Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

After Dacus finished speaking, he walked to the hot spring and put his hand into the water to stir it. The water was very hot, so hot that even a professional bather like him felt uncomfortable. He frowned. As expected, the water was not only of the wrong temperature, but also had a strong smell of sulfur, like the residual smell at the bottom of an ancient crater that had not yet completely dissipated.

"In theory, you don't need to, of course, if you want." Kazhuoyin shrugged, his tone as casual as always, as if he was talking about whether a tea party was on time, rather than involving some ancient ritual or body baptism.

"What happened to you at that time?" Daxus, who knew Kadroin's story, suddenly asked a question. He was a little curious.

Kazhuoyin did not respond immediately, but remained silent for a long time, as if he was recalling or weighing the options. He finally sighed and whispered.

"no!"

"Then let's take a shower later." Daxus stopped asking questions. He looked around and felt the oppressive yet solemn silence in the air. Perhaps it was time to move on.

Perhaps it was the result of the passage of time, or perhaps it was designed that way from the beginning. Although the Temple of Asuryan is a typical lizardman-style pyramid on the surface, it is not that weird. Unlike the star pyramids or the landmark pyramids of various temple cities, it is not a structure that rises from the ground and stands proudly above the clouds.

Of course, it wasn't floating in the air.

Instead, a more restrained design was adopted?
Dacus is not an architect, and he cannot name the corresponding scientific names or professional terms.

Anyway, half of the Temple of Asuryan is located above the ground, and the other half is hidden underground, as if a part of it was swallowed by the earth, or as if it was actively sinking towards the center of the earth to cover up some secret.

The hall where the sacred fire is located is actually the middle level of the pyramid.

To explore the entire temple, one must extend upwards or downwards from this level, rather than climbing up from the bottom gradually like the Lizardmen's pyramid and finally reaching the "Observatory" on the top level.

Moreover, the top area of ​​this temple is not called the "Observatory", but the "Hall of Time", or more appropriately - the "Hall of the Sun".

There is no rush for the Hall of the Sun, order is very important, Daxus decided to explore step by step along the downward sloping passage first.

The light from the lanterns danced gently in the downward-extending corridor, casting shadows on the sloping walls, causing them to sway slightly, as if the murals had come alive.

Daxus and Ryan looked at each other, and they both knew in their hearts that this was a familiar feeling. During their adventures in Lustria, they had entered and exited the pyramids in various temple cities more than once, and gradually extracted the context and truth of history and mythology from the murals in the deep corridors.

The only difference is that the content of the murals here has changed, from content related to the ancient saints to content related to elves.

"Before, or after?" Daxus pointed to a mural and looked at Kadroin. His tone was understated, but mixed with the persistence to explore the truth.

"I was also curious when I first came here." Kazhuoin shook his head with a complicated look in his eyes. "There is no relevant record. My inclination is... before!"

Daxus nodded, agreeing with this judgment.

The content of the murals had nothing to do with the elven gods or mythology, but simply depicted the life of Aenarion. Although the lines were abstract and the colors were dark, Dacius's experience in Lustria gave him the ability to interpret such patterns.

Starting from the beginning of the right side of the corridor, it is the birth of Aenarion; at the end, it is the scene when he steps into the sacred fire.

This section of his life is perfectly depicted in the mural. The following content does not end badly, but continues from the left side to form a complete closed loop.

It seems to symbolize rebirth and destruction, beginning and end, and the eternal cycle of fate.

However, at the end of this loop, that is, at the exit ground, there is no scene depicting Aenarion returning the Sword of Khaine, nor is there a scene of his death. Instead, the scene is frozen at the establishment of the Maelstrom.

Very strange.

Dacus suddenly had an illusion that all this happened not far from here, and all this happened the day before, not the afterimage of six thousand years ago. He seemed to be walking on the film of history, and every step he took caused ripples in time, one foot in memory, and one foot still in reality.

"Have you found anything?" Daxus' voice echoed in the corridor. His tone was neither light nor heavy, but mixed with a hint of imperceptible expectation.

Ryan shook his head, his face calm, but there was a hint of loss between his brows. He had inspected several corners, so carefully that he even checked the direction of the dust, but the result was still blank.

"What about you?" Daxus turned his gaze to Salir again.

It had been a long time since he entered the corridor, and he had walked back and forth three times.

It was not to find a secret passage, that was Ryan's specialty. His goal was clear, to find something different from the records, to find even the slightest trace of discrepancy with his cognition. However, it was regrettable that everything was too "normal", so normal that it was almost deliberate. All the contents were completely consistent with the records, and perfectly coincided with his cognition.

After hearing the question, Salir turned his eyes away from the mural and looked at Dacus. He had a complex expression of "are you kidding me?", mixed with a hint of mockery and helplessness, which disappeared in an instant. Then, he looked back at the mural, as if Dacus had just asked an insignificant question.

After the fifth walk, Dacus finally decided to stop this meaningless repetition. He turned around, crossed the corridor, and walked out of the archway at the end.

