A church...just like my assessment...Klein gazed ahead at the ruins, murmuring softly to himself. At this moment, patches of deep crimson moonlight, now more intense and approaching a blood-red hue, filtered through the accumulated mist and fell upon the partially collapsed structures. Maintaining the hallmark composure of Germain Spalro, Klein spoke without any emotional fluctuation: "Where did you explore previously?" As he spoke, he glanced at the lantern in the "Hanged Man's" hands—the flame within, though consistently shielded by thick glass and metal grilles, still caused the man to unconsciously tighten his muscles and skin. Though the flame remained separated by solid glass and metal, it still evoked a sense of unease in him. Aljer paid no attention to Germain Spalro's subtle shifts, raised his right hand, still gripping his short blade, and pointed toward the most intact and grand building within the ruins: "That one." "The building has only its main structure remaining, making it impossible to determine its original floor plan. One can only infer from the current remains that it featured thick, grand walls, narrow windows, and once boasted a tall tower and a bell tower, with a simple, ancient exterior. This architectural style dates back to the early Quaternary period and is recorded in the storm church's archives. It is said that during that time, major churches widely adopted this form when constructing their chapels. Aljer is particularly impressed by this site. Over the years, he has read extensively and gained a solid understanding of it. Its most distinctive feature is the integration of temple and cemetery—life and death unified. However, I cannot be certain that the interior of this ancient church matches my description, as I have never visited it in person." "This might be an architectural style inherited from the Third Period... Caine made a few observations and first approached the ancient church ruins, whose archway was unusually lofty, leaving his lantern behind, enjoying only the light and not bearing the flame. Soon, the two of them ascended the dramatically tall, pale gray stone steps and reached the archway, where they saw the remaining classical stone columns and concentric, multi-tiered arches. Caine didn't rush in immediately. With his left hand, he reached into his pocket, drew out a gold coin, and let it skip and jump between his fingers, as though murmuring to himself. Suddenly, he gave the coin a crisp tap, launching it into the air, then spread his palm out, waiting for the other's response, while turning slightly to the "Turned Man": "Upon what grounds do you judge that the deeper parts of this church contain items of value equal to, or exceeding, that of the 'Card of Desecration'?" After speaking, he glanced at the coin that had settled into his palm and casually tucked it back into his pocket. Aljer pointed inside. "I've said before that at the time, my strength was inferior to that of Zhilinggs, so my depth of penetration naturally fell short of his. I can't know exactly what he saw—only from some of his words can I infer that there are extremely precious and significant things within, and that at least a true Sequence 5 level is required to access them. "However, the murals near the entrance and the traces on the ground might shed some light on the matter." It's not that the temple is above and the tombs below—aren't both of them underground? It's impossible to tell; we have to go down to find out. Subconsciously, Caine glanced left and right, noticing side doors on both sides, though the areas they led to had completely collapsed, leaving no path forward. He recalled the words of the "Hanged Man" and took a few steps diagonally, releasing his invisible "spirit of resentment," Senior, who, with his night vision, examined the frescoes still visible on the walls. The background of the fresco depicted majestic, towering mountains, their summits crowned with immense crosses glowing with layered radiance. In front of the cross stood a figure of extraordinary stature, surrounded by angels with two, four, and six wings respectively. This... Caine only glanced at it briefly, yet immediately felt a strong sense of familiarity. He had seen similar frescoes before—in the tomb of the "Sacrilegious One," Amun! Calmed and looked again, Caine quickly spotted the differences. Here, there were no infants representing Amun and Adam, nor any of the twelve-winged angels. Before the cross stood a majestic figure, glowing with sacred radiance, both hands raised to cradle a simple, rustic stone slab. Though the slab was rendered quite blurry, it exuded a sense of profound contradiction—both ancient and youthful, sacred and strangely sinister. Its meaning was deeply paradoxical. The slab… Caine’s pupils slightly widened, and a specific term flashed into his mind: “The Profaned Stone!” Indeed, this was closely linked to the ancient sun god, the divine creator venerated in the Silver City—so it was. Whether this was the first or the second Profaned Stone remained unclear. Caine now had a clearer sense of which deity this church belonged to, and began to believe that something truly precious and significant might lie hidden deep within this sanctuary. He shifted his gaze from Senior, allowing the “secret figure” to turn its attention toward the ground. On those stone slabs, in addition to being covered with cracks, there remained some strange markings—dark red in color, each about the size of a human forehead, sometimes overlapping, stretching all the way to the far end of the hall. At that moment, Caine naturally envisioned a scene: one by one, devout worshippers crawling on their hands and knees, pressing their foreheads