"Sir, you're giving me far too much credit."
Silas shook his head.
"I'm merely a Sequence 5 Shepherd. If even you can't enter this main burial chamber, how could I possibly go in?"
Across from him, Zoroya revealed a meaningful smile.
"Of course you can, because you carry a certain unique aura."
He spoke without any attempt to conceal it.
"!"
Silas's heart couldn't help but jump. Zoroya's eyes seemed to penetrate his body, seeing the special aspects he'd hidden away.
Could he have discovered that illusory sea...?
"Sir, I don't quite understand what you mean."
He struggled to maintain his composure.
"Of course you understand."
Zoroya continued smiling.
"You carry that primordial aura within you, which can completely resist the erosion of that item...
I suspect that as a Beyonder of the Secrets Suppliant pathway, the reason you're not affected by the evil god is precisely because of this aura's existence.
It blocks the True Creator's ravings for you, am I right?"
Zoroya directly stated one of Silas's greatest secrets. Though his tone was speculative, his manner was quite certain.
He really does know!
Silas's heart wavered.
That illusory sea tide possessed an extraordinarily high status.
Perhaps the reason this mysterious and powerful Beyonder was being so friendly was out of consideration for it.
"...Sir, what do you need me to do?"
Silas stopped denying it and instead asked cautiously.
"I need you to enter the burial chamber and flip that painting inside."
Seeing his willingness to cooperate, Zoroya didn't stand on ceremony and directly pointed toward the chamber.
"That way, time in the burial chamber will start flowing again."
Following his finger, Silas looked toward the chamber.
By now, Best, who had been kicked inside, had completely aged to death.
Silas struggled to move his gaze from the man's aged body, only then noticing that on the platform below the black coffin sat a picture frame placed face down.
The frame's back faced upward, positioned quite conspicuously in the orderly burial chamber.
"You mean, you want me to flip it right side up?"
Silas asked.
Generally speaking, keeping the painting's content hidden would make more sense!
"Correct."
Zoroya expressed affirmation.
"According to the... orthodox churches' classification, this Beyonder item belongs to the higher tier of Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts.
When its back faces up, it actively absorbs the 'lifespan' of nearby living beings to maintain temporal stasis in the current environment... Someone added some extra ingredients to it, so the effect became even more powerful."
The someone who added ingredients... is probably Amon.
Silas thought to himself.
At this moment, Sharron slowly spoke up.
"Sir, after he helps you, what reward can he expect?"
Exactly! Who's going to risk their life for you without compensation!
Silas raised his eyes toward Zoroya.
Sharron's words expressed exactly what he was thinking, she'd just spoken before he could.
"Good question, young lady."
Zoroya chuckled lightly.
"Of course there's a reward. As thanks for taking this risk for me, I'll only take one item.
All the remaining Beyonder characteristics and items in the burial chamber, you can take with you."
Such compensation could hardly be called anything but generous.
Just from what Silas and the others could see, the characteristics precipitated by the dead Beyonders in this chamber represented a huge sum, not to mention the Fourth Epoch relics that might still exist in the chamber.
Silas and Sharron exchanged glances.
"If I go in, can my safety be guaranteed? Sir, you're worried about being discovered by that person. Shouldn't I be worried too?"
Silas asked again.
"Don't worry. The reason that guy would notice me is because we belong to the same sequence pathway and have a rather deep connection between us."
Zoroya said, taking the opportunity to address his concerns.
"You might suspect I'm using you, treating you as a sacrifice... Though that's not my intention, you might as well think about it.
If I really wanted to use you, I could employ far more powerful methods. Why would I bother communicating with you so amicably here?"
"..."
Silas didn't answer, essentially acknowledging it.
The other party was right.
The gap in their strength was plain to see. Silas truly couldn't overcome it.
Silas's nature was extremely vicious, becoming more crazed when facing the strong.
If Zoroya had used his power to force Silas to do something against his will, he would definitely risk self-destruction to make the other party suffer.
But now Zoroya hadn't threatened him and had even offered decent compensation.
His gaze shifted to the side as M's figure materialized.
"I don't detect him lying."
She shrugged.
"Of course, with a Beyonder of this level, my observations aren't necessarily reliable."
At least there's no obvious malice...
Silas made his decision.
"...Understood. I can give it a try."
He nodded.
"Whoosh..."
The sound of illusory tidal waves echoed through his mind and, following Silas's manipulation, gradually flowed down from his brain, spreading throughout his entire body.
Zoroya had told him this would resist the influence brought by that Beyonder item.
I'll trust you this once...
Standing before the burial chamber, Silas gritted his teeth and finally took that first step.
"Buzz..."
An annoying roar immediately rang in his ears as the candlelight in the chamber magnified before his eyes.
A hidden, invisible connection formed around him, seemingly wanting to enter his body and alter his state.
But the tide blocked this influence, leaving that force to wander futilely outside.
"Hiss..."
Silas could almost hear his skin crying out.
Moisture rapidly drained away, leaving it dry and aged.
The tide only existed within his body and couldn't protect the outermost layer.
Fortunately, his own vitality hadn't been affected. Once he got out, he should be able to recover using flesh magic.
"Step, step, step..."
Silas walked steadily, crossing over the corpses lying on the ground, gradually approaching the picture frame on the platform.
The frame, with its back facing upward, seemed to emanate a powerful suction, wanting to draw him in as well.
Fortunately, Silas only felt dazed for a moment facing the frame before decisively reaching out and flipping it over.
"Whoosh..."
It was as if wind swept up from within the burial chamber, dispersing the invisible confinement.
The candles on the candelabras burned rapidly, the flames flickering as they melted away completely.
Even the candelabras themselves severely corroded and collapsed.
The corpses on the ground also rapidly decomposed, some emitting foul odors while others simply turned to white bones.
After a thousand years, time in this stagnant burial chamber finally began flowing again.
Not just objects, the gorgeous murals on the walls also began to peel and weather.
The glorious scenes depicting the golden age gradually fell silent. Within the holy light, that great figure also departed, departed...
Silas noticed that nearly all the surrounding murals had been destroyed, with only a small portion at the bottom preserved.
In that remaining portion of the mural, two angels without faces or color still stood.
In the angels' embrace, two infants with different colored hair still slumbered peacefully.
They would eventually awaken.