CHAPTER 493: CHAPTER 247 WITHERED FLOWER_3

However, they were a step too late. Alka opened his mouth and spoke in the island’s unique language—one that no one present understood, yet all could recognize. A chill ran down everyone’s spines.

"Samor Road."

"The Temple has been activated!" Julia exclaimed, feeling the sudden surge of Magic Power around them.

This time, they chose not to wait, instead moving towards the edge of the pit. Chadite and Jason, being closest to Alka, stepped forward, intending to take him with them. However, things were different this time. The moment Alka finished speaking, their bodies instantly vanished, leaving only Lucilia’s soulless doll. It reverted to its original form and fell to the ground.

The doll’s beautiful clothing was now caked in dirt. As it tumbled, it rolled into the pit.

With that phrase uttered, the frenzied words that had been dominating Alka’s mind vanished. His own thoughts returned, and his brain began to function normally again. He regained control of his body and looked around.

Matilda was already by his side. Her upper hands were aimed at his head, a faint magical aura surrounding it, while her lower hands were raised slightly, assisting with the inspection. The others stood with their backs to Alka, shielding him in the center.

"How do you feel now?" Lucilia’s voice resonated within his soul.

"When did you slip into my body?" Alka asked, puzzled. "Just moments ago, my mind was completely filled with that one sentence, making me oblivious to everything else happening around me."

"Just moments ago. You experienced a mental lapse and even uttered ’Samor Road,’ activating this Temple."

"Really? When that corpse grabbed me, that phrase flooded my mind, compelling me to speak it aloud."

Recalling it now, if my mental and spiritual strength weren’t far greater than an ordinary person’s, I might not have been able to resist when that thought flooded my mind. At least I held out for a few seconds. Considering the identity of that skeleton... after all, he was a powerhouse from the Mythical Era tens of thousands of years ago, one of the leaders of a city-state. It’s quite impressive that I managed to resist his influence for even a few seconds. Alka consoled himself with these thoughts.

And with the Treasure right there, wasn’t that corpse the High Priest?

Looking at Matilda, who was examining him, Alka opened his eyes and said, "I’m fine now, really."

Matilda met his gaze and nodded. She had just checked him as well and, indeed, found no problems. She had only performed such a detailed examination because she was concerned about Alka’s recent state and wanted to be thorough.

"Is this the Superimposed Space of the Temple?" Alka asked, looking around.

Chadite nodded. "Are you okay now? What happened just moments ago?"

"I’m fine now. There was a small issue earlier; I’ll tell you all about it later." Alka then surveyed their surroundings. It appeared to be a square chamber, roughly 200 meters on each side and about 10 meters high. The contents of the room were in disarray, items long since shattered and scattered, with only a blue Crystal Ball floating quietly in the air.

The blue Crystal Ball was now emitting a faint glow that steadily intensified. This heightened everyone’s vigilance. Lucilia’s soul emerged from Alka’s chest to observe the unfolding situation.

As the blue light coalesced, a flickering, luminous figure materialized. It clearly displayed Vastva characteristics and was dressed in robes of an indiscernible color; the patterns and emblems on them suggested some kind of religious attire. His eyes were dull, his expression mechanical. Notably, he had no lower body; only his upper half, formed of shimmering light, floated in the air.

The figure looked at Alka and the others. Suddenly, he began to speak. He spoke the island’s language, and the strange thing was, Alka could actually understand him. Alka scratched his ear, making sure he wasn’t mishearing.

"He’s speaking the island’s language, right?" Alka asked.

Hearing this, Chadite turned his head to look at Alka and then nodded.

"I do not know who you are, nor where you come from, or even how many years into the future you hail from. But I hope you can help us... help our compatriots trapped in the Alternate Space... trapped with the Pioneer Heart... it is a divine... Treasure... it is stored in... activated... autumn... combined... strike... I hope you... Thank..."

Alka listened. Beyond the first few complete sentences, most of what the figure said was a garbled stream of disconnected words and phrases. Even its manifested form couldn’t maintain consistency, flickering as if short-circuiting. Fortunately, thanks to the Treasure Information, Alka could infer additional details and understand parts of the message. He could roughly grasp the intended meaning.

Upon uttering the final word, "thank," the figure vanished completely. The Crystal Ball that had been floating behind him dimmed as well, then plummeted to the floor of the chamber, rolling twice before lodging itself in a corner.

"What was he saying just now? Why was it so disjointed? And judging by your expression, you understood it?" Chadite asked Alka.

Alka nodded. "Perhaps it was because of that information I received earlier. I suddenly found I could understand their language."

"That’s not surprising, is it?" Lucilia, who also understood, remarked from Alka’s side. "After all, he was seeking our help. If we couldn’t understand the language he left behind, how could we possibly assist them?"

Alka nodded; that did make sense.

"So, what was he saying? He didn’t seem to have any ill intentions. What did he want our help with?" Jason asked curiously.

The phantom’s recent actions were all part of a plea for help, a mechanism set in motion during his lifetime. He probably never imagined that the first to find his remains and reach this place would do so tens of thousands of years after his death. Alka found it quite remarkable that the Crystal Ball had managed to last for tens of thousands of years.