"Not just that!" The surveyor was so excited that his beard trembled, and the wrinkles on his face flushed with excitent.
His trembling finger pointed to the survey chart spread out on the table: "Through precise calculations, we found that when the winter solstice sunlight passes through the main passage at a specific angle, it successively illuminates three key reliefs—this is no coincidence!"
He took a deep breath, his voice quivering slightly with excitent: "Even more astonishing is that the final beam of light will precisely project onto the skylight above the ice-bound secret chamber, and according to our calculations, depending on the season, on the equinoxes and solstices, the angle of sunlight varies, and the mural content illuminated also differs drastically!"
Perfikot suddenly stood up, and from a pile of yellowed parchnt scrolls, she accurately extracted the historical calendar of the ancient Desert Kingdom.
Her fingertips slid rapidly over the complex star map, finally pausing at a special mark: "Today is the winter solstice, precisely marking the turn of the year in the ancient Desert Kingdom!"
The surveyor nodded vigorously, beads of sweat seeping onto his forehead: "Less than two hours remain until the optimal observation ti! We have cleared two-thirds of the obstacles in the main passage, but the skylight above the secret chamber is still covered by nearly two ters of ice... more troubleso is the detection of anomalous energy fluctuations within the ice layer."
Perfikot was already striding towards the outside of the tent, her boots making crisp sounds on the ancient stone slabs.
The surveyor hurriedly rolled up the charts and jogged to follow.
As they walked, she issued a series of rapid and clear commands: "Imdiately gather all the Alchemists, bring Ice lting Potion and protective gear; notify the Steam Knight squad to stand by outside the Temple with heavy ice-breaking equipnt! Note specifically, anyone who contacts the ice layer must wear anti-freeze gear."
She paused, her eyes becoming sharp: "Additionally, have the linguist team prepared to record any potential inscriptions or symbols, especially those related to celestial diagrams. I suspect these symbols might directly relate to the prophecy of the 'White Star'."
As they passed through the broken tower gate of the Temple, Perfikot noticed more than twenty scholars already lined up on either side of the main passage, waiting.
Each face was filled with anticipation, eyes gleaming with curiosity; so young scholars were so nervous they constantly adjusted their recording boards.
The sand on the passage floor had been ticulously swept away, revealing the original black basalt slabs beneath.
The surface of these millennia-old stone slabs was smooth as a mirror, reflecting a dim luster under the slanting sunlight.
The slabs were densely inscribed with ancient scripts, which appeared and faded with the changing angles of sunlight, as if the writings were alive, moving across the surface.
"According to calculations, the light will pass through here first." The surveyor's voice was hoarse from excitent.
His chilblain-covered fingers pointed to a section of the passage housing a relief, intricately carved with constellation patterns.
"Then to the middle archway inscribed with a complete star map," he staggered forward a few steps, pointing to the archway inlaid with teorite fragnts mid-passage: "Finally..."
His fingers traced the path the sunlight was about to take, ultimately stopping at the circular skylight above the secret chamber, covered by nearly two ters of frost.
In the sunlight, the ancient reliefs around the skylight shimred with strange brilliance, the old patterns seeming to co alive, slowly crawling, stretching, and curling.
Perfikot looked up at the sky, watching the sun move slowly toward its designated spot.
She exhaled softly, the white mist condensing into tiny ice crystals in the frigid air, refracting rainbow hues beneath the sun.
"Let us witness the wisdom of the ancient craftsn." Her voice was soft, yet it prompted all scholars to instinctively straighten their backs.
At that mont, the ground suddenly sent a slight tremor.
Small stones rustled down from the top of the passage, bouncing off the slabs with crisp sounds.
The ice layer above the secret chamber emitted a clear cracking sound, a beam of light descending from the skylight, perfectly rging with the final glimr of winter solstice sunlight about to arrive.
Subsequently, the two beams of light intersected within the Temple's main hall, skillfully refracted to converge on the do's teorite.
In that instant, the star map on the entire Temple do erupted with dazzling light.
teorite fragnts embedded in the rock seed to be infused with life, starting to rotate and reorganize slowly with a mysterious rhythm, progressively forming an unprecedentedly complete star map.
"Record it quickly!" Perfikot barked sharply, her gaze locked like a hawk on the ever-changing star map.
Linguists hurriedly opened notebooks, charcoal pencils brushing rapidly across papers, attempting to capture every transient image change.
When the star map finally settled, it presented a breathtaking formation—seven main stars forming a sharp spear, its edge pointing northward into the sky.
And at the deadly spear tip, a star so pale it was almost transparent glowed with an eerie light.
"This is the White Star..." The surveyor's voice trembled with awe, his chapped lips quivering: "The ancient text's prophesied on of destruction..."
His words turned into white mist in the cold air, intertwining with the star map's light.
Suddenly, the teorite Iron Star Map burst out a blinding white light, violently shaking the whole Temple.
Perfikot stumbled, steadying herself by clutching the wall.
She sharply noticed that with the tremor, a clear crackling sound ca from the back hall direction.
"The ice pool in the back hall!" She imdiately realized, turning and dashing towards the back hall.
The scholars closely followed, their alchemy lamps casting swaying shadows along the dark passage.
When they rushed into the back hall, the sight before them took everyone's breath away—the pond's surface, once covered by thick ice, had split into countless crevices, allowing a ghostly blue light to emanate, illuminating the ancient scripts on the surrounding walls, those scripts resonating with the main hall's star map, as if narrating a long-buried secret.
Perfikot crouched down, carefully examining those scripts.
Her fingertips traced the trajectory of the writings, her pupils suddenly narrowed: "These texts are... Safura cast toward the White Star's divine attack; she was pierced and fell, but before her downfall, Safura froze herself..."
The Alchemists swiftly set up recording devices to docunt the illuminated scripts.
Just as the last script was recorded, a deafening crack rang from the ice pool's center—
Massive ice chunks shot skyward, revealing a faintly discernible human outline beneath...
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