Way of the Departed 亡者之道 第十三章
乐高幻影忍者官方小说
作者: Tommy Andreasen
原文与图片来自ninjago wiki
译者是一个写不完作业的废物
若有翻译不准处请在评论区纠正
今天是我来诺姆的第三天，过得比较平淡，没出什么事，这还挺……令人意外的。贾拉汉的朋友艾莱丝失联了，他为此哭了很久，我一直在安慰他。我带他在诺姆的郊野和周边的森林里面转了转，如果未来真会爆发一场恶战的话，我们最好先熟悉一下诺姆的地理环境。克劳斯与卡洛夫不可能单独作战，他们肯定有一支军队，我对于可能要面临的敌人做了许多推测，还考察了东北面的森林、西面的山坡与南面的荒原，结果发现，敌人不论从哪个方向攻击都可以顺畅地侵入。 我的伤疤（裂口）疼得厉害……真希望有他们几个在我身边，但我现在的处境非同寻常：往生世界的入口长在我脸上了！如果裂口真的被成功打开的话，我只会害了他们，这绝对不行！如果警告他们情况的危险性的话，他们会毫不犹豫地过来帮我，还不如保持沉默呢。我打算一有机会就去找杨大师，然后把我知道的都告诉他，这样，如果我撑不住的话，至少有人可以把一切跟诺姆人交代清楚。这就是我目前的全部计划了，走一步算一步吧。 我、贾拉汉和塞莉尔还来了几场激烈的比武，我主要想考察一下贾拉汉的战斗水平，同时也让他别再总想着艾莱丝，躯体的疲劳能让他忘记心里的痛苦；事实证明，他的水平不错，更别提他还会飞天旋转术了。他本来还想把这招数教给塞莉尔，但不知道是因为他教得不行，还是塞莉尔学得不行，反正她没学会。不过，塞莉尔的武艺也很高超，她有一套独特的战斗风格，好几次都把我打得措手不及，她的拳头也很有力，我亲身体验过了。中场休息的时候，她去市政厅打探了一下情况，她父亲一直在努力推迟复工日期，可是外地投资商来了消息，说他们过两天就要来考察，市政府正式决定明天早上复工，而重建工程剩余的部分不到一天就能完成。实在不行的话，我还可以用我的石锤直接把那些塔楼砸烂，但我没给塞莉尔说这个想法。 我们又来了一场比武，这次贾拉汉彻底累垮了，说句实话，我也累坏了，我甚至都没有力气飞到楼上找杨大师了。塞莉尔为即将爆发的围袭感到忧心忡忡，过去的黑暗机械忍者袭击事件给她留下了心理阴影，她想竭尽全力保护诺姆的安全。于是，我们又去森林布置了一些陷阱和警报装置，但这些防御措施可能不会有太大作用，面对克劳斯那个鬼鬼祟祟的老狐狸，简直防不胜防。谁说他们一定会步行来呢？万一他带的是一支幽灵大军呢？经过了如此漫长的一天，晚上回房间时，我已身心俱疲、浑身酸痛。我的头还没挨着枕头就睡着了……我的伤疤（裂口）疼得厉害……马上又要看到冰迷宫了……
醒醒吧！寇！
一个严厉的声音向我发出了不容置疑的命令。我心里一惊，慌忙跳了起来，却发现我已经不在睡觉的房间里了。周围的景象阴森恐怖，在我面前，一个缓缓转动着的摩天轮矗立在岩浆瀑布旁边，鸟瞰着流淌的熔岩。我在地下世界！我们第一次见加满都魔王就是在这里，第一次造出幻影旋转风暴也是在这里－－我望着这个架构拙劣的摩天轮，不免感到有些惭愧，当初真是年少无知，竟然想了个这么幼稚的主意。我们创造风暴的时候，只有三把黄金武器在手里，火焰剑好像被吴大师拿走了，由此推断，我们不用集齐全部武器就能创造风暴。或许不凭借黄金武器也能创造风暴呢，但我们从没试过。“我早就盼着与你见面了。”一个熟悉的声音响起，我转过身来，克劳斯就站在离我不远的地方。 他还是我记忆中的样子，双手背在身后，身躯闪耀着莹绿色的光芒。诅咒魔域被摧毁前，他想方设法逃了出来，后来我又见过他两次，一次在监控录像里，另一次在黑暗之岛上。他从吴大师手里逃离之后一直杳无音信，原来躲在这里了。大概是因为我无动于衷的表情，他冰冷的目光中露出了一丝愠色。其实，对于目前的情况，我心里也发慌，但我尽量保持镇定。这只不过是个梦而已，肯定的。“这摩天轮是我们盖的，知道吗？你得交租金。付钱也需要陈大师批准吗？别告诉我你交不起，住在这么热的地方，冬天能省下来不少暖气费吧？”克劳斯快被我气炸了，这样更好，我决定开始说正事。“直接告诉我吧，这个梦什么时候结束？我还有其它事儿呢。
”“这根本就不是梦，你这个白痴！
这就是江户巫术的力量，我用它把你那软弱的意识带到了这里，我……”“可这确实很像个梦，”我不等他说完打断了他，“你怎么会在地下世界？你是自愿来这儿的吗？你现在在欺负骷髅武士吗？为什么你……”克劳斯的眼睛变成了荧蓝色，他的手心突然射出亮光，转眼间，我被一股冲击波带上了天。嘭！我倒吸了一口冷气，痛感强烈真实，这确实不是在开玩笑。克劳斯的脸上浮现出一个狞笑，他很高兴我开始正视他了。“现在我要回答你的问题。自从你在黑暗之岛上搅黄了我的好事之后，我就被迫来到了这里，但我不会在这里呆很久的，我很快就要回到忍者国了……当然还有我的祖先和他们的信徒。我已经弄到了足够的载体供他们来附身，一旦诺姆镇收集到了足够多的江户魔力，你额头上的裂口就会被打开，尘封在历史中的江户巫师们就会穿过阴阳两界之门，离开往生世界，附身在合适的载体上，和我一起，用恐惧统治世界，开辟一个辉煌的新王朝！”……我瞠目结舌，这比我原先预想的要严重太多了。不行，我得阻止他，我得赶快去告诉别人，我得赶快醒过来，我得……“你哪也去不成，土元素大师。”克劳斯的嘴咧得更开了。“至于你那个用锤子给建筑搞破坏的主意就别想了。别忘了，你的意识完全处于我的掌控之中，你什么时候醒来得由我决定。实际上，那得等到诺姆有了足够的江户魔力，骷髅军团带着我抓来的三百多号人驻进镇上之后了。到那时，你将眼睁睁地看着你的额头裂开……恭喜你啊，土元素大师，你亲手毁掉了你生活的世界！” 另附原文： This day has been ... interesting. This is my third day in Nom. Nothing much has happened really. I have spent most of the day trying to calm Jerahn down. To snap him out of his sobbing over losing his connection to Alyce, I took him for a hike in the outskirts and forests around the town. If something will go down, I want to know what I am dealing with and from which way we may get ambushed. It's all speculation at this point, but if Clouse and Karloff is in cahoots, I doubt that they are alone on it. There's got to be some sort of army behind them. The bad news is, that Nom can be attacked from anywhere. Hills to the south, forests to the north and east and barren rock landscapes to the west. I