Brilliant Civilization

Italy.

On the shores of the Bay of Naples, at the southwestern foot of Mount Vesuvius.

In the 8th century BC, this was during the height of the Ancient Roman Empire. It was Pompeii, the second-largest city after Ancient Rome.

It lay 300 kilometers north of Rome, bordered the famous Sicily to the west, and connected to Greece and North Africa to the south.

Pompeii City's miraculous Temple of the Sun God, enormous Beast Arena, magnificent grand theater, effective Wizard's Hall, and novel entertainment venues drew countless wealthy merchants and nobles from city-states around the Mediterranean Sea.

Because the area possessed naturally unusual lava soil, volcanic rocks, and geothermal hot springs, bathhouses flourished.

Over time, it also became a renowned place of luxury and debauchery along the shores of the Bay of Naples.

Brothels, prostitutes, and bathing girls could be found everywhere.

A paradise for the rich to indulge their bestial desires, a hell of suffering for the poor.

However.

One day in AD 79, Mount Vesuvius, which stood north of ancient Pompeii, suddenly erupted violently.

Volcanic ash surged forth, filling the sky and blotting out the sun in an instant.

Then scorching lava rolled down like a rushing river.

The residents of Pompeii tried to flee, only to discover that the disaster was simply irresistible.

Riding the air currents, huge amounts of toxic gas and sulfurous vapor from within the volcano had already covered all of Pompeii.

Mount Vesuvius erupted for eight days and eight nights.

Showers of volcanic ash continued to fall. Once the mudflows dried, they became as hard as stone, forming what geology called water-soluble rock.

This layer of "stone shell" covered the entire Pompeii City, wrapping everything within it.

Pompeii City's population of 25,000 was frozen in that instant.

In later generations, the ruins were