“This level of these advanced techniques was unknown to their neighboring tribes.”
“I think the Atlanteans were very careful to keep their technology a secret. This is why the Minoans flotilla dominated the area through their scientific supremacy,” Lydia said, remembering all the bedtime stories her dad told about the mythical continent that had vanished.
“Did you notice Lydia? The location of the palace on a hill not only gave it a tactical defensive advantage but also enabled it to receive the pleasant sea breeze through its ingenious air shafts and porticoes.”
“Back then, the climate must have been much warmer as they didn’t have any protection on their windows.”
“Indeed, Lydia, I found an article that shows evidence that the Pacific El Nino climate cycle’s abnormal activity could have wreaked havoc around the globe precisely during that period.”
“It could have triggered an elevated level of drought linked to extreme temperatures.”
“Look, Neo, the palace had at least three separate water-management systems: for supply, for drainage of runoff, and for wastewater.”
“I read here on the plaque that their aqueducts brought fresh spring water from several kilometers away from the local springs of Archanes using gravity to pump the water into the terracotta pipes.
The throne room was adjacent to a small stony forest that had a mixture of different cypress and olive trees. The red ochre colors were fascinating as the sunset cast a mystical light on the ancient site. Lydia also noticed several large embedded crystal stones. As she got closer to them, she felt the mini-pyramidion vibrating.
“Neo, I feel a vibration from the mini-pyramidion. We must be close, it's starting to react to its surroundings exactly like in Egypt.”
While admiring the glimmer of the crystals, she felt a sudden sharp headache and fell on the ground, almost losing consciousness.
◆◆◆
§CHAPTER 77§
THE ASSASSIN towered above her, preparing to kill his incapacitated prey.
“What do you want from me? What did I do to you?” Lydia asked, her head still throbbing at the pain from being struck by the Assassin.
“You have chased me around the globe. What did I do to you?” Lydia asked, her lips trembling frantically.
“You will pay for the humiliation I had to endure. I’ll take my time flaying you and I will make you suffer,” he hissed. “But first you’ll tell me what you are doing here. What did you steal from de Moncler’s sanctuary and from GEM?”
“If you will tell me the truth, I’ll offer you a merciful death, as I did with de Moncler. Those were our secrets to discover.”
“You should have never meddled and destroyed our plan.”
“You don’t have the slightest clue what it is at stake.”
Neo began to speak into her XGlass headphones. “Let him come closer to you. I’ll remotely activate the EMP pulse. You’ll feel a slight shock, but no worries. Be ready to shoot him afterward.”
The Assassin approached with a sharp cruciform knife and leaned down putting his foot on Lydia’s back, further disabling her.
The knife was just a few centimeters away from Lydia’s face, which was almost paralyzed because of the pain she felt pounding through her skull. Suddenly the EMP burst triggered an explosion of the Assassin’s XGlass battery, momentarily blinding him and causing him excruciating pain.
He screamed out in pain, more so realizing that everything he worked for would be lost. His mission failed and he will be forgotten forever by his Master.
I will be consigned to oblivion, he thought.
He suddenly lost his balance allowing Lydia to roll back and aim for his head.
The Assassin fell to his knees. A bullet blew out his eye socket and he dropped dead to the ground.
His blood was splashed on the dry, scorched Earth that absorbed it with thirst, as it had done for millennia with sacrificial offerings and countless catastrophes and wars.
§CHAPTER 78§
LYDIA FELT she could not breathe and was being suffocated by an invisible force as the feeling of terror took over her body.
For a moment, she wondered: is the corpse’s spirit lying before me trying to choke me to death.
I killed a man. It was in self-defense. He wanted to take my life as he did with Helene. I killed a man, but he was not innocent.
“Lydia, you have to snap out of it,” Neo said, worried. “It seems like you have a panic attack; your pulse is going through the roof.”
She started feeling slightly dizzy with blood pounding in her ears while her vision became blurry.
“Lydia, you need to take a deep breath. You are shaking frantically, and this will only cause you to lose consciousness. We cannot afford this.”
“Look at his cruciform knife; it has the symbol of the Egyptian Bennu bird engraved on it. This was the Egyptian version of the Phoenix, also depicted in the museum that had the Benben stone.”
Lydia picked up the knife and thought it might come handy one day, sliding it in the lower pocket of her pants.
“Lydia, wait for a second. I see that he is carrying a backpack. Have a look inside.”
“Maybe this will give us a clue as to why he was trying to kill you or for whom he is working.”
“The grey backpack has a biometric lock. I think I need to use his finger to open it.”
“Try his right index finger,” Neo said.
Lydia grabbed his finger with her hands still shaking, and the lock opened with the touch of its owner.
Inside there was a cell phone that started to emit fumes.
Lydia understood the danger. She managed to extract a metallic drone and started to put distance between her and the fuming back-pack.
“Are you okay, Lydia?” Neo asked, worried.
