Secrets of the Tomb Main Story 2-2: A So-called Miracle
Overview
- Stage Cost: None
- First Clear Rewards:
Astral Memory x10
Guide
- Hover to view spoiler content.
Script
Hessu Ruins
What's the truth behind the miracle? Inspect the Hessu Ruins Expo for anything abnormal.
You: Luke, what are you looking at?
Luke: We saw some scratch marks near where the stone slab was, right?
Luke: I was thinking about this these past few days. The stone is actually quite hard, so it shouldn't be that easy to leave scratches behind.
Luke: While looking at it again today, I think I found the answer.
You: What did you realize?
Luke: Touch the back of this stone slab... Feels damp, doesn't it?
You: Yeah... Is it water?
Luke: Do you still remember the weird mist just now?
Luke: The mist will condense into water droplets when it touches the stone slab. Over a long period of time, the water will begin seeping into the stone.
Luke: When exposed to water vapor for a long time, or if there are acidic substances mixed in the water vapor...
Luke: The stone then becomes softer, and therefore easier to scratch.
Luke: Since the mist was nothing but water vapor, that means... there should be a way to find its source.
Luke: And since the mist has a source, that suggests that...
You: Someone must be releasing the mist into the stone chamber!
Luke: Yeah, let's continue investigating. We'll surely be able to catch wind of the person putting on the magic show.
Vyn: I remember very clearly that the shadow appeared above this stone wall.
You: But... I can't see any other markings aside from some ancient hieroglyphs.
Vyn: Am I overthinking it? Could it be that this stone wall is not related to the pharaoh's appearance...?
Vyn: No, that cannot be right...
You: Dr. Richter, what are you looking at?
Vyn: Look over there. The color of the mural in the middle is different from the surrounding ones.
You: Now that you mention it, that patch does seem lighter.
Vyn: I remember the guide for this exhibition area said that the murals on this stone wall were painted on later for decorative purposes.
Vyn: In the case of normal weathering or oxidation, the color of the murals should not have such a significant difference.
Vyn: Unless... This area is constantly exposed to a concentrated light source or moisture over a long period of time.
You: In other words, there's evidence of foul play?
Vyn: It seems that whoever thought of this whole ruse forgot about this... and left this incriminating evidence of their own foul play behind.
Female Tourist: Get out of my way. I was here first! What gives you the right to receive the holy water before me!?
Young Man: What do you mean you came first? This is the holy water from the great Pharaoh Hepharet. It's for everybody, okay!?
Female Tourist: Like I care! Your jug is way too big. If you take all the holy water away, then what will the others do?
Young Man: Hmph! All that talk, and for what? You're just jealous because I can get more holy water than you!
Marius: The holy water we saw on the streets of the central business district in Mien... Could it have come from here?
You: No wonder all those tourists had all sorts of containers with them... It was for this so-called holy water.
Marius: Let's take some of this water with us as well. We can give it to the professor for comparison when we collect the report in Rubis later.
You: Yeah, that sounds great. If we have a point of comparison... then it'll be easier for us to find out where this holy water is coming from!
Young Woman: Oh, almighty Hepharet... Please listen to my humble wishes.
Young Woman: I am willing to abandon my worldly husk and let my unburdened soul follow in your footsteps forever...
You: Hmm? Isn't the ceremony already over? Why's this lady still praying to the pharaoh?
Artem: She has a solemn look on her face. She seems very troubled.
Young Woman: I would give my life for the health of my beloved... So, please... answer me...
Artem: Is she... praying for her lover?
You: Madam, if you need help...
Young Woman: Go away! I've been earnestly praying to the almighty pharaoh these past few days... Stop getting in my way!
You: ...
Artem: That lady is a bit unstable. Let's wait for her to calm down first before approaching her again.
You: Okay.
Hessu Ruins
There are quite a few unsolvable riddles on the miracle-causing stone slab. Discuss them with your partners.
After surveying the surroundings, all of you return to the stone slab.
You: I think... the most suspicious thing here right now is this strange stone slab.
You: If we can find the secret of this stone slab, then we'll be able to discover more about this so-called pharaoh.
Everyone agrees with your words.
Artem: And as for whether this Pharaoh exists or not, I believe you all of you already have your own answers.
