Kael stepped out of the stone chamber and into a corridor that curved gently upward. The fading symbols on the walls behind him blurred as he ascended, the past giving way to the present with every step. He emerged into a hall of polished stone, its intricate carvings and delicate decorations lending the place a warm serenity. Rows of dark, lustrous pews stood in perfect symmetry, leading his eyes to the focal point of the hall.
At the center rested an altar,pristine and white as moonlit snow. At its center rested a single, luminous crystal, the size of a man's fist, radiating a gentle, unwavering glow. The light bathed the entire chamber in a soft, ethereal light, illuminating the intricate mosaic of celestial bodies on the ceiling above.
For a long moment, Kael stood still.
All the weight he had carried,the uncertainty, the suspicion, the gnawing unease seemed to ease from his shoulders. In this sacred hall, the world outside felt distant. Unreal.
He exhaled slowly.
"So… such beautiful places still exist in this world," Kael thought.
Of course, how would he know? His life until now had been a crawl through the crumbling ruins , never once graced by a place like this.
"How peaceful… if only I could stand here all day."
The thought drifted quietly through his mind as he sighed, allowing the calm to wash over him like a gentle tide.
He did not know which deity was worshipped here but judging from the serenity in the air, it didn't seem like the domain of some dark or malevolent being.
Then again, one could never be sure.
As far as Kael knew, this world recognized a single orthodox god:
The Church of Creation, devoted to the God of invention, beginnings, and boundless possibilities. Most of humanity's revered heroes, both past and present, were known followers of creation.And this place certainly was not one of thiers even kael knew that much.
So, he set his priorities and steeled himself.
'Let's see if I can find some useful information,' Kael thought. He walked slowly, his hand reaching out to touch the cool stone wall.
The mark on his arm glowed faintly, and a torrent of memories,none of them his own,flooded into his mind.
Most of them featured white-robed individuals conversing with one another, their voices lost to time but their gestures clear and deliberate.In a few flickering glimpses, he saw those same figures kneeling in silent reverence before the pristine altar, With his newly awakened gift, Kael's mind processed the flood with startling clarity, each image cataloged faster than a normal human could follow.
As he skimmed through the countless impressions, one particular fragment caught his eye.
Two figures in quiet conversation.
One was Aeris. Her masked face, perpetually serene, gave away nothing,but her amethyst eyes, now unmasked and piercing, gleamed with an unsettling intensity. She sat on a pew, gazing at the altar in silence, her posture still and composed. Beside her,the man who had spoken to Kael earlier in the chamber, leaned against a tall, narrow window that looked out onto the perpetual twilight of the ruined world. He was no longer the detached, almost benevolent figure Kael had perceived. His posture was straighter, his gaze sharper,more calculating. The casual air had been replaced by a quiet, watchful tension.
"Evil spirits are appearing more often lately," the man said, his tone sober.
"So I've heard. Well... it's not like they weren't common before," Aeris replied. "The records from the past speak of many such appearances. We might need to enter the Crown earlier than we expected."
Her voice held uncertainty.
The man sighed. "Will we be able to find it?"
Aeris remained silent for a moment. When she finally spoke, her voice was full of quiet resolve.
"I'm certain," Aeris said. "We've been searching for the past ten years. We've gathered more than enough information on the Prince. And now, with the heretics active around the Crown... it seems we may have traitors among us."
A glint of murder flickered in the man's eye there for a heartbeat, then gone.
"It seems we have."
"Anyway, I'm headed to Eldwyrth. The Eminence has asked for me," Aeris said, the name carrying a hint of reverence that was a stark contrast to her usual measured tone. "I'll also have to make preparations for our expedition too," Aeris added, her voice returning to its usual composed level.
"What about the boy? There are... suspicious people watching him. He'll run into trouble sooner or later."
"Keep an eye on him. I'm sure he'll be useful."
Some unknown emotion passed through her amethyst-like eyes for a split second.
"I'll leave it to you, Silas," Aeris said softly, rising to her feet. Without another word, she turned and walked away
With that, the memory ended.
