The forest around the silver were different, but this was even more weirder. Here was no birds.
No wind.
Only the sound of their own shoes, and dry leaves that they were stepping as they were walking.
System was showing Limbo faint message,
This time system was giving more information than just short notice,
Like a distorted graphs, static lines.
[ Mana density: fluctuation detected
]
[ Unknown pattern signature - partial match: Guardian class. ]
Limbo was leading the path.
"Looks like we're on the right path," Limbo muttered.
Rin didn't reply or say something. She was busy watching surrounding, how even the smallest plants have bent towards same direction. East.
As if they were reacting to some invisible attraction.
Gaja was walking silently, he was still recovering with Rin's medicines. He was staring at his arm. Mark on his hand didn't glow since last time, yet he was feeling under his skin, that something is still about to erupt.
"Hey" Limbo said quietly, "if you feel anything unusual tell me before it gets worse." Gaja nodded, "yeah. It's not like a pain... But I feel as if someone is calling me."
"That's the worst brother, I'm more worried because of that," Limbo replied.
Hours passed.
The tree arround them started to reduce and balck stone size increased. They have Stange carving on them, they weren't natural they were too clean and fresh, as if...
Rin knelt and started to check by brushing, but she was careful, and removing dust away.
"These symbols are similar to what we have seen before, at first tree."
Limbo looked at them with suspicious eyes. Hey started to analyse and said.
"But these... aren't complete." Rather,
It looked as if carved by hands, but recently.
"But how can that be?" Rin questions.
"But it's old carving, these stroke marks aren't fresh."
"Yeah, but my gut feeling doesn't accepting that." Limbo replied.
"You mean... Someone before us...?" Gaja asked.
"Yeah, or maybe something learned what we did," Limbo answered.
"Stay on guard guys."
As they marched deeper, a air was carrying faint whispers, it was constant, like mechanical and as if a chantting.
But they didn't know where it coming from. Everyone was taking steps carefully.
Limbo about to asked system but
The system flickered,
[ Audio pattern detected: decoding..]
[ Message source: under the ground. ]
"Underground!" Limbo said.
Gaja looked around as he heard, "we're surrounded by stone and roots. What does it mean Li?" Gaja asked.
Limbo was staring at a direction, and points towards it. "That."
Between the trees, the land was pressed down. A huge hole was opened inthe middle, it was surrounded and filled with fog, that was strange. As if something static glitch screen.
A huge stone pillars were surrounding it in a circle, each one was marked with some ancient runes that was emitting faint red light.
System confirmed.
[ Energy signal Detected. ]
[ Core Fragment: probable location ]
"Is that so.. ?"
"But you aren't confirming that," Limbo said to system.
Rin, "did you say something?"
He nodded and rejected.
As they moved forward, Rin alert everyone, "did you hear that?"
"The same metallic sound, like a chains were dragged by someone, and they hit on the stone." She explained them.
Then the silence was filled the atmosphere.
But suddenly, Limbo raised his hands and summon his spear. "Everyone stay behind me."
As he move closer to the corner, the activate the scanner and ask to scan.
System run the scan...
[ Surface stability: 42% ]
[ Heat signature: none found ]
[ Uper surface activity: fluctuation detected. ]
Suddenly,
The ground under them tremble.
A pulse of energy burst outward. It wasn't strong that to harm them, but strong enough to shake them, and leave a taste of iron in the air.
Gaja's mark flared again, just once like a heartbeat.
"Limbo," he said in hurry.
"It's happening again and this time the calling is stronger than before."
Limbo grind his teeth, "I think the second guardian or whatever it is not in slumber."
"Rather awake..."
Limbo was standing near corner while looking at down. Suddenly, he takes few steps back from the fog.
"I thing something is waiting for us to go down."
Rin frown, "so what should we do next?"
"Should we wait for it comes up?"
Limbo smirked faintly, "why wait?"
"We should make it appear by himself, and trigger it on our terms."
"Is it even possible?" Gaja asked.
And also.
"What should we do if it appears, we have to decide that also."
Limbo nods his head.
He opened his console, and the line of code flash on screen.
If(terrain.depth>50 && energy.node==active){
Triggered false signal("target trapped");
}
"What are you doing?" Rin asked him.
"Trying to used my abilities to draw it out. And testing, If it can draw or not?" Limbo explains.
"Are you sure about this?" Gaja asked.
"Absolutely not," Limbo said quick.
"But it's better to face it in open, rather than trapped us."
"Even worse, it will might crawled if we're resting."
The command executed. And a bright light flash on surface of the hole, like signal flash made of light and data.
The fog reacted. And it travels upward while spinning, it's colors shitfts from gray to bloody red.
Something deep in hole reacted.
A voice like metallic and strange echoes from the hole.
"...Unauthorised access... Identification: unknown... "
The runes on the pillars erupts, spreading light through the ground in complex and strange patterns.
Limbo tightened his teeth, "found you the Second Guardian."
The air shifted, and grow. The fog began to take form, tall and multihands, with armour made of stone and almost as if circuits. Its eyes were burning bright red and opened.
Limbo summons his spear.
But, system pop-up another notification,
[ Alert: multiple Signals detected. ]
[ Second entity: active - count>2. ]
Rin was looking with wide eyes. "I think it's not alone?"
Limbo spin his spear.
Small sparks was bursting from its edge.
"Yeah."
"Then let's see how long they can hide."
But suddenly, the second guardian roared.
And ground near the whole started to split open itself.