The moment they entered the opening, the light dimmed.
The headlights came on, two brilliant beams piercing the darkness ahead.
A long corridor sloped steadily downward, its width staggering.
The surrounding walls were built from those same massive blue-gray stones, fitted so tightly that not even a needle could slip between them.
Every ten meters or so, a Bronze Ancient Lamp was embedded in the wall. Eerie blue flames burned within, looking especially sinister in the pitch-black corridor.
"These flames are still burning? How long has this ruin been here?"
Su Ye looked at the eerie blue flames, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.
What drew his attention even more, however, were the enormous murals lining both walls.
As the vehicle advanced slowly, the scenes depicted in the murals gradually unfolded before him.
Su Ye studied them closely.
In the earliest scenes, this place had not been covered in swirling black sand, but had instead been a thriving oasis.
Clear spring water gushed forth, nourishing vast stretches of vegetation.
A man holding a scepter set with an enormous gemstone led a group of people to settle here. They built a magnificent city, and he became the king of this nation.
The people lived and worked in peace, raising families in a land filled with harmony and prosperity.
But the imagery soon changed.
One day, the gushing spring water suddenly turned murky, even taking on an eerie black hue.
Then yellow sand filled the sky, and the oasis began shrinking rapidly.
The land the entire nation could inhabit grew smaller and smaller, and fear and despair filled the people's faces.
At last, a terrifying sandstorm blotted out the sky, swallowing and burying the entire nation.
In the final few murals, the king had not chosen to flee. Instead, scepter in