# Chapter 17
The smoke from the village below had turned out to be nothing more than a controlled burn—farmers clearing old fields for spring planting. The relief had been immediate and almost embarrassing in its intensity. They'd rushed down the mountainside expecting disaster and found instead an elderly farmer who'd offered them fresh bread and directions to the nearest inn.
Now, three hours later, they sat in a sun-dappled clearing, the earlier tension replaced by something more complex. The bread was gone, their water skins refilled from a clear stream, and the conversation had somehow wandered from practical concerns to the stories that seemed to follow them everywhere.
"You know," Riku said, leaning back against a fallen log, "all this talk about the Master got me thinking about other legends. Older ones."
*Here we go again,* Saanvi thought, but she found herself curious despite her wariness. There was something about Riku's stories that felt different from the usual tavern tales—more personal, more real.
"Such as?" Devran asked, though his tone suggested he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
Riku's expression grew more serious than usual. "There's a place. Not far from here, actually. I've been avoiding it for months, but..." He glanced around the group. "Something feels different now. Like maybe it's time."
Tianlan shifted uncomfortably. "What kind of place?"
"The kind that makes grown men disappear," Riku said simply. "But also the kind that might have answers. There are ruins there—old ones. And something else. Something that was sealed away for a reason."
*Of course there are ruins. There are always ruins.*
"What kind of something?" Saanvi pressed.
Riku was quiet for a long moment, his usual cheerful demeanor replaced by something almost vulnerable. "A weapon. Maybe. Or a test. The stories aren't clear. But they all agree on one thing—it responds to celestial energy. To people who've been touched by the heavens."
Vihaan's posture changed almost imperceptibly, a slight stiffening that Saanvi only caught because she'd been watching him more closely since their interrupted moment on the ridge.
*He knows something. Again.*
"How do you know about this place?" Devran asked, his soldier's instincts clearly pinging.
"I've been there. Once. Didn't go far—just far enough to know the stories weren't exaggerated." Riku's hand moved unconsciously to his chest, as if remembering pain. "The place... it tests you. Not everyone passes."
"Tests how?" Tianlan's voice was carefully neutral, but Saanvi caught the tension in his shoulders.
"That's just it—I don't know. I couldn't get close enough to find out. The defenses kicked in before I'd gone twenty feet." Riku's grin returned, but it was strained. "Let's just say I learned I'm not as celestially blessed as I thought."
*None of us are what we seem,* Saanvi thought, looking around at her companions. *We're all hiding something.*
"So why bring it up now?" Wei Zhan asked bluntly.
"Because," Riku said, meeting his gaze, "I think one of you might be able to get further than I did. And if this Master everyone's talking about is real, if he's connected to the celestial realm somehow, then maybe what's hidden there could help us understand what we're really dealing with."
The silence that followed was heavy with implications. They all knew they were walking toward something dangerous, something that might be beyond their ability to handle. If there was even a chance of finding an advantage...
"Where?" Saanvi asked finally.
"Half a day's walk east," Riku said. "Through the old growth, past the standing stones. You'll know it when you see it."
*No turning back now.*
"Then we go," Devran said, standing and brushing off his pants. "If there's something there that might help us, we need to find it."
"Are we sure about this?" Tianlan asked, but he was already reaching for his pack.
"No," Saanvi said honestly. "But we're going anyway."
---
The forest changed as they walked deeper into its heart. The trees grew taller, older, their trunks thick enough that it would take four people holding hands to encircle them. The underbrush thinned, as if the ancient giants hoarded all the available sunlight for themselves.
"This place feels..." Xie Lian paused, searching for words. "Sacred. Like a temple."
"It is, in a way," Riku said, his voice unusually quiet. "The old stories say the gods walked here once. Before they retreated to the heavens."
*Before they abandoned us, you mean,* Saanvi thought, but didn't say it aloud.
Wei Zhan stumbled over a root, and Xie Lian's hand shot out to steady him. The contact lasted a moment longer than necessary, both of them freezing like deer caught in torchlight.
"Thanks," Wei Zhan mumbled, his cheeks flushed.
"Careful," Xie Lian said softly. "The roots here are treacherous."
*The roots aren't the only treacherous thing here,* Saanvi thought, watching the way they looked at each other.
Devran had fallen into step beside Tianlan, their earlier awkwardness replaced by something more intense. Every few steps, their hands would brush as they walked, and both would tense as if struck by lightning.
*They're going to drive themselves crazy if they don't figure this out soon.*
"You're being unusually quiet," Vihaan said, appearing at her side with his usual silent grace.
"Just thinking," she replied, hyper-aware of his presence beside her.
"About?"
*About the way you look at me when you think I'm not watching. About what you were going to say on the ridge. About how complicated everything has become.*
"About what we might find ahead," she said instead.
"Worried?"
"Always." She glanced at him. "Aren't you?"
"Yes," he admitted quietly. "But not about the ruins."
*What does that mean?*
Before she could ask, Riku's voice cut through the forest quiet. "There. Do you see it?"
They emerged into a circular clearing, and Saanvi's breath caught. The ruins weren't what she'd expected. Instead of crumbling stone and broken columns, a massive door was set into the hillside itself, as if the earth had parted to reveal something that had been waiting beneath.
