Even through the rubber gloves, the fingertips touching the corpse's skin could sense a temperature somewhere between cool and icy cold.
Law lifted the left eyelid of the female corpse, then immediately let go and checked the right eye as well. This time, it was the same empty eye socket.
'The corpse was remarkably well-preserved, except for the missing eyes. Had they been gouged out, or had the person never had eyes to begin with?'
'After all, there were almost no traces of eye removal. It was as if the eyes had simply vanished into thin air.'
Ging pressed his fingers against the female corpse's skin, his expression tightening slightly. The body was cold, but the texture didn't feel like that of a corpse. It was elastic and more like the touch of a living person.
He glanced up at Law, who happened to be looking back at him. After their initial examination of the corpse, both of them had noticed the same peculiarities.
"After death, muscle tension is lost, leading to overall relaxation and softening of the muscles. That's the primary and earliest postmortem characteristic. The relaxed muscles are distinctly different from those of a living person."
Law shifted his gaze back to the female corpse, pressing his hand against the flat abdomen before sliding it from left to right. When he raised his hand, the edge of his palm was covered in dust.
'Not only was there no muscle relaxation, but there were also no signs of late-stage decomposition. Apart from the corpse's low temperature, nothing else matched typical postmortem changes.'
'Last time, I only looked at it from a distance, and I thought it was weird that the corpse didn't turn into a pile of bones. Now, upon closer inspection, the situation seemed even more bizarre.'
"Let's check the other corpses." Ging stood up and looked at the bodies scattered around.
"Um."
Law nodded and stood up. At that moment, the female corpse suddenly deflated like a balloon losing air, flattening at an alarming speed.
The abrupt change made Law and Ging's expressions shift. Almost simultaneously, they gathered their Aura in their eyes and used Gyo. However, they did not see any Aura, nor even any resentment.
In less than three seconds, the once full-bodied corpse had turned into a limp sack of skin.
Law crouched down, pinched a corner of the skin, and slowly lifted it up. The animal-hide clothing and tooth ornaments that had adorned the corpse scattered to the ground.
'No muscles, no bones, no blood… it was as if only a freshly peeled skin remained.'
After gently placing the skin back on the ground, Law approached the next nearest corpse, which is a middle-aged man with a robust, muscular build resembling slabs of rock.
Law pressed his fingers against the corpse's muscles, confirming that there was a skeletal structure inside the corpse. He then lifted the eyelids of the corpse and found no eyes either.
Ging stood nearby, deep in thought.
"What do you think?" Law asked without turning his head.
"An illusion. What about you?" Ging replied.
Law shook his head slightly and said, "The tactile sensation was too real. It's hard to believe it was just an illusion. And when the corpse changed, there wasn't the slightest fluctuation or sign of Nen."
"If it defies common sense and has nothing to do with Nen, then this place might truly be connected to the Dark Continent." Ging murmured, his eyes glinting faintly.
From his words, it seemed Ging hadn't fully accepted the idea that Void originated from the Dark Continent. After all, there was no concrete evidence.
"Void is definitely from the Dark Continent. I can guarantee that." Law stood up and looked down at the corpse of the middle-aged man, "But I don't know whether Void is related to these corpses."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the sturdy middle-aged male corpse followed the same fate as the previous female corpse, and in just three seconds, he turned into a bag of skin.
Law looked at the skin, was silent for a moment, and then said, "I have confirmed that there are bones under the muscles."
'Even the most potent corpse-dissolving acid would leave traces if it dissolved muscles and bones in three seconds. Yet, aside from the skin, not a single drop of liquid remained.'
Ging didn't say anything. Instead, he walked toward another well-preserved corpse, crouched down, and lifted both eyelids before standing back to observe.
Law looked at Ging's actions and waited alongside him.
After a while, the corpse whose eyelids had been lifted also transformed into a sack of skin.
"Is opening the eyelids the trigger..." Ging muttered, and walked towards the next corpse. This time, he didn't lift the eyelids, but simply touched the body for a while before withdrawing his hand and waiting.
Time passed slowly, and the corpse showed no change, which proved their earlier hypothesis.
If the corpse was like a balloon with a tied-off air valve, then lifting the eyelids might have been like loosening the valve, causing the balloon to instantly deflate.
Even though they had discovered that lifting the eyelids caused the corpse to turn into a bag of skin, this discovery did not help either of them in any way.
Why do corpses have no eyes? Why did opening the eyelids cause them to deflate so rapidly? Where do the muscles and bones go?
What kind of existence in the Dark Continent is related to this phenomenon? Is it a Calamity or Hope?
"Let's go inside and take a look." Law suggested.
According to conservative estimates, there are at least 10,000 corpses here. And it's most likely that every corpse is the same, having existed for who knows how many years and yet still being well preserved. However, they can turn into bag of skins in an instant.
Ging agreed readily, and the two walked over the corpses on the ground and headed towards the ruins of the ancient structure.
The site was vast, with a square, four-cornered layout. The outer buildings had mostly crumbled into ruins, while those closer to the center were relatively better preserved, at least retaining their general outlines.
Given the size of the area, the two didn't stick together. Instead, they split up to gather information separately before regrouping at the center of the ruins.
Law chose the area on the left and first walked into the remnants of a structure where only a single wall remained standing.
The walls were constructed from stone bricks held together by mud mortar. Some wooden materials can also be seen in the debris scattered around.
This shows that the inhabitants of this settlement, whose era and identity remained unknown, has possessed fairly advanced architectural knowledge and skills.
Law sifted through the wreckage and found some daily necessities, most of which were carved from stone or wood, such as bowls, basins, and tables.
These artifacts held significant archaeological value, as did the clothing and ornaments on the corpses outside. If they are packed up and sold outside, they could fetch a fortune.
Law left no corner unchecked, touching everything he saw, but the White Smoke Font was very quiet and did not give any corresponding information.
After combing through multiple ruins, he found nothing but stone carvings.
Most of those stone carvings were depicting the daily life left behind by the settlement's people, with no written language in sight.
Having covered most of the area, Law made his way toward the center of the ruins. By the time he arrived, Ging was already there, standing with his back to Law as he observed a relatively intact structure that resembled a temple.
"You're here."
Ging spoke without turning around, pointing to the temple-like building, "Let's check inside. We might find something there."