The staircase went deeper than expected.
Much deeper.
Their footsteps echoed softly through the underground darkness while old lanterns along the walls flickered alive one by one as they descended.
Nobody touched them.
They simply lit themselves.
Deep immediately hated that.
“No.”
“I reject haunted architecture.”
“Quiet,” Deepika whispered.
The staircase spiraled endlessly beneath Velkrith while ancient symbols covered the stone walls around them.
Hunter language.
Old Hunter Kingdom language.
Robin observed everything carefully while walking beside Dhruv.
Her eyes moved constantly.
Walls.
Symbols.
Patterns.
Researcher instinct.
Deepika stayed ahead with the compass.
Navigator instinct.
Every few minutes she stopped slightly to check direction.
“This place bends unnaturally,” she muttered.
Deep frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“The underground path should’ve gone east.”
“But we’re drifting north now.”
Deep stared.
“…I hate underground things.”
Dhruv quietly smiled.
“You hate everything.”
“Correct.”
The staircase finally ended after nearly fifteen minutes.
And what waited below… silenced everyone.
An enormous underground chamber stretched before them beneath the earth.
Ancient pillars rose toward darkness overhead while faded murals covered the surrounding walls.
Broken statues stood near shallow underground water flowing across the stone floor.
And at the center of the chamber… stood a massive circular door.
Black stone.
Silver markings.
Ancient hunter symbols glowing faintly blue across its surface.
Deep whispered:
“…Okay that’s cool.”
Robin slowly stepped forward.
The murals caught her attention first.
Not the door.
The walls.
She moved closer carefully while brushing dust from one ancient painting.
It showed hunters.
Thousands of them.
Kneeling before seven floating stones.
The stones were completely black as if refusing camera to click its picture.
Dhruv approached beside her.
“The Seven Stones…”
Robin nodded slowly.
“But look carefully.”
Dhruv narrowed his eyes.
The hunters weren’t worshipping the stones.
They looked afraid.
Deepika noticed another mural nearby.
“This one’s different.”
Everyone moved toward her side.
The second mural showed six enormous kingdoms spread across the continents.
East Cloud.
West Cloud.
North Cloud.
South Cloud.
East Leros.
West Leros.
And above all six… one giant symbol.
A crown wrapped in red thread.
Dhruv froze slightly.
The same symbol as the Red Threads.
No. Older.
Much older.
Deep looked between the mural and Dhruv.
“…That feels extremely important.”
Robin touched the faded markings carefully.
“The symbol predates modern hunters.” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Silence settled across the chamber.
Dhruv stared toward the mural quietly.
Grandpa definitely knew more than he ever told anybody.
Then—
CLICK.
Everybody instantly looked toward Deep.
Deep slowly raised both hands.
“…In my defense, ancient rooms should not have buttons.”
The circular stone door suddenly trembled violently.
Blue symbols illuminated brighter across its surface.
RUMBLE.
The entire underground chamber shook softly.
Deepika grabbed the wall immediately.
“Something’s opening.”
The circular door slowly split apart from the center.
Cold air burst outward carrying decades of dust into the chamber.
Then darkness revealed another room beyond.
Smaller.
Hidden.
Protected.
Dhruv stepped inside first carefully.
The hidden room looked untouched.
No dust disturbed.
No footprints.
At the center rested one old wooden crate reinforced with silver metal corners.
And beside it… a skeleton.
Everybody froze.
The skeleton sat peacefully against the wall wearing ancient hunter robes.
One hand still rested on the crate protectively.
Robin slowly approached.
“…He died guarding it.”
Deep whispered:
“That’s horrifying.”
Dhruv crouched beside the crate carefully.
A faded symbol rested across the top.
Red thread around a crown.
Again.
His heartbeat quietly sped up.
“Open it,” Deep said immediately.
“Carefully,” Deepika corrected.
Deep sighed.
“Yes mother.”
Dhruv slowly lifted the old silver latches.
CREAK.
The crate opened.
Inside rested:
– three raw diamonds glowing faintly blue
– several ancient gold hunter coins
– a folded map
– and one small black booklet wrapped carefully in cloth
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Deep finally whispered:
“…We’re rich.”
Deepika immediately smacked the back of his head.
“Focus.”
Robin carefully picked up the black booklet.
The moment her fingers touched it… her expression changed.
Dhruv noticed instantly.
“Nico?”
Robin slowly opened the booklet.
Ancient writing filled every page.
But unlike before… she recognized this language immediately.
Her breathing slowed slightly.
“…This is Old Kingdom script.”
Deep blinked.
“You can read THAT too?”
Robin ignored him automatically now.
She flipped through the pages carefully.
Then stopped suddenly.
Everybody watched her face.
Shock.
Real shock.
Dhruv stepped closer.
“What is it?”
Robin slowly looked upward.
“This…”
“…this contains information about six Stones.”
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Even the underground water sounded distant now.
Dhruv stared.
“Six?”
Robin nodded slowly.
“There are descriptions.”
“Kingdom records.”
“Warnings.”
Deep immediately leaned forward.
“Warnings?”
Robin turned another page carefully.
Ancient illustrations filled the paper.
Each showed a different Stone.
Different shapes.
Different symbols.
Different abilities.
One page showed an ocean split apart beneath golden light.
Another showed an entire city burning black.
Another showed hunters kneeling before a floating Stone while bleeding from their eyes.
Deep looked uncomfortable now.
“…Those are NOT friendship rocks.”
Robin continued reading silently for several moments.
Then her expression sharpened again.
“There’s something else.”
Dhruv moved beside her.
“What?”
Robin pointed toward one repeated phrase written across multiple pages.
«”The seventh does not sleep.”»
The underground chamber suddenly felt colder.
Deep crossed his arms nervously.
“I officially dislike the seventh one already.”
Deepika unfolded the second map meanwhile.
Navigator instincts immediately active.
“This route…”
Everyone looked toward her.
She spread the map carefully across the crate.
The markings stretched far beyond East Cloud.
Toward another country across the sea.
Strangely, the country was on an island.
Far beyond normal lands.
Robin stepped beside her immediately.
Researcher and navigator together again.
Robin translated the old route symbols while Deepika traced travel lines carefully.
“The path begins near the southern coast,” Deepika muttered.
Robin nodded.
“But this section…”
She pointed toward one black-marked region.
“…was erased intentionally.”
Dhruv frowned slightly.
“Why?”
Robin quietly answered:
“Somebody didn’t want hunters reaching it.”
Deep stared at the maps.
“So basically every clue we find becomes more dangerous.”
“Yes,” Robin replied.
“Cool.”
“Fantastic.”
“Wonderful for my mental health.”
Then— a sound echoed faintly above them.
Footsteps.
Everybody froze instantly.
Deepika’s hand moved toward her knives.
Dhruv slowly grabbed Veyra.
More footsteps.
Not one person.
Multiple.
Coming from the staircase.
Robin’s eyes narrowed.
“We were followed.”
Deep whispered:
“…I hate this town.”
The underground lanterns flickered softly while distant footsteps echoed closer through the ancient darkness above.
And somewhere near the staircase entrance… hunters were descending toward them.
END OF CHAPTER 25