The four walked down the stairs, with a damp and decaying smell filling the passageway. Water droplets continuously fell from the walls, making a clear "drip, drip" sound in the silent environment.
"This place feels so oppressive," Isabella whispered, her voice echoing through the corridor, sending chills down their spines.
As they continued walking, they arrived at a spacious underground hall. Around the hall were many ancient stone coffins. In the center of the hall was a large pool filled with eerie dark green water, with wisps of cold air rising from its surface.
"These stone coffins look very old; I wonder what's inside them," Giovanni said, his gaze falling on one of the stone coffins, which was covered in strange symbols, seemingly telling untold stories.
Alette carefully observed the surroundings and suddenly noticed some odd grooves on the ground around the pool. These grooves formed a complex pattern. "Be careful, everyone. These grooves might be part of some kind of mechanism," she warned.
Just then, Giovanni accidentally kicked a loose stone brick, revealing a small pottery jar underneath. He curiously opened it to find it filled with shimmering ancient Roman coins.
"Wow! What is this?" Isabella excitedly leaned over. "These are priceless artifacts!"
Sophia also looked astonished. "It seems this place not only hides fragments of the Wheel of Fate but also other treasures."
However, Alette frowned. "Master, it's best not to take these things casually. They may carry some kind of curse or magic."
Giovanni hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to take some of the coins. "If we can really sell them for a good price, at least it can solve some practical problems," he said with a smile.
Alette sighed. "Alright, but remember, don't be greedy."
Just as they were about to continue forward, the entrance to the underground hall was suddenly sealed by an iron grille. At the same time, the surrounding stone coffins began to slowly open, and out crawled some skeleton soldiers. These skeleton soldiers were different from the ones they had encountered before; they emitted black mist, moved more agilely, and their weapons glowed eerily.
"It seems we triggered some kind of defense mechanism," Sophia said nervously.
Isabella panicked and hid behind Giovanni. "What should we do? These guys look tough to deal with!"
Alette sneered. "Don't worry, leave it to me." She waved her hands and released several fireballs, accurately hitting a few skeleton soldiers. However, the fireballs only slowed them down slightly and didn't cause substantial damage.
"These skeleton soldiers seem to be enhanced by some kind of dark power," Alette said, a hint of seriousness in her eyes.
Giovanni quickly looked around, trying to find the control mechanism. He noticed a huge magic array in one corner of the hall, with a black crystal flashing in the center. "Maybe that crystal is the key!" he shouted.
Alette nodded. She focused her energy, using magic to restrain the skeleton soldiers and buying time for Giovanni. Giovanni carefully approached the magic array, dodging attacks from the skeleton soldiers with every step.
Just as he was about to reach the magic array, a skeleton soldier suddenly attacked from behind, its sword thrusting towards his back. Isabella screamed, "Giovanni, watch out!"
At the last moment, Sophia picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the skeleton soldier, distracting it. Giovanni seized the opportunity to quicken his pace and reached the magic array. He took a deep breath and grabbed the crystal.
Instantly, a powerful force surged into his body, and he felt his consciousness being pulled into another space. There, he saw a group of people in black robes conducting a mysterious ritual, with fragments of the Wheel of Fate shining brightly within it.
When he came to, he found that the skeleton soldiers had all stopped moving and turned into piles of dust. The iron grille also slowly rose, reopening the passage.
"Are you alright?" Alette asked with concern.
Giovanni shook his head. "I'm fine, but I think I saw some important information about the Wheel of Fate."
"It seems this place holds too many secrets," Sophia said. "Let's keep moving forward. We must find the fragments of the Wheel of Fate."
The four continued walking forward, their hearts filled with anticipation and fear of the unknown. They knew there were still many challenges ahead, but they were ready. No matter what difficulties they faced, they were determined to uncover the secrets hidden deep within the abbey.