After another round of intense bombardment, the passageway leading to the main burial chamber came into view for the members of " Machinery Hivemind ".
The ground was littered with debris, and another Beyonder Characteristic diamond-shaped object reflecting a human face lay quietly at the bottom of the right wall, shimmering alongside the other two glowing objects.
The entire passageway, including the walls on both sides and the stone slabs on the ceiling, was riddled with potholes, but one thing remained perfectly intact.
It is a picture frame hanging about seven or eight meters in front of you, brownish-yellow in color, with a clear wood grain, and only the side is visible for now.
Without needing anyone to remind them, all the Beyonder present noticed its strangeness.
At this moment, Archbishop Horamick Haydn of the Church of Steam and Machinery, who had been relatively quiet until now, stepped forward and said in a gentle voice:
"It should be the ' Ghost Picture Frame ' belonging to the Amon Family in the records. As long as you enter its range and are reflected in it, your spirit will instantly separate from your flesh and blood and become a portrait painting, and be sealed inside it forever. In this state, even if the portrait is replaced, there is no corresponding way to save you."
"If the seal is maintained for too long and the body dies, even if the correct method to break the seal is mastered, the spirit will quickly dissipate."
As he spoke, Horamick walked step by step closer to the strange picture frame.
Klein was instinctively worried and dared not witness the Demigod's battle against the Sealed Artifact, but he quickly realized that he was only watching the holographic image provided by the Magic Mirror Arrodes, so what was there to be afraid of?
"That's perfectly normal, just like the immediate feeling of watching a horror movie or playing a dark fantasy game..." Klein reassured himself, quickening his pace to catch up with Horamick Haydn.
The Demigod archbishop quickly approached the area where the magical artifact needed to be sealed, his figure, dressed in a white priest's robe and wearing a clergyman's soft cap, gradually appearing in the glass of the picture frame.
Glass... Glass existed in the Fourth Epoch? It seems so. At least glass has been present throughout the history of the Fifth Epoch, and it's never been mentioned who invented it... Klein awaited the "battle" between the Demigod and the strange Sealed Artifact with great interest.
Horamick's upper body is fully displayed within the " Ghost Picture Frame," but his eyes have not lost their sparkle!
He walked towards the picture frame, face to face.
The figure within the picture frame rippled, as if it were constantly trying to shrink inward, but without success.
Horamick stopped, took out a large, almost opaque black cloth that he had prepared beforehand, and covered the " Ghost Picture Frame."
The picture frame trembled a few times, but was eventually completely covered by the black cloth and returned to calm.
Horamick seemed unaffected, easily removing the " Ghost Picture Frame," wrapping it in a black cloth, and tying a knot at his back.
This... this isn't mysticism... wasn't it supposed to absorb the spirit into the frame and turn it into a portrait? How come the archbishop is completely unharmed... is this a special case of Demigod, or is there another reason? Klein was puzzled and scrutinized Horamick Haydn from head to toe, but found nothing unusual.
His eyes were bright, his expression kind, and his flesh and blood full... It's a pity I wasn't there, otherwise I could use my Spirit Vision to study him... Klein withdrew his gaze and waited for Ikanser and the other members of " Machinery Hivemind " to arrive.
Horamick handed the " Ghost Picture Frame " to a team member and walked forward to the entrance of the main burial chamber at the end of the passageway.
There was a black stone door with patterns resembling those carved by a knife and axe, with a gray-white disc inlaid in the center.
The surface of the dial is divided into twelve sections, with a black pointer, just like an external clock.
However, the squares were not evenly distributed across the board; some were large, some were small, creating a very uncoordinated effect, and half of each square was shaded.
"The coat of arms of the Amon Family," Archbishop Horamick briefly explained.
He didn't explain the symbolic meaning of the coat of arms in detail, because only Ikanser Bernard, was qualified to know.
Klein, relying on his knowledge of occultism, attempted to offer an interpretation:
"The combination of the disc, the twelve squares, and the pointer clearly represents time, which coincides with the ' Worm of Time ' left behind after Amon's avatar perished. The twelve squares of the disc, which should be evenly divided, are of unequal size and are shrouded in shadow. Does this indicate that the Amon Family is the dark side of time? And where does their title of ' Blasphemer ' come from?"
As Klein's thoughts raced, Archbishop Horamick pushed open the stone door without taking any precautions.
The heavy stone door opens wide, revealing an extremely spacious burial chamber.
In the very center of the tomb chamber, a high platform is built, upon which sits a dark black coffin.
Iron-colored lamp holders protrude from the surrounding walls, supporting white candles that are still burning quietly.
None of the candles flickered, the scene was so still it seemed like a frozen frame, completely untouched by the passage of one or two thousand years.
Along the straight path from the stone gate to the coffin, there lay rows of corpses. Some wore black woolen overcoats and top silk hats, while others were dressed as ordinary workers and wore baseball caps, clearly people who had entered this place in recent years.
