Knowing the exact amount of distance he needed to go this time, Daneel flew with certainty along the ma.s.sive stone corridor.
Once again, the thought about how all the stone blocks that made up this corridor looked like they had been chopped straight out of a mountain with a sword of unimaginable proportions struck him, and as he remembered that he had the upgraded system, he asked it to scan his surroundings to find out just how this entry way to the Treasury had been made.
The response came after a few seconds, which made him wonder just how hard it had been even with the upgraded capabilities of the system to carry out this task. Once again, he could not help but feel impressed about this amazing, but also incredibly thoughtful reserve created by the G.o.dbeasts who had been wise enough, or perhaps, even wiser than most humans to identify the need to create something that would stand the test of time and help their home even long after they were gone.
Thanking them in his heart, he delved into the answer.
[Corridor has been created by large blocks of stone cut by a large, sharp object. After checking the records, it is most probable that these objects are the tusks of a Primeval Mammoth. Even the records that still stand from the earliest days of the Order only recorded instances of carca.s.ses of these beasts being found. It is reported that they were so large that they could fit entire cities within them, with many forces utilizing them as such due to the high strength of the bones, and their peculiar ability to amplify whatever formation was engraved on them. After matching these records with those of modern-day scholars who examined the Kingdom of Axelor, it has been found that the large bones which made up the capital of the Kingdom must be the whittled away remains of Primeval Mammoths, after the best parts were taken away to fas.h.i.+on weapons, and other objects. Checking the catalog of weapons in the Order has also yielded a few weapons created at that time with these materials. A scan of these weapons is required to confirm the results being given by the system, but the probability of the results being correct is 98.6%.]
Daneel wasn"t really surprised to find out that he had been right. They really had been cut by gigantic swords, and as he imagined just how that scene might have looked, he shuddered, just like any man would at the sight of mountains being sheared as if they were naught but trees selected to be chopped off by woodcutters.
Seeing that he was approaching the place where he had talked to that grey blob of fire that had morphed into a mouth before, Daneel stilled his thoughts and refocused on his objective.
Hence, the expression with which he arrived in the room with the hole in the ground that seemed to stretch on to the very ends of the earth was one of stoic determination.
The fire was still in its original form, so with time to spare, Daneel asked the system to scan this gaping entrance on the floor to see if its size could be approximated.
Once again, the answer wasn"t really surprising - the depth was an illusion, but still, the figures that the system came up with were hard to believe, as one had to remember that they were already deep under the surface of the Endless Sea, where no one had undertaken any architectural projects due to the high tendency of becoming the subject of many consumption-related projects by the various predators of the Sea.
So, when the mouth returned and spoke, there was no awe to be seen in Daneel"s face.
"Welcome back. I must say that you are one of the first to be deemed worthy of visiting for a second time. These are exciting times, so even I stopping myself from sleeping again so that I can watch when the drums of war boom around Angaria. We have called you here because the n.o.ble Seven have been awakened by me, and have met to decide on what we must do at this stage. After a short discussion, they have all agreed that we cannot stand by, as, after all, this is why they created this Treasury. But like I told you the last time you were here, we cannot open our doors to you and let you have what you wish, as this is certainly not the last crisis that awaits a continent that is unlucky enough to be born so near that predatory Mainland."
Er… What?
There were so many shocking things revealed in this single speech that Daneel was left slack-jawed, and as the mouth moved again, he could swear that he almost saw it smile with satisfaction on seeing that his face was once again overwhelmed with confusion.
It waited, thankfully, so Daneel could process everything he had heard.
First and foremost, the n.o.ble Seven, who were mentioned in the pa.s.sword that he had been given by Xandar, had just been revealed to be alive.
How was this possible? Many thousands of years had pa.s.sed since the creation of the Treasury, as he had guessed long back that it must have existed from long before even the Empire. Even consciousnesses of G.o.dbeasts would be eaten away after existing for so long, especially by dwelling in a single place without even going out, so how could the Seven wake up and hold council?
Wait…wake up?
That must be the key! If the consciousnesses could simply sleep for thousands of years, and wake up when necessary, there would be no risk of them degrading and then falling into insanity, right?
But how could one do this? Even in the case of the Emperor, he had had no choice but to leave his subordinates to their solitary vigils when he had selected them to stay behind to help the recovering continent if needed.
The Treasury seemed to contain even more secrets than he had imagined, so with mounting antic.i.p.ation and hope, Daneel moved to the other piece of news, which indicated that this place knew more about this planet, or whatever it was that they were on.