Kael stumbled a step, groaning quietly as he leaned against the wall. The pain came after the memory sharp, invasive, like a hundred nails being driven into his skull all at once.
"Gods… I need to be careful with this," he muttered, massaging his temple with two fingers. "It's like opening a door and getting punched in the face." The mark on his hand pulsed faintly, still warm from the contact.
He replayed the memory in his head, not by choice, but because it refused to leave.
Silas. So that was the hooded bastard's name. And Aeris... she was heading to Eldwyrth to visit The Eminence.Kael hadn't heard of an Eminence before, but the way she said it left no doubt: this was a person of immense power. He hadn't been able to grasp every part of the conversation, some pieces felt like a puzzle he wasn't meant to solve yet, but he made mental notes of the key words: The prince, expedition, heretics, and The Crown. That last one stood out the most. He was almost certain they meant The Hollow Crown.
'What were they trying to find there, I wonder?',A shiver traced his spine at the mention of "evil spirits." Let's hope I never encounter one, he muttered mentally, then dismissed the thought. No point in wondering about things he didn't understand yet.
One thing was for sure: with his newly improved memory, he wouldn't be forgetting anything important.Kael tilted his head slightly. Forget? A cold knot twisted in his gut. Am I forgetting something? What is it? Something about suspicious people... He was sure a vital detail had slipped just beyond his grasp. His eyes turned cloudy, the effort of forcefully sifting through his accelerated mind making his vision swim. It was like walking through a dense fog clearing a patch only for it to swirl back, thicker than before.
'What was I thinking? It's... probably nothing important'. But the words didn't sit right. They echoed in his mind, hollow and unsatisfying, like a puzzle piece forced into the wrong slot. Something about that memory lingered not just the pain it left behind, but the way it felt. That conversation between Aeris and Silas hadn't sounded like routine strategy. There were too many unspoken things. Too much calculation behind calm words.
Kael frowned, his thoughts sharpening like blades. No... that wasn't just a plan being made. That was preparation. Coded, measured, layered.
Kael leaned forward, letting his forehead rest against the cool stone. He didn't trust them. He hadn't from the beginning. But now... now it felt personal.
Who exactly were these people? He didn't know. But one thing was clear, they were planning something. Something big. And for some reason, they were keeping an eye on him. That thought made his jaw tighten. "Useful," she had said. Like he was a damn tool. A pawn on their board.
Kael let out a slow breath and started walking again, his thoughts heavy but sharp. They thought he was something to be used. He wasn't sure yet what he was. But he sure as hell wasn't going to be their pawn.
Kael stepped out of the sacred hall, the worn door creaking shut behind him. He found himself in a corridor that ended abruptly, opening into the open air of a desolate world.
The sky above was pale and cloudless, washed in tones of dull amber. The air smelled faintly of burnt soil, and the ruined landscape pulsed with quiet decay. Kael adjusted the tattered cloth around his shoulders and moved cautiously, his gaze first falling on the structure he had just left. It was small and unassuming, a stark contrast to the vast, intricate sanctuary he had been in. A trick of spatial magic, he surmised, as his hand went to the mark on his arm.
He knew his destination was west, a direction that would bring him closer to human camps. He hadn't spoken another word to the man in white. He had simply nodded, gathered his meager belongings, and walked out. No questions. No farewells. Before he left the chamber, though, the man had offered him one final wasound, flat, almost casual.
"Watch your steps in the lower ruins. One of the tainted ones still sleeps beneath the plaza. Don't wake it."
Kael didn't ask questions. He just nodded and left. Now, that warning lingered in his mind. He moved through the outer ruins of the reliquary with caution. Each step was careful, his boots brushing against cracked stone and withered vines. The air grew heavier the farther he walked. A haze hung in the distance, rising from fractured structures like smoke from a dying fire.
After walking for some time, Kael heard a scream.He sighed. "Not already," he muttered. "Why are these ruins never quiet? And of course, it just has to be on my path." He glanced at the broken horizon ahead and shook his head. This sort of thing was happening too often to be a coincidence. Grumbling under his breath, Kael followed the sound.