The group walked on, destroying quite a few skeletons along the way, until a golden stele came into view ahead.
Looking at the stele, Jerrod explained, "That's called the Hope Stele. Once adventurers see it, they know they're not far from the entrance. Even if they've run out of food and water, are exhausted, and have used up their last torch, they can grit their teeth, squeeze out whatever strength they have left, and make it to the entrance alive."
"Not many people fall between the stele and the entrance?" Pan Long asked.
Eric nodded. "Very few. Apart from the occasional rookie with a death wish, most people fall beyond this stretch."
"So it's only after passing the stele that we truly enter the perilous underground ruins?" Pan Long asked.
Eric laughed. "You could put it that way, but I prefer to look at it from the brighter side."
Talking and laughing, they reached the foot of the stele.
As Pan Long approached it, he clearly felt the oppressive, evil presence that had been everywhere suddenly dissipate. Even the air seemed fresher.
"This stele is a holy relic too?" he asked.
"Not just a holy relic, but an extraordinarily powerful one." Sister Cadra looked up at the relief carved into the stele. It showed a knight holding a golden cup and offering it upon an altar. Then the cup rose slowly into the sky, surrounded by singing angels.
It depicted a famous religious tale: a pure and kind knight found the legendary Holy Grail, which could grant immortality, for his lord, but returned it to heaven instead.
Pan Long couldn't quite follow the knight's reasoning—though he couldn't follow the logic in most religious stories. Their values were too different. Many things believers took for granted baffled him; likewise, many things