Chapter 362:Whispers.
Each figure had been carefully wrapped in faded linen that had somehow survived the passing of countless millennia. Leather belts still held ancient robes in place. Bronze ornaments rested around wrists and necks. Some wore crowns woven from golden branches that had long since become brittle with age.
Not one appeared to have collapsed or been disturbed; they remained exactly where someone had left them.
Atheline slowly lowered his bow.
"This wasn’t a burial."
Lilith nodded.
"No." She stepped toward the nearest alcove. "This was preservation."
The nearest mummy stood almost two meters tall. Its wrappings had yellowed with age, but they remained remarkably intact.
A beautifully crafted robe embroidered with golden thread hung beneath the linen. Even after thousands of years, the workmanship was extraordinary.
Lilith carefully examined the figure without touching it.
"The body hasn’t decomposed."
Atheline walked beside her.
"Impossible, it should be."
He crouched beside the stone platform. There were no magical circles, crystals, or obvious enchantments. Yet the body looked as though only months had passed instead of ages beyond counting.
He slowly stood again.
"I don’t sense any death magic."
Lilith closed her eyes briefly.
"Neither do I, nor corruption."
She frowned.
"Whatever preserved them... it wasn’t ordinary magic."
Together they slowly walked through the chamber. The further they went, the more unbelievable the sight became. Hundreds, then thousands, entire rows stretched endlessly into the darkness.
Some mummies wore armor, others wore elegant robes. Several carried staffs clasped peacefully before them. Many still possessed jewelry crafted from unfamiliar metals that hadn’t tarnished despite the passing of time.
The chamber resembled a city frozen in its final moment.
Nobody had been buried hurriedly. Everyone had been placed with remarkable care, and every individual stood facing the same direction, toward the center of the hall.
Atheline eventually noticed something unusual.
"They’re organized."
Lilith followed his gaze. He pointed toward the rows.
"These aren’t random. The soldiers are together." He gestured farther ahead. "The scholars, children, and elders."
Even entire families appeared to have been arranged side by side; parents, grandparents and young children standing between them.
Lilith’s expression softened.
"Whoever did this... wanted them to remain together."
Neither ruler spoke for several minutes. The sheer scale of the chamber demanded silence. Even their footsteps became quieter, as though raising their voices would somehow disrespect the countless dead surrounding them.
Eventually they reached the center of the enormous hall. There, the arrangement changed; instead of ordinary alcoves... A circular platform rose several meters above the surrounding floor.
Dozens of larger stone pillars surrounded it. At the center stood another preserved figure, unlike the others... This mummy wore robes unlike anything they had ever seen.
Layer upon layer of white and silver fabric cascaded elegantly toward the ground, and an intricate crown rested upon its head.
Its hands remained folded peacefully before its chest. Behind it, stone wings spread gracefully from the platform itself. They were not attached to the body but part of the monument.
Atheline slowly climbed the first step.
"I think... this was their leader."
Lilith nodded.
"Or someone equally important."
Before approaching any closer, both rulers carefully examined the platform itself. Ancient writing covered every side. Unlike the carvings near the cave entrance, these symbols remained surprisingly well preserved.
Lilith gently brushed away centuries of dust.
"There are too many."
Atheline removed the notebook from his pack.
"I’ll copy them."
For nearly an hour, neither spoke much. Lilith carefully uncovered every visible inscription while Atheline reproduced each symbol with painstaking precision.
Neither attempted to translate them; they simply preserved everything. If answers existed elsewhere, these writings might eventually provide them.
After finishing, Atheline quietly looked toward the crowned figure once more.
"I wonder..." He hesitated. "...what happened here."
Lilith looked around the endless chamber.
"No signs of battle, collapsed walls, blood, or weapons drawn." She slowly turned in place. "Everyone was deliberately arranged after death."
He nodded.
"Almost ceremonially."
The question remained.
Who had performed the ceremony?
And where had they gone afterward?
Their thoughts were interrupted by something unexpected. A faint sound echoed through the chamber. It sounded... Almost like breathing.
Both immediately became alert. Atheline drew an arrow while Lilith slipped one dagger into a reverse grip.
The sound came again; slow and rhythmic. Every preserved body remained perfectly still.
Atheline expanded his Wind Aether, the currents spreading carefully throughout the hall. Unlike the tunnels... His perception functioned normally here.
He searched every corner, but nothing moved.
"No living creatures."
Lilith frowned.
"I hear it too."
The breathing continued, then stopped. Silence returned.
They cautiously continued their exploration. Near the rear of the chamber, they discovered another surprise. Several enormous stone doors.
Each stood at least fifteen meters high; unlike everything else within the hall, these doors were closed. Thick layers of dust covered the floor before them.
Atheline placed one hand against the stone. It was cold, completely unmoving. He pushed gently, but nothing happened. Then, with considerably greater strength, still nothing.
Lilith joined him.
Together they applied enough force to move castle gates. The massive doors didn’t shift even a fraction. She slowly withdrew her hand.
"They’re intentionally sealed."
He nodded.
"And from this side."
That detail caught both their attention. Whatever lay beyond had been locked away by the people inside this chamber.
The whispers gradually returned, much louder than before. Now they no longer sounded distant; instead... it felt as though someone stood directly beside them.
"...Atheline..."
"...don’t leave..."
"...listen..."
He tightened his grip upon his bow, without answering or acknowledging.
Beside him, Lilith’s expression remained equally composed despite hearing different voices calling softly to her from every direction.
She recognized none of them, nor did she intend to. Years of discipline allowed both rulers to separate reality from temptation.
They continued walking.
At the far end of the chamber, they finally discovered another passage. Unlike the tunnel through which they had entered, this corridor descended sharply into darkness. Cold air drifted upward continuously. The whispers also seemed to originate from somewhere below.
Lilith stared into the blackness.
"So," She spoke quietly. "The chamber wasn’t the destination."
Atheline looked downward.
"No, it was only the entrance."
He glanced toward the preserved dead surrounding them.
"I don’t think these people died because of the spiders."
Lilith slowly nodded.
"Nor because of old age."
She looked once more toward the sealed stone doors and the carefully preserved rows of mummies.
"They were protecting something."
The realization settled heavily between them. The spiders, the illusion surrounding the sanctuary, the cave that induced madness, and the preserved dead; none of them existed independently; they were all connected. Like layers surrounding a single secret buried deep beneath the mountain.
Atheline quietly rolled the map containing his copied inscriptions before placing it safely inside his pack.
"We’ve already found enough discoveries to change history."
Lilith looked toward the descending corridor.
"And yet..." She smiled faintly. "I suspect history is waiting much deeper."
Without another word, the two rulers stepped toward the descending passage.