It took several people a lot of effort to persuade Baru to enter with them.
Originally, the Boy wanted to wait on the hillside, or find a higher vantage point, quietly watching outside the clouds, trying to find the shadow of goliath—he wanted to wait for goliath to land and rescue Sheeta.
Despite all their persuasion, the stubborn youth wouldn't agree, until Mori Tsukisa put on a stern face and made a series of promises to convince the stubborn little Boy.
'The different markings on the stone proved that girl's identity. If the other party wants to gain control of this city, they cannot kill the royalty.'
'Go in first, let the Little Sprite wait here to monitor goliath's landing at any time.'
The young girl pushed the still-hesitating Baru down the small grassy hill in one go, with Nagini, Imhotep, and Anck-Su-Namun following behind, as the group headed towards a green city... "It's like a fairyland," Nagini murmured.
Mori Tsukisa agreed.
Ancient trees that blotted out the sky blocked most of the sunlight. Walking on the small path, one could clearly sense the comfort and freedom coming from all around.
Up, down, left, right, there were plants and flowers everywhere. Occasionally, small gray birds fluttered through the forest, and squirrels with brownish-yellow patterns held nuts, staring at them curiously.
There were many small animals.
Perhaps over thousands of years, the ecology of this treasury had gradually recovered.
"They weren't like this before?" the young girl questioned, and Imhotep shook his head.
"They weren't." The man's expression was complex: "They worshipped wisdom, and that was all. For living creatures, except for the dragons that appeared in the final period, any creature outside the Children of the Wind Clan did not receive their favor."
"In other words, they didn't really like nature."
"Otherwise, they wouldn't have built a fortress that could stay away from the earth and rise high into the sky."
I see.
"How arrogant."
"That's right, Lady Witch."
By the way, Bastet's so-called 'order' couldn't make Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun obey. After remembering that Isis had another identity, the two three-thousand-year-old antiques decisively decided to change how they addressed her—no matter how terrifying Mori Tsukisa was in Imhotep's eyes, he couldn't ignore that she was indeed an underage girl.
'How about calling her Lady Witch?' Nagini suggested from the side. If she was a 'Magic Snake', shouldn't her Master be a 'Witch'?
Mori Tsukisa didn't care. It was just Bastet who was a bit unhappy; the fun it just found was gone after only a few tries.
"You're always unhappy, bleh, my Attendants won't listen to you." Mori Tsukisa walked with her hands behind her back, teasing a bird for a while, then pinching two butterflies and putting them on her nose. She caught a squirrel climbing onto her shoulder and held its head in front of Bastet—the little squirrel unleashed a flurry of punches at the black cat's face... The bouncing girl was like a curious rabbit that should have been born here, wanting to play with anyone she caught.
This led to them walking for half an hour before seeing any architecture other than plants and trees.
A black metal stele.
Embedded in the lawn.
Imhotep pulled Anck-Su-Namun over, crouched down, and gently touched the carvings on it... "What is this?"
"This is the tomb of the Children of the Wind Clan." Imhotep felt somewhat sorrowful. He had once lived in the same era as them, also wielding power and full of high spirits.
Now, he was the only one left living incompletely, while the Children of the Wind Clan had long since dissipated into the long river of time.
The man gently swept over the tombstone and read out those incomprehensible words:
'We Master the technology of standing in the firmament.'
'We possess proud wisdom and talent.'
'We belong to the Goddess of the Wind, to freedom, and to our clansmen.'
'We sleep here for generations.'
'And remain with the wind and the Goddess.'
Imhotep read word by word. At some point, the original birdsong and rustling sounds disappeared. A tall, thin shadow stood quietly behind the group.
Turning around, it was a green-gray robot covered in moss.
Its face only had a roughly made camera for observation, with a red indicator light on; its upper and lower body were connected by a thick shaft, and its arms on both sides almost reached the ground; its legs were thin and feet wide, seemingly for propulsion and jumping.
A red crest was carved on its chest.
It was quite crude.
"It's exactly the same as Sheeta's stone!" Baru was talking about the style of the crest: "Hers is golden!"
The robot walked towards Mori Tsukisa step by step. After getting close, the lens suddenly lit up, and its arms unfolded—two thick-tipped shells were aimed at them.
Imhotep stepped forward calmly, chanting an incantation that Baru couldn't understand, and held up his right hand—immediately, the flying stone in his palm suddenly emitted a blue ray, connecting with the crest on the robot's chest.
Only for a few short seconds.
The robot retracted the shells, bowed slowly, and then paced away again.
"This is a guardian robot of the Children of the Wind royalty. The flying stone I possess can make it see us as 'guests'," Imhotep stepped back to Anck-Su-Namun's side and explained to Mori Tsukisa: "If not for the intervention of the gods, the Children of the Wind at their peak could have almost ruled every kingdom on the earth with an overwhelming army of robots."
In hearing the words "if not for the intervention of the gods," Bastet gave a very disdainful "hmph," seemingly adding an ungrateful man to the list after the ungrateful woman.
Mori Tsukisa didn't speak for a long while, gazing faintly at the robot's departing back, no longer looking as lively as before.
"Lady Witch?"
Mori Tsukisa remained silent until the moss-covered robot disappeared into the vast forest.
"It's a bit lonely."
The girl sighed emptily: "Guarding here alone, waiting for the return of the royal descendants who created it—perhaps that day will never come."
The pleasant birdsong and the crisp sounds of small animals stepping on the grass she heard would reappear after not long; over and over again, how long has it been listening?
Will it get bored?
Mori Tsukisa looked at everything around her and suddenly felt that this place was so narrow and crowded—it couldn't hold the robot's repetitive and loyal programming, and even less these animals that were born with only this cramped space before their eyes.
The girl, who had taken on the responsibility of caring for the children in the orphanage since she was young, could feel the loneliness and terror here even more. Even if it was as beautiful as a fairyland, it was probably a fairyland in hell.
Just like the girl before she had ignited her spark, just like the young woman who tenderly cared for her younger brothers and sisters as they fell asleep every day. In the quiet, thick night, she would sit alone on the wooden boards, calmly looking up at the moon that never spoke in the sky.
The silver moon witnessed her growth and also nurtured her lonely soul.
Just like this robot, day after day.
The moss grows more abundant every day, and the waiting never ends.
"Master..." Nagini took Mori Tsukisa's hand.
"Ah..." Mori Tsukisa smiled: "It's truly a scary place."
Baru looked worriedly at the Mori Tsukisa who was unlike her usual self, wanting to say something. Anck-Su-Namun, who had never spoken to him, suddenly looked at the Boy; the woman gave a rare slight smile and gently shook her head at the youth.
The Boy opened his mouth and bit the air a few times, swallowing his words back down.
The heavy stone door and the patches of moss covering the tomb in front of them did not react to the visitor's sighs and sadness. For the Children of the Wind Clan, who belonged to the Mortals, no matter how much they possessed in life, they would be silent after death.
"Guests should act like guests, let's not disturb them." After just a few breaths, the girl seemed to have regained her energetic look. She took Nagini's hand and looked up at Imhotep: "Time to visit the next tourist attraction!"
"Let's go, let's go!"
"Imhotep is leading the way in front... I have to find a small flag for you to hold!"
Bastet followed behind with its tail curled, humming, and surprisingly didn't mock anyone again.
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