While she approached the religious part of the site, an explosion was triggered, setting the body of the Assassin on fire.
“His backpack had a self-destruction mechanism. You were lucky. It could have blown you to pieces.”
“One last attempt to destroy you from the afterlife,” Neo said.
“His drone might be useful.”
“Can you turn it so I can see its back?” Neo asked.
“I would need its production serial number to be able to hack it.”
“It could be handy in the future if I manage to retrofit it,” Neo said, trying to distract Lydia from the ordeal she just had to go through.
Lydia carefully tucked it into her backpack and moved closer to the ritualistic entrance.
§CHAPTER 79§
STILL SHAKEN by the violent episode, Lydia stepped inside the mythical Throne Room that had wall paintings and a contiguous underground purification basin used for religious processions.
The old dusty throne she sought out was not too impressive.
“Neo, is this the famous throne on which the fabled King Minos sat?”
“Other historians thought that on this alabaster throne sat the King-Priest or the Queen Priestess, their supreme ruler and religious leader, with their court sitting on benches encircling the throne.”
“It seems so sad. All the former glory has gone, but even in this shape, a dusty old shadow crumbled under the weight of millennia, it still emanates a strange energy.”
“Lydia, the inscription in the catacombs said:
“Seek the flower of life growing inside the Atlantean labyrinth guarded by Griffins, which need to be subdued by the power of the sacred pyramid.”
“So, these are the famous Griffins protecting the throne, guarding over the divine one,” Neo’s voice sounded quite doubtful.
“A mystical room that historians said was used to reach a form of exaltation, similar to that of Pythia in the Delphi Oracle.”
“It supposedly honored the Goddess and put her on the throne, as a statue or impersonated by a priestess.”
Lydia closed her eyes for a second and tried to picture the procession and capture its long-forgotten energy.
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While approaching the wall, Lydia took out the mini-pyramidion, which was slightly vibrating.
The griffins were beautifully shaped with the pattern of the flower of life marking their body.
Lydia didn’t even have to touch the pattern. Something seemed to already be happening.
She could already hear a metallic sound of a mechanism being activated inside the wall.
To be sure she repeated the same gesture on the wall, on the flower of life, in the shape of a nautilus near the Griffin’s chest, but then nothing else happened
Lydia was also struck by an infinite shaped pattern she just noticed.
“Where have I seen this symbol before?” she wondered.
“This is definitely another Fibonacci sequence, but what does it mean?”
“Neo, what should I do?” Lydia asked, puzzled, looking around the room to find another solution.
“The last sun rays were protruding through the ancient room and rendering visible particles of dust that seemed to float in the air, like they wanted to give Lydia a mysterious clue.
“There is a second Griffin on the left side of the throne, try the same thing,” Neo said with excitement oozing through his voice.
Lydia approached the second griffin and focused the artifact on the beautifully colored flower of life in precious hues of blue.
Another metallic noise was triggered similar to the first one.
But this time, the entire room started to vibrate slightly. Slowly a space began to open on the right side of the throne’s basis.
Something was shining in the secret compartment of the stone throne.
Lydia leaned down and reached inside, feeling a metallic surface.
It was a thin disk made of a gold-like metal with an intricate set of circular symbols.
“Lydia, I think I know what this is,” Neo said, bursting in excitement.
“It is similar to the Phaistos disk, which is located in the Heraklion museum.”
Lydia activated the XGlass light, and began to carefully inspect it.
She noticed there was a strange inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs combined with Aramaic characters.
“Neo, it is the similar writing we discovered before. Could this actually be Atlantean?”
“I don’t have a clue. But we can use the previous translation algorithm, which will process all the languages we have encountered until now. I just need to make some final tweaks. The translation is at 80%; we’ll have it in a few moments.
“Here are both faces of the Phaistos disk, which nobody managed to fully translate yet, but its meaning was interpreted as a prayer to the Goddess Mother—a mysterious deity, who may have been the ruler of Atlantis.
The same entity who could have been worshiped here in this throne room.
“Here it goes, the translation is finished.”
Follow the whispering seashell of the old times inscribed and blessed by the arrow of the Goddess Mother, and on this path, you’ll find the answer you are seeking under the flower of life’s shadow.
“But what does it mean? Which arrow is it referring to?” Lydia asked, disappointed by the unclear translation. “I think there is an explanation of why the other disk in the museum has another side. I have a feeling we need to check the Heraklion museum.”
In the background, several police sirens could be heard.
“People were alerted by the noise generated by the explosion or the gun.”
“You need to hurry up. Take the exit from the back of the palace complex. You need to take another path to avoid detection.”
Exiting the building, she was struck by the last rays of the sun, a beautiful warm zenith.
At least I will not have to worry about my chaser. I just wonder what other enemies are still lurking unseen.
◆◆◆
§CHAPTER 71§
“INOK, I AM so disappointed,” the Phoenix said with an authoritative voice. “You failed me again, and again, you lost your faith.”
