Plotting in the Shadows

This was an area of rooms constructed of black stone, arranged densely like a grid.

The rooms were not empty; they were filled with funerary objects. Stone-carved chariots and stone-carved figures of humans and beasts were eerily arranged inside, having stood there for who knew how many thousands of years.

Ancient murals were carved onto the walls. The alternating black and red colors closely resembled dried, coagulated blood, appearing exceptionally eerie in the swirling mist.

The murals depicted a group of humanoid creatures bowing down and worshiping a bizarre figure.

It was an oval-shaped form with countless spikes protruding from its surface, with innumerable eyes of various sizes scattered between the spikes. The overall image was highly abstract; if Lynch had not seen Glaaki in the lake, he would have found it difficult to understand what the drawing represented.

Some were kneeling in worship, some were offering sacrifices, and others were impaled by spikes. Bizarre murals covered the walls of the room, making the atmosphere inside the tomb increasingly grim.

Because the cost was too high—no, to avoid exposing his identity, Lynch did not take out his Torch of Light. Instead, he held a lantern, weaving through the dense stone statues. The flickering shadows made the statues seem to come alive, looming in and out of view around the three ladies. Every time he turned his head, he would catch a glimpse of a dark shadow or a stone statue flashing past behind him. Each experience made Lynch's blood vessels contract, feeling more thrilling than any horror movie.

“This is the entrance and exit connecting the tomb to the outside world, equivalent to the castle gate. These stone carvings are the warriors guarding the castle. 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 loomed before them.

The stone door was flat and heavy, smooth as a mirror, and stood at least six or seven meters high, spanning the entire corridor from top to bottom. Its massive form loomed over them, visually appearing as if a great mountain were about to crush them, giving Lynch a lingering sense of insignificance as he stood beneath it.

The stone door was also covered in murals. In the drawings, a crowd of people knelt on the ground, bowing in worship to two giant humanoid figures. These two bizarre humanoids took up almost the entire stone door. Their bodies were obese and bloated, with thick limbs but no heads. On their open hands, two large mouths full of teeth were located in the center of their palms.

The two humanoid figures stood on the left and right sides of the door, protecting the entrance like two guards.

“The Gate of Sighs. Behind it lies the inner tomb.”

Dr. Jenna stood before the door, with the two giant humanoid murals on her left and right looking down at her, their flailing limbs looking as if they wanted to reach out and drag her inside. However, the doctor did not mind at all. She casually tapped the stone door with her hiking staff.

“If my guess is correct, there should be another door on the opposite side. If both sides are opened simultaneously, we can enter safely. But if only one side is opened, hehe...”

Lynch frowned. “This is a tomb, which is usually meant to prevent people from opening it. Why would they set up a method to open it? It's almost as if they were worried people from the outside wouldn't be able to get in.”

Dr. Jenna gave him an odd look, which made Lynch's heart sink. Oops, did I just blow my cover? I shouldn't have run my mouth. I just asked without thinking.

Fortunately, the doctor did not overthink it and explained patiently:

“The Arke Dynasty flourished in the Third Age and worshiped Glaaki. In their mythology, after death, people would undergo Glaaki's judgment. Once they passed, they would regain new life. Of course, in reality, they were merely converted into servants of Glaaki, and this conversion could only happen while they were still alive—it was impossible to resurrect the dead. But the people of Arke at the time firmly believed in this legend. For this reason, they built massive tombs for their rulers, hoping the king would pass the judgment, open the tomb, and return once more.”

“Then how do we open it?”

Ask and you shall receive—no, even after asking, he still didn't know. The method to open each door was different, and no one could know beforehand until they saw the physical object.

“Judy, wake up. Prepare to work.”

The doctor paced before the door a few times, then showed a look of realization. Under her call, the dazed Judy's eyes suddenly focused, and she shook her head while pressing her temples.

No wonder Jack had said earlier that this girl could remain normal when doing serious work. At this moment, she merely looked around and understood everything. She looked up at the bizarre humanoid figures on the mural and frowned.

“Why is even this kind of thing here?”

“Since Glaaki has already appeared, it's not strange for this thing to appear alongside it.”

Judy cast a suspicious glance at the doctor. “I get the feeling your reaction makes it seem like you know something.”

Dr. Jenna merely gave a noncommittal smile. “Prepare to open the door. Any problems?”

“No.”

Judy did not delve deeper either. She deliberately avoided any interaction with Lynch and raised her hand, pressing it against a hand raised in worship on the left door's mural.

Lynch was startled. Can you really just touch this bizarre stuff directly with your bare hands? However, looking at Dr. Jenna's reaction, it seemed to be standard procedure, as she also pressed her hand against the right door.

As both ladies placed their hands on the stone door, a faint scent of blood drifted over from their direction.

No, to be precise, it drifted from the direction of the stone door.

