Chapter 47: The Strange Statue

Chapter Forty-Seven
The Strange Statue

Historians across the nations of the Northern Continent all agreed that the Fourth Epoch was shrouded in a thick fog, making its true appearance impossible to see clearly.

Records from that period were riddled with gaps and ambiguities in almost every respect. Unearthed tombs, ancient cities, and documents were few and far between, too scarce to form any truly effective corroboration.

Yet that did not mean no one studied the era. Few and far between still meant that some ruins and materials did exist.

The original Klein had been a fervent enthusiast of Fourth Epoch history. He had read a great many papers and books, and the current Klein still remembered quite a bit of their contents:

Whether it was the Solomon Empire, the Tudor Dynasty, or the Trunsoest Empire, their architectural styles had been closely related. Their defining traits were violations of common sense, disorderly asymmetry, and a fondness for black.

The most representative features were candlesticks that hung downward from ceilings and slash-like branded patterns across black walls.

It was precisely because of that that when Klein raised the hurricane lamp and saw metal rods extending down from the dome overhead, with candlesticks set at their bottoms, his first reaction was that this underground structure belonged to the Fourth Epoch—belonged to that ancient time hidden beneath heavy fog, the object of countless historians’ and archaeologists’ regret.

“Several papers mentioned that in different buildings, the number of candlesticks inside varied. Although those three great empires admired an asymmetrical beauty, they seemed to have strict and meticulous rules in every aspect… Three on the left and two on the right was the highest standard ordinary civilians could enjoy. That was judged from architectural layouts and the remains of houses…”

Klein raised his arm and held the hurricane lamp higher. As he slowly moved forward, he counted the candlesticks on both sides.

The hall was wider than he had expected. He walked for at least a hundred meters before he finally saw a platform half a meter above the ground in front of him, and the heavy wall marking the end of the space.

“Forty-one upside-down candlesticks on the left, forty on the right… This—this is a bit exaggerated. What class did this place belong to? A great noble? Hiss, the Antigonus family and the Zaratul family were both Fourth Epoch nobles… and both were powerful and terrifying Beyonder families. The other great nobles should not have been weak either…”

Carrying the hurricane lamp, Klein continued forward and saw the steps at the side of the half-height platform. On the black stone bricks that covered its surface were marks like cuts from knives and axes.

Is this truly a Fourth Epoch ruin?

As thoughts flickered through Klein’s mind, with the aid of his keen vision and the lamp’s light, he discovered that atop the half-meter-high platform stood two iron-black seats—huge seats, ancient seats, seats looking down upon the space below.

Two of them in total!

Two? Why are there two? According to the layout, the chair here should belong to the person with the highest status and greatest power in this place, but there are actually two? Coequal great nobles? Twin earls? Twin dukes? Twin princes?

Klein slowly felt that his historical knowledge was beginning to prove insufficient.

He clearly remembered that many papers had mentioned that within the Solomon, Tudor, and Trunsoest Empires, hierarchy had been strict and distinct, the classes sharply divided and not to be overstepped. Based on that theory, within a single faction there should not have been coequal leaders.

“Strange…”

Klein muttered, as though speaking for Miss Bodyguard’s benefit.

“What is strange?”

An illusory, drifting voice suddenly sounded from behind him. Within the dark, broad, empty, and silent ancient hall, it was especially hair-raising.

The corner of Klein’s mouth twitched. He truthfully told her the structural features he had observed, the corresponding historical knowledge, and the parts that confused him. At the end, he added, “The ventilation here is very good. I do not know whether there are other entrances.”

Miss Bodyguard, half merged with the darkness, quietly listened without a sound. Then she looked deeply at Klein and said, “Why do you know so much?”

Because I was a university student of history…

Klein lampooned inwardly. With a smile, he said, “If I had not chosen to become a detective, perhaps I would have become a conscientious young historian.”

Miss Bodyguard gave no response and did not disappear again. She floated first onto the half-height platform.

Klein carried the hurricane lamp and followed closely behind. He discovered that the platform was extremely large—nearly forty meters across and around ten meters deep.

“A grand, colossal scale is also one of the traits of Fourth Epoch architecture,” he said casually, then cautiously arrived before the two huge iron-black seats and lifted the hurricane lamp to examine them carefully.

“They seem meant for giants three or four meters tall… There are emblem-like patterns on the chair backs. This side is a black crown… and this side is a hand gripping a scepter… I wonder what they symbolize…”

Klein spoke as if to himself, not expecting Miss Bodyguard to answer.

Yet the lady floating with both feet off the ground suddenly opened her mouth.

“That is the Tudor family’s emblem.”

“Ah?”

Klein looked over in astonishment and discovered that Miss Bodyguard was pointing to the hand gripping the scepter.

The Tudor family? This is a ruin from the Fourth Epoch Tudor Dynasty? A palace of some member of the imperial family?

Klein frowned slightly.

“Do you recognize the other emblem?”

