"Help..."
The voice came again.
This time it was clearer.
Kael and Serena both stopped.
It sounded like a man.
Weak.
Scared.
Somewhere ahead.
Serena raised one finger to her lips.
"Quiet."
Kael nodded.
They moved forward slowly.
The forest had become strangely quiet. No birds. No insects. Even the wind seemed to have disappeared.
Kael kept his sword drawn.
Serena walked slightly ahead of him, her eyes moving from tree to tree.
"Do you hear it?" she whispered.
Kael listened.
Nothing.
Then—
"Help..."
It came from their right.
Serena immediately turned.
"There."
They moved between the trees.
Kael pushed aside a large branch.
Nothing.
Only an empty patch of grass.
Serena frowned.
"That's strange."
Kael crouched.
There were footprints.
Several.
But they didn't make sense.
Some went toward the clearing.
Others went away from it.
Then they simply stopped.
"Look."
Serena crouched beside him.
"What?"
Kael pointed at the ground.
"These footprints."
She studied them.
"They're human."
"Yes."
"But look at the direction."
Serena followed the prints with her eyes.
"They lead straight toward the tree."
Kael stood.
The footprints ended directly in front of a large tree.
He walked toward it.
Serena grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait."
Kael stopped.
She looked carefully at the tree.
"Something's wrong."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
The bark looked normal.
The roots looked normal.
But there was a faint blue glow between them.
The same color they had seen earlier.
Kael slowly reached toward it.
"Don't touch it."
He stopped.
Serena stared at the glowing mark.
"I've seen magic before."
"So have I."
"But this..."
She shook her head.
"I don't recognize it."
Kael looked at the symbol.
It was circular.
Several strange lines crossed through the center, forming a shape that almost looked like an eye.
Then—
The symbol disappeared.
Both of them stepped back.
"What was that?" Kael asked.
"I don't know."
Serena looked around.
"We should leave."
Kael nodded.
Then the voice returned.
"Help..."
This time it came from behind them.
They turned.
A young man was standing between the trees.
His clothes were torn.
His face was covered with dirt.
Blood stained one side of his shirt.
Kael immediately lowered his sword slightly.
"Are you one of the missing hunters?"
The man nodded.
"Please..."
He stumbled forward.
"Help me."
Serena rushed over.
"Easy."
She caught his arm before he fell.
"What happened?"
The hunter was breathing heavily.
"We..."
"We were hunting..."
He swallowed.
"Something attacked us."
"What?"
"I don't know."
"It wasn't a monster."
Serena frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The hunter looked terrified.
"It looked like a person."
Kael's expression hardened.
"A person?"
The hunter nodded.
"A man in a black hood."
Kael immediately thought about the figure he had seen in the village several days ago.
The hooded figure.
The one that had disappeared without leaving a trace.
"Did he have any markings?" Kael asked.
The hunter looked at him.
"Markings?"
"Anything strange."
The hunter thought.
"His hand..."
"There was something on his hand."
"What?"
"I don't know."
"It looked like an eye."
Kael and Serena exchanged a glance.
The same symbol.
"Where are the others?" Serena asked.
The hunter's face changed.
"They're..."
He pointed deeper into the forest.
"They're still there."
"Alive?"
"I don't know."
"We were separated."
"Then I ran."
Serena stood.
"We need to find them."
Kael nodded.
The hunter suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
Kael looked at him.
"Why?"
The man's eyes were filled with fear.
"Because he knows you're here."
Kael froze.
"What?"
The hunter stared directly at him.
"He told us..."
"He was waiting for someone."
"Someone who would come looking for the forest."
Serena's expression became serious.
"Who?"
The hunter shook his head.
"I don't know."
Then his body suddenly went limp.
Kael caught him.
"He's unconscious."
Serena checked his breathing.
"Still alive."
She looked toward the dark forest.
"We're not alone."
Kael slowly stood.
His hand tightened around his sword.
"Then let's find out who we're dealing with."
---
They moved deeper into Mistwood.
The injured hunter was hidden in a safe place beneath a large tree. Serena had wrapped his wound before they left.
Neither adventurer spoke much.
Every sound made them stop.
A branch breaking.
Leaves moving.
