Rome is the capital and largest city of Italy, as well as the nation's political, economic, cultural, and transportation center. With over 2,500 years of history, it is a world-renowned historical and cultural city, the birthplace of the Ancient Roman Empire, and is affectionately nicknamed the "Eternal City" due to its long history.
Rome is the center of the Catholic Church globally, with over 700 churches and monasteries. Together with Florence, it serves as a center of the Italian Renaissance, still preserving a considerable wealth of Renaissance and Baroque styles today.
Magnificent domed buildings, various doors, windows, and glass, along with extraordinarily extravagant sculptures, and fountains that are particularly artistic and scantily dressed, can be seen at almost every corner.
Stark's plane, unsurprisingly, arrived in Rome City in the middle of the night. The three people boarded a prepared vehicle and entered the city center.
A few years ago, the streets here were filled with Mussolini's fervent followers, but now, it seems the entire nation has forgotten this.
There are no traces of war here; everything is as calm and beautiful as ever. The streetlights cast reflections on the car windows, while splendid palaces and buildings swiftly pass by outside the window.
Leo was somewhat mesmerized. Having grown up in New York, he had never seen a city with such a classical aura.
So everything outside the window left him dazzled, as he pressed tightly against the window and couldn't stop watching.
"The Roman Colosseum, called Colosseo in Italian, originally named Amphitheatrum Flavium, was a place where the Ancient Roman Empire's slave owners, nobles, and free citizens watched beast fights or slave gladiators."
While parking the car in a corner of the square, Howard gestured for Leo to get out. He pointed to the massive building not far away, acting as a tour guide.
"This is on the south side of Venice Square, near the Ancient Roman market. The Colosseum covers an area of about 20,000 square meters, appearing oval from the sky, with a long axis of about 188 meters, a short axis of about 156 meters, and a circumference of about 527 meters. The surrounding walls are about 57 meters high, and this massive structure can accommodate nearly ninety thousand spectators."
"Uh... Is my job at the Roman Colosseum? But I don't speak Italian." Leo laughed awkwardly, his mind a bit muddled as to why he suddenly went abroad.
Howard suddenly turned and walked not toward the direction of the Colosseum but toward the sewer entrance on the other side of the square.
"Almost, you could think of it as beside the Colosseum... in the deeper layers of the sewer." Howard shrugged and pushed open a seemingly stone-brick wall secret door.
Though called a sewer, it was incredibly dry inside, with dust swirling and no particular odor.
After passing through several secret doors and mechanisms, Howard led the two to a massive pit nearby, pitch-black and unknown what lay below.
"Krrrrr..."
A series of large gear grinding sounds echoed in the underground space, as an elevator driven by gears and unknown crystals ascended from the endless abyss below.
A person stepped out from inside, dressed in a red robe, resembling an Archbishop.
He wore a long helmet on his head like a metallic pea pod, engraved with intricate patterns and designs. Even in the dim light from the torches on the surrounding walls, it still glinted brightly.
"Where are you taking me?" Seeing such a strangely dressed person, Leo felt something was off. Was this some kind of cult?
However, although the person emerging from the elevator held a solemn expression, he was certainly not a fanatic. He responded in a very rational manner, "To take you to the Eternal Space, to your future."
As he spoke, he stepped aside to open the elevator door, gesturing for them to enter.
Leo initially didn't want to move, but Howard and Nathaniel warmly invited him with smiles, showing no change in demeanor.
He felt slightly reassured, then entered the elevator, and the strangely dressed person followed suit, pulling a few levers on the elevator's interior wall as it quickly descended.
Turning back to look at Leonid, a faint smile emerged on the man's slightly aged face, "You don't need to pretend anymore; we all know who you really are."
Leonid sighed, without any visible movement, he transformed into a semi-transparent state, with countless stars visible within him, forming nebulae or rotating in their own patterns, turning him into an image of the cosmic deep space.
The stranger nodded slightly, without commenting on Leo's form, but instead turned to look out the window, signaling him to look down.
"Leonid, look below, and you will witness a miracle."
Hearing this, Leo approached the glass on the elevator, and the once pitch-black abyss suddenly revealed itself brightly.
A city abruptly appeared before him, as if passing through some curtain. Not only were there majestic classical buildings and palaces, but numerous tall buildings floated in midair, supported by red crystals as large as small mountains.
