The second roar shook the sanctuary.
Dust cascaded from the ceiling as ancient pillars groaned under the strain of countless centuries.
The hunters immediately formed a defensive circle.
Hunter Bran stood at the front, his axe raised.
Hunter Milo lowered his spear, his eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the crystal chamber.
Elder Rowan’s voice remained calm despite the tension.
“Nobody panic.”
“We retreat together.”
“No one gets left behind.”
The order was clear.
Every hunter began moving toward the staircase.
Every hunter…
Except me.
A strange sensation tugged at my chest.
Not fear.
A pull.
It came from beyond the enormous crystal, where a narrow stone corridor disappeared into darkness.
The Origin Core grew warmer with every passing second.
Primary Path Identified.
Destination: Inner Sanctuary.
Mission Priority: Highest.
I frowned.
Inner Sanctuary?
There had been no mention of another chamber.
I looked around.
The others couldn’t see the faint silver trail now stretching across the floor.
Only I could.
As if the ruin itself were guiding me.
“Kael!”
Hunter Milo noticed I had stopped.
“What are you doing?”
“I…”
Before I could answer—
The corridor behind the crystal began to glow.
Ancient runes awakened one after another.
Silver.
Gold.
Then deep azure.
The light spread like flowing water through the walls.
Everyone turned toward it.
Hunter Ellis whispered,
“Was that passage always there?”
“It wasn’t,” Rowan answered quietly.
“It just opened.”
The same emotionless voice echoed through the sanctuary once again.
“Trial Chamber prepared.”
“Origin Heir Candidate…”
“…Proceed.”
Silence followed.
Every pair of eyes slowly turned toward me.
Hunter Bran looked utterly confused.
“What does it mean by…
heir?”
I wished I knew.
Elder Rowan stepped beside me.
His weathered face carried neither fear nor suspicion.
Only concern.
“Kael.”
“Tell me honestly.”
“Have you experienced anything…
unusual since you came to Ashwood?”
For a brief moment, my heart pounded.
Should I tell him?
About my previous life?
About the Origin Core?
About the strange windows only I could see?
No.
Not yet.
“I’ve had strange dreams.”
I answered carefully.
“And sometimes…”
“I feel like certain places are familiar.”
“Even though I’ve never seen them before.”
It wasn’t the whole truth.
But it wasn’t entirely false.
Rowan studied me for several seconds.
Then he nodded slowly.
“I believe you.”
Hunter Bran blinked.
“You do?”
The elder smiled faintly.
“I’ve lived long enough to know that this world holds more mysteries than answers.”
“If these ruins chose Kael…”
“We’ll trust him.”
Those words settled heavily on my shoulders.
Trust.
It was far easier to receive than to deserve.
Without warning—
The crystal at the center of the chamber flashed brilliantly.
A wave of silver light swept through the room.
Everyone instinctively shielded their eyes.
When the light faded…
The staircase behind us was gone.
In its place stood a seamless stone wall.
Hunter Daren immediately rushed forward.
He struck it with the butt of his spear.
Nothing.
Not even a crack.
“We’re trapped.”
Emergency Trial Activated.
Exit Locked Until Completion.
I swallowed.
So much for retreating.
Hunter Milo exhaled slowly.
“Looks like we don’t have a choice anymore.”
Elder Rowan nodded.
“Then we move forward.”
“No rushing.”
“No splitting up.”
The hunters tightened their formation.
For the first time since entering the forest…
Even the veterans looked uneasy.
Its walls were carved from smooth white stone untouched by moss or decay.
Glowing runes illuminated our path without the need for torches.
It felt…
Alive.
Not in the way forests or animals were alive.
But like a machine that had merely been sleeping.
Now…
It had awakened.
As we walked, I noticed murals carved into the walls.
At first glance they appeared decorative.
Then I looked closer.
The first depicted countless stars descending from the heavens.
The second showed people gathering fragments of light.
The third…
Showed cities unlike anything I had ever imagined.
Floating above the clouds.
Connected by bridges made entirely of light.
Hunter Ellis stopped beside one mural.
“Who built all this?”
No one answered.
Even the Origin Core remained silent.
The corridor finally opened into another chamber.
Smaller than the first.
Perfectly circular.
There was only one object inside.
A stone pedestal.
Resting upon it…
A single silver orb no larger than an apple.
It floated several centimeters above the pedestal.
Rotating slowly.
The moment I stepped inside—
The orb stopped moving.
Every rune in the room ignited simultaneously.
The ancient voice returned.
Clearer than ever before.
“Trial One…”
“…Resolve.”
“Only those whose hearts remain unshaken may proceed.”
The silver orb released a ripple of light.
It expanded across the chamber like water.
The moment it touched me…
The world disappeared.
Ashwood.
The hunters.
The sanctuary.
Everything faded into darkness.
Then…
A familiar voice echoed behind me.
A voice I hadn’t heard since my first life.
“Kael…”
I froze.
Impossible.
Slowly…
I turned around.