Their own footsteps.
The forest seemed to be watching them.
After nearly half an hour, they found the first sign of the missing hunters.
A bow.
Broken in half.
Serena picked it up.
"This belonged to one of them."
Kael looked at the ground.
There was blood.
Not much.
But enough.
He followed the trail.
"Someone was dragged."
Serena crouched.
"You're right."
The trail continued toward a small hill.
At the top stood an old stone structure almost completely covered by vines.
Kael looked at it.
"This wasn't on the map."
Serena slowly drew her sword.
"Probably because nobody knew it was here."
They approached carefully.
The entrance was shaped like an arch.
Above it was a symbol.
The same eye-like symbol.
Kael stared.
"This is the same."
Serena nodded.
"Yes."
"Whatever happened to those hunters..."
"It started here."
Kael stepped closer.
A faint voice came from inside.
"Kael..."
He stopped.
His heart skipped.
Serena looked at him.
"What?"
"You heard that?"
"Heard what?"
Kael stared into the darkness.
Someone had called his name.
Not *help.*
Not *adventurer.*
His name.
"Kael..."
The voice came again.
This time it sounded like a woman.
Soft.
Familiar.
Kael's face went pale.
He knew that voice.
Or at least...
He thought he did.
"Kael?"
Serena grabbed his arm.
"Don't go in."
He looked at her.
"I know that voice."
"Whose?"
Kael swallowed.
"I don't know."
The voice came again.
"Kael..."
He stepped toward the entrance.
Serena pulled him back.
"No."
"But—"
"You don't know what's inside."
Kael looked frustrated.
"What if someone needs help?"
"Then we find another way."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"You told me earlier that you wanted to become stronger."
"Yes."
"Then learn something now."
Kael waited.
"Being strong doesn't mean walking into every trap because someone calls for help."
Her words hit him.
Kael slowly lowered his sword.
"...You're right."
Serena smiled faintly.
"Good."
They stepped back.
Then—
A sound came from inside the ruin.
Footsteps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Someone was walking toward them.
Serena raised her sword.
Kael did the same.
A figure appeared in the doorway.
A black cloak.
A hood covering the face.
The same kind of figure Kael had seen in Greenwood.
The stranger stopped.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then the hooded figure slowly raised one hand.
An eye-shaped mark appeared on the back of it.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"It's you."
The figure laughed quietly.
"So you finally noticed."
Serena stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The figure ignored her.
Its attention remained on Kael.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Kael tightened his grip.
"Where are the hunters?"
"Alive."
"Where?"
"Somewhere deeper."
Kael's eyes hardened.
"Release them."
The figure laughed again.
"You still don't understand."
"Understand what?"
The figure slowly lowered its hand.
"This forest isn't the reason I came."
Kael frowned.
"Then why are you here?"
The hooded figure's voice became quiet.
"I'm here because of you."
Silence.
Serena looked at Kael.
Kael stared at the stranger.
"Me?"
"Yes."
The figure took one step forward.
"You've spent seventeen years believing you were worthless."
Kael's expression changed.
Serena immediately noticed.
The figure continued.
"No magic."
"No aura."
"No aptitude."
"That's what they told you, isn't it?"
Kael's hand tightened around his sword.
"How do you know that?"
The hooded figure smiled.
"Because I know what you are."
Kael stepped forward.
"What am I?"
The stranger raised his hand.
The eye-shaped symbol glowed.
"You are the reason your parents disappeared."
Kael froze.
For the first time in years...
The calm expression on his face disappeared.
"My..."
His voice became barely audible.
"Parents?"
The figure laughed softly.
"Yes."
"And if you want the truth..."
"You'll have to come deeper."
The figure turned around and walked into the ruin.
Kael instinctively took a step after him.
Serena grabbed his shoulder.
"Kael."
He stopped.
The stranger disappeared into the darkness.
Then his voice echoed one final time.
"Come alone."
"Or the hunters die."
The entrance fell silent.
Kael stared into the darkness.
His heart was pounding.
For seventeen years, he had wondered where he came from.
For seventeen years, he had imagined countless possibilities.
Now...
Someone had finally claimed to know the truth.
And for the first time...
Kael was afraid of what he might discover.