As the aged voice spoke, a pale phantom appeared at the entrance to the passage.
It looked like an old man with graying hair and beard, formed entirely of mental energy, without a physical body.
"Master, is he human, like you?" Sigrdrifa asked uncertainly.
By saying that, Sigrdrifa had already stopped counting herself as human.
Bai Xiaowen shook his head. "It's just a mental projection. It can take any form it wants. He probably chose this one to put us at ease and make it easier to talk."
The two had been speaking through Mind Link, but the old man seemed to sense it. He smiled. "Greetings, outsiders. I am a caretaker of the Antakhe Kingdom. My kingdom has long since turned to dust. I pose no threat to you. If you wish to learn the secrets of the Antakhe Kingdom, I can help."
Bai Xiaowen's interest was piqued.
As a planet in the Origin Land, Profound Ice Star really had been home to an ancient kingdom! Did that mean other planets in the Origin Land might also hold the ruins of ancient kingdoms?
Those ancient kingdoms likely dated back to the age when the gods flourished. Their ruins might reveal many secrets about the gods, perhaps even about the Origin Land itself.
"How should I address you? Were you the king of the Antakhe Kingdom?" Bai Xiaowen asked.
The old man shook his head, a trace of melancholy entering his voice. "I was not the king, nor any of his ministers. I am not the ghost of any one person, but the representative of the countless Antakheans whose consciousnesses lie dormant beneath Hailan Star. You may simply call me Antakhe."
The old man, Antakhe, drifted forward, and Bai Xiaowen followed close behind.
As he floated along, Antakhe spoke in