Chapter 580: Chapter 580: Ritual

Duke noticed that in certain areas, especially at the ends of rarely traversed corridors and near abandoned rooms, the barely perceptible remnants of spirit, mingled with a hint of dust and deathly silence, were slightly more noticeable than in the living quarters. But it was only a subtle difference, as if some influence was slowly spreading. Finally, they reached the underground area of the castle. It was even colder and damper here than above, the light dim. They first entered the wine cellar, where huge oak barrels were lined up, and the air was filled with a mixture of wine aroma and mustiness. Next was the storeroom for preserved foods and root vegetables. As they passed through a narrower passage leading deeper down, Ossen explained, "Inside here are mostly old storerooms that are no longer used and some foundation structures, opened very rarely, so it might be a bit damp." The end of the passage was marked by a heavy, old wooden door, with an iron lock covered in rust. Ossen struggled to find the key and had to turn it several times before he could open the lock. With a creak, the wooden door opened, releasing a denser wave of mustiness and dust into the air. Inside was a small stone chamber, piled with some broken pottery, rusty tools, and other miscellanea, clearly long abandoned. However, the moment Duke stepped into the stone chamber, his spiritual power surged within his mental sea, sensing something amiss. The anomalous fluctuation was clearer than anywhere else in the castle, still faint but provoking distinct ripples within his powerful perception, akin to stones tossed into a tranquil lake. Without betraying his thoughts, he signaled for Ossen to raise the illuminating crystal stone, his sharp gaze sweeping over the dust-covered floor and walls. Suddenly, his eyes locked onto a corner of the stone chamber, where some debris appeared scattered haphazardly. He approached, squatted down, and gently brushed aside the surface layer of dust. Beneath the debris, faint and incomplete bizarre symbols, painted in some dark red pigment, were vaguely discernible on the floor. The design of these symbols was filled with irregular lines and warped geometric figures, utterly different from any mainstream wizard's witch array he knew of, yet exuding an unsettling power residue that seemed capable of drawing upon dreams. At the center of these remnants, there was an unusually blackened patch on the ground, as if scorched by some force. Nearby lay a few dry and dark purple petal fragments, belonging to no common plant from the Wizard Plane. Duke carefully used his spiritual power to probe the remnant array and the charred marks. A weak spiritual remnant, cold and invasive like ethereal cobwebs, intertwined with a presence identical to that in Gardener Hans's mental world. Duke understood that he might have found the source of the problem. It was precisely this ritual site, hidden deep in the castle's basement, which had ceased operation yet still harbored residual power linking to the Nightmare Plane. He recognized at a glance that an actual ritual had been conducted here. The person conducting the ritual surely resided in the castle, most likely someone of significant status. There were many types of rituals; this one alone did not reveal much. The only thing evident was that it was likely a power-exchange ritual requiring some kind of sacrifice. Yet the power it tapped into was from the Nightmare Plane, a force not easily borne or controlled by ordinary people. Duke began to understand why there had been several deaths in the castle; in all probability, someone had performed this unknown ritual and obtained power from the Nightmare Plane. Unable to fully control this power, such incidents had occurred. Duke gazed intently at the ominously exuding remnant array on the ground; the Nightmare Plane's power was highly corrosive and assimilative, and a runaway ritual could yield unpredictable consequences.