SAINTESS [Chapter 39: Bury the secret key deep inside the dungeon, return the truth to its original state]

“Oh?” Winnie broadened his eyes slightly. “I didn't expect this, could it be that by sheer accident, we've actually stumbled upon the entrance buried deep within the dungeon??”

“Winnie, perhaps you only came here by accident?” Aesphyra tilted her head.

“How dare you bring that up again?? You two just flew down here, leaving me all alone up top, what was I supposed to do? Leaving you behind and going back by myself wouldn't have been right either! And seriously, what's going on with you two? Stop speaking in riddles, okay? Could you at least tell me what exactly is happening??” Winnie retorted irritably.

He wasn't a descendant of the ancient Carillian Empire's royal bloodline, nor was he from the current Tyrell Empire's royal family. His family had long since fallen into obscurity, he had no idea about the insider knowledge they possessed!

It was simply too great an information gap. Aesphyra and Isatia's noble origins allowed them access to secrets Winnie could never know.

“Come to think of it, is this Sandfall Abyss really just a passageway??” Winnie glanced back at the sand waterfall. The massive gate continuously spilled yellow sand, offering no way to retreat.

He tried stepping closer, but instinctively sensed danger within.

“To be precise, it's probably transporting us to another space, and it appears to be one-way. Once sent here, we can't return using this method,” Aesphyra explained.

"Not really. If the sandstorm tears someone apart, the token just sends them back automatically, right?" Winnie joked, twirling his token in his hand.

“Speaking of which, why hasn't Isatia moved at all?” Winnie asked, looking towards the black-haired girl standing before the colossal gate.

“Regarding the Mars civilization, and more accurately, the truth behind many historical events, Isatia clearly knows far more than you, or even myself,” Aesphyra replied evasively, her words laden with meaning.

Great. This silver-haired nutball clearly knew what was going on.

That's exactly what Winnie thought.~

Ever since last semester, when he'd acted as Isatia's shield and spent time chatting with her, he'd noticed how intensely interested she was in history, the past of many [Saint] families.

In fact, it could even be described as a deep yearning.

Winnie hadn't known why back then, but now, perhaps it was connected to the [Divine Favor] knowledge possessed by Isatia and the Lanteville family.

As the former master of the Lanteville family, Aesphyra undoubtedly knew many secrets about them.

“Here we go again, speaking in riddles to me,” Winnie rolled his eyes. “Fine, keep your crypt talk, but are we just going to stand here? Shouldn't we help?”

“If we wanted to help, we probably couldn't. Besides, Winnie, can't you tell? Isatia is a very strong-willed person,” Aesphyra teased.

“What? So what if she's strong? Don't tell me your next line is going to be 'That's exactly the type I like, the stronger, the better'?” Winnie sensed something familiar, he could already tell Aesphyra was about to act up again.

“Eh eh? How did Winnie know that?~” Aesphyra grinned playfully. “That's right, you see, the harder something is to obtain, the greater the sense of accomplishment when you finally get it. Don't you feel the same way, Winnie?”

“Your character, I know it all too well. 'The type I like'? Spare me. Is there even a type you don't like? As long as they're girls enough, any personality becomes a cute quirk in your eyes,” Winnie shot back, glaring at her.

Hopeless. This girl never changes.

“Winnie, I haven't finished speaking yet, why rush to conclusions?” Aesphyra smiled like a blooming flower.

“Why not? I know exactly what kind of person you are,” Winnie said, then noticed something Aesphyra pulled from behind her back.

“What's that?” he asked.

“This is something I picked up in the eastern part of the palace earlier,” Aesphyra said.

“Huh, it looks kinda familiar,” Winnie studied the bluish-green object, feeling like he'd seen it somewhere before. Looking closer, he realized it resembled a slender claw, perhaps from some beast.

“Do you know what creature this belongs to, Winnie?”

“Well... it does look familiar,” Winnie frowned.

