The historians of the countries in the Northern Continent all agree that the Quaternary Period is shrouded in a thick fog, making it difficult to see its true appearance.

There are too many omissions and ambiguities in the records of various aspects of this period of history, and there are too few unearthed tombs, ancient cities and documents to form effective evidence.

But this does not mean that no one has done relevant research. What it means is that there are still some relics and data after all.

Klein was originally an avid fan of the history of the Fourth Epoch. He had read many papers and books, and he still remembered a lot of the content:

Whether it is the Solomon Empire, the Tudor Dynasty, or the Trunsoest Empire, they all have similar architectural styles, which are characterized by violating common sense, being messy and asymmetrical, and loving the color black.

Among them, the most representative are the candlesticks hanging from the ceiling and the hacked-like patterns on the black walls.

Because of this, when Klein raised the lantern and saw the metal rods extending from the dome and the candlesticks embedded at their bases, his first reaction was that this underground building belonged to the Quaternary Period, an ancient time shrouded in thick fog that caused many historians and archaeologists to feel regretful.

"Several papers have mentioned that the number of candlesticks inside different buildings is different. Although the three empires advocate asymmetrical beauty, they seem to have strict and detailed regulations in all aspects... 3 on the left and 2 on the right is the highest standard that ordinary people can enjoy. This is judged from the architectural layout and the remains of the house..." Klein raised his arm and held the lantern high. He walked slowly forward while counting the candlesticks on both sides.

The hall was wider than he had expected. He walked at least a hundred meters before he saw the platform in front of him that was half a meter above the ground, and then he saw the thick wall that marked the end.

"There are 41 inverted candlesticks on the left and 40 on the right. This is a bit exaggerated. What class do these belong to? The nobles? Hiss, the Antigonus family and the Zaratul family are both nobles of the Fourth Epoch... They are also powerful and terrifying Beyonder families. The other nobles should not be bad either..." Klein held up the lantern and continued forward. He saw the stairs on the side of the half-height platform and the marks of knife-cutting and axe-hacked marks on the black stone bricks on its surface.

Is it really a relic from the Fourth Epoch? As Klein thought to himself, he relied on his sharp eyesight and the light of the lantern to discover that there were two iron-black chairs placed on the platform half a meter above the ground. They were huge and ancient, overlooking the chairs below.

Two in total!

Two? Why are there two? According to the layout, the seat here should belong to the person with the highest position and the most power, but there are two? Great nobles standing side by side? Two earls, two dukes, two princes? Klein slowly felt that his knowledge of history was no longer enough.

He clearly remembered that many papers mentioned that the three major empires of Solomon, Tudor and Trunsoest had strict hierarchical divisions, with clear and insurmountable classes. Based on this theory, there should not be parallel leaders within a force.

“Strange…” Klein muttered to the bodyguard.

"What's so strange?" A vague and ethereal voice suddenly sounded behind him, which seemed particularly creepy in the dark, vast, empty and silent ancient hall.

Klein curled his lips and told the other party the features of the structure he had observed, the corresponding historical knowledge, and the doubts he had. He added at the end:

"The ventilation here is very good. I wonder if there are other entrances."

The bodyguard who had half merged into the darkness listened quietly and silently. She looked at Klein deeply and said:

"Why do you know so much?"

Because I’m a university student majoring in history… Klein complained in his mind and smiled:

“If I hadn’t chosen to be a detective, perhaps I would have become a young historian with a conscience.”

The bodyguard lady did not respond, nor did she disappear. She floated onto the half-height platform first.

Klein followed closely with a lantern in hand, and discovered that the half-height platform was very large, nearly forty meters wide and about ten meters long.

"The grand and gigantic architectural style is also one of the characteristics of the Quaternary." He mentioned casually, walked cautiously to the two huge iron-black chairs, picked up the lantern, and examined them carefully.

"It seems to be for giants three or four meters tall... There is a badge-like pattern on the back of the chair. On this side is a black crown... On this side is a hand holding a scepter... I don't know what each symbolizes..." Klein said to himself, not expecting the bodyguard to answer.

However, the lady whose feet were floating off the ground suddenly spoke:

"This is the coat of arms of the Tudor family."

"Ah?" Klein looked over in astonishment and discovered that the bodyguard was referring to the hand holding the scepter.

Tudor family? Is this the remains of the Tudor Dynasty from the Fourth Epoch? Which member of the royal family owns this palace? Klein frowned slightly and said:

"Do you recognize the other badge?"

