If Angel were to name them, starting from the bottommost mural, they would be: "Above the Throne," "Ascend the Throne," "The Road of Glory," "The Tightrope Walker"... "Swaddling Clothes."
Angel’s naming logic is primarily based on the content of the picture, with imagined stories as a supplement.
But now Angel finds that the story he imagined is fundamentally wrong.
He always believed that the painting "Above the Throne" in the bottommost hall was the conclusion of the story "The Newly Born will Eventually Become King."
But "The Tightrope Walker" painting slapped Angel in the face.
According to Angel’s imagined story, the painting presented after "The Tightrope Walker" should be "The Road of Glory."
But in "The Tightrope Walker," the protagonist has already shed the cumbersome armor and discarded the spear; yet why is he still in armor with a weapon in "The Road of Glory"?
Isn’t this logically contradictory?
Or rather, this logic is fundamentally inverted.
The real sequence should be "The Road of Glory" first, "The Tightrope Walker" later.
In other words, "Above the Throne" is not the last painting but the beginning of this story, the first painting!
Contrarily, the one they thought was "Swaddling Clothes," the painting engraved at the top of the tree, is the actual conclusion of this story!
Nevertheless, Angel and Lady Laplace still felt puzzled.
It’s normal to think that the newly born, after countless years, eventually becomes king. But why is it reversed, with the king returning to swaddling clothes in the end?
Does this have any hidden meaning? Or is their current analysis still wrong? Is "The Tightrope Walker" summoning armor and weapons from the Abyssal Depth rather than discarding them? Although Angel himself does not believe this speculation, he truly cannot comprehend what "the king returns to swaddling clothes" is trying to convey?
Both Angel and Lady Laplace at this time were mired in the swamp of thought.
After a moment of silence, Angel spoke first: "Perhaps it’s too early to interpret now, how about we look at all the murals first?"
Lady Laplace nodded, signaling for Angel to follow her.
Soon, they arrived at the fifth hall, and here, the mural would be the last one they’d see.
Upon entering the hall, Lady Laplace hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "Luigi has already come out of the Tooth Fairy Castle, and there’s some investigation result from Glaipnir’s side. Do you want to listen now?"
Angel thought for a while, then shook his head: "No rush, let’s solve this mural first."
Anyway, the investigation results from Lady Laplace’s Temporal Body cannot escape, and as time passes, her investigation samples will only increase, and the results will be more reliable.
So, there’s no rush.
First, see what the mural in this last hall is about, and what connection it has with the final "Swaddling Clothes."
Whether "Swaddling Clothes" is the beginning or the end of the story might depend on this fifth mural.
Angel silently analyzed the mural. As the light and shadow changed and elongated, the mural gradually revealed its half-concealed truth from its initial abstraction.
Minutes later, Angel let out a long breath.
The last mural was finally unveiled.
— A pitch-black Abyss, indescribable gigantic creatures, and a small "person" advancing towards the gigantic creature, and... an ancient city vaguely appearing behind the gigantic creature.
This is merely the overall scene of the mural; if you go into details, you’ll find that the gigantic creature is extraordinarily large, like a vast mountain stretching before you.
Moreover, these gigantic creatures, which can’t be fully described, are more than just one. It’s just that the one at the forefront occupies the main position. But if you look from the side, you can see behind the ancient city suspended in the Abyssal Depth, there are similarly outlined gigantic creatures.
Exactly how many there are cannot be determined, but certainly more than one.
Besides the gigantic creature, the small "person" moving towards it also has noteworthy details.
This "person" is completely identical to the humanoid creature in "The Tightrope Walker," and he’s not wearing armor or holding weapons.
This indicates that Angel’s previous speculation was indeed incorrect; it should be "The Road of Glory" first, followed by "The Tightrope Walker."
Another piece of evidence is the details of the ancient city.
What’s inside the ancient city is not quite clear; the only visible thing is a black ghostly shadow outline above the ancient city. This outline is exactly the same as the one in the final painting "Swaddling Clothes."
It can be said that this painting was a prelude to the final "Swaddling Clothes."
This once again proves that the "Swaddling Clothes" at the treetop is indeed the last painting of the story, and "Above the Throne" is the first painting.
Here, although Angel still does not know the story’s gist, he has confirmed that the story’s implication is not "The Newly Born will Eventually Become King," and his interpretations of the first few paintings were incorrect.
From the current perspective, the first painting might be better named simply "The Throne."
The second painting, which Angel previously thought depicted the new king ascending the throne, actually shows the king shedding the throne, so naming it "The King’s Departure" might be more apt.
The third painting does not depict the cheering for the new king’s enthronement, but rather the people’s confusion over the king’s departure and their lamentation and farewell to the king. Therefore, it would be better named "The Road of Farewell."
The fourth painting does not need a name change, still "The Tightrope Walker."
The fifth painting, that is, the current one, can be called "The Ancient City and the Giant Beasts."
The sixth painting, the one at the tree’s top, can straightforwardly be called "Swaddling Clothes."
However, the best naming would be to encapsulate the hidden meaning, but now Angel also doesn’t know what "Swaddling Clothes" is about.
Why would a king, forsaking all the past, only pursue swaddling clothes?
...
In contemplation, Angel and Lady Laplace returned to the treetop.