收魂 The Collection

作者： Rayla Heide

锁链划过地面的骇人声响回荡在荒野中。野外，一团非自然形成的迷雾将月亮和星星的光芒掩盖，平日里鸣叫的昆虫现在也变得异常安静。

A horrible scraping of metal chains drifted over the fields. Outside, an unnatural fog rendered the moon and stars all but invisible, and the regular hum of insects fell silent.

锤石来到一间破败不堪的窝棚前。他举起灯笼，不是为了照亮四周，而是为了看清灯笼里面。灯笼内部就像一片闪烁的星空，上千颗绿色的小球在闪烁。他们疯狂地飞舞起来，似乎是想躲避锤石的目光。他的嘴角泛起一抹异样的诡笑，露出闪光的尖牙。每一颗颗星光都是他的宝贝。

Thresh approached a ruined hovel. He raised his lantern, not to see his surroundings, but to look inside the glass. The interior of the lantern resembled a starry nightscape with its thousands of tiny green glowing orbs. They buzzed frantically as if trying to escape Thresh’s gaze. His mouth twisted in a grotesque grin, teeth glinting from the glow. Each of the lights was precious to him.

窝棚门后，一个人正在啜泣。锤石感知到了他的痛苦，因此被吸引过来。他十分理解这个人的苦痛，就像他的老朋友一样。

Behind the door, a man whimpered. Thresh sensed his pain, and was drawn to it. He knew the man’s suffering like an old friend.

锤石只曾在这个人面前出现过一次，那是数十年前了，但从那以后，这名幽灵就开始不断地夺走这个男人的至亲至爱：从他的爱马到他的母亲，兄长，一直到最近一位让他推心置腹的佣人。这名幽灵从不会将他们的离世伪装成自然死亡；他要让这个人知道是谁在为他制造痛苦。

Thresh had only appeared to the man once, decades ago, but since then the spectre had taken everyone the man held dear: from his favorite horse to his mother, brother, and recently a manservant who had become a close confidant. The specter made no pretence of natural deaths; he wanted the man to know who caused each loss.

这名幽灵穿过窝棚的门，锁链拖在身后。窝棚里面阴暗潮湿，积攒了数年的污垢。这个人看上去比这间窝棚的状态还糟：他蓬头垢面，身上布满了脓包——长势凶恶，有的刚被抓破。他穿的衣服原本是名贵的天鹅绒，但现在只剩下破烂的碎布。

The spirit passed through the door, scraping his chains as they dragged behind him. The walls were damp and ingrained with years of grime. The man looked even worse: his hair long and matted, his skin covered in scabs - angry and raw from clawing. He wore what had once been fine velvet clothes, but were now little more than torn, tattered rags.

这个人看到突然出现的绿色荧光，惊恐地缩成一团，手捂住眼睛。他的身体剧烈地摇晃着，向角落退去。

The man shrank from the sudden green glow, covering his eyes. He shook violently, backing away into the corner.

“拜托。拜托，别是你。”他低声说道。

“Please. Please, not you,” he whispered.

“很久以前，我认定了你。”锤石的声音尖锐刺耳，就像是一副数年未说过一句话的嗓子。

“Long ago, I claimed you as mine.” Thresh’s voice creaked and stretched, as if he had not spoken for an age. “It is time I collect...”

“现在我来收魂了…”

“I am dying,” the man said, his voice barely audible. “If you’re here to kill me, you’d best hurry.” He made an effort to look at Thresh directly.

“我就要死了。”这个人说道，他的声音小得几乎听不到。“如果你是来杀我的，你最好抓紧。”他鼓起勇气直视锤石。

Thresh stretched his mouth wide. “Your death is not my desire.”

锤石咧嘴大笑。“我不想要你的死亡。”

He set the glass door of his lantern slightly ajar. Strange sounds came from within - a cacophony of screams.

他将灯笼的玻璃门微微敞开，里面传出了奇异的声音——由尖叫组成的不和谐音。

The man did not react, not at first. So many screams emerged that they blended together like scraping glass shards. But his eyes widened in horror as he heard voices he recognized plead from Thresh’s lantern. He heard his mother, his brother, his friend, and finally the sound he dreaded most: his children, wailing as if being burned alive.

那个人一开始并没有任何反应。同时有太多的尖叫声，混合到一起就像碾碎玻璃渣滓的声音一样刺耳。但随后他就惊恐地睁大了双眼，因为他听到了自己认识的声音从锤石的灯笼里传出。他听到了自己的母亲，兄长，朋友，最后他听到了最可怕的声音：他的孩子们，似乎是在被活活烧死时发出的哀嚎。

“What have you done?” he screamed. He scrambled for something to throw - a broken chair - and threw it at Thresh with all his strength. It passed through the spectre harmlessly, and Thresh laughed mirthlessly.

“你都做了什么？”他尖叫着说。他胡乱地从手边捡起一样东西——是一把坏掉的凳子——然后用尽全身力气把它丢向锤石。凳子没有击中任何东西，穿过了幽灵的身体，锤石开始阴森地大笑。

The man ran at Thresh, eyes wild with fury. The spectre’s hooked chains whipped out like striking snakes. The barbed hooks struck the mortal’s chest, cracking ribs and piercing his heart. The man fell to his knees, face twisted in delicious agony.

那个人跑向锤石，眼睛里充满怒火。那名幽灵甩出了锁链，铁钩像毒蛇出击一样飞出。倒刺的铁钩刺入了凡人的胸膛，击碎了肋骨，击穿了心脏。那个人跪倒在地，脸上的痛苦表情让锤石感到无比美味。

“I left them to keep them safe,” the man cried. Blood gurgled from his mouth.

“我为了保护他们才离开了他们。”那个人哭着说。鲜血从嘴里涌出。

Thresh wrenched his chains hard. For a moment, the man did not move. Then the ripping began. Like a rough-spun sheet being slowly torn, he was excruciatingly pulled from himself. His body convulsed violently, and blood sprayed along the walls.

锤石用力扭转锁链。一开始，那个人一动没动。随后他开始被撕裂。就像一块粗布被一行行抽丝一样，他遭受着剧痛，一点点从自己的身体中被抽离。他的身体在剧烈抽动，血浆溅满了墙壁。

“Now, we begin,” said Thresh. He pulled the captured soul, pulsing brightly from the end of the chain, and trapped him within the lantern. The man’s hollow corpse collapsed as Thresh departed.

“现在，我们开始。”锤石说。他拖着被钩住的灵魂，灵魂在铁链的另一端闪烁着明亮的幽光，随后被囚禁在了灯笼里。那个人的尸体瘫倒在地，锤石离开了。

Thresh followed the curling Black Mist away from the cottage with his glowing lantern held high. Only after Thresh was gone, and the fog dissipated, did the insects resume their nightly chorus and stars once again filled the night sky.

锤石随着卷曲翻腾的黑雾离开了窝棚，一路上高高地举着自己的灯笼。直到锤石消失得无影无踪、迷雾烟消云散以后，虫儿才恢复了夜晚的鸣唱，星星也重新布满了夜空。