While marveling at the magical ingenuity of the Mars people, Winnie couldn't help but admire Isatia's intelligence and insight, undoubtedly among the top-tier chosen heroines. To grasp the meaning of scattered magical murals with just a glance, and even reconstruct their correct sequence, her skill rivaled that of Aesphyra.
Thankfully, the chosen heroine accompanied him into this buried sanctuary was Isatia. Just imagine if someone else had come instead, say, a certain airheaded and adorable moon-elf princess. Wouldn't they have exploded by now?
Forget about guiding the way and explaining things step-by-step. Winnie suspects he'd have to carry the entire intellectual burden himself. Even if he discovered something, he'd only end up muttering alone, while the white-haired little elf beside him stared blankly, completely unable to follow his train of thought. Then, noting his frustration, she'd frantically nod as if she understood, when in reality, she understood nothing at all.
The image was vivid, and Winnie could already imagine how utterly helpless that situation would be.
Well, unless it was Julliana, who'd gone too far and was dead-set on catching him and plucking every feather from his body, she might've been somewhat reliable.
But... was this sequence really correct??
Winnie eyed the row of arranged magic runes with doubt. The instant he did, the sequence instantly imprinted itself into the mural.
Then, under the two's watchful eyes, the gray star emitted a deep, profound luster. Inside the tiny stellar grains appeared a vast celestial network map, large enough to encompass both of them.
Did it... work??
Winnie stared in utter astonishment at what was happening before him.
The sequence Isatia gave him... was actually correct??
“How did you guess the correct magic password??” Winnie asked, too stunned to hold back.
“Observation,” Isatia replied, as concise as ever, leaving Winnie momentarily dazed.
“These characters frequently appear across many murals and Stone-Celestial Tablets of Mars temples. Combined with context and partial knowledge of Mars runes, deducing their meaning isn't difficult.”
“As for the arrangement…” Isatia paused. “I've already begun to suspect what this place truly is.”
So she pieced it together just like that??
Alright, genius minds were simply beyond his comprehension.
Winnie hesitated. The formation of the celestial star map had caused no disturbance, no one seemed to have noticed. Glancing at the flowing, water-like stars floating before him, he pondered briefly, then reached out and touched one.
Instantly, the dim star swallowed both of them. When they opened their eyes again, they stood within a magnificent golden hall. On either side stood abstract-style golden armored guard statues in full Mars aesthetic. In the center, a red carpet edged with golden threads stretched straight toward a pure-gold throne inlaid with gems.
“Where is this??” Winnie asked in surprise, looking around at the Mars-style golden candles.
Isatia was scanning the surroundings too. She turned toward the documents placed on both sides of the throne and spoke. “Winnie, look at those papers beside the throne.”
“Right.” Winnie felt like the girl clinging to his back had practically become his external brain. He ascended the steps and picked up the parchment documents on both sides of the throne, but the Mars script was completely incomprehensible to him. The characters looked like ants crawling up a tree, bizarre and unsettling. Just looking at them gave him a sensation akin to being devoured by a thousand ants.
He couldn't read a single word, completely blind. There was no use staring at them themselves. He had to let Isatia see them. So he gently placed her onto the throne and began showing her each parchment one after another.
Isatia's reading speed was astonishing. With just a few glances at a lengthy scroll, she'd say, “Next,” and Winnie would quickly move on.
Seeing this, Winnie sped up too.
There were many stacked parchments. Winnie had no idea what they recorded, but as more documents were read, Isatia's expression grew increasingly grave.
Winnie grew even more curious about what was written on these scrolls.
“By the way, haven't we been inside this buried sanctuary for about three days now??” Winnie suddenly asked.
“Nobody expected Mars' buried sanctuary to be composed of divine authority fragments. Therefore Time is irrelevant here,” Isatia replied.
“Isatia, could we have taken a wrong turn? We should've checked behind the throne earlier, that place would've allowed you to quickly gain a deeper understanding of Mars civilization.”
“No, Winnie. Quite the opposite, we haven't come to the wrong place,” Isatia said, glancing at him. “You chose correctly. We're exactly where we need to be.”
“Most of these parchments are internal administrative reports from the Mars civilization. They allow us to infer the structure of their governance system. In addition...” Isatia paused.
“In addition?” Winnie asked, puzzled.
“There are also documents regarding the gods [Continuance] and [Eternity], as well as...”
“And what??” Winnie suddenly sensed a shift in Isatia's tone.
“...Information about the internal war within Mars' faith, and the shattering of divine authority,” Isatia said slowly.
“Inside information??” Come to think of it, this place was so well hidden. Without Aesphyra' high-level magical manifestation potion and the technological superiority of alchemical disparity, they wouldn't have been able to enter at all.
If even they had such difficulty, others from that era would've stood no chance. Even if someone discovered the secret, they wouldn't have been able to open the door or enter. And anyone who did uncover it would likely have been executed.
“What kind of inside information?” The parchments were nearly all read.
But before Isatia could answer Winnie's question, a massive, sharp projectile of stone energy came hurtling towards them.
“Winnie, behind you!” Isatia reacted first, but immobilized, she could only shout a warning, and by then, it was already late.
Still, Winnie, though a moment slower, had already sensed danger through accumulated combat experience and battle-honed instinct. Before Isatia even spoke, he grabbed her and rolled sideways.
“Boom!!” The boulder smashed into the spot they'd just occupied, knocking the throne askew.
