Frozen in the twilight of the palace, the corridors were deep and long, the halls were wide and empty, and the whispers of unknown origin echoed in a low voice behind each door, as if countless invisible guests were gathering in this ancient and illusory palace, while continuing their never-ending feast, while scrutinizing the visitors who stepped into the palace with malice.

Rosetta Augustus's footsteps rang out abruptly through the empty hallway.

The ruler of Typhon's empire walked down the corridor he had walked so many times, as if he didn't hear the strange whispers that kept coming from him, and his figure cast shadows of varying lengths under the narrow windows that shone with the light of dusk, each shadow trembling slightly as if it were about to come to life, but gradually regaining its composure under the emperor's ignorance.

He went to the deepest room of the palace, to the place where the portraits of the members of the House of Augustus were hung.

Expressionless faces are embedded in the dark frames, staring at Rosetta Augustus with a cold and cold gaze, and some of the images in the frames come to life, making a muffled muttering that does not resemble a human voice.

Those "living" frames are all members of Augustus in the last two hundred years, Augustus who were born and active after the curse after the collapse of the old imperial capital.

Those who were active between 700 and 200 years ago just sit quietly in the frame, acting as cold portraits.

Rosetta is used to this.

The nightmare is the product of the curse, and it is also a reflection of the spiritual world of the cursed, it takes the time of the collapse of the old imperial capital two hundred years ago, before the collapse, the souls of the Augustians were free, and the nightmare can only project the illusion of no soul, but after the collapse, the Augustus were trapped in this dream world, which became the source of many weirdness here, and also made this nightmare world more and more strange and dangerous.

Rosetta's gaze swept over the portraits that had come to life, her expression grim.

Those were his fathers, his grandparents, some of them the closest people of his childhood, some of them the prototypes of the heroic stories he had heard of since childhood, but that was what happened in their lifetimes—and now, they were only part of this strange dream palace, part of this curse, in whom any expectation of affection and humanity would lead to a tragic end, a lesson that generations of Augustus had learned with their lives.

But as long as you keep your sanity and restrain your greed, the shadows of these nightmares can be of other use.

In the vivid portraits, Rosetta's grandfather, the wise George Augustus, seemed to notice something, the pale and shriveled face turned, his eyes fell on Rosetta Augustus, and the low, eerie grunt sound became a human-recognizable voice: "Ah, look who's coming...... My dear grandson...... You okay? ”

Another portrait next to him also came alive, and he glanced at Rosetta: "It doesn't look very good, look how tired he is, it's not so easy to rule an empire." Child, you should learn to regulate your state and not waste your life early. ”

Several other portraits in the vicinity immediately chimed in.

Rosetta ignored the buzzing conversations, and said in an indifferent tone, "What changes does this palace portend as it appears more and more often?" ”

"It's so indifferent...... the portraits said.

Rosetta just looked at them with a blank face.

"What change do you want? Is it closer to us? "It's a pity that although we also want the day of reunion to come, you have always rejected it, and this nightmare is away from you...... It's still a long way off. ”

"But other things are getting closer and closer to the real world you're in...... adds another portrait next to it.

"Something else? What is it? Rosetta frowned, "Other 'divine legacy'?" ”

"Then we don't know......" muttered Marjorie Augustus, who was next to George Augustus, "but it doesn't seem to be in our case...... It's something similar in person, similar in power, but only similar. Perhaps it is precisely because of this 'similarity' that we have a sense of induction, and it also makes the curse on your body activate a little. ”

Listening to these vague words, thinking about the corresponding clues in the real world, Rosetta's brow furrowed tightly, and at the same time, he also heard the voice of his father, Marjorie Augustus, come again: "All in all, you need to be careful lately, it seems that some changes will occur in the real world you are in, it may not be directed at you, but it is just there, it is enough to threaten you." ”

George Augustus followed suit: "We can't help you in the real world here, but we will try to expand our senses and look for clues to it, and at the same time look for clues as deep as possible in the dream illusions of history, maybe...... Can help you. ”

Rosetta looked up, at his father and grandfather, at the Augustus who were even older, at them speaking and offering ideas, at them getting caught up in the lively discussions, at their own ideas, but he only maintained a cold expression and took two steps back.

Where he had been standing, the patterned stone bricks had been filled with a layer of ink, and countless tentacles-like wriggling things with a little starlight wriggled and extended in the ink, connecting with more shadows in the air around him, dancing as if trying to grasp something.

"I won't bother you to do more," Rosetta said in a cold tone, "It's better to return to dreams than dreams." ”

The dark tentacles with a little starlight instantly increased the speed of their dancing, as if they were in a rage, and the portraits who had been talking to Rosetta gently a moment ago and eagerly helping them instantly glared at each other, their eyes were bloodshot at the same time, their faces became hideous at the same time, and their voices shouted rebukes with anger:

"You damn it! We are so desperate to help you! ”

"We have good intentions, but you only have suspicions—you are destined to be an unkind and unrighteous tyrant, a mediocre king who has turned his back on the teachings of our ancestors!"

