Julian woke up to complete silence.
His eyes opened slowly and everything around him looked blurry and gray with dust. For a few seconds, he couldn't tell if he was really awake or still stuck in darkness. His head hurt badly and every part of his body ached like someone had ripped him apart and put him back together the wrong way.
He pushed himself up slowly, using one hand to hold his weight. The ruin was quiet—way too quiet. But the ground around him showed what had happened last night.
Dead bodies everywhere.
The hunters who had chased him lay broken and still. Some were buried under fallen stones while others were twisted in strange positions where they had landed. Their arms and legs bent in ways that weren't natural, and dried black blood covered the cracked floor.
For a moment he just stared at them. Then his shaky legs carried him deeper into the ruins.
He walked under an archway that was half collapsed and found a room where the ceiling had broken open, letting morning sunlight pour in. In the middle of the room sat a pool of water that looked perfectly still and clear like glass. Green moss grew around the edges, but the water itself looked pure and untouched by time.
He got down on his knees beside it. His face appeared in the water—pale skin covered with dirt and blood, messy hair, and empty-looking eyes. He cupped both hands together, scooped up some water, and drank it.
He leaned closer and splashed water on his face, letting the cold feeling wake him up more. Then he stopped moving completely.
Something else was showing in the water's reflection.
Shapes and symbols. Lines made of faint light floating in the air above him.
Julian blinked and straightened up, turning his head. The symbols were still there—thin glowing letters and moving text arranged in a pattern his brain didn't understand but somehow recognized. A ghostly display hanging in front of him.
Slowly, he lifted one hand and tried to swipe at the nearest symbol.
His fingers went straight through it.
He tried again, moving slower this time. His hand passed through the light like nothing was there. But the glow stayed, looking both real and not real at the same time.
Julian's breathing got faster. Memories from last night came rushing back—the wall of light, the symbols he had seen right before the shield appeared.
"…Am I… dead?" His voice cracked in the silent ruins.
"Most certainly not."
The voice sounded smooth and calm.
Julian spun around fast, raising his fists even though his body hurt. His eyes searched the entire room. Nothing there. Just moss, stone, and still water.
"Who's there?" His voice came out low and careful.
"Calm yourself," the voice said patiently, almost like it found this amusing. "I am not there."
Julian's teeth pressed together. "Then where?"
"Here."
The voice didn't come from the air around him but from inside his own head. It sounded deep and ancient.
"Inside you."
Julian's heart skipped a beat. The glowing text in front of him changed. The symbols moved around and formed into words he could actually read.
---
[Status Screen Initialized]
Name: Julian Ryul Zhoron
Arc: Arc 3
Strength: 17
Speed: 15
Endurance: 14
Affinity Slots: 1/2 (Core) | 0/4 (Astral)
Affinities:
- Pyro (Lv. 2)
---
Julian stepped backward quickly. "What… how…?"
"You awakened me," the voice said as calmly as flowing water. "The seal was broken. Bloodline met bloodline. Thus, we are bound."
Julian's lips moved but no sound came out at first. Finally he forced the words out. "Bloodline? Bound? What are you talking about?"
"I am the Relic you touched last night. I am Erevos."
Julian's mind felt like it was spinning. Relic? Bound? None of it made any sense. He opened his mouth to ask more questions. "What relic—"
The display cut him off by changing.
[Warning]
Incoming Presence Detected
Distance: 180 meters, North
Estimated Numbers: 6
Julian froze in place. The text appeared clearly in front of his eyes. He didn't move and just held his breath, listening carefully.
At first there was nothing. Only tree branches creaking and leaves moving in the wind. Then—faint sounds.
Crunch. Crunch.
Footsteps. The noise of metal brushing against leather and voices talking quietly, made hard to hear by the trees between them.
His heart started beating faster.
Erevos spoke, still sounding calm. "Now do you believe me?"
"Could just be travelers," Julian muttered quietly.
"Armed travelers, moving in formation?"
The footsteps got closer. Someone laughed, muffled by distance. Steel pieces clinked together. Julian's eyes looked at the display for a second before he stopped himself.
He didn't want to say it out loud. But Erevos was right.
He pulled his hood over his face and slipped out of the room quietly, moving into the dark shadows of the ruins.