What came into view was a vast space, a huge cave appeared in front of him, an unstable flame was burning in a huge bottomless pit, the orange-red light danced between the stone walls, and the surroundings were as dark and deep as a fiery purgatory. In the shadows, huge statues stood in the alcove, as if guarding, or as if sleeping.

There is a tall altar on each side, echoing each other in the distance, but broken off from each other, as if they were once part of a bridge but have now been forcibly destroyed and interrupted, leaving an insurmountable gap.

This is it – the deepest and most sacred area on the island.

Ryan frowned. He didn't like this place. He felt something was wrong from the first step he took. The air here was stuffy, humid, and warm, as heavy as some invisible chain wrapped around his body. The disgusting sulfur smell in his nose was undoubtedly overflowing from deeper underground. The smell was not only pungent, but also seemed to invade his consciousness and corrode his reason.

He felt like a prisoner dragged into a destined execution ground, and every step was heavy and difficult. This place was too deep, so deep that even time was silent here, and even the echo of God could not reach it.

He could feel a huge amount of energy flowing slowly around him, an ancient force that could not be described in words, like the silent oppression on the eve of a tsunami, swirling between his bones and blood vessels. He could hardly breathe and had to force air into his lungs, but the air still felt thin, as if every breath was an offense to the sacred forbidden land.

The wall was slowly pressing down on him, the ancient soil carrying the weight of thousands of years, crushing his nerves. The force penetrated nerves and flesh, penetrating deep into chakra and soul. He could feel himself burning, like a furnace core about to go out of control.

"Do you want to go up first?" Daxus' voice sounded at the right time, with a hint of concern.

He could feel that Ryan was rejecting everything here. Of course, it could also be the other way around, and everything here was rejecting Ryan.

After all, Ryan is a being blessed by Huangqi, and the ancient saints have never been a whole. If Huangqi represents the ultimate darkness, then Kotego represents the ultimate yang.

When Ryan came here, he couldn't help but have some strange reactions.

However, the moment he finished speaking, the flames in the central pit suddenly surged, as if they were instantly stimulated by some force. The flames exploded in the air, illuminating the entire cave. The huge statues that were originally hidden in the shadows appeared one by one. Their outlines, expressions, and movements were clearly discernible under the illumination of the flames, like revived ancient guards, ready to wake up from their slumber.

Just a moment later, the flames went out, darkness returned, and the statues disappeared into the shadows again, as if they had never appeared.

Ryan was about to shake his head in response to Dacus's proposal, but he suddenly froze, and a light flashed in his eyes. He realized that the position where he was standing was connected to some kind of energy at the bottom of the pit. At this moment, he felt something pulling deep in his soul, and a clear sense of "existence" was like thunder in his ears!
"There's something down there! It's breathing and pulsating." Ryan growled, his voice trembling with vibration and his eyes as sharp as torches.

"It's even more powerful than what I felt in Middenheim!" He said this almost through gritting his teeth.

He was already certain that beneath the deep pit, there was some kind of true power core, or some kind of "existence" waiting to awaken.

Daxus looked at Kadroin with a slightly solemn expression.

"This is the bottom." Kazhuoin said affirmatively, his tone calm, as if he was stating a fact that had long been confirmed.

"Let's get out of here." Dacus nodded, his tone firm, and he didn't seem to hesitate at all. However, just as he finished speaking, Salir, who had been silent all this time, spoke.

"you sure?"

Daxus paused, turned around, raised his eyebrows, and showed a bit of surprise in his eyes.

"What else?" he asked back, his tone calm but with a hint of temptation.

"Don't you want to see... the Heart of Creation?" Salir slowly uttered a strange word.

The word "Heart of Creation" seemed to carry some kind of power, echoing in the depths of the empty temple.

Daxus' pupils suddenly contracted and his eyes narrowed. The next second, his expression suddenly became sharp, and his eyes flashed with an irrepressible brilliance.

However, just one second later, he suppressed the strange light. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, he was calm as water.

"I just want to make sure it's here." Daxus' tone returned to rationality. He seemed to be convincing others, but more like convincing himself.

"You're right." Salir nodded, a look of apology and understanding in his eyes. He sighed softly, his voice low and slow, "Too much curiosity is wrong... Sorry, please forgive me."

"Let's get out of here." Daxus repeated his previous words, but this time his tone was heavier than before, with a deeper determination and an unquestionable attitude.

"Return along the same route?" Kazhuoin asked to confirm.

“Of course!” Daxus nodded, then his eyes turned, “But... you can also introduce your partners to us.” There was a hint of teasing in his tone, as if he was lightly brushing off the serious topic just now.

Led by Kazhuoin, Dacus and his party did not walk along the previous corridor, but slowly stepped onto the ancient staircase on the other side leading to the upper floor. The steps were slightly worn out, and each step echoed with a low echo.

When they stepped onto the last step, a new corridor appeared before them.

Standing at the starting point of the corridor, Daxus could clearly see the sunlight shining at the end. It was a light that penetrated the dust and history, carrying a kind of warmth that was almost redemptive.