This city was more prosperous than Rome on the surface. Even at this time, it was still lit brightly everywhere; from above, the traffic flows endlessly and crowds bustle around.
"God..." Leonid was amazed and could only repeatedly utter the Celestial Father's name, nearly frozen in place.
The oddly dressed person displayed a proud expression as he walked beside Leo, "This is an eternal miracle, this is the Immortal City!"
The elevator had already reached the bottom, and the other three had moved forward while Leo still gazed around with a face full of astonishment.
Whether it was soldiers wearing armor yet wielding laser guns, or gigantic buildings floating in the air like mountains, these far surpassed his imagination.
He felt his tongue go numb, like electricity was flowing through him beneath his hair, his hands trembled too much to hold still, so he shoved them into his jacket pockets.
He followed along for quite a while before gradually calming down, he asked the elder who was there to receive them.
"I know that Rome was built upon the ruins of Ancient Rome, and there is an even older Roman relic beneath it, but here, 200 meters underground, there's actually such a city... how is this possible?!"
The elder shook his cloak, and his long helmet swayed, he replied in a calm voice: "Science, magic, beyond these I have no other explanation to give, this is our world's hidden history, this is the home of the Immortals."
This all seemed like a Dream Realm, as if the Rome above ground was reflected underground, this vast city truly existed, whether it was the red-brick paved streets, or the exquisite angel statues by the roadside, they were all within reach.
Soon after, he descended a long staircase, the four of them entered a building that looked like a theater.
The beautiful and majestic building was equally magnificent inside, a perfect fusion of transcendent technology and classical art, a variety of incredible scenes emerged within.
And most striking was the emblem on the dome of the grand theater, upon which an eagle spreads its wings and flies.
The golden emblem cast a pillar of light, enveloping Leonid within, he felt his body warm.
At this moment, he realized that in this place akin to an amphitheater, someone had already been waiting for him.
Dressed in the same attire as those who received them before, four slightly elderly individuals sat upon the high platform, the base of which was carved with intricate patterns.
Howard and Nathaniel nodded towards Leo, signaling for him to remain where he was, then proceeded towards the empty audience seats on the other side, leaving only faint outlines in the darkness.
The one welcoming them ascended the podium and sat in the central chair.
Then, he began to speak.
"Listen closely, certain things will resonate with you, and this resonance will transcend time, it all originates from a conception, a flame in the sky."
Leonid swallowed, looking at those people whose outlines were hidden in darkness, he swallowed again, quietly awaiting the explanation.
The elder didn't keep him waiting long, and told an ancient story. It was the dawn of Earth's civilization, in ancient times.
A flame fell upon Egypt, people saw marvelous buildings burning, falling from the sky onto the desert.
And when they went to inspect it, they found themselves being parasitized by a terrifying alien insect race that rapidly spread and reproduced, endangering the fate of all living beings.
It was the End of life and the world.
In this crisis, a person stepped forward, gathered the surviving beings, and formed the last army to engage in a decisive battle against the alien insect race.
He said, "Our world shouldn't end like this!"
He received weapons bestowed by the Celestial God, a long spear, and a shield.
With the help of various heroes, he killed the insect race's empress, eradicated the parasitized people, saving all who remained, he made a different choice for Earth between extermination and survival.
The people united under his shield in his name.
"Above your head, is that shield, since then, passed down through generations to this day, we are a shield protecting humanity amidst the known and unknown."
The main elder sat upright, speaking these words, he couldn't help but puff out his chest, and the more detailed battle scene he described, the more it stirred Leo's blood.
And when he raised his head to look at the shield, the five people on the podium began to speak in unison: "We are a protective measure, specifically against those who hinder our world from advancing according to conception."
Seeing Leo consumed with excitement and longing, the ones within the high platform supplemented: "This is a summons from the world, a summons from us, an organization providing divine protection to this world."
"Gods?" Leo furrowed his brows.
Another elder nodded and wasn't swayed by the questioning: "If we can't turn certain futures around, what face do we have to claim such a title?"
The central figure looked at Leo: "Do you understand?"
Leo, like a cosmos, couldn't hide his expression, he raised his translucent eyebrows, "I understand, it is to protect the world."
The lead elder nodded affirmatively, "Indeed."