To think it could be placed on equal footing with a member of the Tudor family!

Miss Bodyguard shook her head without speaking.

Seeing that, Klein could only temporarily abandon the thought of studying it further and said instead, “After the Tudor and Trunsoest families respectively founded empires, they both preserved that original style derived from the Solomon Empire—upside-down candlesticks, slash-like brands, and so on. This does not conform to normal understanding. If I were the emperor, even if many things had to be inherited from those before me, I would still make certain changes to mark my own uniqueness.

“Does this mean that the three great empires had some hidden, unchanging connection?”

He suspected that the Solomon, Tudor, and Trunsoest families had all controlled the Black Emperor pathway—that is, the Lawyer pathway—and that the similar style was required for acting!

Miss Bodyguard fell silent for several seconds, then uttered a few words:

“Only an emperor can be called emperor.”

Is that confirming my idea?

Klein asked no further questions. Carrying the hurricane lamp, he circled the two huge iron-black seats but found nothing else.

“Let us look further ahead,” Klein suggested.

Before his voice had even fallen, Miss Bodyguard had already drifted toward the end of the half-height platform. The surrounding chill and coldness remained unchanged.

After walking several more meters forward, Klein used the hurricane lamp’s light to see seven tall, heavy black stone doors on the wall at the bottom of the hall. They were arranged in sequence: two on the left, one in the middle, and four on the right, perfectly matching the Fourth Epoch pursuit of asymmetry.

Klein moved his cane into the same hand holding the lamp, casually tossed a coin, and quietly recited, “We should begin from the left.”

Cling!

The copper penny tumbled down and landed in his palm, portrait side up.

“We go left,” Klein said, taking the lead.

Miss Bodyguard followed silently. Only when they drew near the door on the far left did she say in that drifting voice, “It would be the same from the right.”

In other words, the divination did not matter…

Klein curled the corner of his mouth and raised the hurricane lamp, examining the symbols and patterns on the door:

Deep black formed the background, embellished by brilliance, surrounding a crimson circle half concealed from view.

This…

Klein’s pupils abruptly contracted.

That was the Sacred Emblem of Darkness!

That was the symbol of the Evernight Goddess!

During the Fourth Epoch, did the Church of the Goddess support the Tudor Dynasty?

Thoughtful, he pressed his hand against the stone door.

Creak!

Amid a rough, heavy grinding sound, the black stone door slowly opened inward.

The hurricane lamp’s light entered. The scene inside was outlined bit by bit in Klein’s eyes.

First came an empty stretch several meters long and wide, likewise paved with deep-black stone slabs, followed by a platform nearly one meter high.

Cautiously, Klein walked forward and raised the lamp so that it illuminated what stood atop the platform.

A few seconds later, fire-colored radiance outlined a huge statue. It was four or five meters long, almost filling the entire end of the room.

It was a lady whose face was indistinct yet extraordinarily beautiful. Her right hand supported her head as she reclined upon the platform. She wore a black classical dress with layered but not overly elaborate folds, and beneath her head was a circle surrounded by radiating lines.

Across the lady’s dress, points of light shimmered. They were fragments of clear, brilliant gemstones.

At a glance, Klein felt as though he had seen the night sky, seen the stars.

Within that setting, the circle beneath the lady’s head resembled a full moon.

This…

Klein’s thoughts seemed to freeze solid, yet within them, a guess was battering wildly, about to burst out.

“The Evernight Goddess?” Miss Bodyguard’s tone carried a rare trace of doubt.

Whether from symbolic meaning or actual presentation, this seemed to be a statue of the Goddess!

Klein’s guess finally took shape, echoing loudly in his mind.

He remembered once asking Captain Dunn Smith about one of the differences between evil gods and orthodox gods. The answer had been that the former possessed images similar to intelligent living beings, while the latter had only sacred emblems composed of symbols.

Yet today, at this very moment, inside this ancient, eerie underground structure, he saw a statue suspected to be the Evernight Goddess—an entirely human statue!

Just thinking of what that represented made Klein shiver.

Could the Goddess have once been an evil god?

No… Perhaps it is some other evil god of the Evernight domain… But the Sacred Emblem of Darkness on the door is no different from the current one…

Or perhaps possessing the form of an intelligent creature is not actually a standard for dividing orthodox gods from evil gods? Captain’s level was not high enough, and what he knew was not accurate enough.

Another possibility is that the Tudor family deliberately blasphemed the Goddess!

Mm, it could also be that they used this to arrange some strange ritual!

Thought after thought leapt through Klein’s mind, leaving him puzzled, uneasy, and tense. At the same time, he felt an indescribable strangeness lingering over the place.

“Let us go see what is behind the other doors.”

After looking around and finding nothing else, Klein inhaled and spoke on his own initiative.

I wonder what the remaining six doors correspond to, and whether they are equally bizarre and eerie…

He thought somewhat gravely.

Miss Bodyguard slowly nodded.