"If the outer circle represents the planet, then what is rooted inside the planet?"
No one around could answer him, nor could anyone question him, but Lance murmured to himself.
"It can only be Him..."
That’s right, Lance thought long and hard, searching his mory, only to suddenly realize that the similar pattern wasn’t seen in this world, but was glimpsed in a ga, portending a scene of the Primordial God.
Increasingly similar. Could it be that the existence of the Flesh Ancient God was known long ago?
Suddenly Lance wasn’t surprised, because many people had glimpsed this scene, like Tamara, Margaret, and even the old ancestor, making at least three including himself.
Even a little guy like Hamlet could find three; the world is so big, it’s not surprising at all, especially on the long scale of history.
After a brief hesitation, Lance raised his hand to press on the relief, intending to take it into the Exhibition Room for slow study, but the supernatural power above tried to spread over him as he touched it.
Strange images inexplicably flashed through Lance’s mind, but unfortunately, they were too blurry, like ripples on water.
At the sa ti, voices unlike the common language echoed in his ears, but they were completely incomprehensible.
This peculiar state lasted only a brief mont before Lance realized it had all vanished.
He tried hard to recall the images and sounds from just now, but with his mind, he couldn’t retain any of it, as if the previous situation was purely an illusion.
"Impossible... How could I have an illusion... It’s all fake... It’s all fake..."
Lance frowned, mumbling unsettling words.
Originally able to maintain its shape due to the remaining power, now that power dissipated, the relief split open in the middle even without external force.
The commotion snapped Lance out of his delusion, looking at the relief split in two, he knew it wasn’t an illusion.
Why did the secret of this bay seem deeper and deeper? It even went beyond the historical traces of the old ancestor.
Back then, the old ancestor probably discovered sothing here too, but the whole truth would only be known by delving deeper.
The relief by the roadside seed like a stele marking the bay’s boundary; crossing that place felt like crossing a line. Although the passage remained damp, and there were signs of collapse, more and more man-made traces appeared.
The orderly reliefs, the walls with stones filling rock gaps, and stone gates beca standard features to divide the internal space.
Walking along the path, Lance found a remnant carcass, not of a human, but a large fish skeleton, mostly eaten away, but with so flesh residues still looking fresh, not having started to rot.
But why was it abandoned here?
Intending to inspect the carcass, he brought the torch closer but unexpectedly discovered sothing interesting: there were no moss or barnacles growing on the ground after entering this area.
In such a moist environnt, algae and so starfishes, barnacles should continuously grow; the only explanation for the current situation is this.
He finally understood what those Sea Snails were used for—probably trained as "street sweepers" by the Deep Divers.
This situation he hadn’t realized earlier?
From the marks on the big fish skeleton, it seed the Deep Divers had left these behind and tossed them for the Sea Snails to handle.
By consuming algae and rotten flesh, they accumulated toxins and germs from these foods, which can cause a sticky effect and potentially poison people when they secrete mucus.
There were levels, knowledge of making biological traps, biological pest control... all marking the sophisticated level of the Deep Divers’ society.
Because in the entire Empire, probably only Hamlet might have street sweepers, even Totnes didn’t have any.
This situation directly amused Lance.
But then why was the carcass laid here, and where did the Deep Divers go?
With this doubt, Lance walked to the end of the passage, pushed the stone door open, only to be drawn in by a beam of light.
As for the light source, it was unclear which rock wall couldn’t withstand the erosion of the sea wind and cracked, allowing a few narrow beams of light to penetrate.
Possibly, air leaked from crevices, dispersing much of the dense water vapor. Thanks to the glow, he could roughly observe the situation here.
Lance put away the torch, and as the light source disappeared, the entire space was enveloped in a cold, gentle glow, reflected by the water surface, rendering the scenery brilliantly magnificent.
Lance found that most rooms with doors had a bottomless pool, although this space was larger than others, spanning as far as a football field.
The pool even extended windingly into the darkness, with no end in sight.
But the focus was never on those, but on the large-scale architectural complex erging on the rock wall opposite the pool. Despite varying in size and shape, they all shared a similar style.
This was an unprecedented situation, the discovery of which excited Lance, for it was certainly not the crafted delicate architecture of monsters like Deep Divers, only achievable by a highly advanced civilization.
He might potentially find that lost civilization... Separated from the densely grouped buildings by only that pool.
Lance couldn’t help but step forward, but then suddenly woke up as if jolted, retreating a step, once more focusing on the calm pool within.
Lance didn’t want to get into the water, his instincts told him sothing was amiss... too quiet, even the sound of water dripping above could be clearly heard.
His gaze swept around the surroundings; he had generally gone the long way around all the way here, and now he wanted to find a way to circumvent the pool to reach the opposite side, only to find there was no way except over the water.
Thus, Lance could only take out a bomb, light it, and wait for the fuse to burn out before throwing it into the pool in front of him.
Regardless of what’s inside, being cautious is a good habit.
"Bong!"
A muffled explosion sounded, the water surface splashed violently, a wisp of smoke rose, carrying the scent of gunpowder.
But that was all; once the ripples subsided, the pool remained calm and nothing unusual appeared.
Just when Lance thought he was being overly sensitive, bubbles started rising from the water, and with it, shadows slowly floated up.
By the light, it proved to be the Deep Divers stunned by the explosion.
This scene reminded him of the fish-bombing scenes of New Year’s festivities in his village, eliciting a grin as he revealed the truth.
"Because I can sll your fishiness~"
He could sll an overwhelmingly strong fishy odor, much stronger than elsewhere, and it was fresh too.
But he soon couldn’t smile, as the pond began constantly emitting noise, causing turbulent waves that rushed towards him within seconds.
And those Deep Divers were riding the surf, erging with the wave’s montum, countless fish heads, along with overlapping chilling howls were too nurous to count.
It could be quite terrifying!
Truly suffocating waves, for what was hiding in the pool was not so ordinary Shaman herding Sea Snails, but a powerful Deep Sea Tide Controller.
Only a Deep Diver strong enough to control tides could earn this title, much like that day along Hamlet’s coast, they could harness deep-sea power to stir up storms and waves.
Lance wasn’t sure what he had encountered, but he understood that the displayed power was imnse, with ocean waves surging to engulf the entire place!
Being swallowed within, even he had no desire for a struggle in the water.
Lance wasn’t foolish enough to stand his ground for the wave to hit; he turned around and ran without hesitance.
Quickly rushing through the stone door, shutting it behind, but not stopping, disappearing swiftly down the path...
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