Below the Tasok River, in ancient Quaternary ruins.
Odis was deciphering the ancient magic circle on the door in front of him, and he soon discovered that the magic circle actually had its own part that gathered spiritual energy, so that more than a thousand years later, the magic circle was still functioning normally.
This greatly surprised Odis, who had always believed that there were no decent magic arrays after the Second Era, and that his research was unique.
I never imagined that such a sophisticated magic array existed in the Fourth Epoch.
However, Odis quickly calmed down: "Since ancient times, there have been many intelligent people. It is not too surprising that such a magic array exists in the Fourth Epoch."
Bernadette was slightly taken aback. She had met many geniuses, and most of them found it difficult to accept that others were as smart as they were.
She didn't expect Odis to adjust her mindset so quickly.
A few minutes later, Odis, who had completed seven or eight pages of notes and calculations, said, "It's done. I've found a way to open this magic circle."
Bernadette smiled and said, "It's good that I came to find you."
She was well aware of the difficulty and knowledge required to decipher this mechanism. It was like an exquisite anti-theft device made by a skilled craftsman more than a thousand years ago. Given that the craftsmanship of such devices had been lost for thousands of years, Odis cracked the mechanism in just over twenty minutes.
However, Odis did not immediately open the door, but said, "These ancient symbols that make up the magic circle are very strange. I can't even sense any trace of civilization."
He paused, then described them as: "They are the most straightforward writing tools I have ever seen."
A writing system can always reveal the emotions of its inventor, as well as the aspects and clues of the civilization it expresses, between the lines.
For example, Odis remembered the Chinese character "北" (north). While deducing mystical symbols, he also gained a deeper understanding of Chinese characters.
He discovered that the Chinese character "北" (běi, meaning north) originally depicted two figures, one a real person and the other a shadow on the ground.
Because the civilization that invented Chinese characters was in the Northern Hemisphere, shadows cast by sunlight generally point northward.
Therefore, this method is used to represent the direction of "north".
If someone living in the Southern Hemisphere saw this word, they would definitely not understand why it represents the meaning of "north".
This is the "emotion" and "clues to civilization" contained in written language.
However, Odis felt no "emotion" towards these ancient symbols, which was very abnormal. They were as straightforward, mechanical, and cold as a computer language.
However, Odis could accept the existence of magic arrays that could gather spiritual energy more than a thousand years ago, but there certainly weren't things like computers back then!
Bernadette thought for a moment before asking, "Will there be any danger if the magic circle is activated?"
"There isn't one at the moment," Odis said. "After all, these are just cold symbols."
"I just want to remind you that something is off about these symbols, and the people who use them may not be experiencing any emotional fluctuations."
This is indeed a bit strange, because everyone has some emotional fluctuations, unless it's a dead person.
Can a dead person draw a magic circle?
In the extraordinary world, it is possible, but it always feels somewhat strange.
Bernadette remained silent for a moment before saying, "As soon as we sense danger, we will immediately cease our exploration."
"Alright, I'll open the door then." Odis put away his pen and notebook, placed his hand on a blank spot on the stone door, and infused it with his spirituality.
The gems and crystals on the door slowly lit up, and the mystical symbols also began to glow faintly.
Long ago, this symbol should have been coated with a spiritual material, but over the course of more than a thousand years, that spiritual material has long since fallen off or evaporated.
However, because the magic circle is constantly gathering spiritual energy, these symbols can still function.
Click~
As all the symbols lit up slightly, the stone door emitted a dull thud, and Odis immediately retreated as the stone door slowly opened.
Without pushing, the gap gradually widens until it opens completely outwards.
Inside the stone gate are metal discs, and below them are some metal mechanical structures such as gears.
Odis exclaimed, "This is truly an exquisite mechanism. Look at these metal discs; they are covered with all sorts of magic arrays."
"Let me take a look. This magic circle can block spirits from passing through this door, this can block the line of sight that can pass through this door, and this can block the impact of tremendous force..."
As he looked at the notebook, he took it out again and said, "Please wait a moment."
As Odis spoke, he realized that it was a structure similar to a "composite magic array".
His research on "composite magic arrays" was basically done behind closed doors. Although it was relatively useful, he didn't know if his research direction was correct.
This magic circle is a good reference.
Odis made notes on the ideas that looked good or the parts he didn't understand before looking inside the door.
Inside was a large, empty hall, seemingly devoid of anything.
Bernadette, who had been observing for a while, said, "I thought there would be some upside-down candlesticks and some asymmetrical decorations."
Asymmetrical and inverted candlesticks are typical of Quaternary interior design.
After seeing that Odis had finished taking notes, Bernadette stepped into the hall.
She had just used her "invisible servant" to wander around inside and hadn't sensed any danger.
Upon entering the hall, Odis discovered that the ceiling was circular, seemingly engraved with strange patterns.
There are some reflective elements among the patterns, reflecting a faint light, like cold eyes staring at the two intruders.
Apart from that, there was nothing else in the hall.
"I'll make this place brighter." Bernadette seemed to understand what was going on, and she made the luminous crystal rise rapidly and emit an even stronger light.
The circular top was immediately illuminated, revealing numerous small crystals that emitted a faint glow under the light.
In addition, there are some metal structures on top, which seem to allow you to move the small crystals.
"This is…" Odis suddenly felt that the scene on the dome was familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Bernadette said firmly, "This is the starry sky."
"The starry sky." Upon hearing this word, Odis, who was not present, felt a jolt in her heart.
"Or rather, the night sky," Bernadette explained. "These small crystals represent the positions of the stars, and their positions can be adjusted using those metal devices so that the starry sky at the top is aligned with the current season."