should call the others but I don't. My scar (rift) is starting to hurt a lot worse now. I have a gateway to the Departed Realm on my face! What will happen if it rips open? I cannot put my friends in that kind of jeopardy. If I warn them, they will come running to help. They always do, so I won't take that risk. When I get the chance I will speak with Master Yang again and tell him everything I know. Then, if I fail the people of Nom, he can reveal himself and tell them everything. Its the best I can come up with right now. We were joined by Seliel and engaged in a pretty intense sparring session. Again dual purposes. I wanted to see what Jerahn was worth in a fight, and it would get his mind off Alyce and wear him down. Both Seliel and Jerahn are very capable. Jerahn has Airjitzu on his side. He tried to teach it to Seliel, but either he is a lousy teacher, or she doesn't have the knack for it. She has her own tricks though and caught me off guard several time ... Packs a punch too if she manages to blind side you. During a break she updated me on the situation at city hall. Her father cannot stall the board of commerce any longer. The foreign investors have sent a message that they will arrive in two days. Work on the buildings will commence again tomorrow morning and the completion will take less than a day. I consider taking my hammer to them during the night, but I do not share this idea with Seliel. After another sparring session Jerahn excuses himself. He is completely worn down and quite frankly so am I. I can't even get myself to Airjitzu up the building to Yang's painting in the secret room. Seliel is as concerned as I am about some imminent attack. She has a lot of bad memories from the Nindroid crisis days, and she wants to do everything she can to protect the town. We return to the woods to set up traps and early warning alarms, but really there is no way to guard ourselves against all scenarios. With ghostly Clouse, any plot is possible. What says they will come on the ground, or if whatever army he has can even be stopped by physical objects? My scar (rift) hurts, my body hurts from the sparring and my head hurts from too much thinking. When I finally law down, my head hardly hits the pillow before I fall asleep ... here comes the dream again... WAKE UP COLE!!! The command is hard and unforgiving. I jump to my feet and try to focus. I recognize the place, but this is not where I fell asleep. Before me a Ferris wheel rotates lazily, but there is nothing cheerful about this place. It is an eerie dark with falls of lava feeding the bubbling rivers of magma below. I am in the Underworld! This is where we first faced Lord Garmadon and performed the Tornado of Creation. Looking up at it now, the outcome isn't exactly any kind of impressive. A Ferris wheel? I guess we were just younger and less experienced then. Still it was pretty good at the time. We had our elemental weapons back then. Except for the Sword of Fire. I believe Wu had it. But at least it was close. I doubt we would