"You will be spurned by your subjects, you will bring nothing but depravity to this empire, and its future will only be destruction!"

"Come back, go back to your family, go back to your father and grandfather, only we are your real family, see yourself!"

The rebuke grew louder and louder, gradually blending together, gradually turning into a murmur and shrill screams that humans could not understand, but Rosetta Augustus only frowned, and stepped back step by step, more and more tentacles appeared in the air around him, as if they were frantically trying to bind him to this place, but those tentacles dissolved on their own before they could touch Rosetta, and dissipated into dust and mist, as if the things in the dream world could not harm the living in the real world.

But Rosetta himself knew that as long as he had the slightest hesitation, the slightest weakness and compromise, these tentacles were not so "harmless".

He eventually retreated to the door, to a place where the portraits could not reach.

"I'm sure your help is genuine – but if you don't want me to 'reunite with your family' so much."

After a mocking remark, he decisively left the room.

The door of the dream slammed shut, completely sealing the chaotic and crazy whispers in the room on the other side of the door.

Rosetta walked down the corridor where she had come, towards the outer area of the palace.

On the walls on both sides of the corridor, the hanging portraits also came to life, and the Augustus of the two hundred years appeared on the portraits, one by one, uttering all kinds of loud curses or grossly and irritating whispers to Rosetta passing through the corridor, and the twilight from the windows shook uneasily, as if the whole palace had come to life and was full of anger.

But in the end, nothing could hurt Rosetta, who resolutely rejected the nightmare, and the ruler of Typhon hurried out of the most dangerous corridors, out of the place where the portraits could be seen.

In the relatively "normal" long hall, those ubiquitous muttering voices actually seemed much more cordial and friendly at the moment.

In the depths of the palace, a sigh came into Rosetta's ears, and the sigh was filled with helplessness.

That was the root of the curse, the sigh of the true owner of the palace.

For Rosetta, the best response to the owner of this voice is not to respond to Him.

The twilight from outside the palace shone through the high glass windows into the long hall, casting pale golden grilles in the hall, and the light was no longer shaky compared to the previous moment.

Rosetta exhaled softly, preparing to leave the hall and return to the outer area of the palace.

But suddenly, his footsteps stopped, and his eyes fell on one of the doors on the side of the long hall—the handle of which turned a little, and then slowly pushed open a gap.

Rosetta's spirit tensed for a moment.

In this palace, each door means a different degree of danger, and those who open it voluntarily often have the most outright malice.

But this is not necessarily, sometimes the dreams of the members of the Augustus family will be connected, and it may be ......

A figure dressed in a long black court dress, with black hair supple and golden chains between the strands, pushed open the door and appeared before Rosetta Augustus.

The ruler of Typhon breathed a sigh of relief visibly.

"Father?" Matilda was visibly nervous for a moment when she saw the figure in the hall, but was relieved when she confirmed that it was Rosetta's face - the members of the family who were still alive would not become evil spirits in this palace, "You too...... Dreaming? ”

"It seems that I fell asleep at the same time as you," Rosetta relaxed, but still with a majestic face when facing her daughter, "It's midnight here for me." ”

"I'm in Cecil's Imperial Capital, and I've just fallen asleep, and it's still some time before midnight," said Matilda, "have you done anything here?" I just felt that this palace suddenly became ...... Extraordinarily restless. ”

"I went to the deepest part and asked some questions," Rosetta said briefly, "and they should be very angry right now." ”

“…… Is it in danger? ”

"Of course, there's no security here."

As soon as Rosetta finished speaking, a piercing scream suddenly came from the corridor leading to the deep area of the palace, which seemed to stir people's minds, making people drowsy for a moment, and also quieting the whispers in the long hall for a short time.

But soon, the screaming died down and everything was back to normal.

“…… It's your brother," Rosetta said after a few seconds of silence, "he's the 'newest one' here, and his voice can occasionally penetrate the barriers of the hallway and affect this side. ”

Matilda took a breath and couldn't help but whisper, "Brother......"

"He has left to be a part of this palace," Rosetta said solemnly and earnestly, "Matilda, always remember, remember the boundary between you and this palace, even if there is your brother here, your grandfather, your uncle and aunt, you must also remember that they are all gone, they have become 'them', they are the malevolent spirits here, the dangerous beings who want to drag you into the deepest depths.

"Only by keeping these in mind at all times will you be safe and still live safely for some time in the future, after I have also become a part of this palace."

Matilda lowered her head: "...... I'll keep it in mind, Father. ”

The expression on Rosetta's face softened a little, and he nodded, "Since we met here, let's tell us what you have seen."

"What kind of place do you think of Cecil?"