"For example, it is now deep winter, but the constellations at the top are still in late summer. By adjusting the positions of these constellations, the constellations at the top can also be made to appear as if it were deep winter."
As a former astrologer, Bernadette was very knowledgeable about the positions of the constellations and the corresponding seasons.
Odis said, "Oh, I see."
He then said, "I have seen in some materials that many ritual magics correspond to the stars represented by the corresponding gods, but I have never heard of them corresponding to the corresponding constellations."
Bernadette looked at the constellation at the top and slowly paced around. After about half a minute, she said, "This might be a place where advanced ritual magic is performed."
"I have read in some documents that some very advanced ritual magic requires a corresponding constellation or a distant star."
Odis was taken aback. How come he had never heard of such ritual magic?
"However, it is said that such rituals often bring many terrible consequences," Bernadette continued. "You could even see those high-level rituals as rituals directed at evil gods."
She hummed in agreement and then said, "That should be it. As long as the positions of the stars above are adjusted to match those outside, this place can be connected to the starry sky, which is equivalent to performing the ritual under the starry sky."
Odis did not possess this knowledge, but he had a concept in his mind: the starry sky was a place where evil gods congregated.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
He didn't know why he had this concept, and his spirituality would give him a warning whenever he thought of the corresponding theory that supported it.
This made him realize that not remembering this information might be a form of "self-protection," or protection provided by the "wilderness of knowledge."
Thinking of this, Odis guessed, "It's probably because it involves evil gods that it was built underground, since such a ritual couldn't be carried out in a grand manner."
He looked around and said, "This should be a place built by the Ternsost family. Could it be that this family has been secretly communicating with the evil god without the Six Gods' knowledge?"
"It could also be a form of checks and balances." Bernadette gave Odis a deep look.
Odis's words just now indicate that he knows a lot of the true history of the Fourth Age, such as that there were only six gods back then, and that Trensus completely sided with these six gods, or rather, that he engaged in deep cooperation with them.
Bernadette then looked up at the top of the hall. She had previously discovered that Odis had many secrets, but the fact that he could openly discuss these secrets with her showed that he trusted her and was therefore so frank.
She wasn't an official Extraordinary and didn't care much about the secrets surrounding Odis.
Odis nodded: "That makes sense! The 'Night Emperor' is also a god. Although he has the support of the other six gods, he should also be subject to their constraints."
"So that's why he wanted to cooperate with the evil god to counterbalance the six gods?"
He chuckled. "That sounds dangerous."
Bernadette looked away from the top: "I once obtained some historical materials that were difficult to verify, in which there was a description that the 'Night Emperor' fell under the combined attack of the six gods."
Odis recalled that it was indeed true; Trensost was killed by the Six Gods, and the uniqueness of the "Judgment" pathway became the sealed artifact "Trensost's Brass Book".
The key issue is that its uniqueness has been compromised!
Odis looked up at the top of the hall: "Could it be that the 'Night Emperor' was corrupted by the evil god, which is why he was killed by the six gods?"
His spirituality told him that this was not the right answer.
But he can't remember exactly what kind of pollution he was exposed to; he may need to enter the "wilderness of knowledge" to recover his memories.
As Odis was considering whether to find an excuse to go outside the hall and enter the "Wilderness of Knowledge" to obtain relevant information and determine whether there was any danger here, the ground suddenly emitted a faint light.
Soon, more and more places began to emit light; these were mystical symbols similar to those on the stone gate.
Bernadette and Odis quickly retreated. After observing the ground for a while, Odis said, "This is a magic circle."
However, he needs to observe it further to determine whether the magic circle has the function of activating itself.
Odis discovered the energy-storing crystals last week, which sparked many ideas for "self-activating magic circles," his latest research, which he only had as a concept.
Since there were magic arrays that could gather spiritual energy more than a thousand years ago, it cannot be ruled out that they also had the corresponding technology for "self-activating magic arrays".
Hehehe~
While Odis was studying, a series of strange sounds suddenly came from above. The two of them looked up and saw that the "starry sky" above them was moving on its own.
Bernadette glanced at it and said, "The stars are shifting toward the depths of winter."
At this point, their spirits had not sensed any danger, and there was no sign that the door was closing.
This led them to believe that it should simply be a self-starting mechanism.
As long as no ritual is performed, there is no danger in simply standing under the "night sky".
Odis then turned his attention back to the magic circle.
With a crisp "click" sound from the top, the constellation stopped moving, and the small crystals began to emit a faint starlight, making the top look somewhat like a normal night sky for a moment.
At this moment, the center of the hall floor suddenly opened, and a small stone platform was raised from inside.
On the stone platform stood a narrow-necked glass bottle, inside which was a pale white, thin, almost ethereal mist.
Upon seeing the narrow-necked glass bottle, Bernadette and Oedipus immediately sensed a great danger.
They immediately stepped back, only to find that they hadn't retreated at all, but were still moving forward.
Bernadette raised her hand, intending to use her abilities to transfer herself and Odis away.
But strangely, she did raise her hand and tear off one of her sleeves.
She instantly realized that her actions had been "distorted," and not just distorted, but distorted at an extraordinary and high level!
Bernadette was about to summon a level 0 sealed artifact when Odis suddenly said, "Wait, wait, we'd better not use any extraordinary abilities that are too high-level!"
He took a deep breath, slowly moved his feet, and came to the back of some of the mystical symbols.
Odis continued, "You do as I do, go behind those two symbols!"
Bernadette immediately followed Odis's instructions and slowly lifted her foot. At this moment, she discovered that as long as the movement was slow enough, she could sense the "distorted" force and thus avoid being affected by it.
At this moment, Odis, who had been observing the magic circle, said, "This is a sealing magic circle, a very advanced sealing magic circle, but... but it is not perfect."