SAINTESS [Chapter 33: Introduction to the dungeon]

Behind this tall, earth-red wall should be the area where the Mars civilization once lived.

“What are those things?” Winnie stared at the strange, jagged rectangular stone bricks standing in the yellow sand behind the city gate, resembling uneven stone tablets.

“Those are Rock Steles. The Mars civilization used them as a means to communicate with the universe. They believe that by arranging stone tablets made of specific materials according to celestial patterns, they can form connections with stars in the cosmos, creating resonance to communicate with their God.” Isatia took on the role of explainer, giving Winnie a brief lesson.

“Wow, Isatia, you really know everything, don't you? Did you learn all this from books?” Winnie asked in amazement.

“Not entirely.” Isatia's answer was vague and ambiguous.

Not entirely??

Winnie couldn't quite grasp what she meant. If not from books, where else could she have learned this? Could it be from actual ruins?

So far, the only hidden ruins of the Martian civilization that have been found are the ones they’re currently in, correct?

Then where did Isatia get such detailed knowledge? It even seemed more thorough than what Shikondell, who had read actual documents, knew.

Speaking of which, both being Fated Heroines, does Aesphyra know about these things?

Winnie shifted his gaze to Aesphyra, only to find her staring silently at Isatia's back, her eyes filled with an indiscernible expression.

Okay.

Someone else might not have noticed what Aesphyra was thinking, but Winnie had spent far too much time with her. He could tell that Aesphyra also seemed curious about the knowledge Isatia was sharing, but at the same time, she didn't find it strange that Isatia knew these things so deeply. To her, it was completely normal.

Wait, what's going on here??

What exactly do you know? Can you stop speaking in riddles??

Winnie looked utterly baffled.

Crap, it seemed like he was the only one left in the dark again.

“Hey, Aesphyra,” Winnie cautiously approached her. “The knowledge Isatia has is really obscure, right? Have you ever heard of this stuff before?”

“No idea.” Aesphyra answered bluntly.

“Then... aren't you at least a little suspicious?” Winnie couldn't help but press further. “Where did she even learn all this??”

“What's so strange about that? Everyone has their own secrets, don't they, Winnie?” Aesphyra narrowed her eyes like a sly fox, staring at him as if hinting at something deeper.

“Well, sure, but this is still too weird!” Winnie felt uncomfortable under her gaze.

“You're just ignorant, Winnie.” Aesphyra dropped that meaningful remark and walked ahead.

Winnie stood in silence, watching Aesphyra's disposable gloves. Suddenly, a thought struck him.

Earlier, Aesphyra poked him on the waist and back with her fingers, right??

Ah, no wonder he'd been feeling off all along! That was it!

Winnie slapped his forehead, finally reminded.

After touching him, why didn't Aesphyra change her gloves?!

That didn't make sense. Given this silver-haired nutball's obsessive cleanliness, she will always change gloves immediately after touching anyone, male or female. Let alone a man.

Moreover, with Aesphyra's cold, iron-willed orientation, voluntarily touching a man should be absolutely impossible.

What was going on with her? Did she change her personality, or did she become desensitized to him??

Well, who knows? Who could possibly understand Aesphyra's mind?

Ever since that day when she saw him dressed as a girl, her reactions had been off.

Winnie looked up and saw Isatia had already reached the stone tablets, pulling out tools he'd never seen before to conduct measurements, then meticulously recording everything in a handwritten notebook.

What exactly was she doing??

Winnie couldn't make sense of it. They were here to explore the ruins, not actually conduct archaeology. Why was Isatia recording such minute details?

Aesphyra followed behind, arms crossed, silently observing Isatia's actions without interruption.

“Aesphyra, what are those? Is this some kind of official assignment, surveying the Mars civilization? Weren't we supposed to have no such tasks when entering the dungeon?” Winnie quietly asked from behind Aesphyra.

“Those are specialized tools for surveying historical ruins and artifacts. I doubt the academy would assign such tasks to untrained students,” Aesphyra replied. “They're probably personal items Isatia brought with her.”

“Who carries archaeological tools around all the time?” Now Winnie was even more confused.

But then he recalled, Isatia had always been deeply interested in history. He often saw her reading historical books whenever she had free time.

Was this just a hobby? Even so, she was taking it way too seriously. Was detailed recording really necessary??

Winnie glanced at Aesphyra beside him, who remained calm and composed, as if none of this seemed strange to her.

“Hey, silver-haired nutball, do you know something?” Winnie asked.

“Hmm? What specifically do you mean, Winnie?” Aesphyra smiled sweetly.

“Tch, forget it. Even if you do know something, you wouldn't tell me anyway.” Winnie shot her a sideways glance and walked forward.

Huh? These stone tablets looked a bit... off.

As he drew closer, a flicker of surprise crossed Winnie's face. Approaching further, he saw the Rock Steles were carved with dense, intricate inscriptions, writing he couldn't recognize at all. In addition, the bones were covered in scars and wounds.

“These... are marks left by blades and swords.” Winnie whispered softly after eliminating them.

That was odd.

Wasn't this supposed to be the preserved ruin of the Mars Civilization? Why were there sword marks on their cultural structures??

Winnie had noticed something strange.

Could this be part of their customs? Deliberately carved blade marks on objects used to connect with celestial bodies and God??

No, aside from the blade scratches, there were also scorch marks. Clearly, these weren't intentional.

Winnie moved behind one of the Rock Steles and found charred traces there. The blackened burns had flattened a large portion of the inscriptions, making the whole scene even more peculiar.

No, this didn't look like any ritual at all. It looked more like...

“War damage.” Isatia voiced Winnie's thoughts first.

“War?” Winnie remembers the textbook knowledge about civilization ruins, one type was deliberately left behind by people, the other formed accidentally after a civilization's extinction, sustained by residual power.

