357 Goodbye (1/2)

If it was not midnight, Ye Qingxuan would have definitely rushed into Caligula's home to interrogate Elsa on how she had entered. However, Elsa only had five minutes of memory so she probably could not explain clearly, right? But why was the double snake emblem here? There was one on her wrist too...

Ye Qingxuan stared at the pocket watch and thought for a long time but he still did not understand. He grew depressed. The worst thing in the world was when the door was right there but one could not find it.

He sighed. Looking back at the shattered statue, he shook his head slowly. ”It's been so many years. The Romulusians have probably all forgotten about it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be this damaged.”

Shaking his head, he turned to leave. But then he froze.

The holy fire…

The holy fire!

When the Romulusians left the oasis, they established seven City of Wolves and created their own empire. Many races had come from all over and assimilated into Romulus. They also brought their own gods which was why Romulus' temple was known as the 'thousand god temple.'

However, the Romulusians maintained their worship of their most primitive ancestors. They believed that the souls of their ancestors lived inside their family flames. Thus, the family flame must always be lit. A family must worship the same flame. The connection was closer than blood relationships.

The elder of a family was also the priest of the family flame. Every family had a unique prayer and ritual. When a daughter married, a musician needed to witness the marriage before the family flame in place of the ancestor's spirit. This way, the girl could leave the family flame and enter another family's flame. Therefore, the holy fire that represented the many gods in the temple would never be extinguished. Even in the temple, the saint's relic acted as the fire watcher. When he resurrected, he absorbed the fire and transformed it into his own power, and the fire was no more.

”Then…I'll light it up for you again!” Ye Qingxuan returned to the altar and cleared away the ashes. He broke the rusted chair and tossed the parts in. He created a spark of fire and tossed it in as well. Fire lit up in the darkness.

Ye Qingxuan took off the Eye of Silence and studied the temple. Under the weak firelight, a solemn aura appeared around the broken statues. Centuries ago, the Romulusians had come here to create a cemetery for their heroes. They also built a residence for their gods and sacrificed slaves and beasts to them.

With the fire's return, the gods seemed to have returned from darkness. Their broken faces gazed at Ye Qingxuan, the foreign worshipper.

Before the weak fire, Ye Qingxuan felt his pocket watch vibrate. Taking it out, he saw the double snake emblem lit up slowly before dimming. Even the dark design disappeared. The mirror-like outer shell reflected the holy fire's glow. There seemed to be small contours on the surface, producing rectangular shadows on the wall.

The light floated on the wall as Ye Qingxuan moved his wrist. It finally moved between two statues. It looked like a door.

A door…

Ye Qingxuan gaped at his pocket watch and then looked at the door of light and shadow. He put his watch away but the door's contour was still there.

”This is possible?”

Doubtful, he walked over and pushed. The door opened.

It really was possible!

He stared blankly at the open door and the bright space behind it. After a long while, he stepped through.

In the secret room behind the door, there was a statue holding flames. There was a line of dark gold words carved on the statue's foundation. Made of green gold and copper, it did not rust.

Under the firelight, discipline from ancient priests shone brilliantly.

”Dis te minorem quod geris, imperas.”

Thou rulest because thou bearest.

Before the words, someone had abandoned a ragged robe. It was covered in dust but Ye Qingxuan could tell immediately that it was from the King of Yellow. He had abandoned it here as if abandoning the glory and position that countless people dreamed of.

Before Ye Qingxuan could take a closer look, the thing beside the robe caught his attention. He suddenly wished he had never come here.

He'd rather have never discovered the secret behind the door, wishing he had never come here in the first place. It was pure regret from the bottom of his heart! He wanted to run away.

Staring at the thing, it felt as if he had fallen into an icy gorge. He shook violently and practically collapsed.

He had never hesitated, even as he faced the strongest enemy, the most terrifying beast, or natural catastrophes. Ye Qingxuan had once thought that there was nothing in the world that could shake him up like this. But looking at this, Ye Qingxuan felt raw fear.

”What in the living f*ck is this?!”

-

Late at night, a heavy yet sad bell rang from the peak of the Sacred City and spread in all directions.

Outside the Holy Spirit Temple, a few solemn archbishops clad in red stared at the flickering firelight within the faraway temple. They sighed under the bleak bell and lowered their eyes.

The Holy Spirit Temple was the most important place of the Sacred City. It was the core and even more important than the pope's palace. However, it was not heavily guarded. Rather than knights guarding it, there were only priests clad in gray.