He was gazing at the screens showing dramatic global news. Country after country was becoming affected and forced into lockdown by the killer virus.
“Humanity is dying, and all our work is at stake if you do not stop this girl.”
“We almost traced her aide. He’s very clever at hiding his location, but soon he will be terminated.”
“Do not fail me again, Inok. This is the last time. Trace her location,” the Phoenix bellowed after pushing the tactile screen.
His virtual assistant answered:
“Her Passport was used to board a private jet from Thessaloniki to the island of Crete.”
“I’ll give you one more chance to catch her. There is a private plane waiting for you. I am sending you the details via your XGlass.”
The Assassin was red with anger, his face disfigured. Only once before his Master called him by his real name, and then disaster followed.
He ran towards the taxi station and rudely instructed the young taxi driver pointing a gun at his head, “you need to drive as quickly as possible to the airport. If you call the police, I’ll come to your family and kill everyone at home, causing them an agonizing death while I flay their skin.”
§CHAPTER 80§
THE PHOENIX was staring at the monolithic statue carefully encased in a black marble pedestal and protected by an impenetrable glass cubicle.
The reflection of his face in the glass showed his eyes trembling, the red microcapillary blood vessels becoming inflamed.
Inok is dead. How could he fail me like this?
He lived across millennia and witnessed unimaginable things, but this time he realized his biggest failure.
Underestimating Lydia was a fatal failure.
Now I know, and it will never happen again.
He looked again at the bird-shaped monolith, brainstorming his next move.
“I am the Phoenix. I am always reborn,” he chanted.
From the beginning of time, he was fascinated with the Phoenix’s mythology.
The Greeks believed the Phoenix to be a bird that lived very long and was capable of rejuvenating itself.
The sun was the source of its powers as this creature was reborn and rose from its ashes after a five hundred years period.
The Romans took on the same idea, and for them, it symbolized the renewal and the symbiosis between the sun and time and, ultimately, the resurrection.
Many emperors had been searching for the origins of this fabled bird in pursuit of their desire for immortality.
It was only me who managed to find its secrets.
“Once you served your Master as you raised in Heliopolis, oh solar Bennu.”
“Your secrets have eluded me for so long. But in the end, everything was revealed to me. I’ll purge myself and be reborn.”
He turned his eyes towards another pedestal, that encased a golden page from a 12th century bestiary manuscript.
I always take what I want as I have done for two millennia.
The golden page is just the beginning. I have to finish what I have started.
He knew that he had to take swift action, and he had the right person in mind to execute his deadly order.
◆◆◆
§CHAPTER 81§
MARK HOPKINS was looking at the dark clouds below his plane that was fighting its way through turbulence.
A storm was brewing, and flashes of lightning were everywhere.
“This is your captain. Please buckle up. We are passing through turbulence.”
His eyes were locked on this secured tablet, fixated on the picture of a young woman.
I cannot believe my luck. My family kidnapped, and I must chase Lydia del Biondo around the world.
He admired her physique. Her eyes emanated a bright spark of cleverness.
His tablet suddenly showed an incoming message from the White House on a secured line.
“Mark, we have good news. We identified an IP trace of where your family is located around the Manhattan area. We ar
e sending the SWAT team now, so be on standby.”
“Also, Lydia just took a private plane to the island of Crete and landed in Heraklion. Your captain is already aware; he will take you there.”
The turbulence was growing, and the crystal glasses started to shake on his marble covered table.
“Thank you, Sir, for this update. I’ll not disappoint you. Please take care of my family,” Mark said desperately.
The captain just finished receiving the latest flight information, and he changed course towards the island of Crete.
“No worries, Mr. Hopkins, I’ll take you safely through this storm. We’ll land at our new destination in thirty-eight minutes.”
§CHAPTER 82§
LYDIA KNEW she had to quickly find and inspect the Phaistos disk.
Skidding down through the ruins with the protection of her backpack, she was able to avoid the policemen who were crossing the wooden bridge.
Lydia started running thought small bushes, and the Greek sun was at its zenith, giving her some much-needed cover.
“Go right, Lydia. Try to jump the fence,” Neo said nervously.
He felt so powerless stuck in his wheelchair. He would have given anything to be able to help her.
She used a recently dislodged boulder to climb the protective fence and managed to finally exit.
“I have done it, Neo. Call the driver.”
Running towards the car, she looked around to see if any police had spotted her.
The police cars were parked just in front of the road.
She calmly opened Xenios’ car door, and discreetly entered it.
“Please drive to the Archaeological Museum.”
“Ne kyria mou, it is very close from here. We’ll arrive there in a few minutes,” Xenios answered gladly.
There were no other discoveries of similar disks. She understood that there was an inexplicable bond between the artifact from the throne room and its Heraklion museum counterpart.
The Jesus Christ Cypher Page 18
