Chapter 25: The Promise
The valley had finally become quiet.
The hidden World Gate stood closed, its ancient symbols no longer glowing.
The strange world beyond it had disappeared, leaving only the silent stone structure behind.
Evan stared at the place where the enormous shadow had vanished.
“What was that thing?”
No one answered.
Ronan lowered his sword and looked toward the mountains.
“I don’t think anyone knows.”
Liora nodded slowly.
“I’ve never felt anything like it.”
Silas remained unusually quiet.
Mira was staring at the Gate.
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then she turned toward Evan.
“There’s something I should tell you.”
Evan looked at her.
“What?”
“Elias made a promise before he disappeared.”
Evan immediately remembered Silas’s words from beneath Veyr Mountain.
“A promise to protect the next Fourfold Traveler.”
Mira nodded.
“But that wasn’t the entire promise.”
Kaela stepped closer.
“What was the rest?”
Mira looked toward the closed Gate.
“Elias promised that if another Fourfold Traveler ever appeared, he would leave a path for them to discover the truth.”
Evan touched the pendant around his neck.
“So all these clues…”
“The records, the hidden chambers, the pendant, and the sealed path,” Mira said.
“They were all part of it.”
Evan lowered his gaze.
“But if Elias disappeared, how could he know I’d find them?”
Mira shook her head.
“He didn’t know who would come.”
She paused.
“He only knew someone eventually would.”
Evan looked toward the mountains.
“So Elias wasn’t preparing for me specifically.”
“No.”
“Then he was preparing for whoever came after him.”
Mira nodded.
“And that person happened to be you.”
Evan remained silent.
The thought made everything feel different.
The hidden records.
The ancient symbols.
The pendant.
The path beneath the mountain.
None of them had been created for Evan alone.
They had been waiting for the next person who carried the Fourfold power.
And now that person was him.
Silas finally approached.
“There is one more thing.”
Evan looked at him.
“What?”
Silas hesitated.
Then he said one name.
“Aurelion.”
Evan’s expression hardened.
“What about him?”
“Elias didn’t make the promise alone.”
Silence filled the valley.
Kaela looked at Silas.
“Who was with him?”
Silas answered quietly.
“Aurelion.”
Evan’s eyes narrowed.
“Aurelion made the same promise?”
“No.”
Silas looked toward the distant mountains.
“Elias wanted to protect the future Fourfold.”
He paused. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Aurelion wanted to control the power.”
Ronan frowned.
“Then why would Aurelion allow Elias to leave these clues?”
Silas shook his head.
“He didn’t.”
Evan immediately understood.
“That’s why the records were destroyed.”
“Exactly.”
Liora looked worried.
“So Aurelion has been trying to erase Elias’s path.”
Ronan looked toward the northern road.
“Which means Aurelion has been trying to stop anyone from discovering what Elias found.”
Evan closed his hand around the pendant.
“Which means we’re getting closer to something he doesn’t want us to find.”
Silas nodded.
“And that makes the path more dangerous.”
Evan looked at the closed Gate.
After everything they had seen, he already knew that.
That night, the group made camp outside the valley.
The fire burned quietly while the others rested.
Evan sat near the flames, staring into them.
Kaela sat across from him.
“You’ve been quiet.”
Evan looked up.
“I’m thinking about the promise.”
“The one Elias made?”
Evan nodded.
“He prepared all of this for someone he would never meet.”
Kaela smiled faintly.
“Maybe he believed someone would eventually come.”
Evan looked down.
“Do you think I can finish what he started?”
Kaela didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she looked at him seriously.
“You don’t have to become Elias.”
Evan looked surprised.
“You said that before.”
“And I meant it.”
She glanced at his Fourfold mark.
“Elias made his choices. Aurelion made his choices. You have to make yours.”
Evan was quiet for a moment.
Then he smiled.
“You’re right.”
Kaela smiled back.
“You’re starting to understand.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
The fire crackled between them.
Then Evan’s pendant began glowing.
Both of them looked down.
A faint image appeared above the pendant.
Four paths emerged.
One flame.
One water droplet.
One lightning symbol.
One dark crescent.
Evan’s eyes widened.
“These are the Fourfold elements.”
The four symbols slowly moved toward the center.
Then something appeared between them.
A fifth symbol.
A simple circle.
Evan frowned.
“That wasn’t in the records.”
Kaela leaned closer.
“What does it mean?”
“I don’t know.”
The five symbols suddenly became brighter.
Then the image disappeared.
But one word remained floating above the pendant.
PROMISE.
Evan stared at it.
His heart began beating faster.
“What does that mean?”
Kaela shook her head. Get faster updates on g.com.
“We’ll find out.”
The word disappeared.
The pendant became cold again.
Evan looked toward the dark mountains.
Another clue had appeared.
But this time, he had no idea where it would lead.
Far away, inside a ruined fortress, Aurelion stood before an ancient stone wall.
The fortress was almost completely dark.
Only a few blue crystals provided light.
A faint image appeared on the wall.
Four symbols.
Fire.
Water.
Lightning.
Darkness.
Then the fifth symbol appeared.
The circle.
Aurelion’s expression changed slightly.
“So it has appeared.”
A messenger approached from behind.
“The hidden Gate has closed.”
Aurelion nodded.
“And Evan?”
“He survived.”
Aurelion remained silent.
The messenger waited.
Finally, Aurelion spoke.
“Elias’s promise is moving forward.”
The messenger looked confused.
“Should we stop him?”
Aurelion turned toward the northern mountains.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
Aurelion’s eyes narrowed.
“Because Evan still doesn’t understand what the promise truly means.”
The messenger hesitated.
“And when he does?”
Aurelion’s expression became unreadable.
“Then we’ll see whether he follows Elias…”
He looked at the fading fifth symbol.
“…or chooses his own path.”
The next morning, Evan stood before the road leading away from the valley.
The hidden Gate remained behind them.
The mountains stretched ahead.
Evan looked at Kaela, Ronan, Liora, Silas, and Mira.
“We have three things to find.”
Ronan raised an eyebrow.
“What three?”
Evan held up one finger.
“Elias.”
A second.
“The origin of the World Gates.”
Then he touched the pendant around his neck.
“And the truth behind the promise.”
Kaela smiled.
“Then let’s start with the next clue.”
Evan nodded.
The group began walking.
Their journey continued toward the northern mountains.
Behind them, beneath Veyr Mountain, something stirred.
Deep underground, the Black Crystal quietly awakened.
A faint image appeared inside it.
A man stood before a World Gate.
His clothing resembled the descriptions from Elias’s records.
His face remained hidden in shadow.
But this time, the darkness shifted.
For one brief moment, the outline of his face became almost visible.
Almost.
Then the crystal went dark.
Evan and his companions continued down the road, unaware of what had just happened beneath the mountain.
The journey toward Elias had entered its next stage.
And the promise Elias left behind was finally beginning to awaken.