The strange footprints remained untouched until dawn.
No one spoke louder than a whisper.
Even the forest itself felt different.
Usually, the morning air around Ashwood echoed with birdsong and the rustling of small animals.
Today…
There was only silence.
Hunter Milo crouched beside the massive tracks once again.
“They’re fresh.”
“No more than a few hours old.”
Hunter Bran tightened his grip around his axe.
“If a beast this large wandered so close to the village, why didn’t anyone hear it?”
No one answered.
That question troubled everyone.
A creature capable of leaving footprints this deep shouldn’t have been able to move without making noise.
Yet…
Not a single guard had reported hearing anything.
Elder Rowan slowly stood.
“We follow the trail.”
“But only far enough to understand what we’re dealing with.”
He looked toward the hunters.
“No unnecessary risks.”
Finally, his eyes settled on me.
“Kael.”
“You’ll stay behind.”
I had expected those words.
Still…
A small part of me felt disappointed.
Before I could respond, Milo spoke first.
“He should come.”
Several hunters turned toward him.
Bran frowned.
“Are you serious?”
“He barely survived his first wolf.”
Milo nodded calmly.
“And because of that…”
“He’ll know when to retreat.”
“The boy has good instincts.”
“He notices things we overlook.”
Daren folded his arms.
“I agree.”
“The tracks near the stream.”
“The wolf.”
“The thief.”
“Each time, Kael observed before acting.”
Rowan remained silent for several moments.
Finally, he sighed.
“Very well.”
“But you remain between Milo and Daren.”
“If either tells you to run…”
“You run.”
“Without hesitation.”
“Understood?”
“Yes, Elder.”
Shortly after sunrise, a small hunting party left Ashwood.
Seven hunters.
One elder.
One apprentice.
The forest welcomed us with an uneasy stillness.
The gigantic footprints continued northward, weaving between ancient trees.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that they had been made intentionally.
Almost…
As if whoever left them wanted to be followed.
The thought sent a chill down my spine.
An hour passed.
Then another.
The tracks never changed direction.
Never wandered.
Never paused.
Hunter Ellis suddenly raised his hand.
Everyone stopped.
He pointed toward a nearby tree.
Long claw marks stretched across its trunk.
Four perfectly parallel lines.
Each nearly half a meter long.
Hunter Bran swallowed.
“Those weren’t made to sharpen claws.”
Milo nodded grimly.
“They’re too high.”
The marks began well above his head.
Whatever had made them…
Was enormous.
The Origin Core pulsed softly.
Environmental Analysis Initiated.
Residual Spiritual Energy Detected.
Age: Approximately Six Hours.
Warning: Energy Signature Does Not Match Recorded Forest Beasts.
Not a recorded beast…
My heartbeat quickened.
If even the Origin Core couldn’t identify it…
Then what exactly were we following?
By midday, the forest began changing.
The familiar pine trees gradually disappeared.
Their place was taken by ancient oaks whose twisted branches blocked much of the sunlight.
Thick moss covered enormous boulders.
The air felt colder.
Older.
Hunter Daren slowed his pace.
“I’ve never been this far east.”
Neither had the others.
Even Rowan’s expression had become cautious.
“I hoped we’d never need to.”
Eventually…
The tracks stopped.
Not faded.
Stopped.
Right in the middle of a small clearing.
Hunter Bran looked around in confusion.
“Where did it go?”
The footprints ended abruptly.
No return trail.
No leap.
No signs of struggle.
Vanished.
The hunters spread out, searching the clearing.
I remained where the final footprint rested.
Something felt wrong.
I closed my eyes.
Origin Sense expanded.
The clearing appeared inside my mind as countless faint streams of spiritual energy.
Most flowed naturally through the earth.
But one stream…
Moved downward.
I opened my eyes.
The final footprint.
The energy wasn’t ending there.
It was sinking beneath it.
I knelt and brushed away layers of leaves and loose soil.
My fingers struck stone.
“There’s something here.”
The hunters gathered around.
Together, they cleared more dirt away.
Slowly…
A massive circular stone surface emerged.
Its edges were covered in vines and centuries of moss.
Strange symbols were carved across its surface.
The same symbols.
The same ancient script.
As the mysterious book hidden inside my backpack.
Before anyone could speak…
The Origin Core burst into brilliant light.
Ancient Origin Formation Detected.
Status: Dormant.
Compatibility with Host: 98.7%.
Recommendation: Establish Contact.
The symbols on the stone began glowing one after another.
Blue.
Then silver.
Then brilliant white.
The hunters instinctively stepped back.
“What is this?” Bran whispered.
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
A deep rumble echoed beneath the earth.
The center of the stone disk slowly separated into six enormous sections.
Dust rose into the air as ancient gears groaned for the first time in countless centuries.
An opening.
Hidden beneath Ashwood’s forest all this time.
Cold air poured upward from the darkness below.
Along with something else…
A pressure so ancient that every hunter instinctively reached for their weapon.
I stared into the abyss.
And deep within my chest…
The Origin Core spoke for the first time not through a notification—
But through a voice.
Soft.
Ancient.
Almost like a whisper carried across eternity.
“Welcome home…”
No one moved.
