The forest remained silent.
Not the peaceful silence of nature.
The unnatural kind.
Even the wind seemed unwilling to pass through the towering ancient trees.
The merchants hurried to treat the wounded while the guards carefully approached the fallen Iron Mountain Bear.
One of them placed a trembling hand on its neck.
“…It’s really dead.”
Another looked toward me.
“No…”
He shook his head.
“It wasn’t killed.”
“It was purified.”
The word spread through the caravan like wildfire.
Purified.
No one had ever heard of a cultivator removing corruption instead of simply destroying the beast.
I lowered my eyes.
If they knew the truth…
If they knew about the Origin Core…
Everything would change.
Garrick approached with a respectful expression.
“Kael.”
“You saved every life here today.”
He produced a small leather pouch.
“Please accept this.”
Inside were dozens of glowing Spirit Stones.
Enough wealth for an ordinary family to live comfortably for years.
I pushed it back.
“I can’t.”
“You’ve already given me a place in the caravan.”
“And I’ll need those guards alive if we’re going to reach Riverstone.”
For a long moment, Garrick stared at me before laughing heartily.
“Hahaha!”
“You’re either incredibly wise…”
“…or incredibly foolish.”
Lyra smiled quietly.
“Probably both.”
As the caravan prepared to move again, the Origin Core pulsed.
The blue arrow in my vision had not disappeared.
Instead…
It had become brighter.
Distance Remaining: 2.1 kilometers.
Whatever was calling me…
It was close.
Very close.
“Lyra.”
She looked over.
“I’m going into the forest.”
She frowned.
“Now?”
“Whatever the Origin Core is reacting to…”
I stopped myself before saying too much.
“…Whatever I sensed.”
“I have to investigate.”
She folded her arms.
“And if I say no?”
I smiled.
“You’ll follow me anyway.”
She sighed dramatically.
“I hate it when you’re right.”
Garrick reluctantly allowed us one hour.
“No longer,” he warned.
“If you’re not back…”
“We’ll have no choice but to continue.”
I nodded.
“Understood.”
The deeper we walked into the forest…
The stranger everything became.
The trees grew impossibly large.
Some trunks were wider than entire houses.
Ancient stone pillars emerged from beneath thick vines.
Broken statues lay scattered across the ground.
Each depicted warriors wearing unfamiliar armor.
None carried swords.
Instead…
Every statue held a long spear.
Exactly like mine.
I froze.
“…This can’t be coincidence.”
The Origin Core shimmered.
Historical Site Confirmed
Origin Civilization Ruins
Preservation Level:
7%.
A chill ran down my spine.
The Origin Civilization.
Another fragment of the forgotten past.
The people who had created the Origin Core.
Had they once lived here?
Lyra brushed moss from one of the stone pillars.
“There are inscriptions.”
I stepped closer.
Yet the moment I touched them—
The Origin Core glowed brilliantly.
The ancient writing transformed before my eyes.
“When darkness devours the heavens…”
“The Second Heir shall awaken.”
“The broken gates shall open once more.”
“And the Final Origin shall return.”
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
Second Heir?
If there was a second…
Then there had been a first.
Who were they?
And where had they gone?
Suddenly…
The ground trembled.
Not violently.
Rhythmically.
Thump…
Thump…
Thump…
It sounded…
Like a heartbeat.
The earth beneath the ruins slowly cracked apart.
Ancient mechanisms groaned after countless ages of silence.
Dust filled the air.
Then, before our eyes…
A massive circular stone platform began rising from beneath the earth.
At its center stood a single crystal pedestal.
Floating above it…
Was a fragment of brilliant blue crystal, no larger than a human hand.
The moment it appeared—
The Origin Core erupted with radiant light.
Origin Fragment Detected.
Synchronization Resonance Initiated.
Kael and Lyra exchanged stunned glances.
Neither of them noticed…
High above the ruins…
A figure cloaked in black stood silently upon the branches of an ancient tree.
Golden eyes watched Kael without blinking.
“…So.”
“The Second Heir has finally begun to awaken.”
The blue crystal floated silently above the ancient pedestal.
It was no larger than my palm.
Yet the spiritual pressure it emitted was overwhelming.
