I knew it. Any phenomenon that couldn't be explained was an Enlightener's curse! How tragic!
Since this involved an Enlightener relic, Yu Lian figured he ought to be able to call on the ever-reliable Little Gray in a situation like this. But at the moment, he couldn't sense her presence at all.
Also, what had he just said? "She and her companions?"
That phrasing was way too suggestive, wasn't it?
The emperor didn't even need to look at Yu Lian's face to guess what he was thinking, but he didn't hide anything. "Archaeological discoveries from the reign of Emperor Ivenya yielded a life-generating treasure from the age of the Enlighteners. Under the direction of the chancellor of the time, Shire, the Empire completed preliminary reverse engineering of the relic. I created four perfect prototypes in succession. Besides Miss Fina, the 'Undying Dragon' Emperor Ivenya, there were No. 1, modeled on the 'Sage' Ounal; No. 2, modeled on the 'Glorified One' Niruhi; and No. 3, modeled on the 'Mithril Heart' Moran."
Come to think of it, the entire Prototype Project had revolved around operating the Enlightener relic. The staff were more record-keepers than operators. Their main job must have been reverse engineering.
Pondering this, Yu Lian asked in puzzlement, "They were all emperors of the Common Era, and all eighth-ringers. Why not look for true ninth-ringers like the 'Sword Emperor,' the 'Conqueror,' or the 'Blood Emperor'?"
The emperor spread his hands, looking quite regretful. "Before Emperor Ivenya obtained that Enlightener relic, the 'Life Spirit Hub,' the Empire had no real tradition of burial. We certainly built tombs, but only because nothing but grandeur could establish our authority."
It was true that human civilizations loved building extravagant wonders that bankrupted their nations, but the ones most addicted to them were those extravagantly