heavily against the ground, bleeding as they went. When Geremán Sparo turned his gaze back, no longer gazing around, Alje hesitantly asked, "The ancient Sun God?" Meanwhile, he felt an inexplicable cold breeze coming from Sparo's side, suspecting the presence of hidden shadows or restless spirits nearby. Recalling the strange control exerted over the mutated curly-haired baboon, Alje had a vague sense of what might be unfolding, though he said nothing. Upon hearing the question about "The Hanged Man," Caine had intended to offer a gentle laugh, responding with, "You might also call Him the Lord who created all things—the all-knowing, all-powerful God." But he soon realized the tone and phrasing were more reminiscent of "The Fool" than of Germaine Spalro, and thus restrained himself, merely nodding slightly. "This is quite evident," he said. Aljer breathed out silently, his anticipation growing stronger for the object buried deep within the church. Both of them reached a decision at the same time and walked together toward the far end of the hall. As they drew near, Caine finally noticed a series of steps descending downward. "The underground area?" he asked simply. Aljer shook his head. "I'm not certain. I've never gone down. Though Zilinger made an effort to go deeper, he returned here within less than ten minutes, his breath noticeably weak." Caine nodded thoughtfully, adding casually, "You must be quite familiar with him." If someone else had said this, Aljer would have simply ignored it, not meeting the gaze directly—yet in his heart, he knew that "World" Gelmán Sparo was the patron of the "Fool," and that his question might very well carry the meaning of that presence, and thus required careful attention. After a moment's pause, Aljer spoke softly: "We were from the same village, and both served as servants in the same small church. The priest there was often irritable, harsh, and inclined to punish his servants; Zilings couldn't bear it and quietly fled, eventually becoming a pirate." Ah, so there's more to his story... The "Hanged Man" is no stranger to tales either... Klein didn't press for further details, and instead walked silently through the quiet ruins of the church, descending step by step along the staircase. Though his footsteps were already very light, they still resonated clearly, echoing steadily through the stillness. Soon, they reached the bottom and came upon another archway. On either side of the archway stood two figures, silently, immovably, unchanged, standing ever since. Both Caine and Aljer halted at the same moment, gazing at the two figures and realizing they were statues. Both were male, their bodies gray-white in tone. One wore a full suit of armor resembling a barrel, while the other draped a jacket more in line with modern fashion. Their expressions conveyed deep suffering, eyes bulging as though staring intently at something. Seeing this, Caine suddenly snapped to attention, recalling his earlier experiences outside: he and Aljer had also shown signs of petrification—thankfully, they had managed to escape the effect and had not truly turned into statues! This... could these be human beings who had undergone the same fate? If we had been petrified just now, would we too have been transported into the depths of this ancient church, standing guard over this archway for centuries, perhaps millennia, unchanged? Was the petrifying force itself afraid of this site? Caine felt an inexplicable fear, his scalp tingling subtly. He controlled the slight tremor in his expression, turned his head to glance at "The Hangman," and noticed that the rugged seafarer's pupils had also dilated, and his grip on the short blade had tightened noticeably. "The Hangman" had the same intuition—no need for me to elaborate further... Caine pointed toward the archway. "There may be even more stone statues inside." Aljer nodded, speaking with a mix of concern and light humor. "Just hope we don't see our own." If, while firmly believing we've escaped the petrification effect, we encounter our own statues deep underground, that would be a truly terrifying tale. Caine paused for a moment, then asked "The Hangman," "Do you have night vision?" His real intention was that the glow of the lantern would stand out prominently in the completely dark underground areas, potentially causing unwanted disturbances—so, if he had night vision, it would be best to extinguish the light. And he believed the "Emperor of the Pendulum" could discern this subtle meaning. Alger replied calmly, "Yes." A "seer" who could dive deep must inherently possess the ability to see in the dark. Klein glanced at him without speaking, but his implication was unmistakable: Why then do you still use lanterns? Alger responded seriously, "First, to mislead the enemy. When they see me using lanterns, they will instinctively assume I lack night vision. Once they destroy the lanterns and work to create a dark environment, I can then surprise them." Indeed cunning—Klein found himself momentarily at a loss for words. Alger continued, "Second, to guard against situations like that of the Silver City, where in the complete absence of light, the most profound dangers may lie hidden." "There's some merit to that... Kline didn't signal for the horse lantern to be extinguished; instead, he stepped past the two stone sculptures, entering the archway leading to the underground area, directly through their frozen expressions of pain. ——Since he didn't know what the petrified statues symbolized, nor whether the individuals who had been petrified had fully passed away, Kline chose not to break them, hoping to preserve any possible extraordinary properties or magical items they might hold."