After the female guard tidied up and left the small dark room, Vincent leaned alone on the relatively clean bed, clutching Aunt Diana's starfire crown. The flickering, cold firelight shone upon him.
The crown, of course, couldn't be returned. After all, returning it would be a slap in Aunt Diana's face.
However, this crown was simply too heavy.
In every respect, it was the most precious thing in this world, immeasurable in value.
"Can I bear it?"
Vincent lay on the bed for a long time, finally sighing and placing the crown back on his head. He then got up and walked out of the room.
Even without claustrophobia, it was too stuffy in there; he wanted to go out and get some fresh air.
However, just as Vincent was halfway to the door, he recalled that General Antiope had previously instructed the female guards on duty not to let him wander around.
Now, he could fully understand why Antiope's attitude towards him was so harsh.
If someone had designs on Aunt Diana, Vincent's attitude would be a hundred times worse! And if he had known the underlying meaning of Aunt Diana possessing the crown beforehand, Vincent would never have let Aunt Diana place it on his head!
... If he were to insist on going out as Your Highness, the female guards probably wouldn't dare to stop him, but Vincent didn't want to make things difficult for the female guards, so he turned back in the corridor.
He returned to his own door.
Vincent suddenly stopped and looked into the depths of the ancient building's internal corridor. At its end, there was a faint light, and a subtle breeze passed through the dark corridor.
Since he wasn't allowed to wander outside, walking around inside should be fine, right?
Vincent shrugged.
Moreover, the female guard had just said that as long as he didn't take any items from inside out, there would be no problem.
Vincent didn't think too much; he didn't stop his steps and continued to walk deeper into the ancient building.
"This wall is really thick..." The further Vincent walked into the corridor, the more surprised he became.
Apart from the dark duty room he had been in, this ancient circular building had almost no other rooms; it was all solid brick walls, with only a not-so-spacious corridor leading inside.
Can you imagine?
From a design perspective, this circular building was like a sealed Poké Ball; once the corridor was closed, no one could get out from inside.
"Perhaps, only in a three-in-one state could one forcibly break out if trapped inside..." Vincent mused for a moment, suddenly remembering the Flerken. Aunt Diana said it wasn't good to bring it to Paradise Island, so she entrusted it to a friend with pet-raising experience for a few days.
That friend, was his name "Barry Allen"?
Vincent quickly arrived at the deepest part of the building. The moment he stepped out of the corridor, the scene before him opened up brightly!
Inside was a very spacious, retro-style hall.
The hall's surroundings were carved with strange stone murals and ancient Greek texts, seemingly recording a long, unknown history of old gods. Light, cool air, and atmosphere permeated through the star-shaped metal grate at the top of the hall. Faint beams of light, where dust motes were visible, shone down, subtly falling upon the stone altar in the center of the ancient building's main hall.
Above the two-meter-high stone altar, a mysterious cuboid object was placed, resembling a rusty metal box.
The iron box had been placed there for an unknown duration, with faint light, floating dust, and even the passage of time quietly settling beside it.
"This is it, the thing that has been guarded for over a thousand years?" Vincent stared, momentarily stunned.
He finally understood why no one had been able to move it for a thousand years.
Leaving aside Paradise Island's inherent Zeus barrier and the Amazonians' rotational guarding, just its pathetic appearance—
Who would want this broken box?
Of course, it might be a hidden divine artifact, who knows.
Vincent didn't intend to examine it; he stood in front of the stone altar and began doing middle school chest exercises.
Taking a deep breath, the air in the innermost main hall connected with the outside, and Vincent immediately felt much more refreshed.
However, suddenly!
His peripheral vision seemed to catch something.
Vincent stopped his movements, his surprised gaze falling on the iron box on top of the stone altar.
Just now.
Did that thing move?
... Paradise Island, Amazon Royal Palace.
The interior of the palace was resplendent, with every single furnishing and decoration, including the golden chairs and beaded curtains still in use, being coveted collectibles for The Collector if placed outside.
"Mother." Diana walked into the palace and knelt on a chair.
On the golden chair, a dignified woman who bore some resemblance to Diana, whose face and body showed no signs of aging, and who wore a golden crown—Amazon Queen Hippolyta—couldn't help but reveal a genuinely excited smile.
Hippolyta reached out, gently touching Diana's cheek with her palm: "My child, you have suffered alone outside."
"No." Diana gently shook her head, holding Mother's hand and saying, "Mother, I am well, and I can take care of myself."
"Of course I know. After all, you are the only daughter of I, Amazon Queen!" Hippolyta smiled and nodded, then suddenly paused, looking at Diana's forehead: "Diana, your starfire crown?"
"Mother, I was just about to tell you about that. I didn't come back alone this time."
With a happy smile on her face, Diana said with utmost seriousness and pride, "I gave it to someone, a human!"
... Ancient building, main hall.
Vincent looked at the iron box, somewhat stunned. Didn't the female guard just say that this thing hadn't moved in a thousand years?
Why did he just see the iron box shake slightly?!
His eyes playing tricks on him, did he see wrong?
That possibility couldn't be ruled out.
Vincent had only glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, and it was very possible that light and shadow interference made him mistakenly believe the box moved.
To confirm.
Vincent held his breath and approached the stone altar.
As he got within three meters, Vincent could see more clearly that the iron box on the stone altar had strange patterns, like stars, and like the sun. A very thick layer of dust had accumulated on the box's surface.
The beams of light from the architectural dome bathed him.
Subconsciously, Vincent reached out towards the iron box on the stone altar, wanting to wipe away the accumulated dust from its surface.
His fingers approached little by little.
The moment before his fingertips were about to touch the box, Vincent quickly withdrew his hand.
What was he doing? Randomly touching other people's things was not a good habit!
However.
Looking at the thick layer of dust on the box, Vincent also confirmed that he had indeed seen wrong just now—if the box had really shaken, some of the dust on it would surely have been dislodged.
"Never mind, let's go back."
Vincent gave up on investigating this broken box and turned to walk out of the building's main hall... Vincent didn't notice.
The moment he stepped out of the main hall and entered the corridor.
The iron box placed on the stone altar mysteriously vibrated slightly several times, shaking off a lot of dust. The dislodged dust vanished strangely into the space within the hall before it even hit the ground.
The box seemed to tremble with a life of its own!
As if fearing or dreading something.
And this trembling soon returned to the calm it had maintained for a thousand years.
It continued to lie dormant, awaiting an opportunity!