city, the High Priestess immediately sprang into action, darting rapidly through the area, searching for usable information.

The sinking of the Central Continent was suspected to be related to Gods. Yet during that era, Gods shouldn’t have existed. Thus, the sinking of the Central Continent was highly suspicious and deeply intriguing.

The High Priestess moved quickly, vanishing in an instant.

Carlotta, however, couldn’t calmly explore. The Weird phenomena around her were too numerous. Just during the brief descent to the seabed, three new Weird manifestations had appeared on her.

Looking at the surrounding city, the once-solid buildings now appear to her as hundreds of fish heads opening and closing their jaws, their dead, glassy eyes fixed unblinkingly on her.

"How disgusting."

Carlotta couldn’t help but curse.

No wonder others dared not enter the Forbidden Sea, what one encountered here was enough to scar a person for life. Of course, that assumed they survived. The Weird weren’t harmless; they possess the ability to kill.