After the female guard tidied up and left the little dark room, Xi Nian lay back alone on the fairly clean bed, clutching his aunt's Star-Spangled Tiara tightly in his arms as flickering, chilly firelight fell over him.
Naturally, it was impossible to return the tiara. Returning it would be a slap in Aunt Diana's face.
But this tiara was simply too heavy.
In every sense, it was the most precious thing in this world, beyond any measure of value.
"Can I bear it?"
Xi Nian lay on the bed for a long while. In the end, he sighed, put the tiara back on his head, and rose to leave the room.
Even without claustrophobia, this place was far too stifling. He wanted to go out and get some air.
But just as Xi Nian had made it halfway to the door, he recalled how General Antiope had instructed the female guard outside not to let him wander around.
Now, he completely understood why Antiope's attitude toward him had been so awful.
If someone had designs on Aunt Diana, Xi Nian's attitude would be a hundred times worse! And if he had known beforehand what it meant for his aunt to possess the tiara, he never would have let her put it on his head!
If he insisted on going out as a prince, the female guard probably would not dare stop him. But Xi Nian did not want to make things difficult for her, so he turned around in the corridor instead.
He returned to the front of his room.
Xi Nian suddenly stopped and looked toward the depths of the corridor within the ancient structure. There was a faint light at its end, and a subtle breeze drifted through the dark passage.
If he was not allowed to wander outside, then taking a walk inside should be fine, right?
Xi Nian shrugged.
Besides, the female guard had just said that as long as he did not take anything from inside out, there would be no problem.
Xi Nian did not overthink it. Without stopping, he continued deeper into the ancient building.
"These walls are really thick..." The farther Xi Nian walked into the corridor, the more surprised he became.
Aside from the guardroom he had just been in, this ancient circular structure barely had any other rooms. It was all solid brick walls, with only a narrow corridor leading inward.
Could you imagine it?
Judging by its design, this circular building was like a sealed Poké Ball. Once the corridor was closed, no one could get out from inside.
"Perhaps only the Tri-Symbiotic Form could force its way out if trapped in here..." Xi Nian pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of the Essence Devourer Beast. His aunt had said it would not be easy to bring it to Themyscira, so she had entrusted it to a friend with experience keeping pets for a few days.
That friend seemed to be called "Barry Allen"?
Xi Nian soon reached the deepest part of the building. The instant he stepped out of the corridor, the sight before him abruptly opened up!
Inside was an exceptionally spacious, retro-style hall.
Strange stone-carved murals and ancient Greek writing covered the walls around the hall, as if recording a long, unknown history of the Old Gods. Light, cool wind, and air filtered through the gaps in the star-shaped metal grating atop the hall. Faint beams of light, their dust motes clearly visible, shone down onto the stone altar at the center of the ancient building's main hall.
On top of the two-meter-high stone altar sat a mysterious cube-shaped object, like a rusted metal box.
The iron box had been placed here for an unknown length of time. Dim light, floating dust, and even the years themselves lay still and sank beside it.
"So this is the thing that has been guarded for over a thousand years?" Xi Nian stared blankly for a moment.
He finally understood why no one had touched it in a thousand years.
Leaving aside Themyscira's Zeus barrier and the Amazons taking turns guarding it, just look at its pathetic appearance—
Who would want this broken box?
Of course, it might be a hidden divine artifact.
Xi Nian had no intention of investigating it. Standing before the stone altar, he began doing the chest-expansion exercises from middle school.
He took a deep breath. The air in the innermost main hall connected to the outside, and Xi Nian immediately felt much more refreshed.
But suddenly!
Something seemed to catch the corner of his eye.
Xi Nian stopped moving, his astonished gaze landing on the iron box atop the stone altar.
Just now.
Had that thing moved?
Themyscira, Amazon royal palace.
The palace interior was resplendent in gold and jade. Every furnishing and decoration within it, including the golden chairs and bead curtains still in use, would be a collector's treasure outside.
"Mother." Diana entered the palace and crouched beside a chair.
On the golden throne, a dignified woman who somewhat resembled Diana, whose face and figure showed no signs of age, and who wore a golden tiara—Amazon Queen Hippolyta—could not help revealing a genuinely excited smile.
Hippolyta reached forward and gently touched Diana's cheek with her palm. "My child, you suffered out there alone."
"I didn't." Diana gently shook her head and held her mother's hand. "Mother, I'm fine. I can take care of myself."
"Of course I know. After all, you are the only daughter of me, the Amazon queen!" Hippolyta nodded with a smile, then suddenly paused and looked at Diana's forehead. "Diana, where is your Star-Spangled Tiara?"
"Mother, I was just about to tell you about that. I didn't come back alone this time."
A blissful smile appeared on Diana's face as she said with immense seriousness and pride, "I gave it to someone—a human!"
Inside the ancient building's main hall.
Xi Nian stared blankly at the iron box. Hadn't the female guard just said this thing had not moved for a thousand years?
Why had he just seen the iron box sway slightly?!
Was his vision playing tricks on him? Had he seen wrong?
That possibility could not be ruled out.
Xi Nian had only caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye. It was quite possible that the interplay of light and shadow had made him think the box moved.
To confirm it.
Xi Nian held his breath and approached the stone altar.
When he came within three meters, Xi Nian could see more clearly that the iron box atop the altar bore strange patterns, like stars and like the sun. An extremely thick layer of dust had accumulated over its surface.
The beams of light from the building's dome bathed him.
Subconsciously, Xi Nian reached toward the iron box on the stone altar, wanting to wipe away the dust covering its surface.
His fingers drew closer, little by little.
Just before his fingertips touched the box, Xi Nian hurriedly pulled back his hand.
What was he doing? Carelessly touching someone else's things was not a good habit!
Still.
Looking at the thick dust blanketing the box, Xi Nian confirmed that he had indeed seen wrong—if the box had really shaken, some of the dust on top would surely have been rattled off.
"Forget it. Time to head back."
Xi Nian gave up investigating the broken box and turned to leave the main hall.
Xi Nian did not notice.
The moment his front foot left the main hall and entered the corridor.
The iron box on the stone altar inexplicably trembled several times, shaking off a considerable amount of dust. Before the fallen dust could reach the floor, it mysteriously vanished within the hall's space.
The box trembled as though it possessed a life of its own!
As if it were afraid, still shaken by lingering fear.
And this trembling soon sank back into the stillness it had maintained for a thousand years.
It continued to lie dormant, waiting for an opportunity!
Before you continue