Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 2033 Moon Temple

The party stared at the magnificent scene for a few moments.

They had never seen the moon appear so big before. It was strange.

The moon always seemed so distant. But when they approached this ancient broken structure, the moon looked so close. Almost as if they could reach out with their hands and touch it.

"This… this is not an illusion, is it?" Michael said nervously.

The others also thought the same. After all, how could something like the moon change its position so drastically?

Thankfully, there were no monsters in the vicinity. Or they would have truly taken advantage of the party's distraction at the moment.

Fortunately, Luca and Leah were still on their guard even though they were stunned by the change in scenery before them.

"Let's move," Luca said as he slowly approached the Moon Temple. Everyone quickly followed behind him, not wanting to stay too far.

They passed through the broken entrance.

The moment they stepped inside, the ground beneath their feet suddenly gave way.

"Wha—"

"Ahh!!"

The entire group lost their balance. Stone crumbled beneath them as they slid down into the darkness. Luca reached for the edge, but his finger caught nothing. One after another, they disappeared beneath the ruined floor.

THUD!

They crashed into something below.

The party immediately lit their torches. Flickering flames sprang to life, pushing the darkness around them and revealing the place they had fallen.

They found themselves standing in a wide marble corridor. The walls were made of pale stone, though millennia of neglect had left them cracked and stained. Dust covered the floor, and fragments of marble littered the ground.

Their torchlight danced across the surfaces, creating the illusion that the shadows were moving along with them.

Luca looked behind them with a grim look in his eyes. The passage through which they had fallen was completely blocked by rubble.

"There's no way back," he said quietly.

He examined the collapsed passage before turning toward the darkness ahead. The only way was forward.

Their footsteps echoed through the corridor as they proceeded. It was strangely grand despite its age. Tall pillars supported the ceiling. Along both sides of the grand corridor were enormous murals, their colors faded almost beyond recognition.

"Wait." Leah raised her torch as she stepped closer to the wall. "There are paintings here."

The others gathered around her and glanced at the painting.

The first mural depicted a battlefield.

Two enormous armies stood facing one another beneath a darkened sky. Warriors filled the landscape as far as the eyes could see. Then came the clash. The two armies collided in the center of the mural. Neither side appeared victorious.

"There was a war," Michael whispered with trembling eyes.

"Looks like it." Luca nodded.

"These two armies…" Michael suddenly thought of something and said, "Don't they remind you of the ones fighting outside those giant walls?"

Everyone fell silent. It sounded too ridiculous, but no one could refute it. They exchanged uneasy glances and moved to the next mural.

This one was different. A group of weary people could be seen traveling through enormous mountains. Their clothing was ragged, and many carried children or belongings upon their backs.

"Refugees," Meji murmured.

"And those mountains…" Dell began. "Are they supposed to be the ones we just passed through? The Lamiyan Mountains?"

"Perhaps," Luca said.

The mural continued along the wall. The travelers eventually descended from the mountains and discovered a vast stretch of untouched land. They built simple homes. Then more homes appeared. The small settlement slowly became a town. And finally, a great city stood upon the land.

"They built an entire kingdom," Leah said.

While the others remained silent, Luca couldn't help but subconsciously think of the Edavane Kingdom. After all, unlike the rest, Adam had informed him about the existence of this second kingdom.

Alas, Adam hadn't told Luca about Philippe's memories. Otherwise, Luca would have surely connected all the dots and confirmed that the murals indeed depicted the history of the establishment of the Edavane Kingdom.

The next section of the mural showed the kingdom flourishing. Fields stretched across the countryside. Great buildings rose above the city, while people gathered in markets and plazas.

But there was one feature that appeared again and again.

The moon.

It hung above the kingdom in almost every scene. And in the final mural, it dominated the entire wall.

A magnificent moon shone over the kingdom, surrounded by a halo of silver light. Beneath it stood a featureless woman wearing flowing robes.

"The Moon Goddess," Luca couldn't help but subconsciously mutter.

The artist had painted her with one hand raised toward the heavens, as though blessing the kingdom beneath her. The figures below the goddess were shown kneeling, praying toward the moon.

Michael looked along the mural, his torch trembling slightly in his hand. "So this entire kingdom worshipped the moon goddess?"

Leah suddenly said, "And there's a sun temple back in Adventurers' City… just what is going on?"

The group fell silent. For a while, they simply stood there beneath the fading image of the goddess.

The torch flames suddenly flickered violently.

A gust of cold wind swept through the corridor, carrying with it a damp, stale scent that seemed to rise from somewhere deep underground.

Everyone froze.

A chill crawled down their spines, and an inexplicable feeling of mortal dread overwhelmed them.

Michael tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

Luca slowly raised his torch. His eyes narrowed as he stared into the depths of the corridor. Ahead, the darkness seemed endless. The flickering torchlight could not reach the end.

"We are not alone, after all." His words caused the others to be utterly frightened.

Michael tried to convince everyone to leave for the nth time. "Guys, we should—"

He stopped abruptly.

A faint sound echoed through the corridor.

Scrape!

Everyone froze, their eyes widening.

SCRAPE!!

Unbeknownst to them, far beyond the darkness, where the ancient corridor opened into a colossal underground cavern, something had stirred.

A gigantic figure slowly shifted within the shadows. The sound of countless limbs scraping against stone echoed in the chamber.

It had sensed them. The intruders.

Slowly, the creature opened its eyes.

One, two, three, four… eight crimson eyes slowly opened in the depths of the cavern!