This was a room constructed of black rock, with individual chambers arranged densely like a grid.
The rooms were not empty; they were filled with burial goods. Stone-carved chariots and human-beast hybrids sat eerily within, having remained there for perhaps thousands of years.
The walls were inscribed with ancient murals, their black and red hues resembling congealed, dried blood, appearing exceptionally sinister amidst the pervasive mist.
The murals depicted a group of humanoid creatures prostrating themselves before a bizarre entity.
It was an egg-shaped form, its surface sprouting countless sharp spikes, with uncounted eyes of various sizes scattered between them. The overall image was highly abstract; had Lynch not seen Glaaki in the lake, he would have struggled to understand what the figure represented.
Some were kneeling, others were offering sacrifices, and some were being pierced by the spikes. The eerie murals covered the walls of the room, making the atmosphere within the tomb increasingly grim.
Due to the high cost—or rather, to avoid exposing his identity—Lynch did not pull out the Torch of Light. Instead, he held his lantern as he moved between the dense stone statues. The flickering light made each statue seem to come alive, appearing and disappearing beside the three ladies. Every time he turned his head, he would catch a glimpse of a black shadow or a statue darting past behind him. Each instance caused Lynch's blood vessels to constrict, feeling far more intense than any horror movie.
"This is the tomb's entrance and exit to the outside, functioning like the gates of a castle. These stone carvings are the warriors guarding the fortress. The cliff side should have a similar structure, and behind them..."
As she spoke, Dr. Jenna raised her lantern. Through the mist, a massive stone door stretched out before them.
The stone door was flat, thick, and smooth as a mirror. Standing six or seven meters high, it spanned the entire corridor from top to bottom. Its immense size loomed overhead, creating a visual sensation as if a great mountain were about to collapse upon them, stirring a persistent sense of insignificance in Lynch as he stood beneath it.
The stone door was also covered in murals. In the painting, a group of people knelt on the ground, prostrating themselves before two giant humanoids. These were two bizarre figures that occupied almost the entire door. Their bodies were bloated and fat, with thick limbs but no heads. On their open palms, two large mouths filled with teeth gaped wide.
The two figures stood on the left and right sides of the gate, protecting the entrance like two sentries.
"The Gate of Sighs. Beyond this lies the inner tomb."
Dr. Jenna stood before the door, the two giant humanoid murals looming over her, their clawing, reaching postures as if they intended to snatch her inside. However, the doctor seemed indifferent, tapping the stone door casually with her hiking staff:
"If my hypothesis is correct, there should be one on the opposite side as well. If both are opened simultaneously, we can enter safely. But if only one is opened, heh..."
Lynch frowned. "This is a tomb; they are usually designed to prevent people from opening them. Why set up a method to open it? It’s as if they were worried that people from the outside couldn't get in."
Dr. Jenna glanced at him strangely, causing Lynch's heart to sink. Damn, did I blow my cover? I shouldn't have been so talkative. I asked without thinking.
Fortunately, the doctor did not overthink it and explained patiently:
"The Arke Dynasty flourished in the Third Age and worshipped Glaaki. In their mythology, after a person dies, they undergo the judgment of Glaaki, and once they pass, they are reborn. Of course, in reality, it is merely being transformed into a servant by Glaaki, and this can only be done while alive; it is impossible to truly resurrect someone. But the people of Arke at the time firmly believed in this legend. To that end, they built massive mausoleums for their rulers, hoping the king would pass the judgment and return by opening the tomb."
So that’s it. I didn't know this because intermediate education only covers up to the Fourth Age. Right, it wasn't taught in class.
"Then how do we open it?"
Asking didn't help; he still didn't know. The method to open each door was unique, and until one saw the physical object, no one could know it beforehand.
"Judy, wake up. Time to get to work."
The doctor paced in front of the door a few times, then a look of realization dawned on her face. At her call, the dazed Judy’s eyes suddenly focused, and she shook her head while pressing her temples.
No wonder Jack said this girl could remain normal when doing real work. At this moment, she only needed to look around to understand everything. She looked up at the bizarre humanoids on the mural and frowned.
"Why does even this kind of thing exist here?"
"Since Glaaki has appeared, it’s not strange for this to appear along with it, is it?"
Judy glanced at the doctor suspiciously. "I get the feeling you act as if you know something."
Dr. Jenna only smiled noncommittally. "Prepare to open the door. No problems, right?"
"Mm."
Judy did not press further. Deliberately avoiding any interaction with Lynch, she raised her hand and pressed it against one of the hands raised in worship on the left mural.
Hey, what are you doing?
Lynch was startled. Could something so eerie be touched directly? But looking at Dr. Jenna's reaction, it seemed this was standard procedure. She also pressed her hand against the right side of the gate.
As both ladies placed their hands on the stone door, a faint scent of blood drifted over from their direction.
No, it should be said that it drifted from the direction of the stone door.
A strange aura mixed with the smell of blood began to permeate the surroundings, and the mist grew increasingly thick. The surging mist resembled countless twisting, crawling shadows emerging from the eerie murals.
