That sculpture made of turquoise stone could not leave the Louvre Museum, so it could not pass through the open iron gate.
Fortunately, while the sculpture could not leave, people could. After taking stock of the supplies, Gong Saiyi and Champollion failed to reach any conclusion, and Severus followed Eugene out of the Chamber of Secrets.
The first basement level of the Sully Wing housed many exhibits, including pharaohs' sarcophagi and papyrus scrolls considered sacred. Hard stone should have been easier to preserve than perishable paper scrolls, but because of tomb robbers' excavations, even granite had been cut apart and damaged. Many sarcophagi had lost their lids, while the papyri had remained relatively intact even after five thousand years.
Facts proved that as long as humans were willing to think, some seemingly fantastical things could be accomplished.
Severus and Eugene eventually stopped before a black baboon statue.
"Even without tomb robbers, pharaohs throughout the ages demolished Ramses II's temples to build their own palaces. They ground down the statues and reshaped them into something else. This statue was once dedicated to Sobek, but was later carved into a baboon," Eugene explained to Severus. "In Egyptian mythology, baboons represent sages."
"I know," Severus said. He looked around. The exhibition hall contained entire stone pillars torn down from temples, as well as damaged sculptures, making one feel as though one had entered the ruins of Egypt.
"As you travel through this world where the boundary between the dead and the living is so blurred, one careless moment and you may lose yourself, unable to tell which world is real," Eugene said. "People would rather smell fragrance than stench; rather hear pleasing music than silence; rather be rich than poor. Once the scales in their hearts tip, they would rather believe what they