Chapter 328: The Gate of Rebirth

The sound of the cannon-like roar reverberated through the underground space.

Propelled by gunpowder and further accelerated by enchantments akin to electromagnetic rails, the titanium-tungsten alloy bullet reached a terrifying speed of Mach 15 as it left the nearly three-meter-long barrel.

Thus, before the roar even echoed, the bullet traveling at fifteen times the speed of sound had already struck its target.

The massive mass and the extreme hardness of the titanium-tungsten alloy, enhanced by "Durability" enchantments, made this bullet more than capable of piercing through the front armor of a main battle tank.

The cleric's protection was effortlessly breached under such a brutal kinetic assault. In the next instant, half of his body was torn apart by the cavity effect, turning into mush, yet the bullet's incredible penetrating power only made him step back two paces.

Incredibly, the cleric was not yet dead. He knelt on the ground, lifting his expressionless face, "Heretic... I have seen your death..."

"Bang!"

Another thunderous sound cut him off before he could finish, blasting his head apart.

Murphy stepped forward, grabbing a pendant around the cleric's chest and yanking it down.

As expected, it was a miniature pendant of the Holy Mother, which began to fade until it vanished as he observed it.

"Deceivers and pretenders." Murphy crushed the pendant, turned to finish off the remaining clerics, only to find them collapse lifelessly as if their souls had been sucked away, all breathless.

So this was the Holy Mother's style of operation—merciless even to its own followers, love indeed.

"Murphy..." Lady Yaga, leaning weakly against the wall and clutching her shoulder, murmured, "The Empress..."

"She's been cursed by the enemy's assassination attempt. I've used petrification to slow the condition, but we need Lady Milian's magical power to neutralize the 'Holy Mother's' magic," Murphy briefly explained the situation.

He then looked towards the stone door behind Lady Yaga, "Is the ancestral coffin behind this door?"

Relieved to hear the Empress was still alive and hearing about Lady Milian, Lady Yaga, understanding it was Grand Shaman Maxim's suggestion, confirmed, "Yes, this is the Gate of Rebirth. Beyond it lies Lady Milian's resting place."

"Can you open it?" Murphy asked.

"This door cannot be opened from the outside, only on specific dates..."

Before Lady Yaga could finish, the stone door trembled and slowly opened a crack.

"It seems the prophetess, Lady Milian, knows her descendants need help," Murphy commented.

About to enter, Lady Yaga stopped him, "Wait, Mr. Darkholme, beyond this door lies another world. Typically, only the Emperor of Arkaim is permitted here. Once inside, remember: do not look, do not speak, do not listen. Walk forward seven steps, then back one step to reach the place of worship, in front of the coffin. Make no mistake."

"The opening of this door now might mean Lady Milian has awakened. You may pray for her help, but you must not look up."

"Why?" Murphy asked, puzzled.

"It's a rule passed down through centuries," Lady Yaga explained, "For your safety, please follow it."

"Alright."

Murphy closed his eyes and stepped through the gate.

The door closed behind him, plunging him into total darkness. After a moment of stillness, he took a step forward.

Suddenly, he heard many voices, as if walking into a market, but they were muffled, unclear.

Occasionally, laughter or cries swiftly passed by, elusive.

Murphy, instinctively wanting to see clearly, calmed himself instead, ignoring the sounds and taking another step.

The ground felt like sand beneath his feet.

Dry wind began to blow, and suddenly, the ground collapsed, and he fell.

This wasn't as agreed! Murphy opened his eyes, not wanting to fall into a trap unprepared.

He found himself in a desert, with sand obscuring the sky, endless dunes stretching to the horizon, and he was falling into a massive hole in the sand.

In the last moment before darkness, he saw a colossal fortress or eroded rock, incomparably tall, its top lost in the yellow sky, its base sprawling like mountains, making humanity's tallest buildings seem like toothpicks beside it.

Just as he prepared to fly, he found himself on solid ground again, still taking a step forward.

He seemed to be in a vast well, surrounded by darkness, with a bright "star" visible far above.

Was this a scene shift?

Murphy took another step, seemingly traversing millions of miles in an instant, arriving under a dim sky, not on sand this time, but cracked earth, with huge floating slates above, silent as tombstones, extending into the distance.

Where were these scenes from?

Taking another step, his fourth, he was now on a coast, where the gloomy sky and sea merged indistinguishably, and a decayed fleet sailed on the water, their huge, bizarrely shaped ships surrounded by web-like veins, like cocoons.

The fifth step brought him between two colossal walls lined with towering statues, their bodies disproportionally tall and wide, with small heads, and horrifyingly, the statues wore hoods or carried lanterns but had skulls for heads. Was this... hell? The scenes he passed were desolate, silent, as if they were worlds long dead.

On the sixth step, huge pillars stood above an abyss in what seemed to be midnight, all around pitch black. Each pillar had a bonfire burning atop it. He saw several figures in black robes sitting by a fire on a nearby pillar. As he looked their way, two of them turned their heads, their skulls facing him with dark, hollow eye sockets.

Startled, Murphy's body suddenly lurched forward; he instinctively lifted his foot, the scene before him shifting again.

This time, he saw a vast lake, enveloped in endless mist, with lush vegetation on the far shore and a castle glowing in the morning light.

This bright and beautiful scene contrasted sharply with the previous ones. As he prepared to step forward for a closer look, he suddenly tensed.

This was the seventh step.

Lady Yaga had warned him not to misstep. What would happen if he took another step now? Though curious, his priority was to aid the Empress, and the mysteries here could be explored later.

With that thought, he stepped back.

Instead of returning to the deep abyss with pillars, his surroundings brightened as if he'd been lifted out of a well, and he saw that "star."

It wasn't a star but a crystal coffin.

Inside, a silver-haired girl lay with her eyes closed, floating at its center.

The moment he saw the girl, Murphy was bombarded with countless images, as if peering into a vast web of futures, each leading to different stories. These images flickered before him in a dizzying array, overwhelming him in an instant.

At the same time, his eyes teared up from the intense magical radiation, as if he'd looked directly at the sun.

He quickly lowered his head.

But in that brief moment, he had seen the girl's face.

Sofia.

Lady Milian bore an uncanny resemblance to Empress Sofia.

Was it possible that Lady Milian and the Empress shared the same face? The revelation stunned Murphy, opening a floodgate of questions and implications about the Empress's lineage, the nature of Lady Milian's powers, and the destiny that had intertwined their paths.

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