It was another morning in the underground world. The microbes lit up the white clouds in the same order as they dimmed them during nightfall, and shone the light on the prairie. The natives of this world had a unique understanding of the cycles of day and night, as well as wind and rain there. They believed that a huge monster was breathing smoke at the edge of the world, thus forming the clouds. A huge flamingo called Cudra flew out of the nose of this monster every morning and lit up the clouds so that the world below would receive light.
The team came to a slope near the ancient city of Dorasil. Vivian and Hao Ren were standing at the highest point overlooking the city. Several small bats were hovering over the city, using ultrasonic frequency to scan the megalithic ruins. Vivian was looking for the part of the town she had seen in her illusion.
They had brought Gezer and Bonia too. Bonia was praying to the clouds with her eyes closed. She chanted some obscure words that seemed at odds with her age. Meanwhile, Hessiana was bored to death. She asked Gezer, "What is Bonia doing?"
Gezer explained, "The saintess is thanking Cudra, the flamingo for lighting up the sky and bringing light to the world, and praying that Cudra would remember to return to the nest on time when the dusk falls to avoid the world from falling into the legendary 'Light Burial.'"
"Light Burial?"
"If the flamingo forgets to return to the nest, daylight will linger on as the clouds light up for a dozen days and nights. The temperature of the world will rise, and light will burn the plants—myth has records of several of these events." Gezer explained the myth of this world to Hessiana. "If this happens, saintesses, elders, and warriors of all tribes will go to their respective Pillar of Eternity and knock on the outer shell of the pillar to remind Cudra to return to the nest. When Cudra returns, the daylight will end."
The phenomenon Gezer mentioned was the occasional imbalances of the fragile ecology of this world. As everything existed here relied on the shell of the cradle that the First Born created, the slightest fluctuation of this system would cause unimaginable turbulence to the world. The so-called 'knocking the shell of the Pillar of Eternity' should work, because this was the only means the surface creatures could communicate with the First Born in the underground. The Pillar of Eternity was connected to the nerves of the First Born. But these things had been given a mythological origin. Hessiana could only pout when listening to the story. "That's interesting, very interesting."
Vivian directed her bats to focus on the largest pyramid on the fringe of Dorasil. "There is a large hollow space inside the pyramid; the hollow space should be the passage to the underground. A few pyramids in the surroundings have tunnels connected to it. Bonia, do you know about the legend of these pyramids?"
Bonia had just finished her prayers to the clouds. She trotted up the side of Vivian. "The Great Pyramid is your throne, and the pyramids in the surroundings represent the three kingdoms, three countries and three dominions of the Sun Dynasty."
"Have you ever checked what is beneath the city?"
Bonia thought for a moment and shook her head hard. "Nope! Because the city is sacred, the foundation of the city is the foundation of the world. It is in the neck of the giant, Toka. If we tamper with the city, Toka will get angry and fling the world off his back into the chaos. Of course, that shouldn't be a problem if you want to do that. Isn't it?"
The little saintess still retained her curiosity and rashness of her age. She believed the mythical stories were true while at the same time she needed the Goddess' confirmation. Vivian was startled a little. "Oh, Toka... In your mythology, I was said to have built the world on the back of this stooped old man. That's imaginative. How did you people come up with this?"
Bonia blinked. "Is it not true?"
"If you think it's true, it's true." Vivian smiled and patted the little saintess on the head before pointing at the Great Pyramid. "Let's go there."
The Great Pyramid of Dorasil was just for decorative purposes. Built with white stones, it occupied one-tenth of the city land mass. The side of the pyramid facing the wilderness was smooth and without a staircase. The side facing the city had an unusually wide staircase, stretching from the bottom of the pyramid right to the flat top. On both sides of the stairs, mysterious reliefs covered the entire surfaces. The reliefs depicted the flora, fauna, and social life that existed during the Sun Dynasty; it looked almost as if a history engraved on the stone. They had not the time to look at the reliefs when they came to the city earlier. When they looked at it now, they were awed.
Vivian stood at the bottom of the staircase and pointed at the reliefs that stretched up to the top of the pyramid. "The correct way to view the reliefs is from the bottom up. It is about the history during the final period of the Sun Dynasty. At the bottom are reliefs of animals and plants. Further up is social life. Nearer to the top are reliefs of people taking refuge in the highlands and wilderness. If I'm not mistaken, the abstract image at the top of the pyramid describes the final stage of the world: the closure of the heaven."
Hao Ren stroked the old, weathered stones with his hand and asked casually, "Is the thing we are looking for underground?"
"Yeah. The entrance is here, but I have to find a way to open this thing," Vivian said while looking at the small pyramids around the main one. "I remember what I saw in the blood-crystal illusion; these pyramids are light-activated and connected. The stones have sealed the entrance; we need to activate the mechanisms."
The MDT vibrated on Hao Ren's shoulder. "That's easy. All you need is the support of a large engineering team."
Hao Ren swept the MDT off his shoulder. "Get lost! Don't you know this is a cultural heritage? Are you telling me that you intend to blow up the temple of the natives here?"
Vivian could care less about their bickering. She walked back and forth in front of the reliefs, trying to recall the memory in her mind. It was difficult to remember something that initially did not belong in her memory. Since the real thing was in front of her now, it became a little easier. At last, she came before one of the reliefs on the base of the pyramid. At the center of the reliefs was a pattern of the sun shining on the earth; this was what she was after.
Vivian's ran her fingers across the rough radiant lines of the sun relief. "Sunshine, the symbol of the old world. In this world, the 'sun' is the synonym of 'ancient secrets.' So you need to open it here..."
She knocked the relief three times and shouted in the language of this world, "Praise to the sun!"
Hessiana smacked on the forehead. "That's weird! The ancestor of the Blood Clan is praising the sun!"
Vivian shot her a glare. "This is a password!"
"Looks like your password doesn't work." Hao Ren pointed to the relief.
Yes, nothing had ever happened when Vivian chanted 'praised the sun.' The relief did not light up; the pyramid did not move. Things became quiet as before. Vivian's brows pulled together and then she knocked again. "Probably bad connection... Praise to the sun!"
"Praise to the moon?"
"Praise to Mars?"
"Praise to Saturn?"
"Praise to the Titan II? Praise to Arcturus? Praise to Pollux?"
The MDT suddenly swooped over to stop Vivian from shooting in the dark. It emitted a laser beam, cut the relief, and produced a hell lot of sparks. "You have to know; this thing has been here for ten thousand years! Do you think that the voice-control switches here are as durable as the Empire's?"
The MDT dialed up the power of the laser beam, and the slab just came off like a piece of cheese before others could stop it. But the MDT had been cautious; it scanned the structure behind the slates while it cut. Two slabs came off along a strange line and fell on the ground, revealing the perfectly intact internal.
Complex runes and beautiful crystals were inlaid on a metal-cast substrate. Things looked mysterious and primitive.
The MDT emitted a blue light as it scanned the ancient magic symbols, trying to figure out their meanings while it released some tiny electric sparks to stimulate the crystals. "I should be able to initiate the mechanism... if the buried part is durable."
The electric sparks hit the ancient symbols. Seeing this, Turcan whispered to Kassandra, "Those secret agents in spy movies use this spark trick to steal vehicles." "I think the trick will work on motorcycles too."
Hessiana could not help but mutter after listening to their conversation, "I can't understand how that would work when it comes to hacking a freaking ancient ruin."
While the three of them discussing among themselves, the 'car booting trick' the MDT used had worked.
The ancient runes lit up, and grinding sound came out from inside the pyramid. As the noise increased, the ground began to shake!