The corridor in the tomb is empty and long, as if it will never end.
The ever-extinguishing swaying fire painted two pairs of opposite stone pillars with deep shadows on the ground, criss-crossing the king's body one by one. Babartan looked at the cold stone statues in silence, Azrael and Catan - the images of girls carved out of the indifferent rocks were the two gods of Andromal.
Gatekeepers of death, in mythology they stand at the entrance to the kingdom of death, waiting for the souls to go to the afterlife. The steps of the door were paved with obsidian, which was bone-chillingly cold.
The stone statue at the back is wearing armor and is the king of Istania in ancient times. They were born in the era of the Giant War, symbolizing the bravery and fearlessness of mortals. The stone statues are holding swords, as if they are still guarding this land. Zhemim, Helihad - the founder of the dynasty, Lebihad, Luqub, the Wise King, Babartan's eyes swept over these stone statues one by one.
The nights in the desert were bone-chillingly cold, and it was even more chilly underground. He always had a feeling every time he came to this place. I felt that the eyes of the ancient kings seemed to be silently watching me from behind. All the kingdoms of Istania believed in Andromal. Perhaps the god who controlled life and death really gave this place a unique power. .
Just like in the legend——
Guardians of Istania.
What does it mean to protect this land?
The King of Sand walked forward and passed the walkway between the stone pillars. On the stone walls with intertwined shadows, there were many words written, recording the achievements of the ancient kings, as well as their vassals, concubines and heirs. Some even just had the same name. , but more 'history'.
In this long corridor, it is just a stroke. Just like a long history, on a silently flowing river, the occasional splash of water gathers together the seven hundred years of Istania - from the beginning to the end. .
But maybe it’s not the end yet.
This royal tomb has been repaired many times over the past three centuries. The most recent expansion was just about half a century ago, when the Penelope family had just become the legal rulers of the land.
His father, the first Sand King of the Penelope family, is buried deep in this tomb, along with several of his brothers, sisters and sisters. Babartan walked until he was between the tombs of his two sisters, Princess Sarika and Princess Mihasa - and there was an unremarkable stone monument standing on the sand.
The stele faces away from the wall, and behind it is a sarcophagus.
There is an unfinished wooden sculpture on the sarcophagus. It has always been in that place, as if no one had ever moved it. Babartan stopped in front of the stone tablet, squatted down, gently swept away the dust on the stone tablet with his hand, and only stared at the name on the stone tablet silently.
After a long time, he stood up, looked at the sarcophagus again, reached out to pick up the wooden sculpture, and touched it gently.
He didn't speak, just like a stone statue.
Maybe after his death, he will really turn into a stone statue and stand in the darkness underground here for thousands of years. It doesn't matter what kind of inscriptions and long poems future generations will give him. His eyes seemed to see through the darkness, and he only remembered the bright stars above the sea of sand. Under the stars, he made a promise to the woman he loved, but in the end he broke his promise——
He spoke in a hoarse voice:
"I swear I will find that person. I swear I will avenge you with my own hands. Under the witness of Andromeda, I just need to wait a little longer..."
The muttering voice loomed in the darkness, as if he was talking to himself, and seemed to be talking to his unseen sweetheart.
"Actually, we already have some clues..."
"...and about that notebook, I actually have always known..."
"As for your daughter, she is very good. I don't want to involve Rupert and the others. I believe you can understand this..."
"Besides... your brother left too early regarding the ship group. It took some time after that, but don't worry, it will be ready soon..."
"...You are absolutely right..."
"The Holy Grail and the Holy Object are all part of it... It's a pity that the obelisk is incomplete..."
"Fortunately, there is another way..."
"Also about the green..."
He sighed softly.
"I did something wrong recently, and I told you last time..."
"But maybe I have asked for too much, and some things may not be destined to belong to mortals..."
"...It's just that I really miss being with you all the time in the past. Since then, I have been suffering from nightmares almost every day..."
After another long silence, Babartan continued:
"I met a young man."
"He is what the lizards consider the Chosen of the Stars."
"Do you still remember that legend? I once heard you tell it..."
"But I don't like the Chosen One too much, because they are not trustworthy..."
"But Aleph seems to trust him very much. He is the child who is deeply loved by you. His mother was not of high birth, but he did learn some valuable qualities from you. Now that he has grown up, I plan to hand over the throne to him. On his hands..."
"Forget it, let this matter take its course. I believe that if you were still alive, you would also support my decision."
He placed his hand on the stone tablet again.
But at this moment, a slight noise suddenly came from the darkness.
The Sand King suddenly changed his color and looked in that direction. "Who is there?" His voice was cold, with almost no emotion.
There was silence in the darkness, but after a while, a pale girl walked out from behind the stone pillar. Afifah looked at her father uneasily, clasping her hands together until her knuckles almost turned red. She bit her lip, her eyes filled with worry and fear.
