Alien Knights

Following the Valkyrie headed by Brunhilde, Todd and Huggins walked through the huge cave and came to a tunnel made of granite.

Todd looked at the wall of the tunnel by the light of the torch. Half of the large gray fossils were exposed, and half were embedded in the stone wall, stretching from the entrance to the depth of the tunnel, stretching endlessly.

He carefully observed the structure of the fossil, spines, cones, spines... This creature is a bit like an oversized giant snake, with some towering dorsal fins above its body.

Feeling the ground getting steeper and steeper under his feet, and watching the Valkyries go underground little by little, Todd finally couldn't bear such a wordless journey anymore.

"Where are we going?"

Brunhilde turned his head: "Follow my footsteps, and you will know soon."

"Has anyone else been here besides me and you?"

"As far as I can remember, you are the first outsider to walk into this tunnel."

Hearing this, Todd said in surprise: "I am the first?! I don't understand, why do you trust me so much?"

"Trust?" Brunhilde stopped in his tracks, his eyes glowing in the darkness: "Listen, the leader of Muxi Town, this has nothing to do with trust. I have never left this land since I was born. I have guarded my village and this ruin for a full hundred and twenty years..."

"One hundred and twenty years?!" Todd screamed, his feet slipped, and if Huggins hadn't supported him in time, he might have fallen directly to the ground like this.

Brunhilde ignored Todd's words and deeds, and continued: "...for so many years, as Valkyrie, my sisters and I have not seen the miracles of the gods, and have not heard the instructions of the gods. What we are facing is only such a cemetery made of bones and stones. We, who have long been tired of all this, want an answer!"

Todd looked at the Valkyrie standing facing him, and swallowed: "Answer?"

"We are warriors, servants, not gravekeepers! We want to know the meaning of our existence! If you are really the rumored "alchemist blessed by the gods", then please tell us the truth." After saying this, Brunhilde turned around and continued on his way.

Todd stood firm, and while following the pace of the walker, he held his chin and thought carefully about what the Valkyrie said just now.

The team moved forward for another 20 minutes. Just as Todd looked at the giant snake fossil still extending forward in the wall, and was palpitating how long the monster was, the Valkyries stopped.

The relics of the gods have arrived.

In front of him was a huge cylindrical space with a height of 100 meters. A metal triangular cone similar to a pyramid broke through the ground and stood straight towards the sky. On the walls around the cylindrical room, all kinds of biological fossils are scattered everywhere. There is a giant skeleton about four meters high; there is the remains of a wild beast; the skeleton of the giant snake is also embedded in the wall of the cylindrical room from the exit of the tunnel, and spirals upward until it disappears on the high roof.

Todd had already been surprised too many times today, and he, who had already been mentally prepared for the scene before him, did not show much discomfort.

"This room existed a long time ago. The mission given to each generation of Valkyries is to protect this place at all costs." Brunhilde walked to the triangular metal cone in the center of the room, and motioned Todd to get closer: "Come on, alchemist, come to me. First, I want you to tell me, what exactly is this steeple-shaped thing?"

Todd walked up to the metal spire, and first looked at the exterior. The spire was about 80 centimeters above the ground, and the surface looked smooth and textured. With the help of light, you could vaguely see some strange patterns "floating" in the metal.

Todd looked at Brunhilde with a questioning look on his face.

The latter stretched out his right hand and responded with an expression of asking for permission.

Todd turned his head and tried to touch the surface with his fingers. The metal was icy cold, but the moment he touched it, people had the illusion that the soul seemed to be trapped in it.

Todd moved closer, and first tapped the metal surface with his knuckles. To his surprise, there was no echo. Taking a closer look, this object was different from all the metals he had imagined. Then, he squatted on the ground and scraped away the soil at the connection between the metal body and the ground with his hands. The metal was still under the soil. It seemed that the minaret should have risen from the ground.

"How about it, Alchemist?"

The answer Brunhilde got was just a helpless shake of the other party's head.

The Valkyrie lowered her head in frustration.

