After making sure there wasn't an imminent danger, his heart hammered in his chest as he sprinted towards the closing crystal door. With a satisfying hiss, the doorway sealed shut just as he slipped through. The air shimmered, and he found himself bathed in the ethereal golden light that filled the temple's interior.
Gazing upwards, the vast chamber stretched before him, seemingly endless in its height. The spiraling walkway of the ziggurat dominated the central axis, each step wide enough to accommodate a large carriage. Platforms jutted out at intervals, adorned with intricate murals depicting fantastical creatures and celestial events in a kaleidoscope of colors that shimmered with inner light.
Ace felt a wave of awe wash over him. After a moment of wonder, his gaze fell on the spiraling walkway that snaked upwards towards an unseen peak. It was his only path forward. He also felt hurried since he didn't know when the Heavenly Mortal Emperor would appear.
So, after looking around, he decided to step on the spiraling walkway leading towards the surface, which should be around 10,000 meters above where he currently stood.
As he ascends the spiraling walkway, the murals adorning the platforms along the walkway suddenly transform. The fantastical creatures depicted in the lower levels become more ethereal and abstract the higher he goes.
Some murals seem to move, their colors swirling and morphing like living things. Ace was startled when profound laws suddenly became apparent to him.
'What a magical place. If I cultivate here, I might acquire an understanding of different laws by just meditating here. But it's a pity I can't.'
Ace sighed ruefully as he reluctantly continued forward while experiencing magical laws from this spiraling walkway. He didn't lose sight of his goal.
As he climbs towards the peak, before his eyes, the golden haze resolves into a breathtaking spectacle. Thereafter, pinpricks of light emerge, revealing themselves to be colossal, swirling galaxies, nebulae in vibrant hues, and even rogue planets casting long, ethereal shadows.
These celestial bodies appear to hang suspended within the temple itself, defying the laws and the temple's mysterious connection to the cosmos itself.
Ace had never felt like this before. It was like he was witnessing the birth of something unimaginable as he continued. Furthermore, Ace suddenly found his darkness had started to grow.
So, he first decided to approach the blue starry monolith. Suddenly, as Ace approaches the monolith, he feels a surge of energy similar to what he experienced with the crystal door below.
Astounded, he got closer to that mysterious energy, which resonated with his understanding of the strange phenomenon he had experienced on the spiraling walkway. He felt the darkness start to grow again.
Just when Ace was a few meters away from the monolith, the system's prompt suddenly rang in his head.
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[The Host has found the 'Astral Stele of Mortal Sky,' which holds the mysterious secrets of Mortal Sky Heaven and the Mortal Ascension Temple!]
[You have the option to integrate the Astral Stele of Mortal Sky in Enteral Thief Fate Compass's Treasure Spirit (Moira) by spending 1 Billion Thief Points!]
[Continue/ NO]
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Ace was surprised. His eyes lit up as he saw the ray of hope, and he quickly asked, "What will happen after this integration? It's not about the Compass but Moira?"
"[The Eternal Thief Fate Compass's Treasure Spirit (Moira) has the talent to grow by understanding the mysteries of Astral Space. By comprehending the Astral Stele of Mortal Sky and its alignment with the celestial bodies visible through openings in the temple's ceiling, it will not be restrained in the Mortal Sky Heaven by grade anymore, even in the upper heaven!]"
Ace's heart raced when the system briefly described the benefits this brings to Moira, and the next moment, he ordered without hesitation, "Continue!"