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Chapter 1197: The Impure Obelisks
🕑 Added 2024-08-09 21:24:39 +0000 UTCThe exit of the secret passage was located on a semicircular stone platform protruding from the wall. Standing here, one could see everything below at a glance.
The whole room was very large, and the walls were covered with murals, and there were wizards everywhere below.
Three huge obelisks stood in the center, forming a triangle.
The three obelisks were the Obelisk of the Sun, the Obelisk of the Moon and the Obelisk of the Stars.
Evan could recognize them without Rawya's introduction.
They were easily identifiable because the three obelisks had the symbols of the sun, moon and star carved on the top.
They were almost parallel to Evan’s current height, so he could see them without much effort.
These three eye-catching symbols were made of turquoise jade. Under the light of the torches, the jade flashed with a strange brilliance that could not be ignored. One glance at them and one could not help but be mesmerized by them. Like Evan, the wizards who had just entered the secret chamber were all staring at these three symbols...
It was undeniable that with the jade symbols as a backdrop, the three giant obelisks exuded an aura of antiquity, mystery, and grandeur.
However, when Evan’s gaze moved down the obelisks, his first feeling was discomfort.
The discomfort did not come from the somewhat weird shape but from the color of the stones used to build the obelisks.
"You didn't tell me before that these three obelisks were red and black!" Evan said to Rawya.
“Oh, I didn’t think it was anything noteworthy. Although such colored stones are rare in Egypt, it wasn’t too difficult for Ramses II to get a few pieces like this,” Rawya replied, seemingly surprised by Evan’s question. “Why, is there something wrong?"
Evan shook his head. He couldn't tell what was wrong, but he just felt uncomfortable.
The main rocks of the three obelisks in front of him were not solid colors, but strange colors of red and black.
Overall, the black was more dominant, seemingly the natural texture of the stone, while the red spots were fewer.
Moreover, the spots were of different sizes and unevenly distributed.
Evan didn’t know why this was the case. Generally speaking, such stones were considered inferior and wouldn’t be used to build obelisks.
Let alone such important obelisks within the Ruins of Amun Ra...
Ancient Egyptian wizards were very picky and would not use even pure black obsidian to build obelisks that demonstrated merit and power.
Normally, they used golden yellow, which was the most sacred color.
The strange colors were what made Evan feel these three obelisks were abnormal.
The ancient Egyptian wizards must have had a purpose for making these obelisks out of such stone and placing them here. It couldn’t have been a whim or merely due to the unique aesthetic taste of the builders. It wasn’t that they didn’t understand art, but they definitely wouldn’t be so avant-garde and abstract.
As in other regions, in ancient Egyptian Wizarding civilization, mixed colors often represented Impurity!
“Impurity?” Evan muttered softly as he looked at the obelisks. “Have they been contaminated?"
Also, what made him feel uncomfortable was that the red and black spots on the obelisks seemed to resemble the color of coagulated blood.
Blood, obelisks tainted by blood, a symbol of impurity!
This was not a good idea. Following this line of thought, the more he looked at the three obelisks, the weirder they seemed.
Consequently, the entire secret chamber also felt very unsettling.
Evan sniffed hard and followed Rawya down.
The room below was filled with people, with more than two hundred wizards crowded in front of the obelisks.
Most of them were wizards proficient in Alchemy, and were trying to discern something from the three obelisks.
Some wizards were waving their wands at the obelisks, muttering incantations, casting unknown spells.
Others were constantly writing something on the parchments they carried with them, while more people were discussing and pointing at the obelisks.
"Rawya, Evan, over here!" The voice of Pendulum sounded among the crowd.
He and four other hired Alchemists were standing in front of the Obelisk of the Sun, with three goblins beside him.
"You have been to the Hall of the Gods!" he said. "How was it? Did you find anything?"
"I didn't find anything special, but I just felt it was spectacular," Evan replied. "The statues of the gods are beyond my imagination."
"Yes, this relic is beyond everyone's imagination!" Pendulum nodded, seeming a little disappointed that Evan and his team didn't find anything. "No matter the scale or level, the Ruins of Amun Ra are the tallest and largest of the ancient magic ruins discovered so far. I believe that this is the most important temple and palace built by Ramses II."
"That's absolutely true. There must be a lot of treasures here!" said another goblin.
His words were met with approval from the other goblins, accompanied by a chorus of agreements.
"Untold wealth is ours, as long as we can break those damn curses or the alchemical mechanism in front of us."
"It's just a matter of time!"
"Let's make it clear first. According to our previous agreement, whichever excavation team finds something owns it, and other teams are not allowed to snatch it."
“Of course, it has to be this way!” Pendulum agreed, turning eagerly to Evan. “Evan, come here quickly and examine this obelisk, see if you can find anything. This is your specialty."
There seemed to be some agreement between these goblins, dividing the treasures that had not yet been found.
The goblins were not as united as the wizards imagined, and there was competition among them.
“Heavens, Pendulum, don’t tell me this kid is an Alchemist you hired?!” A dark-faced goblin shouted in an exaggerated tone, eyeing Evan maliciously. “I thought he was an intern in your team!”
"Evan is the Alchemist I hired. Is there any problem with that, Ravel?" Pendulum asked back, looking at the other goblin warily.
"Problem? Are you trying to say he knows Alchemy?!" the goblin named Ravel shouted. "That's the biggest joke I've heard this year. Could you not find a better Alchemist, or are you just unwilling to pay?"
"I also think this kid is too young. Is he still in school?" another goblin commented objectively.
"Yes, I am a student at Hogwarts, and I'll be starting my O.W.L.s courses next year," said Evan, not intending to explain further.
He took two steps forward and stood where Pendulum had been, carefully observing the Obelisk of the Sun in front of him.
Setting aside the unsettling color, the Obelisk of the Sun was the tallest of the three obelisks and had the simplest style.
The entire obelisk was a quadrangular stone pillar, covered with hieroglyphs and ancient magic runes.
Notably, each side was divided by a vertical column of red crystal at the center.
The red crystal connected to the sun symbol made of jade at the top and extended down to the ground.
Strange, Evan hadn’t noticed earlier—why was there a vertical column of red crystal embedded in the obelisk?
This was another anomaly, along with the red and black spots on the obelisk...