---
Back at the ruin, boots crunched over the broken stones as six figures walked through the destroyed archway. Their eyes looked around the ruins, stopping when they saw the dead bodies lying on the ground.
One of them got down on one knee beside a corpse that was half buried under rocks. He touched the man's neck, though the twisted angle of his spine made it obvious he was dead.
"Who do you think did this?" one of the others asked quietly.
"Could be the Scryer," another one answered, sounding bitter. "This looks like their work."
"Or something worse," a third person added.
The man kneeling stood back up. His hood covered his face, but his voice sounded sharp and certain. "Guessing wastes our time. We'll report this to Captain Monrel. He'll want to see this himself."
The others nodded in agreement. They looked at the dead bodies one last time, then turned north and walked away. Their footsteps faded away, leaving only silence behind.
---
Julian stayed in the trees, keeping his hood low. Running out in the open would be suicide. The trees were better. The shadows were safer. That's what he had been taught since he was little—stay hidden, and maybe you'll survive.
But the glow in front of his eyes ruined everything. No matter how hard he tried to ignore it, the glowing text burned against the sunlight, stuck in his vision.
"And where do you think this noble pilgrimage of yours will lead?"
Julian's body went stiff. He turned his head even though he knew nobody was there. "…You again."
"If hiding is your chosen path, then I commend you," Erevos said. "But perhaps strength might… assist you in this honorable quest of vanishing into obscurity."
Julian frowned at the empty air. "Not sure if you just insulted me, or dressed it up so much I should say thank you."
No answer came. The display changed and became sharper.
[Task Generated]
[Target: HOWLERS]
[Requirement: Eliminate 3]
[Time Limit: 3 Hours]
Julian's stomach dropped. "…Howlers?"
"You are Arc Three, are you not? Surely this is manageable."
Julian muttered back, "Arc Three, sure. But on the human scale? More like Tier Two."
"Exactly my point."
He let out a groan and dragged one hand down his face. "I'll pass."
Several minutes later, he reached the opening of a cave—hidden under a curtain of hanging moss with an entrance barely wide enough for a person to fit through. To anyone walking by, it looked like nothing more than stone and shadow.
But Julian knew the truth.
He ducked inside where the air felt damp and cool. His hand touched the wall until his fingers found the groove that had been carved there a long time ago. He pressed it and the stone shifted with a quiet click. Part of the wall slid inward, showing a sloping passage lit by faint glowing symbols carved into the rock.
He stepped through the opening.
The narrow tunnel led him into a wide room below. It felt cozy in its own way. A fire pit made from stacked stones sat in one corner. Woven mats covered the floor. Makeshift shelves had been carved into the rock walls, filled with jars and folded pieces of cloth. Two wooden doors led to smaller rooms—one was his room, one was hers.
A home hidden where nobody would find it.
Julian let out a long breath. He kicked off his boots and dirt scattered across the mats. His muscles ached and his mind felt foggy. He was halfway to falling into his chair when a voice stopped him completely.
"Were you able to get it?"
Julian froze in place. Slowly, he turned around.
His mother stood near the doorway, looking pale and weak, with her hand pressed against the frame to hold herself up. Her hair used to be bright but had gotten dull, and her voice sounded tired from sickness, but her eyes—still sharp and steady—locked onto him.
He looked away from her. The disappointment felt heavier than the wounds still burning on his arm. "I did. But I lost it."
She coughed, a rough sound that shook her body. Still, she smiled at him through it. "It's okay, Julian. You did your best."
His hands closed into tight fists. "It's not."
Heavy silence filled the space between them. Then, quieter, almost like he was talking to himself, he whispered: "If only I were stronger…"
Her steps were slow and careful, but she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him. Even though she felt so fragile, her warmth pressed deep into him. "With time, Julian… you'll become stronger."
Then she let him go and turned back toward her room. The door clicked shut behind her.
Julian let out a sigh and dropped into his chair. His eyes closed—just for a moment—until light flickered against his eyelids.
He opened them.
The display burned brightly in front of him again.
[Target: HOWLERS]
[Requirement: Eliminate 3]
[Time Limit: 2:35:42]
His eyes drifted toward the closed door—his mother's room, locked away in silence.
His jaw tightened.
"…Fine."