Standing only a few steps away…
Was my mother.
The mother I had lost on Earth.
Smiling exactly as I remembered her.
“Kael…”
My mother’s gentle voice echoed through the endless darkness.
For a moment…
Everything else disappeared.
The sanctuary.
The Origin Core.
Even my second life.
I was no longer standing beneath an ancient ruin.
I was back on Earth.
Back in the small apartment where she used to wake me every morning before school.
She smiled just as I remembered.
Warm.
Kind.
Alive.
Tears blurred my vision.
“…Mom?”
She stepped closer and gently touched my cheek.
“You’ve been through so much.”
“You don’t have to keep fighting anymore.”
“Come home.”
Her touch felt real.
Too real.
Every memory flooded back.
Birthday celebrations.
Late-night conversations.
The day I promised I’d make her proud.
The accident…
The darkness…
Then waking in this unfamiliar world.
A painful ache settled in my chest.
For one selfish moment…
I wanted to believe it.
The Origin Core remained silent.
No warnings.
No notifications.
It was as if it wanted me to decide on my own.
She held out her hand.
“You’ve suffered enough.”
“Come with me.”
“We can go back.”
Back…
To a world that no longer existed for me.
A world where Kael had already died.
I slowly closed my eyes.
When I opened them again…
My tears were gone.
“I miss you.”
My voice trembled.
“Every single day.”
She smiled gently.
“I know.”
“Then come home.”
I took one step forward.
Then stopped.
A faint smile appeared on my face. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“…No.”
For the first time…
Her expression changed.
“Why?”
“Because…”
“My mother would never ask me to abandon the people waiting for me.”
Images flashed through my mind.
Grandma Mira smiling while tending her garden.
Hunter Milo laughing after training.
Elder Rowan patiently teaching me.
The children of Ashwood running through the village.
This world…
Had become my home.
I looked directly into my mother’s eyes.
“If you’re really her…”
“You’d tell me to keep moving forward.”
Silence filled the darkness.
Then—
The illusion cracked.
Tiny fractures spread across her figure like broken glass.
She smiled one final time.
A different smile.
One filled with quiet pride.
“Then…”
“You’ve grown stronger than your grief.”
She dissolved into countless particles of light.
The darkness shattered.
My eyes snapped open.
I was back inside the trial chamber.
The silver orb floated quietly before me.
The hunters stood exactly where they had been.
No one had moved.
No one seemed to realize anything had happened.
Then Elder Rowan blinked.
“…How long was I standing here?”
Hunter Bran looked equally confused.
“I thought…”
“I was back in my childhood.”
Hunter Milo let out a slow breath.
“So we all saw something.”
The trial…
Had tested everyone.
But each person had faced a different memory.
The silver orb glowed once.
The ancient voice returned.
“Trial One…”
“…Completed.”
“Evaluation…”
“…Successful.”
The chamber trembled gently.
The stone wall opposite the pedestal split apart, revealing another passage leading deeper underground.
Synchronization Increased.
Current Synchronization: 32%.
Trial Reward Received.
Origin Sense → Upgraded.
New Ability Unlocked: Spiritual Perception (Beginner).
A cool sensation spread through my mind.
The world around me changed.
For the first time…
I could see faint streams of spiritual energy flowing through the sanctuary itself.
Silver currents drifted through the walls.
Blue veins pulsed beneath the floor.
Even the hunters radiated different amounts of spiritual energy.
Hunter Bran’s aura was steady and powerful.
Hunter Milo’s was sharper, like the tip of a spear.
Elder Rowan’s aura was calm and deep, reminding me of an ancient tree.
Then…
I noticed something impossible.
Beyond the newly opened passage…
A colossal presence slept.
Its spiritual energy dwarfed everything I had ever witnessed.
It wasn’t merely stronger than Lady Elena.
It wasn’t merely stronger than the Emerald Fang Wolf.
It felt like a mountain.
Ancient.
Patient.
Waiting.
I instinctively stepped back.
Hunter Milo noticed.
“What is it?”
I hesitated.
“I…”
“I think something is waiting for us.”
Before anyone could respond—
Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor.
One.
…Then another.
The entire sanctuary shook with each step.
The glowing runes dimmed as if yielding to a greater existence.
A pair of enormous golden eyes slowly opened within the darkness.
They were followed by a massive silhouette emerging from the shadows.
Stone armor covered its body.
Ancient vines wrapped around its limbs.
A crown of crystal horns rose from its head.
It stood over four meters tall.
Not a beast.
Not a man.
A guardian forged from stone and spirit.
The giant stopped at the edge of the light.
Its gaze swept across the hunters before settling on me.
Then…
To everyone’s astonishment…
It lowered one knee.
The ancient voice echoed through the chamber one final time.
“Guardian of Sanctuary Seventeen…”
“…greets the Origin Heir.”
The hunters stared at me in stunned silence.
I could only stare back.
Because I knew…
This was only the beginning of the truth behind the Origin Core.