"Rumble..."
When Shien and Merika stepped into the temple, the heavy stone doors behind them rumbled once more and slowly closed.
Boom!
After a loud bang, the stone doors shut completely, blocking out all light from outside and plunging the temple into darkness.
However, the darkness did not last long.
"Clang!"
The instant the stone doors closed, a hazy radiance blossomed from within the temple, driving away all the darkness.
"—!"
Shien and Merika felt their vision darken, only for it to brighten again a moment later, revealing the temple's interior before their eyes.
Only then did they clearly see everything inside the temple.
"What is this...?"
Shien could not help but freeze.
Because the sight before him was somewhat breathtaking.
The inside of the temple was actually a remarkably beautiful garden.
That was right.
A garden.
It was filled with flowers of every color.
All kinds of vegetation covered the grounds.
Butterflies fluttered through the air.
Fairies chased one another.
Such a beautiful scene appearing within a temple was rather unbelievable.
Even more unbelievable was the enormous statue at the very depths of the garden.
The statue stood within a massive fountain. Crystal-clear water flowed from its sleeves, while a Light Tree behind it emitted a hazy glow.
The radiance that had just driven away the darkness within the temple came from that Light Tree.
The Light Tree's glow illuminated the entire temple like a sun on the ground, giving off warm sunlight. It was an exceedingly pleasing sight.
Shien and Merika's arrival did not disturb anything here.
Like Adam and Eve born into this place, they blended into the scene with astonishing speed.
No, more accurately, it was this scene that accepted Shien and Merika, rather than Shien and Merika blending into it.
Merika looked at everything before