A bizarre aura, mixed with the scent of blood, began to spread. The mist grew even denser, and the churning fog seemed like countless twisting, writhing shadows rising from the bizarre murals.

“This would have been much simpler if we had forced the workers to do it,” Jenna sighed. “Ms. Selene, I need your help next.”

“Hmm?”

“Please focus and stare at the mural. Soon, you will see and hear some things, which will be the information to open the door. Remember what you hear, and then relay it to us. Don't worry, you don't need to consciously memorize that information; it will automatically linger in your consciousness for a while.”

Nodding with a half-smile, Lynch focused his attention on the mural. This was not his usual method of controlling his mystery intuition, but simply concentrated mental focus.

The mist was still thick. Through the churning fog, the murals on the door seemed to change bit by bit, becoming more and more real.

“Roar—”

A earth-shaking cheer suddenly rang in his ears. Lynch realized that at some point, he had found himself in a lakeside tribe.

Unlike the low mud huts in the memories of the Ancient Flicker, or the stone structures in Zur-Baha-Sahr, the clusters of small wooden cabins by the lakeside looked exquisite and beautiful.

Countless crowds gathered around the lake. Several people dressed in grand attire and covered in jewels were singing and dancing by the shore. Along with their singing and dancing, a massive shadow gradually rose to the water's surface from the bottom of the lake. The onlookers immediately fell to their knees, bowing in worship to the shadow in the lake. Only the few people surrounded in the center continued to sing and dance, their faces filled with joy. They watched as the monster slowly moved toward the lakeside, and then several spikes shot out, accurately impaling the chests of those in grand attire.

“Ohhh—”

Cheers immediately echoed across the lakeside, and then everyone chanted the same tune in unison.

“na~ka~ta~ka~la~...”

“na~ka~ta~ka~la~...”

Along with the orderly chanting, a massive whirlpool appeared in the center of the lake. The few people in grand attire immediately walked into the lake with dazed expressions, submerging into the whirlpool.

“na~ka~ta~ka~la~...”

The chanting grew even louder. The monster in the center of the lake shook its body, which was covered in eyes and spikes, and slowly returned to the center of the lake. However, just as it was about to sink to the bottom, as if discovering something, all of its eyes turned simultaneously, pointing in Lynch's direction, and locked eyes with him.

But just before their gazes met, Lynch's mind jolted, and he suddenly snapped out of it. He realized he was still standing before the stone door, unconsciously chanting the tune he had just heard.

“It succeeded.” Dr. Jenna revealed an expectant smile. “Judy, it's up to your translation now.”

“Shh.”

Judy calmly withdrew her slightly pale hand. While frowning in deep thought, she wrote in her notebook. Soon, a piece of paper with several rows of bizarre characters written on it was stuffed into Dr. Jenna's hand.

“Yes, this is it.”

A smile emerged, and Dr. Jenna pressed her finger against the right stone door, quickly tracing the first symbol. Upon completion of the symbol, the body of the strange humanoid figure in the right mural suddenly lit up.

The doctor pressed against the stone door and did not move again, merely staring expectantly at the other side. She stared for a long time, and it was not until five or six minutes later that the mural on the left stone door also began to glow.

“It worked. They've started too.” The doctor let out a long breath, her fingers moving rapidly to trace all the distorted symbols from the paper onto the stone door. The murals on both sides grew brighter and brighter, almost illuminating the entire door.

Even a layman like Lynch could tell that this was about reading information from both sides and then opening the door simultaneously. Success meant opening the gate, but what if they failed? Would the door lock shut?

“No, it will still open, but it will lead to death. A failed opening will trigger an attack from the inside, which is very dangerous,” Dr. Jenna explained. “But this time, we succeeded.”

The corners of his mouth curved up behind the round fan. In other words, opening the door normally required six people, which was why Howard and the others had specifically recruited six people.

Lynch knew his appearance was an accident. And just after he appeared, Salin died right at the start, restoring the count to six. There were no coincidences in the world of the occult; this was definitely done intentionally by someone.

But what was the purpose?

Did the person who killed Salin first know the full truth, or did they simply want to sabotage the ritual? If it was the former, that was fine. But if it was the latter, would they just watch the door open smoothly? What if they tampered with something when opening the door? Then...

Lynch analyzed rapidly in his mind, while Dr. Jenna had already prepared everything and was standing before the door with high anticipation.

As the brightness reached its peak, the two doors slowly opened inward, as if being pushed.

His internal analysis gave Lynch a bad premonition. In particular, the scene of waiting in front of the slowly opening door instantly reminded Lynch of a classic scene he had watched in his past life: as the elevator doors opened, countless zombie arms reached out and dragged the character in front of the door inside.

His heart tightening, Lynch did not have time to think. He lunged toward Dr. Jenna, who was standing in front of the door.

At the same time, the doors slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black gap, from which a biting aura of death rushed out at extreme speed.