__________ POV Ashton__________
After I was finished with patching up the dome. I went and grabbed my relics from my first corpse. Putting on my rings and then wearing the 'Gauntlet of Neith'.
I also put my 'Wind Strider Boots' back on. After which, I stared at the city in the distance.
My tornado had damaged a bit of the outer wall, but there wasn't much damage dealt to the houses.
I started exploring the city in a hurry, not wanting to dally for too long.
This dome may be tougher than the defences of the Black Whale, but it won't hold forever against a horde of bloodthirsty beasts.
I didn't find much in the houses, but I did manage to conclude that a human-like species used to live in them.
Most of the appliances seem to be like the ones in Lake Mobius. Tables, chairs, wheelbarrows, everything made mostly of stone.
Of course, there's not anything to show how advanced this civilisation was. But from what I'm seeing they should've been somewhere in the Medieval stages.
Well... it looks like they built a medieval city with Bronze Age tools and furniture. I can't even be sure. But it is fascinating, seeing how these people lived their lives...
It's not like I can recreate how their civilisation functioned perfectly from these ruins and broken houses.
I explored the entire place for 15 minutes. The city deserved to be called a Labirynth, as it was built to make any invader get lost in dead ends and twisted paths.
It didn't bother me all that much, but I can see how this strategy would be useful in an invasion. Although, some of the still intact traps and defences look a bit odd...
It's as if they were preparing for a large invasion right before they went extinct. It's really strange, but they don't look like they were fighting humans at all...
The traps are all a bit too strange. A pitfall is usually something for a single target, but most of the pitfalls I found are inexplicably large.
It's quite clear that they weren't expecting human invasions when they built this city. The stone used on the houses is also incredibly tough.
To the point where I need to put some effort into breaking them. I think regular predators would barely put a scratch on them...
How exactly did they build this city? All of the stones are of that toughness. It's strange to think that an undeveloped civilisation would have the means to pull something like this off...
I ran around for a few more minutes, after which I managed to find what I was looking for. The remains of what seems to be a primitive church.
It was in the square in the middle of the large city. It was basically in front of a broken down statue.
Its features were unclear, the plaque with writing on it was scratched and barely understandable.
'This is the Eternal City
Bow before the King o-'
That was all I could make up. Their language is still fresh on my mind, so I doubt I made any translation mistake...
I also don't think I need to address the irony of the name of this ruined city. It's tragic in its own way.
You can tell that the people that wrote this held pride in their achievements and their king. But now it's all washed up in the rivers of history. Not even remembered by the smartest of man.
At least I know they were also humans, this statue confirms it.
The features might be unclear, but the shape is there. And there aren't really any other species that I know of with that shape.
I walked towards the church, its heavy stone doors were shut tightly. I put my hands on them and just pushed.
They were at least as heavy as the fourth gate at the Zoldyck family testing gate. Somewhere around 32 tons of stone. But these doors are also nowhere near as large...
I walked inside the dusty church, this is one of the few buildings that stand mostly intact. I could see scratches on every wall, it seems like a group of people were desperately trying to get out.
To even scratch these walls, they must've been as strong as the Zodiacs...
I'm guessing those were the civilians too. Since they are usually the ones to hide in churches during attacks. At least that's what I remember from our civilisation.
Still, there is no trace of any human remains in this place. I guess they all turned to dust in time.
In front of me, stood a pedestal. Behind it was a large wall filled with writing.
I could also see some smaller writings on the sides of the church. But those seemed to be scratched into the walls rather than written with tools...
I think I have quite a bit of deciphering to do. But I also don't have time now. I need to copy all of these texts and leave this place.
The beasts are already trampling on the dome. It's only a matter of time before they break in and swarm the city.
I may be strong, but if I start fighting all of them I might be in even more danger than I was fighting Brion.
I wrote down all of the ancient texts and even took pictures of them, just to make sure. Just as I was about to leave I noticed something strange.
There were drag marks on the ground near the pedestal. I immediately kicked the pedestal away and revealed a somewhat small hole.
It looked like it could barely fit me and it didn't seem to have any stairs or ladder going down, so I guess I'm supposed to jump?
Well, not like I can't fly. I jumped down inside that tunnel and took a torch out of my void space. I, fortunately, have enough batteries to last me a lifetime.
Now that I think about it, I am a bit of a hoarder...
Well, whatever. I looked around a bit and found an altar exactly what I was looking for. It looks just like the one I found at Pap's cave.
I was about to just rip it out and put it in my void space. But I noticed something else on top of it. A strange crown, it seemed to be made out of gold, but it was filled with thorns on the inside.
Inside it was another small book. The title wrote 'The Crown of the Martyr'. I guess that's the name of the relic? I grabbed it and chucked it into my void space alongside the altar.
I can feel the earth shake above me, they clearly broke through the dome and are running around the city.
Now I need to make a run for it...
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