Those Beyonder who recruited helpers before? How did they get through the area ahead? The Monster like the Human-skinned Shadow are clearly still alive... Klein stared intently at the corpses, his mind filled with questions.
Upon seeing this, he was immediately taken aback.
The corpses all had sparse white hair, dry and wrinkled skin, and obvious mottled marks, like old men in their eighties or nineties.
There were no obvious wounds on their bodies; they appeared to have died of old age, and not long after, before their bodies had even begun to decompose.
Clearly, not so many elderly Beyonder would explore a tomb. Even if they found the people here were old, they would try to recruit young and strong helpers... Something's strange here! Klein frowned slightly and looked around again.
He quickly connected the " Worm of Time " left behind by Amon's clone with the Amon Family crest on the stone gate, which symbolized time.
Is making people age rapidly one of the extraordinary abilities of the Amon Family? The dark side of time... the loopholes in time... Could it be that while making others age rapidly, members of the Amon Family regain their youth and gain longer lifespans? Wait, these Beyonder easily broke into this place; perhaps the tomb owner intentionally indulged himself, wanting to plunder others' time to maintain his own existence... Klein looked at the black coffin on the high platform with some suspicion.
At this moment, Horamick Haydn, a powerful Demigod, raised his left hand and pressed it down, saying:
"Stop here."
"Yes, Your Excellency the Archbishop," Ikanser and the others replied without hesitation.
As members of the official organization, they had read through numerous files on extraordinary events and knew that in similar situations, they must absolutely obey the will of the High-Sequence individuals and must never act on their own initiative or act recklessly, otherwise they would not even know how they died.
Horamick looked ahead and his gaze fell on an upside-down picture frame at the bottom of the platform.
He started walking without changing his expression, moving forward at a leisurely pace.
Without any preparation? Is "recklessness" the defining characteristic of Demigod? Klein was quite taken aback.
He could almost picture Horamick with his teeth gone, his hair white and thinning, his skin dry and wrinkled, aging rapidly.
One step, two steps, three steps, Horamick, who had been normal, suddenly shuddered, and a sharp, grinding sound came from inside his body.
His pace slowed, his movements became stiff, and his skin became noticeably dry.
This isn't right... This isn't normal human aging... What was that friction sound just now? Klein muttered to himself.
Four steps, five steps, six steps—a tearing sound came from Horamick's body, and something fell to the ground with a thud.
Klein glanced over instinctively and saw a gear.
Gears covered in rust!
Horamick continued forward, things falling off him from time to time: rusty screws, melted wax, yellowed bones, loose springs... His figure grew thinner and thinner, swaying precariously, as if he might collapse at any moment.
This is just like Robot... well, in the terms of this era, like a living Puppet... Klein suddenly realized something.
He remembered that Old Neil had said before he died that the Sequence 4 of the Church of the Earth Mother was good at " Life Refinement ", and the Sequence corresponding to the " Reader " pathway could also barely do it.
Horamick is High-Sequence powerhouse in the " Reader " pathway!
The Horamick in front of me isn't the real him, just Puppet I created. The reason the " Ghost Picture Frame " was ineffective was because the Puppet didn't have a spirit! The real Horamick should still be hanging far away... No wonder he's Demigod... Just as Klein realized this, the archbishop walked to the platform, bent his knees, bent his back, and flipped the upside-down frame over.
Normally, when exploring tombs with supernatural elements, one should avoid placing similar items in the front, but Horamick made the opposite choice this time.
As the picture frame flipped, a sudden gust of wind swept through the sealed tomb, dispelling the invisible confinement and silence.
The candles on the iron-colored lamp stand burned rapidly, becoming exceptionally bright, but soon reached the end of their lives, melting away completely.
The old corpses on the ground rotted rapidly, emitting a foul stench.
Within seconds, the main burial chamber became dim, with only the lanterns carried by the members of " Machinery Hivemind " barely illuminating the way ahead.
Horamick picked up the picture frame from the ground and shakily climbed the steps to the platform.
He approached the black coffin, extended his right palm, and pushed it forcefully.
With a creaking, scraping sound, a crack appeared in the heavy coffin lid, as if it hadn't been nailed shut at all.
Horamick glanced down, and said in the same tone:
There were no bodies.
The camera zoomed in, and Klein saw that the inside of the coffin was empty, except for a layer of pale gold cushion at the bottom, on which was embroidered a worm with twelve rings on its body.
At that moment, Horamick turned around, and the picture frame he was holding came into view of Ikanser and the others.
Klein's gaze froze after just one glance.
It was a portrait of a young man with a smile on his lips.
He has dark eyes and curly black hair.
He had a broad forehead and a thin face.
He wore a monocle with a crystal lens.
He was wearing a black, pointed soft hat.
Ah, Amon!
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