Babartan looked at his daughter, his cold expression melting away a lot.
But his tone was still calm: "Afifah, why are you here?"
"The guards said you were not here," Afifah whispered, "I guess you are here to see your mother, my father."
"What do you want from me?"
Afifah lowered his head, but was speechless.
Ever since she met Fang Plover, she felt like she was possessed by a demon and couldn't stop thinking about some of the things that had happened recently. She seemed to feel a deep worry in her heart, but she didn't know what she was worried about. She came to this place because her mind was wandering.
The man in front of her is the King of Sand, but he is also her father. She is the princess of Istania, but she is just a girl who is not yet under age.
Babartan put down the wood carving in his hand, walked over, and looked at his little daughter. He reached out his hand, stroked Afifah's braid, and asked: "I don't allow you to participate in the celebration. Do you blame me for this?"
"Father, Afifah dare not do this."
"I just don't dare. It seems that I do think so."
Afifah raised her head and looked at her father with tears in her eyes.
"Okay, don't think so much," Babartan sighed softly: "I won't let you participate in the celebration just because I have some worries. If you insist on going, I won't refuse. As for you Don’t worry too much about my sister, she understands what’s going on, and after a while, everything will be fine.”
He gently stroked the back of his daughter's head. "I have already planned to let Aleph take over the position of the King of Sand. You sisters have always had a good relationship with him, and you have been interacting with him more recently. After this, he may be the one to take care of you——"
"If you think about it carefully, almost twenty years have passed since I ascended the throne. Time flies so fast."
Afifah looked at his father, feeling a sense of fear and uneasiness in his heart, and whispered:
"Father..."
Babartan smiled and rubbed his daughter's hair with his hand.
"Okay, it's cold underground. Go to sleep. It's not good to stay in a place like this for too long."
Afifah just looked at his father with tears in his eyes, looked at the wooden carving on the sarcophagus not far away, and nodded slightly.
…
"Miss Erna!?"
Among the craftsmen's guild of Questac.
Under the bright glass dome of the hall, Fang Plover looked at the giant spirit lady not far away with surprise and joy, and couldn't help blurting out.
When Erna heard someone calling her name from behind, she thought it was the 'old classmates' from the craftsmen's association in the past who recognized her, and was so frightened that she subconsciously hid aside - her past experience of living in the sewers. , but it is famous among craftsmen and has become a well-known joke.
She has rarely returned to Questac over the years, probably for this reason——
But when she turned around, she saw Fang Plover waving to her. The vigilant look in the eyes of the giant spirit lady turned into surprise for a moment, and then into surprise again, "Ed!" She couldn't help but strode over, grabbed Fang Plover's shoulders, and was a little surprised. Asked: "Are you still alive -?"
Ed: "???"
"No, bah bah," Erna blushed and quickly changed her words: "I mean, are you okay?"
The dull temperament of the president of the Tansnil Artisans Association has not changed at all, and Fang Pliance couldn't help but smile knowingly. The first meeting between the two of them was actually not pleasant. He even made the president lady angry and cried. However, after the misunderstanding was resolved, he discovered the advantages of the president lady.
Frank, serious and sincere, the other party taught him a lot of things about magic construction without reservation, and even contributed a lot to the construction of the Seven Seas Traveler.
Everyone in the Seven Seas Brigade has long recognized this sincere president lady - although sometimes she can't turn around, but once she accepts this, she makes people feel cute. Fang Yu had already regarded the president as a close friend. He had left Bein not long ago, and when he came to Questac, he didn't know anyone except the eldest princess.
Coupled with the series of twists and turns and mysterious events since becoming a blind follower, these days are almost giving him a nervous breakdown.
But now that I suddenly saw my friend, I couldn't help but feel a lot brighter.
…
In a cafe not far from the Craftsmen's Association.
Speaking of which, the cafe is also a foreign thing, one of the cultures brought by the Chosen Ones. But the wild coffee in Aitaria, which can almost be regarded as the ancestor of crop coffee on the earth, is simply not enough for use. Now that commercial cultivation is on the rise, there will be no finished product for a while. Therefore, most of these cafes just have a name, and maybe they are originally the property of the chosen ones.
However, the environment here is quite good. In fact, Fang Plover rarely sees places with less beautiful environments in Istania - the people here seem to enjoy life quite a bit.
He was holding a teacup in his hand, and was answering Ms. Erna's questions of concern, shaking his head for a while, and nodding again for a while.
Soon, Fang Plover put down the cup in his hand and asked, "Why is Ms. Erna here?"
"Come back and report on your work." At this point, Erna glanced around cautiously, as if she was afraid that someone would recognize her. "Communications have been interrupted for more than half a month. Tansnier cannot contact the Craftsmen's Association. Now that the storm has subsided, I have to come back and report on my work. In fact, I had already set off from Tansnier half a week ago. It’s just a land route.”
