Soshyan and Randall kept walking, and the light and comfort gradually faded away.
They descended layer by layer, passing through an ancient elevator composed of an iron-gray cage hanging on a chain as thick as a person.
The temperature was getting hotter and hotter, making people feel a little uncomfortable. Soshyan felt like something huge and ancient was pressing on him.
He saw patches of caves illuminated by copper-framed lumens, with dim streaks of granite and feldspar.
During this process, Randall glanced at the sword on Soshyan's waist and said casually:
"A good sword."
Soshyan said nothing and nodded.
Finally they reached the bottom floor, the deepest part of the monastery fortress.
The cage stopped on the ground, the door slid open, and an arched cave stretched out from under their feet. The floor was as smooth as agate, and the huge space was divided by huge stone pillars.
It spreads out in the darkness of the underworld, as quiet and astonishing as the bustling levels above it.
"Such a huge space."
Soshyan whispered to himself:
"How long did it take you to build it? How many people know about it?"
In the dim light, only a few dozen figures shuttled on the glass-smooth ground, and they were all stalwart giants wearing unknown models of Iron Cavalry Terminators - their faces were hidden under their helmets and their expressions could not be seen clearly, and their expressions were unclear.
In their hands, they all held force field halberds that were buzzing and emitting a dim green light.
Soshyan didn't know if their halberds were the same model as those used by the Imperial Army, but they seemed very rare and powerful.
Randall walked across the cave floor without saying a word, the scroll and small incense burner hanging on his waist jingling as he walked.
No one came to say hello to them - they all seemed engrossed, and Soshyan sensed tension and wariness from them, but it was not directed at them.
They seem to be on guard against things in the dark.
On the ground, walls and columns, Soshyan also saw some marks - scratches made by sharp blades and claws. Considering the hardness of these rock masses, the things that made these marks were obviously not easy to mess with.
In Soshyan's eyes, this whole place was so strange that it was almost unacceptable.
"What is this place?"
"The beginning is also the end."
As they continued walking, Soshyan saw branching tunnels leading deeper.
Some of them were just doorways as wide as one person, while others were avenues that could allow Titans to pass through. Moreover, he could smell the pungent smell of incense, and even occasionally the earth would shake. Although it was very slight, it could be felt here.
, as if shaken by a distant earthquake
However, no one among the silent figures around seemed to react.
"They are really calm."
Soshyan said, he didn't want to speak at first, but his thoughts blurted out, as if to break the oppressive silence.
Randall stopped to think, he tilted his head and looked at the figures around him.
"What do you want them to look like?"
he asked finally.
"We live in a forgotten hall, but everyone has his own mission. We can't even stop and think about it. We can't."
Soshyan was speechless, and the two continued to move forward.
Finally, Randall stopped in front of an opening in the cave wall, which was guarded by forty Terminators, and the walls were covered with various seals and prayers.
After seeing Captain Lan coming, all the Terminators suddenly turned around in silence, as if they could no longer look at him.
"Why are they like this?"
"Because this is taboo, when we step inside, they will ignore what they see."
Under the leadership of Randall, Soshyan stepped into the huge arch.
As soon as he walked in, Soshyan felt the sound of a giant hammer trembling in the dark hall, and then he stood there, staring at the incredible creation in front of him, his gray face lost in thought.
Randall stood beside him and followed his gaze.
It was an octagonal door with a span of about three hundred meters, reinforced with adamantine gaskets, and surrounded by runes from ancient Terra.
Moreover, this is a gate that even a Titan can pass through.
The thunderous sound came from the other side of the door, and Soshyan took a step back, a possibility that almost frightened him.
After a long silence, he finally uttered those two words——
"Netway."
"That's right, the Internet Channel."
Randall's voice became softer, but also filled with deep, raw sadness.
His haggard face looked up at the pair of doors, his eyes flashing in the darkness.
"But this is not a simple alien creation. This is a backup of the huge secret under the Holy Palace of Terra, or its early experimental product."
Soshyan couldn't look away, the noise coming from the distance was startling.
He thought he heard a supernatural scream - a strangled scream from a terrifying, inhuman force.
"You know, the first time I fought those things, I was almost scared."
Randall narrated slowly with a sad tone.
"I have never seen such savage warfare, but its existence will never be known, and whatever horrors are destined to occur in the physical world pale in comparison... I was
Standing on the threshold, surrounded by the corpses of my comrades, I was the only one in the entire company who survived."
Soshiyang swallowed his throat and controlled his curiosity.
"Then...is this why you can't leave the planet?"
"Yes."
Soshiyang glanced at the huge webway gate again, and he suddenly realized that a certain question had been answered——
Why does the White Templar seldom attack but doesn't have many veterans?
Because they were engaged in a secret and cruel war, the traces in the passages and halls, as well as the continuous state of war in the monastery fortress, all have explanations.
An idea suddenly came to him, but he hesitated to speak because it was really shocking.
Finally, he decided to speak out.
"The reason the Seal Holder left you as an organization is to guard this gate, right?"
Randall nodded.
"There are more than three thousand soldiers left behind——"
Randall looked at Soshyan, his eyes were so intense that they were almost painful.
"According to the Chapter's archives, at first, the Webway was very peaceful, but with the outbreak of the Great Rebellion, one day, certain problems occurred within the Webway, and demons began to emerge, and our ancestors fought bloody battles with them.
, using the power left to us by the great Primarch, we will
The power of chaos is contained outside the real universe."
There was no need to ask about the power Randall was referring to, as Soshyan could also guess what it was.