Chapter 285 - The Hall of Echoes
“Is this the state in all the chambers?” Scarlett asked gravely.
Gaspar’s reply was equally somber. “In every chamber of the Hall that we have managed to explore, yes.”
Before them loomed an immense doorway, flanked by colossal doors carved out of thick stone, each inscribed with innumerable arcane symbols and ancient Zuverian script. Most of the symbols were familiar to Scarlett, marking the threshold of the Hall of Echoes. Beyond lay the first chamber, a vast, elongated space bathed in a strange ambient glow, where towering marble pillars supported the vaulted ceiling.
In the ethereal light, wispy apparitions drifted — phantoms of white and grey, flickering as if between tangibility and mist, their forms vaguely humanoid like spectral memories. They numbered in the dozens of dozens, their presence blanketing the chamber.
Scarlett recognised them. They were Phantasms, and they were part of the Hall of Echoes’ defence system. The issue was that their presence here was abnormal. As far as she was aware, they should only manifest in the inner section of the Hall, not its outer chambers.
“They assail anyone who dares cross the threshold,” Gaspar explained, gesturing towards the doors. “Even if we dispel one, it reconstitutes within minutes.”
“How long has this been happening?” Scarlett asked.
Gaspar frowned. “We can’t be certain. The Hall of Echoes rarely sees visitors beyond the most senior mages. I was the one to discover this aberration, and that was five days ago.”
Scarlett turned to him in slight surprise. “You were?”
He nodded seriously. “Yes.”
Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before she glanced back at the Phantasms, a crease forming between her brows. “I see.”
This meant she had no way to confirm if this disturbance coincided with the Orrery’s reaction following the Cabal’s assault on the empire. The timing was suspicious, but without concrete evidence, she couldn’t draw any definitive conclusions.