Mentioning the sandstorm, Fang Plover couldn't help but ask: "...It seems that the communication interruption has been long enough. Is it always like this in Istania?"
This communication has been interrupted for almost a month, and it has continued until now. He is quite speechless - no wonder Istania is a border area, who can bear this?
Unexpectedly, Erna was stunned after hearing his question.
"Istania?" The president shook her head like a rattle. "Wrong, wrong, Ed, you are wrong. This communication interruption is not limited to Istania."
"There's more than just Istania?" Fang Plover was shocked. "Wait a minute, didn't you say it was caused by this sandstorm?"
Did the sandstorm also sweep across other areas?
"Who told you?" Erna said in a confused tone: "Generally, that's the case, but not this time. This communication interruption started from the north of Kaolin, and places like Baicheng are now paralyzed. The guild still has the last communication from a month ago, which mentioned this incident.”
"Of course, the big sandstorm here in Istania also had an impact to a greater or lesser extent. The combination of the two factors resulted in the current situation. However, the sandstorm itself is only the result, not the cause. I heard, It’s caused by certain changes in the etheric sea.”
"By the way," she reacted: "These things are discovered by the Star and Moon Council, and you outsiders may not know it yet."
Fang Yu was stunned when he heard this.
Does this mean that the entire Kaolin-Ithulian communication has stopped at this moment?
He couldn't help but subconsciously think of the Stargate incident not long ago, which caused many passengers to be stranded. Tang Xin and her aunt's family, as well as Ai Xiaoxiao and her parents, were also stranded in Etalia because of this. The Sea of Ether is another name for the Ether Realm. What changes will happen to the Ether Realm? It seems like nothing like this has been heard of in a thousand years.
He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed for a moment, subconsciously thinking that there was something wrong with the Star Gate, right?
But when he wanted to contact Su Changfeng to ask, he took out the communication crystal and remembered that the communication had been interrupted.
But Elna obviously didn't know such rich activities in his heart.
"By the way," the president lady looked at Fang Plover and asked curiously: "At that time, I just heard from the eldest princess that you disappeared in the sandstorm. What happened after that?"
Fang Yu was startled for a moment before he reacted. It seems that Her Royal Highness the Princess did not tell the president the truth, but it is understandable after thinking about it.
And he didn't intend to expose it, he just said: "Fortunately, nothing serious happened."
"Thank you, Anji. That's so lucky," Erna sighed. She looked at Fang Pliance and said, "Fortunately, you're okay. When you come back this time, I actually plan to entrust the Artisan General to help search for your whereabouts. The Artisan General The association has branches all over the country. I originally wanted to have more manpower. Maybe there will always be news. Everyone is very worried about your affairs——"
After hearing this, Fang Yu couldn't help but feel a little moved in his heart.
He could still hear the true feelings of this lady president. It seems that since he came to this place, he has received help from many people. This sincerity even diluted the evil of human nature he felt from the wanderer not long ago.
Maybe the world itself is just like that, both good and bad. But all in all, there are more good people.
Perhaps that's why it's worth guarding.
Ms. Erna looked at him with some concern: "Speaking of which, what did Ed come to the Artisans General Association for?"
Fang Yu actually came here to find someone from Her Highness the Princess.
During the previous celebration, Her Royal Highness the Princess told him that Sylvide and others were in Questac City at the moment, but Achilles was in charge of the arrangements, so Her Royal Highness the Princess actually did not know the specific address of the Seven Seas Brigade.
He came to this place today to get the addresses of everyone in the Seven Seas Brigade from the Princess's people in the Craftsmen's Association.
But he didn't expect to meet an acquaintance.
After listening to his narration, Elna put down the cup and said with some surprise: "So Ed hasn't seen Sylvide and the others yet. I do know where they are. How about I take you there?"
Fang Yu was slightly startled: "Ms. Elna knows?"
"Of course," Elna replied: "Your ship officer lady, the messenger who contacted Tansnier, is from the Craftsmen's Association, and she works under me. I have always maintained correspondence with them, although It’s only been a month, but it’s been two or three times. Of course I know where they live.”
"Isn't Ms. Erna coming back to report on her duties?"
"You can report your work anytime," Erna blushed again. She had recognized Fang Plover at the Craftsmen's Association, and many people had noticed. All in all, today doesn't seem like a good time to go back, so I'll put this matter aside for later.
Overall, she would rather not report back and be punished for it than be recognized in public.
When she thought about her original embarrassment, if Fang Pliance and the others found out, she might as well find a crack in the ground and crawl under it.
The djinn woman thought about it.
But little did he know that she had been packaged and betrayed by Achilles long ago.
…
Miaoshuwu