Artem: The alleged reborn Pharaoh does not exist at all. There must be someone manipulating everything behind the scenes.
Vyn: But the biggest problem now is that we're still missing the main link that can chain all the clues together.
Vyn: We still don't know who that person is, and what their motives are.
Marius: At least we know we made the right decision to come to Khaimit.
Marius: We have to solve the mystery and uncover the truth... Only then can we convince those followers of the Pharaoh who mindlessly listen to rumors.
He's right. Simply telling all those people that they are wrong, or getting them to leave Khaimit by force probably isn't the best solution to the situation at hand.
The best thing you can do is to discover the truth behind this incident and have all the believers leave Khaimit voluntarily after realizing the truth.
Luke: Huh, the tile behind the stone slab has a crack... it seems like it's still emitting a bit of mist...
You: Hmm? There's a crack in the tile?
Luke bends down, attempting to get a closer look. He runs a finger along the crack...
Luke: It's not a crack, it's a hole. Come and have a look, it feels like there's air coming out of the small hole.
Marius: What?
After hearing Luke's words, Marius immediately squats down and holds a hand above it...
Marius: There really is air coming out. It's like an air vent.
Vyn: If it wasn't for the condensation from the mist, we might not have noticed this.
Artem: From the size and shape of the hole, it doesn't seem like a natural occurance. I think... it was made by someone.
You: Who would be so bored that they'd drill a small hole in the tiles behind the stone tablet?
You: A small hole... White mist...
A thought suddenly flashes through your mind, linking these two keywords together like a chain.
You: A projector?
After hearing your words, Luke frowns, then moves his hand toward the small hole again. Soon after, his eyes light up.
Luke: Maybe it really is just as [Player] said!
Luke: There is an airflow from this hole, so there obviously should be a space underneath the floor of this stone room.
Luke: Assuming that there is a space, if someone shines a strong light underneath, the light will hit the white mist from earlier.
Luke: And the mist will become a natural screen that can reflect the image of whatever the person behind this wishes to show everyone.
You: Yeah. The shadow we saw also faded away after the mist disappeared.
You: If it is as Luke says, then everything makes sense...
Marius: It sounds reasonable, but wouldn't it be a bit too much to take for granted?
Marius: First of all, is there really an underground space in this place?
Marius: Moreover... why did no one realize anything unusual if it really was this simple?
Artem: Yeah, that's something worth thinking about.
You: I think we should have another look around...
???: What are you all doing!?
Just as you are about to continue probing around, a stern shout comes from behind.
You find the people who'd originally been standing around with their water jugs, conversing, all swarming around you.
One of the leaders, a middle-aged man, was the one who berated us.
Middle-Aged Man: It is offensive to the Pharaoh to touch the slab. Do you know the rules here!?
You: We're sorry, we were just curious...
Middle-Aged Man: You can't touch it even if you're curious. You don't look like you're here for the Day of Prayer.
Middle-Aged Man: Who brought you here? Do you know that the Hessu Ruins are closed to public visitors on the Day of Prayer!?
Luke: We're...
Marius: Just here to look around...
Vyn: ...
Artem: Apologies. We'll leave right now.
All of you look completely out of place surrounding the slab empty-handed.
To avoid the conflict from escalating, you leave in a hurry after a sincere apology...
To avoid conflict escalation, go somewhere further away to discuss your next steps.
You: ... How unlucky. It felt like if we had more time, we'd make a breakthrough in our investigation...
Luke: It's alright, we'll find another opportunity to come back.
Luke: They'll leave anyway. It's not possible for them to stay here and keep watch every time.
You: Yeah. What's our next step? Should we leave first?
Vyn: Artem, did you get the lab test results from that professor you got in touch with?
Artem: I contacted the professor in the morning. He told me that the results would probably be ready today. I'm guessing...
Just as he was finishing his final words, Artem's phone suddenly starts vibrating.
Artem: Hello, it's me. I hope you're well, Professor... Have the lab results come back yet?
Artem: All right, we'll go over right away...
Marius: Haha, what a coincidence. And here we were just talking about the next step. Voila! A new clue emerged.
You: Well, let's go have a look at it. Who knows, we might get a breakthrough.
Summary
Character(s)
