Chapter 71: The Golden Ziggurat
I stepped through the carved stone archway behind Alistair, leaving the landing platform behind as we entered the interior of the Royal Citadel.
A grand staircase stretched before us, winding upward into the depths of the structure. Unlike the sleek obsidian and gold exterior of the ziggurat, these stairs were built from massive, weathered stone slabs that looked impossibly ancient. Each individual step was far wider and taller than a standard staircase, as though it had been crafted for giant beings rather than ordinary humans.
I kept pace with Grandfather, taking two steps at a time to keep up with his casual, measured stride.
As we climbed higher, the air around us grew dense. A strange, suffocating pressure washed over my skin, heavy with the weight of uncounted millennia. It wasn’t a physical weight or a magical attack, it felt as though the very atmosphere of the ziggurat possessed a consciousness, silently judging my presence, my intent, and my soul as I walked upon its sacred stone.
Yet, despite the formidable pressure, I didn’t feel a single ounce of discomfort or strain. My reality manipulation held my personal space completely steady, filtering out the spiritual weight like a light breeze. To me, it simply felt as if the fundamental laws of the world around us had subtly shifted, holding their breath in our presence.
[Oho?] Paige’s voice chimed softly in my head, her playful tone laced with a rare hint of genuine curiosity. [This entire place is saturated with ancient conceptual authority! It’s like walking inside a giant living memory bank!]
’A living memory bank?’ I thought, keeping my eyes on Alistair’s back. ’That explains the judging feeling.’
Eventually, the stairs led us to a wide, elevated floor. At the end of a short stone hallway stood two colossal metal doors, engraved with sweeping cuneiform scripts. As we approached, the massive doors let out a deep, resonant rumble and slid open automatically, granting us entry.
We stepped into an enormous, cavernous hall.
I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes traveling upward. The ceiling was impossibly high, easily fifty to a hundred meters above our heads, lost in soft golden shadows. Extending as far as the eye could see were two parallel rows of colossal stone pillars, each broad enough to anchor a skyscraper.
Every single square inch of those massive pillars was covered in intricate relief carvings.
I walked closer to the nearest pillar, staring at the detailed artwork. I recognized the scenes almost immediately:
Gilgamesh clashing against monstrous beasts in primordial forests. Ancient armies clashing on forgotten battlefields. Early humans kneeling before glowing celestial entities. The birth of the very first Awakened. Gilgamesh raising his hands to forge the shimmering planetary barrier around Earth. King Arthur standing at a grand round table, surrounded by his knights. The glorious rise and tragic fall of empires lost to mundane history.
"Whoa..." I gasped softly.
Then I noticed something that made my skin prickle.
The relief carvings weren’t static.
On the pillar to my left, a tiny, exquisitely detailed army was actively marching across the stone surface, their spears glinting in the dim light. Higher up, a carved dragon flapped its stone wings, gliding smoothly into the shadow of a carved mountain. Across the hall, a stone king raised his sword to address a silent crowd, his carved lips moving in rhythm.
"Grandfather..." I asked, turning my head toward Alistair. "What is this place? Are these... moving sculptures?"
Alistair slowed his steps, resting both hands on his cane as he looked up at the living pillars with a somber, respectful gaze. "This is the Hall of Kings, Seth. And no... those are not mere sculptures. They are preserved memories, anchored directly into the foundation of Uruk to record the true history of humanity."
"Actual memories..." I murmured, looking back at the moving stone.
As my eyes drifted further down the line of pillars, a cold, disturbing sight caught my attention.
On several of the massive pillars, the beautiful, moving reliefs were suddenly cut short. Entire sections of the stone had been violently gouged out, pulverized, or deliberately defaced. Faces had been scratched away into smooth, blank slates. Names carved in ancient script had been thoroughly erased, leaving behind jagged, hollow scars. Entire historical events were completely missing, replaced by crude, empty gouges in the stone.
It wasn’t natural decay or the wear of time. Someone had deliberately tried to destroy those records.
I walked up to a defaced pillar, tracing my fingers near a jagged gouge where a scene had been stripped away. "Grandfather... why are parts of the history missing? Who did this?"
Alistair didn’t pause his walk. He kept moving down the central aisle, his voice cold, steady, and heavy with quiet grimness.
"Because humanity has enemies, Seth."
He didn’t elaborate further, and the weight in his voice told me everything I needed to know. I pulled my hand back from the scarred pillar and quickly caught up to him.
We exited the Hall of Kings through another arched doorway, entering a long, quiet corridor that wound around the outer perimeter of the ziggurat.
As we walked, I glanced to my left and froze mid-step once again.
There was an enormous, open archway along the wall. I walked up to the edge, expecting to see the golden skyline of Uruk spread out below us.
Instead, I found myself staring directly into the terrifying, breathtaking void of deep space.
Suspended in the absolute darkness before my eyes was planet Earth-a magnificent, glowing blue and white marble swirling with clouds, surrounded by vast oceans and dark continents. Off to the side, the Moon hung silently, while millions of brilliant, unblinking stars dotted the cosmic void.
Cold vacuum and deep space stared right back at me.
"Holy shit..." I gasped, my jaw dropping. "Grandfather... are we... are we in space?"
Alistair didn’t even turn around, continuing down the corridor as if I had just pointed out a painting on a wall. "It is merely a viewing chamber, Seth. Walk along."