Cool light shone down from the temple's patio, casting a distorted shadow over the statues in the shrine's inner niches. Against the backdrop of those shadows, the statue that has stood still for thousands of years seems to come to life. Their expressions were hideous, with a slight incomprehensible mystery, and they stared coldly at the people in the dead temple, who were fixed on the spot by the last few reliefs.

With his arms crossed and a slight smile on his lips, Berosio was looking at the expressions of Soveillan and the others, a look that was all too familiar, for he had behaved so many years ago when he first saw these reliefs.

Shocked, puzzled, contemplative, and even slightly frightened, this is the truest portrayal of Sovereign and others at this time. There is a common question on everyone's minds - is it all predestined?

For the first moment, Sovereign and the others even instinctively doubted the authenticity of the relief. Because they couldn't believe that the Kujitan people, who had seen their homeland shattered and finally left the land more than a thousand years ago, carved on the reliefs of the temple what would happen thousands of years later.

Could they really foresee fate? Could they really be the people of Isseriel, the lord god of fate? Could it be that what happened to them was really predestined, just waiting for the years to pass silently and finally come to that inevitable point in time?

These visitors from outside the swamp instinctively want to deny it, want to refute it. But the style is unified, and the antique narrative reliefs remind them that this is not an illusory murmur of the Kujitan people, let alone a "miracle" forged by Berosio and others. There was no need for the Kujitan to carve a false fate in the temple, and there was no need for Berosio and his men to trade their ten years for a purposeless deception.

Fate is sometimes so cruel that whether you admit it or not, it rushes forward in the riverbed that has been carved for a long time. Maybe you don't realize it, it's because you're in it. Maybe you're cold, and that's because someone has intentionally or unintentionally made you see what's ahead.

The people standing in front of the stone slabs were speechless for a long time, time seemed to freeze here, and a few simple reliefs brought them too violent impact. "Was this what the relief looked like when you found this slab?" Tandra sighed and turned to Belohio to confirm.

"That's right, that's what it looks like. It was only in the second year of the Dead Fog Swamp that we discovered the city and the reliefs in this temple. Belosio nodded, "Believe me, when we first saw the last reliefs, our faces weren't much better than yours. He smiled self-deprecatingly, and continued, "You need not doubt the authenticity of the relief. There is no need for us to deceive you about this, especially given that we are cursed and may never be able to leave here. ”

Soveland pondered, and he remembered a clue that Berosio had mentioned earlier. "Who was the man who told you to flee to the Dead Mist Swamp? didn't he provide any other valuable information later?"

Belosio's expression froze, with indescribable bitterness. "Honestly, about that voice......" he paused, as if caught in a memory, "I'm not even sure if I was in a waking reality or a deep dream when I heard that voice......

Sovereign and the others were stunned. "You're not sure? What does that mean? Don't you even see the other person's face?" asked Paislin, puzzled.

"That's right, not at all. "It was a low, old voice, and when it sounded, it was as if my soul had been withdrawn from my body, and the whole world stood still." I heard someone whispering in my ear. The mercenary king's gaze was a little hollow, as if he was pulled by the past, "He only said one sentence - escape! Flee to the Death Fog Swamp! There you can break free from the end of certain death, and there you can face the punishment of the Lord God for your betrayal of you......"

"Is this ......," asked Paislin again, "or is this voice never seen since?"

"No, no more, the voice was completely gone, as if it had never been there. Belosio shook his head slowly, "Whether it's a hallucination of despair, or if someone has actually given me guidance. Anyway, we've come to the Death Mist Swamp, and the land has kept us alive and trapped like a monster for a whole decade. He sighed, "Anyway, if that's what that voice says of punishment, then we've been punished here for ten years." ”

The crowd listened to Belosio's story and said nothing, and in their eyes, such a punishment was not insignificant. A group of cursed, walking dead "people" are trapped in a dark place, and even deprived of the power to die. This situation has gone through five, ten, even fifty, and a hundred years in the long years.

What awaits them in the end? Humanity will only be consumed in countless hours, and they will slowly forget that they were once "human", and finally become a bunch of real monsters. Wandering in this cold land, wandering in this cage-like human purgatory, you can never break free.

Sometimes, eternal life is the cruelest punishment.

"You ...... You've been waiting for us to show up, you've been waiting for ten years?......" Sovereign asked, with some difficulty.

"That's right, I've been waiting for ten years......," Berosio said with a wry smile, as if telling a helpless truth, "and when we first saw this relief, we couldn't believe it either." Of course, we are not crazy people who support atheism! But who would dare to believe that what happened to him, in another place, at another time, was carved long ago, just waiting for you to discover it?"

Berohio looked at the narrative relief in the temple with a complicated expression. "But do we have any other choice? Without ......," he said, "sometimes even the most absurd things can be the last straw in the eyes of those who are in despair." "And, if it weren't for this slate, even ours...... It is impossible for such a monster to survive in the Death Fog Swamp. ”

"Not even you?" said Kuhl, surprised. For them, Belosio and his men are basically invincible.

Berosio smiled unscrupulously. "You underestimate this mysterious land!" he said, mockingly, looking at the crowd's disarrayed clothes, "this place is full of countless monsters and beasts, such as the 'Sludge Swamp Beast', you must have seen them jump out of the mud, right?"

Suo Weilan and the others were stunned when they heard this, and then changed to a frightened expression. Not only did they see it, but the monsters almost killed their group.

