After another round of intense bombardment, the passage leading to the main burial chamber appeared in the eyes of the "Machine Heart" members.
The ground was covered with debris, and another diamond-shaped extraordinary characteristic that reflected a person's face lay quietly at the bottom of the right wall, shining alongside two other glowing items.
Throughout the entire passage, including the walls and the ceiling, there were pits and unevenness, but one thing remained intact.
It was a painting frame hanging about seven or eight meters ahead, brownish-yellow in color, with obvious wood grain, currently only showing its side.
Without needing anyone to point it out, all the extraordinary present understood its strangeness.
At this time, Horamick Hayden, the archbishop of the Steam and Machinery Church, who had not made any major moves, stepped forward and said in a gentle voice:
"It should be the 'Ghost Painting Frame' belonging to the Amon family as recorded in the archives. Once you enter its range and are reflected inside, your spirit body will instantly detach from your flesh and blood, becoming a portrait, sealed within it forever. In such a state, even if the portrait changes, without the corresponding method, there is no way to be rescued.
"If sealed for too long, the body will die. Even if you master the correct method to break the seal, the spirit will soon dissipate."
As he spoke, Horamick walked forward step by step, approaching the strange painting frame.
Klein subconsciously felt worried, not daring to watch the process of a demigod fighting against a sealed artifact, but he quickly realized that he was only watching a holographic image provided by the magic mirror Arrodes. Why should he be afraid?
It's very normal, very normal. Just like the immediate feeling of watching a horror movie or playing a dark game... Klein comforted himself and quickened his pace to catch up with Horamick Hayden.
The demigod archbishop soon entered the range of that sealed artifact that needed to be contained. His figure, wearing a white priest's robe and a soft clerical cap, was reflected bit by bit on the surface of the glass of the painting frame.
Glass? Glass existed in the Fourth Epoch? It seems so. At least in the history of the Fifth Epoch, glass has always existed, and no one mentioned who invented it... Klein waited with interest for the "battle" between the demigod and the strange sealed artifact.
Horamick's upper body was fully displayed inside the "Ghost Painting Frame", but his eyes did not lose their vitality!
He walked face to face toward the painting frame.
The figure in the frame fluctuated, seemingly contracting inward but unable to succeed.
Horamick stopped, took out a large piece of almost opaque black cloth that he had prepared in advance, and covered the "Ghost Painting Frame".
The frame trembled several times, but in the end, it was completely covered by the black cloth and became calm.
Horamick didn't seem to be affected at all. He easily took down the "Ghost Painting Frame", wrapped it in the black cloth, and tied a knot on the back.
This... this is not mystical? Did it say that it would suck the spirit into the frame and turn it into a portrait? Why didn't anything happen to the archbishop? Is it because of the demigod's special nature, or is there another reason? Klein was puzzled and scrutinized Horamick Hayden, finding no abnormalities.
Eyes full of spirit, expression kind, flesh and blood full... It's a pity I'm not at the scene, otherwise I could open my spiritual vision to study... Klein withdrew his gaze and waited on the spot for Iconsze and other "Machine Heart" members to come over.
Horamick handed the "Ghost Painting Frame" to a team member and walked forward toward the entrance of the main burial chamber at the end of the passage.
There was a black stone door covered with marks like knife cuts and axe chops, inlaid with a gray-white disc in the middle.
The surface of the disc was divided into twelve cells, with a black pointer, like a clock on the outside.
But the cells were not evenly distributed on the disc; they were of varying sizes, extremely unbalanced, and each cell was half painted with shadow.
"The emblem of the Amon family." Archbishop Horamick briefly introduced.
He didn't explain the symbolic meaning of the emblem, because only the executive-level Iconsze Bernard was qualified to know.
Relying on his own accumulation of mystical knowledge, Klein tried to interpret:
"The combination of disc, twelve cells, and pointer obviously represents time, which matches the fact that the Amon clone left behind a 'Time Worm' after its death. The twelve cells that should have equally divided the disc are of different sizes and covered with shadows. Does that indicate that the Amon family is the dark side of time? And where is their title of 'God Blasphemer' reflected?"
As Klein was thinking, Archbishop Horamick pushed open the stone door without any protection.
The stone door swung open heavily, revealing a very spacious burial chamber.
In the center of the chamber was a raised platform, upon which rested a pitch-black coffin.
On the walls around were iron lamp stands, holding white candles that were still burning quietly.
None of the flames flickered; they were as still as if they were frozen scenes, completely untouched by the passage of one or two thousand years.
On the direct path from the stone door to the coffin lay bodies. Some wore black woolen overcoats and half-tall silk hats, others were dressed as common workers with a peaked cap, clearly people who had entered here in recent years.
The extraordinary who recruited helpers earlier? How did they get through the previous area? The monsters like the human-skinned shadow are obviously still alive... Klein, full of questions, focused his gaze on the bodies.
When he saw that, he was a bit startled.
Those bodies all had sparse white hair, dry wrinkled skin, obvious spots, like old men in their eighties or nineties.
There were no obvious wounds on their bodies; it seemed they had simply died of old age, and had died not long ago, not yet decomposed.
Obviously, there wouldn't be so many elderly extraordinary coming to explore the tomb. Even if the discoverers were already old, they would try to recruit young and strong helpers... There's something strange here! Klein frowned and looked around again.
He quickly associated it with the "Time Worm" left by the Amon clone, and the emblem of the Amon family on the stone door with its meaning of time.