260 Strange Statues (2/2)

A few meters ahead, Klein saw—with the help of the lantern's glow—seven large, heavy, black stone doors at the base of the hall. They were lined up, two on the left, one in the middle, four on the right, perfectly in line with the Fourth Epoch's pursuit of asymmetry.

Klein passed the cane to his lantern hand, tossed a coin at random, and whispered, ”I should begin from the left.”

Ding!

The copper penny tumbled down and landed on his palm, portrait facing up.

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

Miss Bodyguard silently followed until they reached the door on the far left before saying ethereally, ”It's the same on the right.”

In other words, it didn't matter whether I did the divination… The corner of Klein's mouth curled up as he raised the lantern and examined the symbols and patterns on the door.

With a deep-black background, it was a crimson half-moon that was surrounded by radiant points of light.

This… Klein's pupils constricted suddenly.

This is the Dark Sacred Emblem! The symbol of the Evernight Goddess!

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

Screech!

The black stone door slowly opened amidst rough and heavy grinding sounds.

As the light from the lantern shone into the room, Klein began to see the interior, bit by bit.

There was a few meters of open space at the entrance—also paved with dark stone tiles—and a platform nearly a meter high.

Klein cautiously moved forward, holding up the lantern to illuminate the item on the platform.

A few seconds later, a fiery radiance formed the outline of a huge statue. It was about four to five meters long and almost filled the entire room.

It was an extremely beautiful lady with a hazy face. Her right hand supported her head as she laid down on the platform. She wore a layered black classical dress that wasn't overly complex. There was a circle of radiating rays at the bottom of her head.

On this lady's dress, there were sparkling specks of radiance. They were pieces of bright and resplendent gems.

At first glance, Klein felt as though he was seeing the night and the stars.

This was outlined against a circular shape under the lady's head that resembled a full moon.

This… Klein's thoughts seemed to freeze, but a guess immediately plowed its way from within.

”Evernight Goddess?” Miss Bodyguard's voice carried a rare hint of puzzlement.

Be it the symbolism or the actual form, it seemed to be a sculpture of the goddess! Klein's guess finally took shape, echoing loudly in his mind.

He remembered asking Captain Dunn Smith about one of the differences between an evil god and a true god. The former was said to have an image that resembled that of an intelligent lifeform, but the latter only had Sacred Emblems formed by symbols!

But today, at this very moment, in this ancient and bizarre underground structure, he saw a statue that looked like the Evernight Goddess.

What did this mean? Just thinking about it made Klein shudder.

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

No…. Maybe it's some other evil god that falls into the night domain… However, the Dark Sacred Emblem by the door is no different from the one that is being used presently…

Or perhaps, having the image of an intelligent being isn't a standard method to distinguish between true gods and evil gods? After all, the Captain's level wasn't high enough, and his understanding of the situation wasn't necessarily accurate enough.

It was also possible that the Tudors were deliberately blaspheming the goddess!

Yes, it could also be a way of setting up some strange ritual!

Many thoughts flashed through Klein's mind. It left him feeling puzzled, nervous, and tense. However, he also felt a strange feeling which couldn't be described.

After looking around, Klein, who didn't see anything else, took a deep breath and said, ”Let's go to the other doors and take a look.”

I wonder what the other six doors correspond to. Would it be equally strange and evil… He thought gravely.

Miss Bodyguard nodded slowly.