“You've already forgotten? We saw its main body in front of the temple earlier, remember?”

“Ahh! I remember now, could it be the Ouroboros statue that was missing a claw??”

“Exactly. This is indeed the missing claw from Ouroboros statue,” Aesphyra confirmed.

“But why would the temple statue's claw end up inside the palace?” Winnie was confused. “If I recall correctly, there's a large residential district between here and the temple, a considerable distance. How could the claw have ended up so far from its original location??”

“That's exactly the question, Winnie. What do you think?” Aesphyra asked.

“What do I think??” Winnie scratched his head, deep in thought. After a moment, he spoke. “The interior of Mars' palace hall is nearly intact, with no signs of warfare. They likely experienced a civil war, not an overthrow by slave revolt.”

“Mm, Winnie finally stepped out of that misconception. What else?” Aesphyra pressed.

“Other?...” Winnie noticed Aesphyra deliberately raising the claw in her hand and understood. “Oh! I get it, the erased statue behind the throne, the destroyed statues in the temple earlier, and now this Ouroboros statue appeared outside the temple. The cause of Mars' civil war was a conflict in divine faith, brothers turning against each other!”

“Mm, a correct answer~” Aesphyra exclaimed.

“? So... this isn't the final answer?” Winnie asked instinctively.

“Of course not, Winnie. The completeness of this dungeon is astonishing, don't you feel it?” Aesphyra weighed the broken claw in her hand. “Every shattered object's fragments can be found somewhere within this realm. For instance, the statues in the temple, we found them intact, not missing a single piece.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means this dungeon was very likely a place where the Mars people actually lived,” Aesphyra explained.

“But if that's the case??” Winnie began.

“Yes, I know what you're asking. If that's true, then why is this realm so chaotic? Why did a single claw fly so far from its original position?” Aesphyra continued.

“Even if opposing believers wanted to destroy the statue, wouldn't it make more sense to just smash it right in the temple, like they did before? Why carry a piece of the enemy's god statue all the way here and deliberately toss it into the palace? That makes no logical sense.”

“Could it be possible that everything in Mars civilization was scrambled and rearranged by some force? That's what caused this realm's disorder, residential areas and sacred temples jumbled together, followed directly by the palace, with no logical structure. This isn't the kind of layout a hyper-ancient civilization that valued contracts should have. Even the random entrances to this dungeon number sixty-four.”

“Some force??” Winnie suddenly recalled the 'thing' sealed within the Spire Order.

Something capable of tearing an entire civilization apart, reducing ninety percent of the palace into untouchable sandstorms overnight...

Only destroying the entire ancient Carillian Empire in a single night could possibly achieve such devastation.

“So, what do you think it was?” Winnie asked.

Aesphyra remained silent. After a moment, she slightly lifted her gaze and said softly, “Something... humanity was never meant to encounter.”

“Every nation that ever touched it, or tried to harness it, ultimately perished.”

“Boom! Boom! Boom!!” At that moment, a series of thunderous rumbles echoed through the wide stone chamber.

Winnie and Aesphyra simultaneously turned toward the enormous stone gate, resembling an open contract scroll.

They exchanged a glance and stepped forward together.

“Isatia?” Winnie called out cautiously.

The previous disturbance seemed to have been caused by Isatia manipulating something.

Winnie suddenly noticed several empty glass bottles rolling at Isatia's feet.

Wait, weren't those the stamina potions he'd sold her earlier??

Isatia didn't respond. She quietly stared at the contract-like stone gate before her.

Winnie suddenly realized the surroundings had changed. The Mars inscriptions carved into each stone block on the walls began glowing one by one, block by block.

He wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but like the stones lit up, he seemed to see thousands of slaves, neck-chained with iron shackles, faces branded with Mars script, bodies lashed until covered in wounds.

The inscriptions on these stones, like fragments of real historical scenes, seemed to possess some kind of magic. Merely meeting their gaze induces an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

“What... are these??” Winnie asked in astonishment.

