Gate of the Underworld

  Gate of the Underworld

  Ammon nodded and said: "I'm ready, but can I take a short rest?"

  The goddess Mu Yun smiled: "You've been tired for three days, you can't eat any food in the underworld, drink a mouthful of water there, not even a drop of water condensed by the Water Elemental God's technique. You really need to rest and make some preparations... I'll come back at dusk, don't move forward alone, absolutely do not enter by yourself."

  After she finished speaking, she disappeared, leaving Amun alone in the gloomy valley. The light was very dim, and there was no sound nearby, but he could always hear some faint sounds from a very distant place, yet they were not clear. The huge cave formed by the cliffs in front of him was dark and mysterious, unknown how deep or far it extended, like a giant mouth that was about to swallow people at any time.

  Standing here, the hairs on my body involuntarily stood up, wave after wave of indescribable chilliness pierced into my bones, boundless fear that couldn't be controlled by human willpower. Who wouldn't be afraid? Yinnana just walked away like this and only told Amun not to move forward. The cave seemed to have an eerie power that would suck people's souls in, no matter who stood here, they would involuntarily want to struggle backwards, just wanting to get as far away as possible.

  The black cliff faces inward, like a giant shadow pouncing on you, giving you a suffocating feeling that makes it hard to breathe. Once you turn around and retreat, you'll involuntarily run faster and faster, never having the courage to return to this place again.

  Amun suppressed the surging thoughts of retreat in his heart, he had a feeling or just a guess that Goddess Mu Yun hadn't gone far, but was watching him from somewhere. She deliberately left him here, and as long as he retreated, he probably wouldn't have the courage to come back alone, so it wouldn't be considered a breach of promise by the goddess. It seemed she really didn't want to take him into the underworld, creating all sorts of trials and obstacles.

  Amidst the rubble at the foot of the cliff, Ah Mon cleaned himself up and sat down to rest. He took out a secret recipe meat sauce from his backpack and made a thick soup, drinking it slowly and deliberately, not only to fill his hunger but also to dispel the irrepressible fear that lingered in his heart, as the eerie atmosphere around him continued to assault his soul.

  He was indeed well-prepared, with the bone hidden under his ribs. Amun already knew that even a divine being like Yin Nanna couldn't sense its existence. Inside the strange space within the bone, there were not only important items he had to carry with him, but also food and water, enough to sustain him for a very long time if he fell into the underworld. Even the divine stones inside his staff were all taken out and placed inside the bone.

  After eating, he began to close his eyes and meditate on the foundation of spiritual techniques, but felt that the environment was very wrong. The cave in front of him had an inexplicable power that disturbed his soul. It wasn't that his concentration wasn't deep enough, on the contrary, the more focused and profound his meditation state was, the clearer and stronger he felt the disturbing power.

  This seems to be a kind of divine technique, but it is not any of the divine techniques known by Amun. The classics left by the old madman did not mention it. The scope of this power's coverage is so large that there should be a huge divine array existing, set up with special environment and other things, its effect can control and manipulate people's spirits, making people unknowingly fall into an unknown and boundless world.

  The sunlight couldn't reach here, but the change in time could be felt. Outside the canyon, the sun's shadow moved westward, and that one line of sky light grew darker and darker, the gloomy atmosphere growing thicker and thicker until it was almost suffocating. When the darkness reached an extreme, this place didn't continue to grow any darker. Amun opened his eyes, and with the help of his detection technique, he could see the scenery around him, but everything was in black and white without color.

  He closed his eyes again to continue resting, not wasting any opportunity to recover his strength. After an unknown period of time, he suddenly jumped up from the ground as if startled by something, staring wide-eyed and gripping his staff tightly. He felt that dark power suddenly burst out silently from the huge cave, and something had come out.

  As he looked up, a figure indeed floated out of the cave, shrouded in darkness and indistinct. At the same time, a voice pierced into Amun's mind: "Who are you? How dare you linger before the gates of Erebus' underworld?"

  The voice gave people a feeling as if something cold and sticky was attached to their bones, making them shiver without being cold. However, Amun felt that something was strange - the other party didn't seem to be a divine spirit or a ghost, but rather an ordinary person. The detective technique could sense his presence, yet this person hadn't intentionally concealed his aura, and his body was indeed real, but no more could be sensed. Amun only felt that the opponent was unfathomable, with a realm of divine technique far surpassing his own.

  "I am Amun, and I have come with the goddess Muyun. I wish to enter the underworld to see my deceased loved ones."

  His voice suddenly became sharp: "How dare you say that Mu Yun Goddess would come to the divine domain of Erebus, the King of the Underworld?"

