Chapter 25: The Living Signal
The pendant had always guided Adrian to places — rooftops, ruins, caverns buried beneath the city. But now, a week after Elias's warning, it began to behave differently.
It pulsed not when he walked past murals or archives, but when he crossed paths with certain people. At first, Adrian thought it was coincidence. The relic warmed faintly in crowded jeepneys, in office corridors, even in the cafeteria line. But the pattern became clear: it wasn't reacting to locations anymore. It was reacting to someone.
That realization unsettled him more than any cavern.
One evening, as he left the office with Leah, the pendant flared suddenly, harder than usual. Adrian froze, clutching his chest. Leah turned, eyes narrowing. "It's reacting again."
Adrian scanned the street. The crowd moved normally — vendors packing up, students laughing, couples arguing. But the pendant pulsed harder, frantic. Then Adrian saw her.
A woman in her late twenties, carrying a stack of books, walking quickly down the sidewalk. She looked ordinary — tired eyes, hair tied back, clothes simple. But the pendant burned against Adrian's chest, glowing faintly beneath his shirt.
Leah noticed too. "It's her," she whispered.
Adrian's stomach dropped. "Why? She doesn't look like…" He trailed off, realizing how foolish that sounded. Hunters didn't look extraordinary either. Neither did cultivators. Ordinary faces hid extraordinary truths.
The woman glanced at them briefly, then kept walking. Adrian hesitated, torn between caution and curiosity. Elias's warning echoed in his mind: Relics don't reveal themselves without reason. And when they stir, hunters follow.
But the pendant pulsed harder, demanding.
Adrian followed. Leah stayed close, her aura faintly golden, her eyes sharp. They trailed the woman through side streets until she entered a small bookstore tucked between two apartment blocks. Adrian stopped outside, chest heaving, pendant glowing faintly.
Leah crossed her arms. "If we go in, we're crossing a line. She might be ordinary. Or she might be dangerous."
Adrian clenched his fists. "The pendant hasn't been wrong yet."
They stepped inside. The bookstore smelled of paper and dust, shelves stacked high with forgotten titles. The woman stood behind the counter, arranging her books. She looked up, startled.
"Can I help you?" she asked, voice calm but wary.
Adrian swallowed hard. "I… don't know. My name's Adrian."
She studied him, then glanced at Leah. Her eyes lingered on Adrian's chest, where the pendant glowed faintly beneath his shirt. For a moment, her expression shifted — recognition, faint but undeniable.
"You carry it," she said quietly.
Adrian's breath caught. "You know about this?"
The woman nodded slowly. "My family kept records. Stories of a relic that chose vessels across generations. We called it the Emerald Root. I never thought I'd see it again."
Leah stepped forward, voice sharp. "Who are you?"
The woman hesitated, then spoke. "Isabella Cruz. Archivist. My grandmother saw the light once, decades ago, when the relic revealed itself above Diliman. She told me it would return. And now… it's with you."
Adrian's chest tightened. The pendant pulsed brighter, steady and calm. Isabella wasn't just another face in the crowd. She was connected.
Leah frowned. "If you know its history, then you know the danger. Hunters are already coming for him."
Isabella's gaze hardened. "Hunters will always come. But the relic doesn't choose lightly. If it's with him, then he has a role to play. And if it led him to me, then I do too."
Adrian felt the weight pressing down heavier than ever. The pendant wasn't just guiding him to ruins. It was guiding him to people — allies, maybe, or something more.
He whispered to himself, voice hoarse. "I'll rise. I'll uncover the truth. And I'll carry this legacy."
The pendant pulsed again, brighter than before.
And Adrian Reyes knew the path ahead wasn't just about places buried in history. It was about people — living signals, chosen threads woven into the relic's destiny.