If it was the latter, the ruins shouldn't bear signs of warfare.

“Currently, Carillian Academy's stance is that this dungeon was intentionally left behind by the Mars civilization. The presence of war damage on many structures supporting this.” Isatia said, clearly well-prepared before their arrival.

“Still, this point is questionable,” Aesphyra stepped forward, looking up at the towering Rock Stele. “After all, there are sixty-four random entrances upon entry. The resources and manpower required to create such a realm are absurdly excessive. Not even the Mars Civilization at its peak, let alone the fallen Carillian Empire, could have accomplished this.”

Ah, the victim's descendant has spoken.

After all, when it came to the Carillian Empire, no one knew more than Aesphyra.

“That's true,” Isatia admitted. “Therefore, the origin of this dungeon, whether it was created deliberately or passively, still lacks a definitive conclusion.”

“Then, Isatia, what do you personally think?” Aesphyra smiled, tossing the question back.

Isatia didn't answer. She carefully tucked away her thick notebook and gazed ahead into the endless yellow sands.

“For now, it's still uncertain.”

“Because we haven't entered the central core yet.”

“Ugh...” Listening to their exchange, Winnie felt more like an outsider than ever.

They'd both said so much, shouldn't he say something too? But honestly, he knew nothing at all.

‘Am I really the only clueless one in this team??’

Fine, being clueless isn't so bad. Less brainwork. Let the two Fated Heroines handle everything.

After Isatia finished her records, the three continued deeper into the dungeon.

Endless yellow sands obscured their vision, drastically reduced visibility.

Soon, a massive black silhouette emerges from the swirling sandstorm.

Winnie shielded his eyes from the wind, instinctively feeling wary, but seeing that Isatia and Aesphyra showed no reaction, he relaxed.

Seriously, if there was real danger, and he didn't sense it, wouldn't the two Fated Heroines?

Since neither showed any signs of combat readiness, it meant they hadn't detected any threats ahead.

“What is that?” Winnie still couldn't clearly make out the enormous shape hidden in the sandstorm. He asked.

“Dead buildings,” Isatia answered.

“Huh??” As they drew closer, Winnie finally saw what the massive silhouette was.

A colossal, square structure made of earth-red copper bricks, resembling an underground palace.

Standing before it was a sculpture resembling a giant wheel. Upon closer inspection, it was a massive ouroboros forged in brass, the snake's head biting its own tail, forming a continuous loop, its appearance grotesque and terrifying.

Well, maybe it was just that Mars architectural and sculptural styles leaned heavily into abstract art.

Its body bore many clawed limbs, each gripping objects like gemstones and scepters.

“This is the God the Mars civilization worshiped,” Isatia explained. “Legend says it symbolizes [Eternity] and [Continuance]. They believe the multi-limbed ouroboros represents 'infinity,' which is the meaning of [Eternity]. However...”

“However?” Winnie asked.

“There's one claw missing,” Isatia said, pointing to the lower right section of the brass ouroboros sculpture.

“Huh? Really? Let me see... Oh, you're right.” Winnie walked closer and indeed saw a barely noticeable break at the lower right of the statue.

One couldn't help but admire Isatia's keen observation, she caught it at a single glance.

“But what does that mean?” Winnie thought it was normal. Ruins had been around for so long, statues naturally broke arms or legs.

“Have you noticed?” Suddenly, Aesphyra spoke from behind, her eyes lifted to the sky.

“Huh? Noticed what?” Winnie asked.

“The sun in the sky... it hasn't moved from its position since we arrived,” Aesphyra said slowly.

Ah, right.

Winnie suddenly remembered, Aesphyra, as a descendant of the Carillian family, was extremely sensitive to the flow of time.

“You mean...?” Winnie and Isatia both looked up at the sky.

Isatia's eyes narrowed slightly, while Winnie looked oddly puzzled.

He hadn't paid much attention to the sun's position earlier, nor did he have a strong sense of time. He hadn't calculated how long they'd been inside.

“Could it be that time flows differently inside the dungeon compared to outside?” Winnie asked.

“That's possible. In fact, it's common knowledge,” Aesphyra shielded her eyes from the sunlight as she looked up. “If that's the case, now it is moving extremely slowly, abnormally slow.”

“The break on this claw isn't clean,” Isatia observed. “And it looks like there are scrape marks from blades.”

“Blade scrapes??” Winnie exclaimed in surprise. “The Mars civilization wouldn't have done this to their own god's statue, right?”

Anyone could understand this, normal people wouldn't take a sword and hack at the statue of a God they worshiped. Sacred places were usually heavily guarded.

"Let's go. We'll check inside." Isatia examines the statue thoroughly, as if trying to memorize every detail. After recording it in her notes, she finally turned her gaze toward the massive earth-red underground palace ahead, looming like a giant beast.

Neither Winnie nor Aesphyra objected. The three pressed forward.

The deeper they went into this massive underground palace, the darker it became. There seemed to be no lighting at all, and the path led continuously downward.

“Seriously, the Mars civilization' living spaces are so impractical. Living underground like moles? And even though the surface buildings are large, they're completely undecorated, just like an upside-down red cube. Plus, the artistic style is super abstract,” Winnie grumbled as he walked.

“The Mars civilization doesn't value surface structures,” Isatia explained calmly, walking ahead. “They believe those who live above ground will eventually be erased by eternal time. So surface buildings serve merely as markers, signs indicate there's habitation below. That's all. The real content is underground.”

So they're literally a bunch of moles??

Winnie pursed his lips.

How could Isatia know so much? Where did she get all this information about the Mars Civilization??

“Besides,” Isatia added, “this place might not be their residence at all. It could be a temple.”

No sooner had she spoken than, as they descended further down the steps, they caught sight of light ahead.