  "He didn't lie, it was indeed me who brought him... Nethet, the gatekeeper of the underworld, please report to the King of the Underworld." Mu Yun's voice came from behind again, and she had already appeared, passing by Amun, and walking in front of that person called "Nethet", the gatekeeper of the underworld.

  In a strange and dark world, Mu Yun's figure was the only colorful and radiant scene that had not been assimilated into this gloomy world. Nei Ti bowed deeply and said: "Goddess Mu Yun, it's really you, but your sister won't welcome you to enter her divine domain."

  "Mind your own business and just report it," Mu Yun said coldly.

  Nei Ti bowed again and retreated, disappearing into the darkness. The voice of Mu Yun Goddess echoed in Ah Mon's mind: "Ah Mon, I deliberately left you alone in this gloomy place. If you can't protect your soul in this environment, you'll also get lost when entering the underworld. Ahead is Anunaqi's underworld, my sister Eregoddess' domain."

  The goddess's voice contained a strange informational spell, and Amun not only heard her words, but also had a series of explanatory information directly imprinted in his mind.

  The so-called Anunnaki is not the name of a certain god, but a group of gods or a pantheon. The Anu, Enlil, Marduk, Mu Yun, and Erebus, the lord of the underworld, all belong to this pantheon. Mu Yun also vaguely explained another piece of information, such as the legend that Enlil is Marduk's uncle and the grandfather of the goddess Mu Yun, these are not human relationships, but a way of expression that mortals can understand. The real situation is not something that Anu can explain clearly, and the underworld queen Erebus is indeed Mu Yun's sister.

  The divine domain of Anunaki is vast, covering the vast territories of Assyria, Hatti and Babylon. As for what a divine domain is, Mu Yin didn't explain much. The complex information left Amun somewhat perplexed, if he wasn't mistaken, Mu Yin had asked him to lead the surviving people of Du Ke Town back to their homeland to establish a country, which was also to establish her own divine domain. Anyway, there was another goddess's divine domain in front, and going in to take a look might reveal some clues.

  The dark figure emerged quickly, like a shadow from the darkness, and appeared in front of Mu Yun again: "Erebus, King of the Underworld, allows you to bring people into her divine domain, but every time you pass through each gate, you must leave something on your body. This is the rule of the underworld."

  Mu Yun's expression was somewhat resentful and embarrassed: "I know this rule, I didn't expect her to play the same trick on me, this is humiliating another deity"

  "Be careful what you say," said the servant quietly, "I'm just passing on a message. If you don't want to go in, then don't."

  Mu Yun seemed enraged and proudly said: "As a god, I have made a promise, of course, I will fulfill the promise."

  "Then follow me"

  The guardian of the underworld led the way in front, Amun followed Mu Yennu into that strange and unknown world. When his footsteps crossed the boundary line at the mountain pass, it was as if he had suddenly traversed the boundary between yin and yang in the mortal world, and all the scenery around him disappeared instantly.

  A vast, boundless darkness, perhaps not even describable as darkness, for there was nothing to be seen, and in his eyes, there was no sensation of light. Having pushed the detection technique to its limits, apart from the faint hint ahead, he sensed nothing around him; Amun even felt that he himself had almost disappeared.

  His eyes could only see Mu Yun Goddess, who seemed to exist independently in this void world.

  As he entered the first gateway, Ah Mon couldn't see Neitzel, but he could sense that he had stopped in his tracks not far away in the darkness. He turned to Mu Yun and said, "Goddess, please remove your crown."

  Only then did Mu Yun's golden crown, woven from golden threads into a floral shape, seem to be taken away by an invisible hand, disappearing without a trace. Only then did they continue on their way.

  Amun felt as if he was walking in a void, unaware of where his feet were treading. It seemed that there was no concept of time and space here, and he didn't know how long he had been walking. The detection technique's sensation suddenly changed, as if he had passed through another invisible barrier. At this moment, Nei Ti stopped again and turned around to say: "Goddess, please leave your staff behind." Then, Mu Yun's hand holding the green leafy ivy also disappeared into thin air.

  The second gateway to the underworld is not entirely silent, although nothing can be seen or heard, and people are as if they have already died. However, in this environment, one can more clearly experience the existence of the soul. Countless thoughts from all directions rush into Amun's mind, which are the wishes and desires of various people in the world.

  These are not sounds, nor images, but all sorts of thoughts that directly reflect in the mind, including people's fear of death, inquiry about the world of the dead, pleading to continue staying in the world, regret and resentment for unfulfilled wishes... etc. Ahmon suddenly reacted, this should be the mortal's prayer and plea to the gods, because Erebeth is the queen of the underworld, so most of the prayers people make to her are like this.