Todd said: "I don't carry any experimental equipment with me. If I can pry a sample from it, maybe I can know what it is."

Brunhild shook his head: "Don't waste your time, no weapon can leave even a scratch on it. Come on, alchemist, I have another thing I need you to see."

Climbing up to the corner at the end of the cylindrical room, the Valkyrie picked up the man-high stone and moved it aside. A room similar to a showroom appeared in front of everyone.

Pieces of slabs made of golden sand and obsidian were placed flat on the stone platform, and there were pictures and incomprehensible words that had been around for a long time in the slabs.

Brunhilde led Todd to stand in front of the first stone slab, pointing to the text inside and said: "These are Rune texts (Rune). According to legend, the main god Odin took out his left eye in exchange for a spoonful of "Fountain of Wisdom". Created the text."

"There is a theory about the origin of these pictures and words. There were two god crows standing on Odin's shoulders, one named "wisdom" and the other named "memory". After the dusk of the gods, "memory" found the remaining gods—the daughter of the sun god and the moon god, and asked her to make these stone tablets."

Todd listened to Brunhild's words and looked carefully at the first picture.

"A god with a spear and a ring and a helmet of gold slew a giant. In the sky above, the pattern of up arrow and down triangle glitters. The Valkyrie read the "Rune text" in the slate: "It gave the weapon and armor to my master - Odin, and instigated him to kill the ancestor of giants - Ymir."

The second picture: "Odin is kneeling on one knee, the arrow triangle is floating in the air, and the corpse of the giant is lying quietly on the ground. ’ The Valkyrie read: “My master, Odin, swore to submit to it, and it planted a seed in Ymir’s body.”

The third picture: "An ash tree has grown from the corpse of a giant. 』Valkyrie: "The seeds germinated and blossomed, and grew into the tree of the world.

The fourth picture: "The tree of the world is full of fruits, and the endless spring waters the roots of the tree. 』Valkyrie: "The tree of the world bears golden apples, and clear spring water emerges from the roots of the tree. The gods eat the fruit and drink the spring water. They will not grow old and die, and gain infinite divine power."

The fifth picture: "All kinds of creatures gather around the World Tree, including gods, elves, dwarves, giants and monsters. The arrow triangle floats in the air, looking down on everything. 』Valkyrie: "Drinking the spring water at the root of the world tree and eating the fruits of the branches of the world tree, all beings in the world have power and madness, and more and more creatures have mutated into grotesque monsters. When wars, devouring, and mutations are everywhere, it just looks at it all."

The sixth picture: "Odin exchanged his left eye for a ladle of spring water with one hand, and raised his spear with the other hand, pointing to the arrow triangle in the air. 』Valkyrie: "My master exchanged one eye for the Fountain of Wisdom. After drinking the spring water, under the guidance of the sage giant, he knew its intentions and was determined to defeat it."

The seventh picture: "Odin squatted on the ground, held up a handful of clear water, and raised it to the sky. 』Valkyrie: "With the help of the three Goddesses of Fate, my master discovered the weapon to defeat it."

The eighth picture: "The flames and the sea are churning endlessly, the universe collapses, time flows turbulently, the gods and enemies sink to the bottom of the sea in the war, and the arrow triangle shines in the sky." 』Valkyrie: "It saw through everything in advance, my master failed, and Ragnarok came as promised."

The ninth and final picture.

"Huge arrow triangles fill the screen. 』

The Valkyrie read the runes word by word: "It foresees the ending, plans the fate, confuses the living beings, and erases the traces. Ignorant and insignificant beings, we created you, but who created us?"

Todd looked at the arrow triangle on the last painting and was silent for a long time.

Brunhilde didn't bother him, just waited quietly.

Todd raised his head and looked at the Valkyrie: "With your permission, I would like to take some soil, rocks and water sources from the ruins as samples for experiments."

"And then? Can you give me the truth?"

Todd looked at the pattern on the slate, nodded slowly and said, "I think, I'm getting closer to the answer."