“These inscriptions are likely names,” Isatia explained. “This place should be something akin to a contract ground for Mars, but judging by its structure and location, what's stored here aren't noble contracts. Rather, in the eyes of the Mars people, these are extremely lowly contracts.”

“The contracts of slaves,” Isatia said slowly, deliberately. “The Mars people engraved the names of every conquered slave in Mars script onto these stone blocks, recorded by family lineage. Or perhaps it's a curse, binding their fates eternally here, sealed by this contract gate forged from sacred 'King's Gold' by Mars priests, condemning them to eternal servitude, never to rise again.”

Just hearing Isatia's explanation sent chills down Winnie's spine.

How ruthless were the Mars people??

In that case, the fall of the Mars civilization seemed like a cause for celebration?

This kind of civilization deserves to die sooner rather than later.

“Perhaps it's no coincidence, after the Mars civilization perished and this dungeon was formed, its entrance didn't appear in the sacred ground of divine contracts, but rather in the place storing slave contracts.”

“This is probably just one of many chambers, the one closest to the Contract Gate,” Isatia explained. “The number of chambers inscribing slave contracts is likely astronomical.”

“Are you certain this is the entrance?” Aesphyra asked intently.

“About ninety percent certain. After all, nothing in this world is absolute,” Isatia replied.

No sooner had she spoken than the small door before Isatia slid open to both sides, revealing a recess.

Inside the recess lay numerous symbolic objects, statues, Mars people, heavily armored Mars soldiers, slaves engraved with characters while carrying heavy loads, trees, unique buildings, and so on.

In addition, there were also numerous frame-like structures.

“What... are these?” Winnie hesitated.

“Restoration,” Isatia replied concisely.

“Restoring the entire history of Mars' downfall, this is the key to the buried dungeon.”

“Restoration?? You mean arranging these objects in the correct sequence within these frames??” Winnie asked.

“Correct.”

Restoring the entire process of Mars civilization's rise and fall??

This troubled Winnie. He barely understood what had happened in the middle, but knew nothing about the beginning or the end.

Only someone as deeply knowledgeable about Mars civilization as Isatia could possibly accomplish this.

“Then... the first frame?”

Isatia didn't touch any of the slave-related symbols. After brief consideration, she placed figures representing strong individuals and some initial buildings into the frame. Additionally, she inserted a massive, heart-shaped red stone, positioning it at the very center of the image.

What was that?

Neither Winnie nor Aesphyra could guess what the huge human-heart-like object was.

“In ancient times, the Mars people possessed supernatural strength and extraordinary magical sensitivity, this was tied to the soil they lived upon. And the reason such soil existed was due to a sacred stone mentioned in their records called the 'Heart of Mars', that giant red crystal resembling a human heart. Back then, they didn't worship concepts like [Eternity] or [Continuance]; they only believed in their own strength,” Isatia murmured.

"Their powerful physiques allowed them to conquer all directions and establish their civilization. However, every power in this world comes with a price. The blessings of the Heart of Mars were not free, the cost was that the Mars people's lifespans grew progressively shorter."

“After settling down, the Mars people believed they no longer needed the Heart of Mars. To ensure their civilization's eternal survival, they developed an intense longing for the two powers of [Eternity] and [Continuance].”

“Thus, they introduced these two deities as protective gods of their tribe, hoping their empire would endure forever and their people's lifespans return to normal. Therefore, when the Mars palace was completed, the Mars people originally worshiped two deities.” As she spoke, Isatia placed two statues and the palace symbol onto the second frame.

Aesphyra and Winnie listened silently beside her.

“Afterward, the effects of the Heart of Mars hadn't fully disappeared, and slave uprisings broke out repeatedly. The steadily declining Mars people believed that among their worshiped deities, one must be an evil god, failing to aid them and instead bringing disaster. Thus, the religious war erupted.”