They walked through the corridor and came to a protruding platform. The stone railings at the edge of the platform were solid and ancient, with faint Asuryan runes engraved on them. The wind blew in from the sea, carrying a faint smell of salt and freedom.

In the distance, the blue sea met the skyline. Seagulls flew past them, flapping their wings, creating waves in the air, and landed on the huge stone railing not far away, crying clearly.

Dacus stood by the stone railing and looked up. He confirmed the direction, which was the south facing the inland sea. Because he could clearly see the cruise ship floating on the water in the distance and the dragon boat cruising.

He took a deep breath of the sea breeze, and exhaled all the depression, restlessness, and thoughts that he had suppressed. The sunlight shone on his face, revealing the fatigue and calmness that were originally hidden.

"How much do you know about the Heart of Creation?" Finally, when his mood gradually calmed down, Daxus asked softly. He did not look at Salir, but just looked at the sun in the distance as if talking to himself.

"No more than you know." Salir's voice carried a hint of hesitation in the sea breeze. That hesitation did not come from ignorance, but from some forcibly suppressed memories, or perhaps a truth that was unwilling to be touched.

Daxus did not respond immediately. He just looked at the sun quietly, watching the burning fireball slowly sinking on the edge of the sky, as if some answer was hidden in the flames.

"You mentioned it just now..." He suddenly spoke, his voice low, yet calm and almost cold, like an ice blade cutting through the surface of the lake in the cold wind.

Salil neither denied nor admitted it. He simply shrugged and forced a vague smile that was somewhere between self-mockery and exhaustion.

"I just wanted to confirm it." His tone remained unchanged, but his eyes turned to the intersection of the antenna and the horizon in the distance. "Also, I am a little curious... After all... That is the Heart of Creation, but you reminded me that this is wrong."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you." Daxus said softly, his tone sounding like a sigh and also like self-mockery.

Ryan opened his mouth, words rolling in his throat, but he finally chose silence. He knew that he was not qualified to join the conversation about the heart of creation. It was a banquet without an invitation, a secret that even listening required a price.

"The less you know, the better for you." Daxus noticed that Ryan was hesitant to speak. He glanced at him, with a barely perceptible warning in his tone, but it was not coldness, but a firm protection, like a firefighter standing in front of the flames, using his body to block the spread of the fire.

Ren nodded.

"Darkius is protecting you, and also... protecting the world." Salir curled his lips, but that smile was not happy at all, but more of a sadness between reality and fate. He paused, then turned his gaze back to Darkius, and his tone gradually became obscure, "That mural... not everyone can feel the reverse flow of time, the illusion of yesterday."

Daqiu's eyes changed and he looked at Salir.

"Because it responded to you." Salir's voice was barely audible in the wind, but it cut through the silence like a sharp blade. He paused, as if to let the words settle in the air, then slowly looked away, his gaze settling on the gradually dimming sky in the distance.

Dacus didn't say anything, but clenched his fists. His fingers trembled slightly from the force, and his joints turned white. He seemed to be suppressing something, like a dormant volcano, burning silently in the sunset.

The atmosphere froze subtly for a moment. Kazhuoin wanted to say something and his lips moved, but after hearing these words, the words that were about to burst out of his throat were forcibly suppressed, like a match pressed into a deep well, and finally extinguished silently.

The topic of the creative heart came to an abrupt end here. There was no ending, and there was no need for an ending. It was like a prophecy floating in the wind, gently brushing past the ears and then disappearing in the wind.

Daxus continued to look at the sun, his eyes still calm.

Everything will be destroyed by its source, and everything can also be reshaped by it.

The ancient words echoed slowly in his mind, like a whisper from the end of time. He had seen these words in the Pyramid of Kotego in Talaxlan, and heard them echoing in his dreams at the end of the sea of ​​stars. Now they came back to him again, no longer a puzzle, but...

The heart of creation is not an object, not a slab of stone, nor a ball of energy. It is a kind of...will, an unfinished project, and the end of a story.

It is the beginning of hope and the end of destruction.

It is the previous period written by the world and also the next beginning.

According to reading comprehension, it plays the role of connecting the past and the future, and it does both.

The last era and this era; this era and the next era.

Now, Daxus got the answers he wanted, not all, but enough to keep him going.

He didn't need to see for himself what the Heart of Creation looked like.

What he wanted was never to own it, but to confirm that it was there, to confirm that it had always been here, never left, never died. What he wanted was to know that it existed, that it really existed.

What he needs is to understand how the creative mind works! More precisely, how it is maintained.

After getting the answer, the matter ended there.

Or... he only got a small part of the answer, just the tip of the iceberg. The real essence is still hidden behind layers of fog. He needs to continue to explore, through the unknown and confusion, and clear away the chaos and shadows.

According to his guess, the next step should be to head north, towards a deeper mystery, towards the Great Whirlpool and Eden Valley, which are closer to the truth. (End of this chapter)