As night deepened, the thick fog blowing in from the Seine grew denser and denser.
Now, not only were the shadows of military tents visible in Tuileries Garden, but there was also the clamor of voices and the crisp clatter of horse hooves, as if time had returned to the eighteenth century.
"What are those outside?" Gong Saiyi asked Prince Eugene. "Ghosts or phantoms?"
"They are waiting to cross the river," Eugene said.
"The river? The Seine?" Gong Saiyi asked.
"No. Do you know which river I mean, wizard?" Eugene asked Severus.
"Isn't it obvious?" Severus said with a fake smile. "They are crossing the Styx."
"Wait, isn't the Styx supposed to be in the underworld?" Gong Saiyi asked. "How could it appear in the Louvre Museum?"
"Did you see anything strange on your way here?" Eugene asked.
"Do the phantoms in the pool around the Louvre Pyramid count?" Severus asked.
"Now you know where the river water came from," Eugene said, then led the two of them into an exhibition hall filled with tomb murals.
Egypt's climate was dry, allowing the murals to be preserved intact. Many of them remained vividly colored.
Although the Louvre Museum did not have many security guards, people still worked inside after dark, such as those in the underground laboratories.
However, the person who appeared in this gallery at that moment was no Louvre Museum employee.
He wore a black hooded robe, looking both imposing and like a ghost.
"I didn't expect to meet you here again, Mr. Smith," Lyall Mayer said with a smile. "What brings you to France as well?"
"Coincidence," Severus said icily. "What brought you here?"
"The first full moon and summer solstice after the millennium coincided. Of course I had to come and see," Lyall said.
"The people of