After a brief pause, Vivian continued, "The catalyst was the incompetent final king's decision to relocate the capital, swayed by the slander of the ministers around him."

Historians in Siwalant have diverse opinions on this. The most mainstream view is that the Land of Gold and Merlin were too closely connected. Whenever they wanted to advance in power, inexplicable anomalies would prevent them.

And the final king's brother took advantage of this, claiming he heard the echoes of the Great Guardian in the royal tombs, informing him that change was imperative.

"Besides, there are many anecdotes about the royal tombs. At the start of the dynasty, once when the king asked Merlin for his wish, he made only one request, which was to be buried in this tomb after his death."

After Merlin died, the Royal Family fulfilled the oath, burying him alongside the members of the Gallog Dynasty's Royal Family, "The tomb is very close to the Royal Capital; the journey won't take long."

"Do we need shovels?"

The pragmatic Cynthia broke the solemn atmosphere, "What kind of look is that? Since we're going to the tomb, being prepared for tomb-raiding is quite normal, isn't it?"

Based on her years of travel experience, the worst-case scenario is that they would have to dig up Merlin's grave.

Should Vivian be hindered by social decorum when the time comes, she'd be more than happy to do the dirty work.

"I'm a professional when it comes to grave digging."

To reassure them, Cynthia gave them a smile she believed to be reliable.

But in Vivian's eyes, that smile wasn't sunny at all, resembling more of a grave robber's. Considering how Cynthia recently bumped a fist-sized welt on her father's head, Vivian increasingly felt Cynthia wasn't a good person.

"I'm serious. If a novice with no knowledge randomly digs, it might damage the objects and remains in the tomb. Especially when facing chambers that warn the Transcendent, one must be extra cautious. Many have unearthed death spirits with just one shovel, resulting in their entire team paying with their lives."

She had heard that Merlin's death was quite tragic, as if his heart had been pierced, followed by his head being decapitated and hung on the city walls. The Royal Family only dared to retrieve his body and handle the burial after the Time Travelers vanished.

Having died bearing a grudge, along with possessing extraordinary abilities in life, Cynthia thought if Merlin's soul had turned into a death spirit, it would be extremely troublesome.

"No need to worry. If you don't trust her, I have someone more suitable here."

Ethan also comforted Vivian.

Before his voice fell, a little yellow potato poked its head out from beneath the floor.

There's no creature better at digging than the earth element. In principle, a burial is just like digging a hole and placing the coffin and body in the home of the little yellow potato.

Under this theory, their subsequent actions have nothing to do with tomb raiding; they're just visiting the little yellow potato's home.

Vivian couldn't understand why the premise of their discussion had to be based on digging up Merlin's grave, but since it was Ethan's decision, it was difficult for others to change it.

Under her guidance, the royal tomb wasn't hard to find.

The young king had dismissed the Forbidden Guard stationed at the tomb early on, leaving them plenty of private space. However, when the grand royal tomb came into Ethan's sight, he sensed something unusual.

Whether it was the materials of the tomb's entrance or the stone sculptures guarding the tomb like sacred beasts, all were filled with the style of the Golden Kingdom. At the top of a series of steps was a massive beast-faced statue with a golden mask on its beast face, almost as if it was a mark left by the King of Gold.

Compared to Cynthia, the King of Gold was the one who showed the least respect for Merlin.

Not only did he come to the tomb without permission and dig up Merlin's grave, but as if mocking, he left a Golden Kingdom mark outside the tomb.

"It's not like this..."

Vivian, staring at the statue on the stone steps from afar, blurted out, "The statue outside the tomb wasn't like this."

Though she had never been inside, she often had maids secretly take her to visit the outside of the tomb in her childhood. The statues outside the tomb had never worn such ugly and bizarre golden masks.

"This statue... eh?"

Vivian stood frozen, staring at the back of her hand, feeling the hard and cold sensation at her fingertips.

When did she get here?

After a brief blank in her mind, she remembered that a second ago she had been planning to describe to Ethan and Cynthia the original appearance of the statues and their origins, closely related to the history of the Gallog family.

But a second later, she found herself tens of meters away, standing beneath the statue with a golden mask, touching its golden-crafted surface.

Next, she noticed changes beneath her feet.

The texture of the stone steps transformed into gold, with a red carpet extending forward.

In this manner, it aligned even more with the name Land of Gold.

"Vivian, you've never mentioned the origin of the name Land of Gold, have you?"

She heard Ethan's voice from above the steps—he had unknowingly ascended the steps before the tomb, with Cynthia following closely.

Ethan, as if unaware of the earlier anomaly, continued to ask, "As both the capital of the Gallog Dynasty and Siwalant, and the hometown of the Great Guardian, there must be many stories, right?"

Vivian opened her mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.

There are indeed many stories about the Land of Gold. Truth be told, they couldn't be finished even in an entire afternoon. But compared to the origin of the Land of Gold, shouldn't they obviously discuss the recent anomaly?

Why did she suddenly appear here after leaping dozens of meters in distance?

Why did time seem to jump forward significantly, and she couldn't remember what happened during the leap?

"Didn't you feel the strangeness?"

"Oh? Are you referring to the time leap and these steps becoming golden?"

"Since you noticed, why...?"

"That's why I'm curious about the origin of the Land of Gold. If Merlin had a choice, he certainly wouldn't want his 'hometown' to share the same name as the murderer."

Merlin wasn't born here, and it was never his hometown. He arrived in this dimension through the guild's technology.

"Just like the original stone steps here, as long as they replace them before they appear, they'll become like this."

It may never have been called the Land of Gold at all. Perhaps someone returned to an earlier point in time after Merlin's death and branded it before it was named.

This reveals that the King of Gold was a person with a strong possessive desire, coupled with a terrible character.

"So, be prepared for what's to come."

Ethan reminded Vivian.

While he had already reached the top of the golden stairs and saw the inside of the tomb.

Structurally speaking, it was no longer related to a tomb. It looked more like a temple, full of religious divisions. Beast-faced statues with human bodies could be seen everywhere, their movements uniform, holding identical vessels with golden liquid flowing from them, converging at the deepest part of the temple.

When he took another step, the scene before him changed once again.

Flowing time brought forth the phantoms of the past.

He heard religious orchestral music, playing a melody he didn't know.

And dancers dancing gracefully.

Next came a man pierced through the heart with a spear, glaring with hatred at the one holding the spear.

The murderer wore a golden mask.

A curved knife raised high in the right hand, coming down mercilessly.

Ethan felt like he was walking along a river of time. At its end, someone was waiting to welcome his arrival.

"We finally meet, Mr. Ethan."

The voice came from the deepest part of the temple, "Welcome to your arrival."