The air itself seemed to ripple around it.
The Origin Core inside my body pulsed in perfect rhythm.
Synchronization Resonance: Stable
Origin Fragment Confirmed
Permission to Integrate?
YES / NO
I instinctively reached toward it—
“Kael!”
Lyra’s sharp voice stopped me.
The moment she spoke, I noticed something I had completely overlooked.
The ruins…
Were waking up.
The cracked stone floor glowed with countless blue lines.
Ancient runes spread across the sanctuary like flowing rivers.
One by one…
Massive stone warriors emerged from hidden chambers.
Their bodies were carved from dark granite.
Each held a long spear.
Each possessed glowing blue eyes.
There were twelve of them.
The same design as Guardian Aegis-17…
But older.
Far older.
A mechanical voice echoed across the sanctuary.
“Origin Sanctuary Defense System Activated.”
“Unauthorized Lifeforms Detected.”
“Initiating Trial of Worthiness.”
The first guardian moved.
Its spear pierced through the air with incredible speed.
I barely avoided it using Origin Step.
The stone beneath my feet exploded.
“These things are stronger than ordinary Spirit Gathering cultivators!” Lyra shouted as she blocked another attack with her silver sword.
Two more guardians surrounded me.
No…
They weren’t trying to kill me.
Their attacks were precise.
Measured.
As though they were testing my reactions.
The Origin Core suddenly projected dozens of blue lines across my vision.
Each line predicted the guardians’ next movement.
I understood.
It wasn’t enhancing my strength.
It was teaching me.
I stepped forward.
One spear thrust.
A sidestep.
Second attack.
Parry.
Third attack.
For the first time…
Every movement flowed naturally.
No hesitation.
No wasted effort.
Hunter Milo’s lessons…
Guardian Aegis-17’s training…
Everything merged into one.
The guardians paused.
Their blue eyes flickered.
Combat Analysis Complete
Trial Progress: 38%
“They’re evaluating you!” Lyra called.
“Don’t fight with brute force!”
I nodded.
“I know.”
The remaining guardians attacked together.
Twelve spears.
Twelve different angles.
Impossible for an ordinary cultivator.
I closed my eyes.
The Origin Core became completely silent.
Then…
Every heartbeat slowed.
The world blurred.
My body moved before my mind.
One step.
Two.
Three.
I slipped through the storm of attacks like flowing water.
Every strike missed by less than an inch.
When I reached the center…
I thrust my spear into the ground.
The Seal Rune erupted with brilliant blue light.
A wave of Origin energy spread across the sanctuary.
The guardians froze.
Then…
One by one…
They knelt.
The mechanical voice returned.
“Trial Passed.”
“Identity Confirmed.”
“Second Heir Recognized.”
The entire sanctuary trembled.
The floating crystal descended slowly into my outstretched hand.
The instant I touched it—
A flood of memories exploded inside my mind.
Towering cities floating among the stars.
Countless cultivators wearing robes marked with the same Origin symbol.
An endless army of black creatures descending from a shattered sky.
A lone figure stood before them.
He wielded a spear of pure blue light.
Before the vision ended, he turned toward me.
His face remained hidden.
But his voice echoed clearly.
“If you are seeing this…”
“…then I have failed.”
“Do not repeat my mistake.”
“Trust no one who bears the Mark of the Eclipse.”
The vision shattered.
I fell to one knee, breathing heavily.
Origin Fragment Integrated
Synchronization:
42% → 48%
New Ability Unlocked:
Origin Sight
Allows limited perception of hidden formations, concealed energy, and corruption.
New Memory Fragment Stored.
Mission Updated:
Find the Second Sanctuary.
Lyra helped me stand.
“What happened?”
“I…”
I hesitated.
“I saw the past.”
Before she could ask another question—
A slow clap echoed through the sanctuary.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
A tall man wearing a black cloak stepped out from the shadows.
Golden eyes.
The same ones I had felt watching me before.
He smiled calmly.
“So…”
“The heir has claimed another fragment.”
His gaze met mine.
“Allow me to introduce myself.”
“My name is Cassian.”
“And from this moment onward…”
“I am the hunter assigned to kill you.”