The ancient stone doorway stood open before us, breathing cold air into the forest like the first breath of a sleeping giant.
The whisper still echoed inside my mind.
“Welcome home…”
I looked around.
The hunters wore expressions of confusion and caution.
No one reacted to the voice.
Only I had heard it.
The Origin Core slowly settled, its light fading until only a gentle warmth remained in my chest.
Had it spoken…
Or had someone else?
Hunter Bran tightened his grip on his axe.
“I don’t like this.”
Hunter Ellis nodded.
“This place wasn’t on any map.”
Elder Rowan stepped toward the entrance, stopping just short of the stairs leading underground.
Ancient symbols covered the stone walls.
Their faint silver glow pulsed like a heartbeat.
“I’ve heard stories,” Rowan murmured.
“My grandfather once spoke of forgotten sanctuaries built before the founding of the Kingdom.”
“I thought they were nothing more than legends.”
Hunter Milo glanced at me.
“You’ve been staring at those symbols since they appeared.”
“Can you read them?”
The question caught me off guard.
For a heartbeat, I considered telling the truth.
But how could I explain that an ancient system hidden inside my soul was translating a language lost to history?
“I…”
“They seem…
familiar.”
It wasn’t a complete lie.
Rowan studied me for a moment before nodding.
“Sometimes intuition tells us more than knowledge.”
“Stay close.”
“We’ll only investigate the entrance.”
“If anything feels wrong…”
“We leave immediately.”
Everyone agreed.
The hunters lit several torches before descending the stone staircase.
Each step carried us deeper beneath the forest.
The air grew colder.
Yet it wasn’t unpleasant.
Instead…
It felt strangely pure.
As though untouched by the outside world for thousands of years.
The staircase finally ended inside an enormous circular chamber.
Every hunter stopped in silence.
Massive stone pillars supported a ceiling so high that the torchlight couldn’t reach it.
The floor was carved with an intricate pattern of interlocking circles and stars.
At the center stood a crystal nearly twice the height of a man.
Though cracked with age, it still glowed with a faint silver radiance.
“It still has spiritual energy…”
Hunter Daren whispered.
“After all these years…”
The Origin Core pulsed again.
Function: Spiritual Energy Conduit.
Status: Damaged.
Estimated Remaining Capacity: 7%.
My eyes widened.
This wasn’t merely an ancient ruin.
It had once been part of something far larger.
A network.
As the hunters spread out to inspect the chamber, I noticed something unusual.
The dust on the floor was disturbed.
Not everywhere.
Only near the central crystal.
Someone…
Had been here recently.
I knelt beside the faint footprints.
“They’re fresh.”
Hunter Milo joined me.
“How fresh?”
“Maybe…”
“A day or two.”
His expression darkened.
“So we’re not the first.”
Before anyone could investigate further—
A sharp crack echoed through the chamber.
Everyone spun toward the crystal.
A small fragment had broken away.
The moment it touched the floor…
The entire chamber trembled.
Ancient runes across the walls burst into brilliant blue light.
The air became heavy.
The torches flickered violently.
Then—
A calm, emotionless voice echoed through the chamber.
Not from above.
Not from below.
From everywhere.
“Origin Sanctuary Number Seventeen…”
“…Emergency Protocol Activated.”
The hunters immediately formed a defensive circle.
“What was that?”
Bran shouted.
No answer came.
Instead, lines of light spread across the floor, connecting every pillar.
The symbols beneath our feet began rotating slowly.
My chest grew warm.
The Origin Core responded instinctively.
Identity Confirmed.
Origin Heir Candidate Detected.
Synchronization: 30%.
Access Level: Initiate.
Before I could process those words, beams of silver light erupted from the crystal.
They scanned every person in the chamber.
One by one.
Hunter Bran.
Rejected.
Hunter Ellis.
Rejected.
Hunter Daren.
Rejected.
Hunter Milo.
Rejected.
Elder Rowan.
Rejected.
Finally…
The beam reached me.
Instead of passing over me…
It stopped.
The silver light surrounded my entire body.
The chamber fell silent.
Then the ancient voice spoke again.
“Access Granted.”
“Welcome, Initiate.”
Every hunter turned toward me.
Confusion filled their faces.
No…
Not just confusion.
Shock.
Even Elder Rowan looked stunned.
The silver light slowly faded, leaving only the soft glow of the crystal.
I forced myself to stay calm.
“I don’t know what’s happening.”
Which, for once…
Was completely true.
Before anyone could ask another question—
A loud rumble echoed from deep beneath the sanctuary.
The floor shook violently.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Cracks spread across several ancient pillars.
The Origin Core reacted immediately.
Critical Warning.
Sanctuary Integrity: Failing.
Emergency Seal Released.
External Containment Lost.
My blood ran cold.
Containment?
What had this sanctuary been containing?
Then…
A roar echoed through the darkness below.
It wasn’t the roar of a wolf.
Or a bear.
Or any beast I had ever heard.
It was deeper.
Older.
Filled with an overwhelming pressure that made even the experienced hunters instinctively step back.
Hunter Milo raised his spear.
“What…
was that?”
The answer came from the Origin Core.
Only four words.
“The Guardian has awakened.”
The roar sounded again.
This time…
Much closer.