Ruined Space

"Wait!" Suye called out to Hark.

Hark stopped and turned to look at Suye.

Smiling, Suye reached toward Hark.

Hark's expression suddenly turned cold. Though he looked no different from before, only he could feel it.

Suye grabbed the Short Sword.

"I'll return it when I have time. Thanks." Holding the Bronze Short Sword, Suye rushed into the house.

Hark opened his mouth, then let out a heavy breath and turned to leave. After taking only a few steps, he looked back at Suye's house, seized by the urge to climb over the wall and take the sword back.

That was no ordinary Bronze Short Sword. It was a Magic Short Sword sharper than steel, and it had cost him a year's worth of money he could have lived on without eating or drinking.

Inside, Suye held the sword and examined it carefully.

Sure enough, this isn't an ordinary bronze sword. Not bad. I can use it to protect myself. As Suye thought, he began considering how to get through the night.

Holding the sword, Suye kept thinking. No matter how hard he had worked before, accidents could still happen. If Lawrence went mad, or if the person behind the scenes acted directly, Suye might die before dawn.

"I can only use the last resort to save myself..."

After thinking for a moment, Suye entered the Living Room and bowed ninety degrees to the statues of Zeus, Athena, and Vulcan.

"Three great gods, I am only taking this measure to protect myself. I have no intention of disrespecting you. The ones truly disrespecting you are those who would step past you and kill me right before your eyes."

After speaking, Suye slowly moved the Three Divine Statues to the doorway, facing outward.

Standing in the pitch-black Living Room, Suye looked at the Back View of the three Stone Statues. For some reason, he felt uneasy.

Suye opened the Magic Book and carefully sent a letter to Plato Academy's administrative office.

"Someone intends to kill a student of Plato Academy tonight—that is, me. I don't study well, so perhaps I deserve to be ignored. But if I am killed, then if the Archmages of Plato Academy have time, please help avenge me while you're at it. I believe you can do it! Respectfully, Suye."

After sending the letter, Suye began searching through the Magic Book for three-dimensional animated magic. Soon, an elderly man's magical Hologram rose from the book. It was about a foot tall, with thick hair and a beard white as frost. His face was kind, and although his eyes were blurry, the outline of his features was exquisitely detailed.

Plato.

Suye placed the open Magic Book behind the three statues. At the same time, he unfolded a copy of the earlier letter and placed it before Plato's Magic Image.

"Four of you, my life is in your hands!"

Suye bowed with utmost solemnity. He had already done everything he could. If the other side still insisted on killing him, then even fleeing Athens City would not save him.

Do all one could, then leave the rest to fate.

However, Suye did not immediately lie down and sleep. Instead, he sat in a chair in the Living Room, gripping the bronze sword and resting with his eyes closed.

He had been far too exhausted today. After an unknown amount of time, Suye fell asleep.

"Huh?"

Suye blinked repeatedly and looked around.

"This dream feels a little too real."

Suye found himself amidst ruins. The ground was uneven, the steps worn down, stone pillars had collapsed, and cracks ran everywhere. Everything was old and broken, as though it had existed for countless years.

These ruins covered only a little over two hundred square meters and formed an irregular circle. Beyond them was endless white light.

After scanning his surroundings, Suye looked toward the far end directly ahead of the circular ruins.

There stood a headless statue in a standing posture, its hands hanging at its sides, dressed only in an extremely simple long robe.

Suye could not determine the style of the robe. Similar garments seemed to have appeared in both the East and the West, yet upon closer inspection, there were subtle differences.

Before the towering Headless Statue stood a Round Table.

Suye walked down the steps toward the Round Table, only to discover that it was a stone Round Platform.

Most of the Round Platform was white. Beyond the white circle in its center were layer upon layer of golden-edged rings, ten in total. Each ring was engraved with extraordinarily complex, mysterious black-and-gold runes, growing progressively larger from the inside out.

Looking at the Round Platform, Suye immediately realized for some reason that it was an Altar, as though the Altar itself had told him.

"This dream is strange..."

Suye reached out and touched the Round Platform. The sensation was clear, and its texture felt incredibly real.

"No!"

Suye suddenly said, "Major premise: Greeks all believe in gods. Minor premise: I am Greek. Conclusion: therefore, I believe in gods. This..."

Suye's eyes were filled with confusion.

Dreams had no logic, yet he had just effortlessly produced a syllogism. Though it was merely the most basic logical knowledge, it could not possibly appear in a dream.

Suye reached out and pinched his leg. He felt nothing.

"What is going on?"

Suye began trying various methods and gradually formed a vague guess.

"This is not a dream. It is a strange space. My body has not entered, but my consciousness, will, or spirit has. I want to leave!"

The next instant, Suye abruptly opened his eyes in the Living Room.

Just as Suye was about to test it further, he noticed the three statues at the doorway and Plato's Back View. After some thought, he picked up the Bronze Short Sword and the Money Pouch and headed outside. However, rather than stepping past the three statues and the Magic Image, he turned sideways and squeezed out along the edge to avoid being disrespectful.

Avoiding the Living Room, Suye entered the bedroom. Then he closed his eyes and silently said, I want to enter.

Nothing changed.

I want to enter that place.

Nothing changed.

After thinking for a moment, Suye began picturing the Altar in his mind, then silently said, I want to enter here.

Nothing changed.

Suye frowned and pondered for quite some time. Then he suddenly closed his eyes and pictured the Headless Statue. For some reason, Suye felt a mysterious connection form between himself and that Headless Statue, just like the connection between himself and the Magic Book.

I want to enter!

Suye's vision went dark, then bright, and he entered the Ruined Space once more.

Suye suddenly remembered that when he had encountered a tsunami in Greece and been swept to the bottom of the sea, he had seen a vast underwater ruin.

The style of this Ruined Space was exactly the same as those underwater ruins.

Could it be that I brought part of those underwater ruins here before I died? Or is that underwater ruin why I can appear here?

Unable to figure it out no matter how he thought about it, Suye temporarily put aside the question of its origin and began considering the function of this Ruined Space.

"There's an Altar, so I should be able to make sacrifices." Having found the key, Suye looked around, then lowered his head to look at his hands. They were empty.

"Can things from the outside world be brought in? If not, can I only sacrifice myself?"

Suye stared at the Altar for a long while. After All, he did not jump onto it. Instead, with a thought, his vision brightened and darkened, and he returned to the bedroom.

After thinking for a moment, Suye tightly gripped the Money Pouch and the Bronze Short Sword, imagining himself standing before the Headless Statue with these two items.

His vision went dark, then bright. Suye found himself standing in the Ruined Space again, right beside the Altar.

Looking down, Suye's face lit up with joy. The Bronze Short Sword and that bag of Gold Coins were both still in his hands.