"Look at this relief!" said Berosio, as he walked over to the slab and pointed to one of the images on the relief.

It was an unusually cruel and strange scene. A struggling man was pressed against a stone bed, and several priests wearing feathered crowns held sharp tapered instruments and nailed them into their hearts. Then a white mist that seemed to symbolize the soul manipulated in the priest's hands, sealed in the pitch-black mud.

In the next frame, a huge monster stands out of the mud, and under the command of the black rattan in the priest's hand, it rushes towards the beasts of the jungle, as well as other foreign invaders.

"These sludge swamp beasts have caused us great trouble, they are immortal, bloodthirsty, and a dozen brothers have been torn to pieces by them, I mean real shards......" said Berosio, "see those black vines? It was a leafless black tree that grew in the swamp, and it was only after we saw the reliefs that we made feathered arrows from the branches and defeated them once and for all." ”

"The Sludge Swampmon is also described in the text behind the slate," Thomas added, "and the Kujitan will extract the souls of the convicted from their bodies and seal them in mud to create powerful war golems to defend their homeland." His tone was full of admiration, "The magic of the Kujitan people is at its peak, and it is completely different from the elemental resonance of the Saint-Slan. ”

"In this way, while groping and fighting, it took us five years to become the king of the swamp here. A bunch of monsters have become the king of monsters, and I don't know whether to be happy or sad. "Since then, we've had one more task in our daily lives – patrolling the swamps. Looking forward to finding the man in the last picture," he said, gesturing to Sovereign and the others, "and you! And years later, your presence proves once again that the slate is not lying. ”

When Berosio had finished speaking, silence returned to the temple, but it was clear to everyone that the last stone sculpture on the slab was clearly involved in another matter.

"The slate is not lying, but you are not telling the whole story. Shaun Sr. stared at Belohio, "Your curse doesn't just require Solveland's blood. He pointed to the relief, "I need this piece again, don't we?" he said, moving his hand to another relief. In that scene, countless Kujitan people prostrate themselves on the ground, prostrating themselves in front of an even more magnificent temple, and the fragments suspended above the temple that are carved in stone with radial light.

Old Sean's voice echoed through the temple. "This fragment is the 'Destiny Shard' mentioned in the text on the back of the slate, right?" his words caught everyone's attention, "Tell me, Berohio, you have obtained the 'Destiny Shard'!"

When Old Sean's question came out of his mouth, everyone subconsciously thought of the opposite answer. Sure enough, the Mercenary King's answer confirmed what everyone thought. "Obviously, we didn't get the Slice of Destiny!" Berohio said, "We can't set foot in that place!"

"The place you're talking about is the Temple of the Lake in the middle of the slab, 'Tai Tingchi', right?" said Tandra, suppressing the anger in his heart, "You've also found the last temple city built by the Kujitans!, and your real plan is for us to retrieve the Slice of Destiny!Answer me, Berosio!"

Berohio squinted his eyes and stared at Tandra. "Yes, we did find Taitinchi!" he said, turning his gaze to Essaoweran, "and strictly speaking, not to let you go, but to let him go alone!" and then he added with a smile, "You have to keep some hostages so that this little fellow can come back obediently, don't you?"

"We refuse!" Tandra shouted angrily, and Berohio's plan furious, "This strange land is full of unpredictable dangers! Not to mention Taitinci, who even you can't set foot in!

Belosio stared at his dark eyes, his voice slowly turning cold. "My old friend, with your current situation, there is absolutely no choice but to refuse!"

"Are you threatening me?" Berosio ......," Tandra's voice was deep, and he placed his palm on the hilt of the greatsword behind his back.

"If you take my words as a threat, then yes!" Belosio's muscles trembled slightly, like a leopard ready to fight, "never challenge our determination to be tormented by this damn curse for a whole decade!"

For a moment, the atmosphere in the temple was extremely solemn, and at this moment, a determined voice sounded from behind Tandra, attracting everyone's attention. "That's enough!" said Sovereign exclaimed, "I'll go to Taittingchi and bring you back that Destiny Shard!"

"Sovereign! it's too dangerous......" Before Tandra and the others could finish, Sovereign interrupted them.

"We don't have a choice, do we?" said Sovereign softly as he looked at his companions beside him, his words making it impossible for anyone to refute the fact that he was going to wage war with Thorns. "If this is the only chance we can get out of here, then I'll take it!" he continued, looking at Berosio as he said, "Tell me everything about Taitinci and why you can't even get involved." ”

"Bang bang bang ......" Belosio applauded loudly at Soveland's reply, looking at Tandra and Old Sean with a hint of sarcasm. "It's much more enjoyable to do things with this little guy than you politicians who live at the pinnacle of power!" he continued, smirking wickedly, "the Temple in the middle of the lake...... You'll see it tomorrow with your own eyes! As I said, there is much more to this land than that. ”

With that, Berosio turned and walked towards the door of the temple. "Let's go when you've seen enough here, I guess Thule has ready for dinner!, of course, the taste won't be satisfying, but I'm sure you're in need of a full meal right now." The sound of iron boots clashing against the stone slab suddenly stopped, and the king of mercenaries turned around and coldly dropped a word. "If you want to escape, I will not stop you!Believe me, the Death Fog Swamp at night will definitely make you regret making this stupidest decision!"

Soon, the majestic figure disappeared into the gray-white mist outside the door, and only the speechless Soviran and others were left in the empty temple. The light from the patio was still cold, but the cold light was stained with a layer of post-sunset gray.