Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 723: Will an aria be heard from the dark underground?

This passageway did not seem to be artificially built, but rather a natural crack formed during geological activities. Therefore, the ground beneath the feet was uneven, and there were often hidden rocks or broken stones blocking the way, so one had to be extra careful to pass through safely. At this time, the light source used by the group was no longer the lantern in Olvera's hand, but the bracelet worn by Sister Livia on her left hand. The gem inlaid in the middle of the gorgeous cross sword was like a small sun in this dim underground world, illuminating the surroundings as bright as day, and not even sparing the narrowest shadows.

Sister Livia held her wristband high, walked in front to explore the way, and was ready for battle. However, there seemed to be no signs of monsters around. With such a narrow corridor and dangerous terrain, even monsters would retreat. In this way, the nun's vigilant look and alert eyes should be wary of other people.

As soon as Lorena showed a thoughtful expression, the wheelchair got stuck with a click. The culprit was a rock buried under the mud and sand. The sudden reaction force made Lorena's body lean forward involuntarily. Fortunately, she reacted in time, grabbed the handrails tightly with both hands, and tilted her body weight to the side, barely maintaining her balance and not falling to the ground, which would have been embarrassing and possibly injured.

“Wow!?”

Olvera, who was pushing her wheelchair, turned pale with fright. Of course, it could also be because the light was too bright: "Lolo, Lolo, Lena, are you okay? Wow, I didn't mean to do that. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!"

"fine."

Rolena waved her hand and smiled nonchalantly: "This kind of terrain is indeed not suitable for wheelchairs. It seems that I should wait for you outside."

"That won't work. It's so dark outside. How can we let you stay alone and be scared?" Although Lorena was not afraid of the dark at all, Ovella judged her by herself and believed that she was afraid of the dark, so she promised in a firm tone: "Don't worry, I will not make any mistakes next time. I will definitely protect this wheelchair, Lorena!"

Uh, shouldn't you protect me?
Princess Haiqi laughed dryly and was not in a position to comment.

However, Leticia squatted in front of the leg bone and observed it silently for a long time before finally coming to an indisputable conclusion: "This person must have been malnourished before he died, so his bones are so porous."

After walking forward for a few minutes, the corridor gradually became wider, from the narrowest point that could only accommodate one person to a width that could accommodate two or three people walking side by side without feeling crowded. Moreover, the ground was no longer just dark soil and broken stones, but the shadow of man-made products appeared. In addition to the stone slabs that Metien had picked up before, there were also things such as stone bricks, tiles, pottery fragments, broken spears, etc., which were obviously ancient relics scattered from the unknown ruins ahead.

Because of this sudden incident, the group slowed down their pace a little. In fact, it should be said that they returned to their normal speed. Walking in such a narrow underground corridor should be done with caution, and Sister Livia, who was leading the way, was obviously a little impatient. As for the reason for her impatience, she did not reveal it herself, and the considerate guests naturally did not ask.

Every time she found a relic, Sister Livia would bend over to pick it up and observe it carefully, just like she did with the slate. Although there were no pictures or words on these relics, she still observed them very carefully, as if she could really see something from them. Metien also followed her example and picked up and observed any relic she was interested in, until she almost picked up a gray-white leg bone from the soil. She was immediately startled and never dared to do it again.

“Uwaaa, stop it, Leticia!!!”

Was interrupted by Metien with a sad face.

Ten minutes later, the view in front of them suddenly became clear. The group had walked out of the crack and came to an open underground space. In front of them was the dilapidated and abandoned ancient ruins they had imagined. From the overall point of view, it seemed to be a complex of buildings, with many buildings that looked like temples or shrines surrounding the central temple. A series of circular passages passed through these buildings, connecting the entire ruins into a whole. Although all the buildings were dilapidated, with only broken tiles and ruins left, the solemn and dignified architectural style still made people feel the majesty of its heyday.

The most eye-catching one is undoubtedly the large temple in the center of the ruins. It is not very grand, only about 20 meters high. It adopts the most commonly used column support structure in ancient religious buildings, but two-thirds of the 64 columns have been broken, causing the obelisk to collapse in half and the outer wall to be completely damaged. The straight stairs leading to the main entrance span the entire ruins, estimated to be 100 meters long, with thousands of steps, but it was blocked by huge fallen rocks, and the remains of statues, pale bones and broken weapons were scattered everywhere. It seems that a tragic war had broken out here. Metien, who had finally gotten rid of the panic just now, saw the corpses and bones all over the ground, and her face turned even paler. It's not that she has never seen dead people before, and she even witnessed the tragic massacre of the Inquisition in the Virtual Root Swamp. But these two things were different. Facing the former who died howling in the fire, she felt angry, and facing these ancient people who had died many years ago and now only had a pair of empty eye sockets staring at her, she felt a fear from the bottom of her heart. Especially the gloomy and bleakness of this ruins, which was exactly the same as the ruins in the suburbs of Linville City, so the ghost legend that had been circulated in the city and the countryside suddenly climbed into her mind again, making the pink-haired girl feel that behind these dilapidated stone walls, lonely stone gates, and deserted and dilapidated streets... there were ghosts of the past era watching her, accusing the living of the cruelty of loneliness as the dead.

She swallowed subconsciously, and for a moment she thought about running behind Sister Olvera and Sister Rorona to let them protect her. But before she could put this idea into practice, a calm and holy chant suddenly came from beside her, echoing among the empty and dilapidated broken tiles and ruins. It was obviously only one person's voice, but it seemed to have traveled through countless times and countless spaces, and aroused a mighty echo.

"The living must endure the trials of this world, and the dead all have their own destinations."

"The one who brings the living into the world is a loving mother, the one who finds a home for the dead is a great teacher, and the one who makes the living and the dead rest in peace is their own pure spirit."

“We enjoy the Gospel of Our Lady, receive the teachings of the saints, and feel the miracles of the Holy Spirit.”

“So pray with me for those who are still dying and those who are not yet alive, telling them that we are all the same, and there is no me.”

"In the name of the Holy Trinity of the Virgin Mary, the Saints and the Holy Spirit, I hereby convey His will—"

"Go back to the place where you should rest in peace, the dead who cannot live, the living who cannot rest in death."

"When this world is born, it will call for every pure soul."

"You can come back again."

The last syllable of the aria falls softly, with ups and downs, and not lacking in kindness and compassion.

Thus, all that was filthy was purified, and all that was fearful was driven out. Although there was no change in the outward appearance, the entire ruins seemed to be cleansed and renewed, and even the air was filled with a holy and solemn atmosphere.

Metien let out a long breath, and felt that the uncomfortable feeling she had before had completely disappeared. Her mind had never been so clear as it was now, and other people had similar reactions.

At the same time, Sister Livia, with her hands clasped together, slowly opened her eyes. At that moment, some complex and inhuman emotions flashed in her eyes.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)