have been able to pull off the Tornado of Creation without the actual weapons the First Spinjitzu Master used to create Ninjago. "I have been looking forward to meeting you again" I turn to face Clouse. I know his voice well. I should be surprised but somehow I am not. He stands in front of me with his hands behind his back. He has that ghostly glow around him he did when we saw him on the Stixx surveillance photo, and later when we faced off against him on the Dark Island. He somehow made it out of the Cursed Realm before it's destruction, and he made his escape when Wu fought hum in his father's golden mech. I guess this is where he went. Clouse stares at me coldly. He seems mildly annoyed that I do not have some bigger reaction. I am weirded out but this, but I try to act cool. This is nothing but a dream. It's gotta be. '"You know we made that Ferris wheel? We should be charging you rent. And given that you are definitely saving because of the natural heating of this place, you should be able to afford it. Or do you need Chen to give you some allowance? Anyway ... can we get：othis dream over with? I have stuff to do." Clouse is fuming. All the better. Let's get to the point. "THIS IS NO DREAM INSOLENT FOOL! This is the power of Edo magic. I have brought your feeble mind here. I..." "It seems like a dream." He is just about to speak, but I cut in again. "Why are you in the Underworld? Are you playing with Skulkin now? Did you choose to go here yourself? Why would you ...?" Clouse's eyes glow blue as his palms light up blue. I am hit by a shock wave and sent flying. Ow! I pick myself up. That actually hurt. Maybe this isn't all fun and games anyway. Clouse shoots me a sinister smile knowing he has made his point and has my attention. "To answer tour question: No. I am not here of my own choosing. I ended up here after you meddled in my affairs on the Dark Island. But I will not be here for long. Soon I will return to Ninjago ... as shall my ancestors and those who followed them. I have all the vessels I need. There will soon be enough Edo power built up in Nom. The rift on your forehead will rip open and give those in the Departed Realm passage back to Ninjago. Two score Edo Sorcerers and hundreds of acolytes will pick the villagers they most see fit and join my reign in Ninjago's second Edo era. This land will bow in terror. It will be GLORIOUS!" "..." I am lost for words. This is bigger than I had figured. Much bigger. I needed to stop it. I nee to warn the others. I need to wake up and ... My thought are interrupted as Clouse smile widens. "Oh you won't go anywhere Master Of Earth. I have your mind remember? Your little idea of taking your hammer to the Edo buildings is not going to happen. You wake when I decide it's time to wake. And that won't happen until the Edo power is fully charged and my Skulkin march three hundred people right into Nom. Then you will wake just in time to feel your head split open. Congratulations Master of Earth ... You have doomed Ninjago by coming here!"