"If these things were driven by workers, it would be much simpler," Jenna sighed. "Ms. Selene, I need your help now."
"Mm?"
"Please focus on the mural. Very soon, you will see and hear some things; that is the information for opening the door. Remember the content you hear and then relay it to us. Don't worry, those pieces of information don't need to be consciously memorized; they will automatically reside in your consciousness for a period of time."
Interesting. According to her, ordinary people could perform this, so the danger shouldn't be too high. Besides, if there were traps, Judy would likely give a hint, not to mention that his neighbor hadn't issued a warning.
It seems feasible.
Nodding with a faint smile, Lynch focused his attention on the mural. This wasn't his usual method of manipulating inspiration, but merely a simple mental focus.
The mist remained thick. Through the churning haze, the mural on the door seemed to change bit by bit, becoming increasingly realistic.
"Roar~~"
A thunderous cheer suddenly rang in his ears. Lynch realized, without knowing when, that he was already standing in a lakeside tribe.
Unlike the low mud huts in the memories of the Ancient Flicker, and unlike the stone structures in Zur-Baha-Sahr, the swaths of small wooden houses by the lake looked exquisite and beautiful.
An uncountable crowd surrounded the lakeside. Several individuals dressed in ornate, jewel-encrusted finery were singing and dancing by the water. Following the song and dance, a massive shadow slowly surfaced from the bottom of the lake. The onlookers immediately knelt, prostrating themselves before the shadow in the lake. Only the few people surrounded in the center continued to sing and dance, their faces full of joy. As the monster moved bit by bit to the lakeshore, several sharp spikes shot out, accurately piercing the chests of the dancers.
"Oh oh oh~~~"
The cheers immediately resounded across the lakeshore, and then everyone chanted the same tune in unison.
"na~ka~ta~ka~la~..."
"na~ka~ta~ka~la~..."
Following the rhythmic chanting, a massive whirlpool appeared in the center of the lake. The few performers walked into the lake with dull expressions, disappearing into the vortex.
"na~ka~ta~ka~la~..."
The chanting grew louder. The monster in the heart of the lake shook its body, which was covered in eyes and spikes, and slowly returned to the depths. However, the moment it was about to submerge, it seemed to discover something. All its eyes turned simultaneously, pointing straight at Lynch's direction, and met Lynch's gaze—he didn't know how many eyes were looking at him.
But just before the gazes locked, Lynch's spirit jolted, and he woke up abruptly. He realized he was still standing before the stone door, and he was unconsciously chanting the tune he had just heard.
"Success," Dr. Jenna said with an expectant smile. "Judy, it’s up to your translation."
"Shh."
Judy calmly withdrew her somewhat pale hand. Frowning and deep in thought, she wrote in her notebook. Soon, a piece of paper with several rows of bizarre characters was placed into Dr. Jenna's hand.
"That’s right, these are it."
A smile emerged. Dr. Jenna pressed her finger onto the right stone door and quickly traced the first symbol. As the symbol was completed, the strange humanoid body in the right mural suddenly lit up.
The doctor kept her hand on the stone door and did not move, staring expectantly at the other side. She waited for a long time—five or six minutes—until the mural on the left stone door also began to glow.
"It’s done, they have started as well," the doctor exhaled, her fingers moving rapidly as she traced all the twisted symbols from the paper onto the stone door. The murals on both sides grew increasingly bright, nearly illuminating the entire gate.
Even a layman like Lynch could see that this was reading information from both sides to open the door simultaneously. It would work if successful, but what if it failed? Would the door lock shut?
"No, it would also open, but it would lead to death. A failed opening triggers an internal attack; it is very dangerous," Dr. Jenna explained. "But this time, we have succeeded."
So that’s how it is. Interesting.
The corners of his mouth behind the round fan curled upward. That meant a normal opening required six people, which was why Howard and the others had specifically recruited six people.
Lynch knew his own presence was an accident, and since he had arrived, Salin had been dead from the start, bringing the count back to six. There are no coincidences in the world of mystery; this was surely someone’s intentional design.
But what was the goal?
Did the person who killed Salin early on know the whole truth, or were they simply trying to sabotage the ritual? If it were the former, that would be fine, but what if it were the latter? Would they just watch the gate open smoothly? If they tampered with the door while opening it, then...
Lynch analyzed the situation rapidly in his mind, while Dr. Jenna had finished all preparations and stood expectantly before the door.
As the brightness increased to its maximum, the two doors, as if pushed by someone, slowly opened inward.
His internal analysis gave Lynch an ominous premonition. Specifically, the scene of people waiting before the door for it to slowly open reminded Lynch of a classic scene he had seen before: as the elevator door opened, countless zombie arms reached out and dragged the character in front of the door inside.
Bad.
His heart tightened. Lynch didn't have time to think; he lunged toward Dr. Jenna in front of the door.
At the same time, the gate slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black gap, and a biting aura of death rushed out at high speed.
Rate on N.U.