Winnie glanced back at the throne with lingering unease, then turned his eyes toward the path they had taken and the imposing, broad-shouldered figure standing there.
“Oh? Inside information? What is the inside information? Do tell, I'm quite curious too.” The massive, broad-shouldered figure swaggered into the entrance. Behind a golden lion mask, a pair of eyes peered out with the haughty, mocking gaze of one looking down on ants.
“Damn it, were we discovered?” Winnie's expression instantly turned grim.
He stood up, helped Isatia to her feet, and guided her to the side before facing the golden lion-masked giant now standing at the foot of the steps.
The man wore dazzling, luxurious golden armor, his dark, thick arms and legs exposed, veins bulging beneath taut skin with explosive, terrifying muscles.
Winnie remembered him. When they first entered the Mars palace, the one sitting on the throne was this very man.
Back then, Winnie thought he'd imagined the man locking eyes with him, as if seeing him. But it wasn't an illusion after all.
Indeed, even an ancient ruler of a great civilization was not someone to be trifled with.
“You're the king of Mars??” Winnie asked.
The towering lion-masked man remained silent, then let out a deep, rumbling laugh. Winnie could almost picture the sneering, arrogant face hidden beneath that mask.
“How unexpected. In this sacred land of [Eternity] and [Continuance], two variables have emerged, beings who don't belong here, and aren't even of my kind.”
“Foreigners, where do you come from? How did you get here? Speak the truth!” The golden lion-masked man raised his head, demanding answers in the tone of a supreme ruler. His eyes, visible through the mask, radiated overwhelming pressure.
“Big lug, don't play high and mighty with us. Where we come from isn't your business, even if we told you, you wouldn't understand,” Winnie retorted, brow furrowing.
“Oh? You enter someone else's domain and speak in this tone? It seems I'll have to teach you some manners,” the lion-masked man said, tilting his head.
“Manners? From you? Hah! You've got some nerve talking to me like that. Are you made of wood??” Winnie shot back with verbal aggression, but at the same time, sensed something was off.
Hmm??
Something wasn't right.
Wait. This place should be a divine-authority-created alternate dimension. The beings here shouldn't know they're in a dungeon, nor that they're already dead. They should still believe they're alive, in the Mars slave-empire era.
Yet this man's words suggested he was an observer, fully aware, unlike the deluded undead around him.
“Winnie, he is Cantarius Florin, an ancient Mars king resurrected during the faith civil war when divine authority was torn apart,” Isatia suddenly said beside him.
“After resurrection, he quickly reasserted control over this so-called eternal Mars, reviving his armies and slaves buried with him,” Isatia explained.
"Oh? So you know everything, do you?" Cantarius regarded Isatia with amusement. “Black-haired, pale-skinned foreign woman, you can read Mars script. I find you very interesting.”
“So the civil war within Mars' faith... you, the dead king crawling out of your grave, were the biggest winner all along?” Winnie glared at Cantarius. "So what's your point? Dead is dead. You know you're living in an illusion, yet you're still enjoying yourself?"
“Do you know why I began constructing vast tombs in my lifetime, practicing live sacrifices, bringing my entire army and slaves beneath the earth with me?” Cantarius spread his arms wide. “Wasn't it exactly for this moment?”
“In life, I achieved such magnificent feats. Yet even someone as powerful as me, as great as me, couldn't escape death. How unfair is that??”
“Can you understand? Even I, standing above ten thousand men, ultimately couldn't escape death. Can you grasp the bitterness of such helplessness??”
“I, as King of Mars, Supreme King above all kings, rule over life, I must rule the world beyond death as well!”
“When my eyes closed, I didn't know how long I slept. Fortunately, fate admired my eternal achievements and granted me the chance to awaken once more, achieving the eternal, everlasting world I prayed for in life.”
“Here, I continue as King of Mars, Supreme King above all kings. And my slaves, they serve me just as they did in life, loyal to their king.”
“You despicable bastard, can't even let the dead rest in peace, dragging them back to suffer again? Your character is truly rotten to the core,” Winnie spat.
“And another thing, achievements? You mean those temples and monuments drenched in slave blood??”
"Slaves are slaves. Kings are kings. It's only natural," Cantarius said, eyeing them both.
“Winnie, give me the crown gemstone held by the eagle's claw inside my pendant,” Isatia whispered.
“Huh? Okay.” Winnie didn't know why she suddenly asked for it, or what the gemstone was for, but he complied. After Isatia opened the pendant, he handed her the eagle-claw crown gem.
“Foreign woman, I find you most intriguing,” Cantarius observed her actions but made no move to stop her, perhaps in his eyes, nothing these two could change the fate awaiting them.
“Judging by your clothing and features, I don't know which foreign tribe you belong to. But the outcome is the same. It's been a long time since beings like you came here. Call you variables if you like, but more accurately, call you entertainment.”
“Foreign woman, I take great interest in you. I shall keep you alive, to bring me further amusement. As for your servant...” Cantarius sneezed, turning toward Winnie. “It's been ages since I've personally applied torture to foreigners.”
“Don’t think you’re untouchable just because you look like a hulking mass of muscle,” Winnie said. He removed the pendant from his ear, which transformed into Frost Fang. Twirling the spear in his hand, he unleashed a flurry of icy snow.
“Want to test who outlives whom? Fine by me, you outdated old mutt. Your ancient, obsolete magic won't touch me. Let me show you the power of 'new technology'.”