He can actually be ranked alongside members of the Tudor family!

The bodyguard shook her head and said nothing.

Seeing this situation, Klein had to temporarily give up the idea of ​​research and said:

"After the Tudor and Trunsoest families established their respective empires, they both maintained the original style that originated from the Solomon Empire, such as the inverted candlesticks, the chopping brand, and so on. This does not conform to normal cognition. If I were the emperor, even if many things must be inherited from the previous ones, I would make certain changes to mark my own uniqueness."

"Does this mean that the three empires have a hidden, unchanging connection?"

He guessed that the Solomon, Tudor and Trunsoest families all mastered the "Black Emperor", that is, the "lawyer" path, and a similar style was required for role-playing!

The bodyguard was silent for a few seconds, then uttered a few words:

"Only an emperor can be called an emperor."

Does this confirm my thoughts? Klein didn't ask any more questions. He held the lantern and walked around the two huge iron-black chairs, but found nothing else.

“Let’s take a look further ahead,” Klein suggested.

Before he finished speaking, the bodyguard lady had already floated to the end of the half-height platform by herself, but the cold and gloomy atmosphere around her did not change.

After walking several meters forward, Klein used the light of the lantern 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's pursuit of asymmetry.

Klein handed the cane to the lantern holder, casually tossed a coin, and muttered to himself:

“You should start from the left.”

clang!

The penny tumbled down and landed in his palm, with the portrait facing up.

"Let's go to the left." Klein took the lead.

The bodyguard followed silently until they got close to the door on the far left, then she said vaguely:

"Same from the right side."

In other words, it doesn’t matter whether you do divination or not... Klein raised the corner of his mouth, raised the lantern, and examined the symbols and patterns on the door:

The base is dark black, dotted with bright lights, surrounding a half-hidden crimson circle.

This... Klein's pupils suddenly contracted.

This is the holy emblem of darkness! This is the symbol of the goddess of night!

In the Fourth Epoch, the Church of the Goddess supported the Tudor Dynasty? He placed his hand on the stone door thoughtfully.

tie!

With a heavy and rough friction sound, the black stone door slowly opened backwards.

The light from the lantern shone in, and the scene inside was gradually outlined in Klein's eyes:

First there was an open space several meters long and wide, also paved with dark black stone slabs, followed by a platform nearly one meter high.

Klein walked forward cautiously and raised the lantern high to illuminate the objects on the platform.

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

It was a lady with a hazy but exceptionally beautiful face. She was lying on a platform with her head supported by her right hand. She was wearing a layered yet simple black classical dress, and there was a circle with radiating lines under her head.

There were sparkling spots of light on the lady's dress, which were bright and clear fragments of gems.

At a glance, it was as if Klein saw the night and the stars.

Against this backdrop, the circle under the lady's head looks like a full moon.

This... Klein's thoughts seemed to be frozen, but there was a guess inside that was madly colliding and about to break out.

"Goddess of the Night?" The bodyguard's tone was filled with rare doubt.

Regardless of the symbolic meaning or the actual performance, this seems to be a statue of a goddess! Klein's guess finally took shape and echoed loudly in his mind.

He remembered that he once asked Captain Dunn Smith about one of the differences between the evil gods and the righteous gods, which was that the former had an image similar to that of an intelligent creature, while the latter only had a holy emblem composed of symbolic symbols!

And today, at this moment, in this ancient and strange underground building, he saw a statue that looked like the goddess of night, a completely human-shaped statue!

What does this mean? Just thinking about it makes Klein shudder.

Could it be that the goddess was once an evil god?

No... maybe it's another evil god from the realm of darkness... but the dark holy emblem at the door is no different from the current one...

Or, in other words, possessing the image of an intelligent creature is not the standard for distinguishing good gods from evil gods? After all, the captain was not at a high enough level and did not understand it accurately enough.

It is also possible that someone from the Tudor family deliberately blasphemed the goddess!

Well, it could also be some weird ritual!

Thoughts jumped in Klein's mind one after another, making him confused, uneasy, and nervous. He also felt that there was an indescribable strange feeling here.

"Let's go and take a look behind a few other doors." After looking around and finding nothing else, Klein took a breath and took the initiative to speak.

I wonder what the remaining six doors correspond to, and whether they are equally evil and weird... He thought solemnly.

The bodyguard nodded slowly.

PS: It’s the last day of July, so don’t waste your monthly tickets.