The door was pristine, unmarked by age or weather. Symbols covered its surface—not carved, but somehow part of the stone itself, as if they'd grown there naturally. Vines had tried to claim it, but they withered and died within inches of the surface, creating a perfect circle of dead vegetation around the entrance.
"Well," Tianlan said, his voice carefully controlled, "that's ominous."
"It's magnificent," Xie Lian breathed, stepping closer.
"It's dangerous," Devran corrected, his hand moving instinctively to his sword hilt.
"It's all three," Riku said cheerfully. "Welcome to the Door of Veiled Echoes."
*Of course it has a dramatic name. They always do.*
Saanvi approached the door cautiously, her skin prickling with the sense of old magic. "The symbols... they're not like anything I've seen before."
"Celestial script," Tianlan said, his voice tight. "Old celestial script."
"Can you read it?" Devran asked.
Tianlan shook his head. "Some of it. But it's... archaic. Like trying to read a language that's been dead for centuries."
"What does it say?" Saanvi pressed.
"Something about worthiness. About proving... something. And..." He paused, his face going pale. "About the prince who fell."
*The prince who fell. Why does that sound familiar?*
"Well," Riku said, "only one way to find out if any of us are worthy. Who wants to go first?"
The silence stretched uncomfortably. They all knew what he was asking—who was willing to risk whatever the door's defenses might do to someone unworthy.
"I'll try," Saanvi said finally.
"No," Vihaan said sharply. "Let me."
"Actually," Devran interrupted, "I should—"
"Oh, for heaven's sake," Tianlan muttered, stepping forward. "I'll do it. I'm the one who can actually read some of this mess."
*Of course. Of course he'd throw himself forward like that.*
"Tianlan—" Devran started, reaching for his arm.
"It's fine," Tianlan said, but his voice was tighter than usual. "If anyone's going to get blasted by celestial defenses, it might as well be the one who actually has some celestial heritage."
He pressed his palm against the door, and they all held their breath.
Nothing happened.
"Huh," Tianlan said, frowning. "That's... unexpected."
"Maybe you need to channel power?" Xie Lian suggested.
Tianlan nodded, his eyes beginning to glow with soft white light. He pressed his hand against the door again, this time with obvious effort.
Still nothing.
"This doesn't make sense," he muttered, stepping back. "The door should have reacted to celestial energy."
"Let me try," Saanvi said, moving past him.
She placed her palm against the cold stone, half-expecting pain or rejection. Instead, she felt... nothing. The door was as unresponsive as a normal wall.
One by one, they all tried. Devran with his hand on his sword, ready for battle. Wei Zhan with obvious reluctance and a muttered complaint about "mystical nonsense." Riku with theatrical flair and a dramatic monologue about destiny.
Nothing. The door remained stubbornly sealed.
"This is ridiculous," Wei Zhan said, crossing his arms. "Maybe it's broken. Or maybe there never was anything behind it."
"It's not broken," Vihaan said quietly. "It's waiting."
"For what?" Saanvi asked.
"For the right person," he replied, his gaze shifting to Xie Lian.
*Oh. Of course.*
"Me?" Xie Lian looked genuinely startled. "But I'm not... I don't have any special abilities. I'm just..."
"Just what?" Devran asked gently.
"Just me," Xie Lian finished helplessly.
"Well, 'just you' is the only one who hasn't tried," Riku pointed out. "Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Don't ask that question," Tianlan said immediately. "Never ask that question."
"Right. Sorry. What's the *best* that could happen?"
*Still a terrible question, but at least it's optimistic.*
Xie Lian approached the door slowly, his expression uncertain. "I really don't think—"
"Just touch it," Saanvi said gently. "Like the rest of us did."
He reached out tentatively, his fingertips barely brushing the stone.
The effect was immediate and overwhelming. The symbols blazed to life, not with the harsh white light of Tianlan's celestial energy, but with a warm, golden radiance that seemed to pulse like a heartbeat. The dead vines around the door crumbled to dust, and the ground beneath their feet trembled.
"Holy shit," Wei Zhan breathed, and no one bothered to correct his language.
The door began to move, grinding open with the sound of stone on stone. But it wasn't just opening—it was welcoming. The light that spilled out from within was warm and inviting, nothing like the ominous darkness they'd expected.
"Okay," Xie Lian said, his voice shaking slightly. "That was... unexpected."
"Unexpected?" Riku laughed, but it was strained. "Boy, the door practically threw itself open for you. I think 'unprecedented' might be more accurate."
As they stared into the revealed chamber, something moved in the light within. Not threateningly—more like... recognition. Like something had been waiting for this moment.
A small pedestal rose from the floor, and on it sat a box. Not large, about the size of a book, but crafted from what looked like crystallized starlight. Even from the doorway, they could see the intricate carvings that covered its surface, symbols that seemed to shift and change as the light played across them.
The box rose from the pedestal, floating gently through the air toward them. Toward Xie Lian specifically.
"Uh," Xie Lian said, taking a step back. "That's... that's not normal, right?"
"Define normal," Tianlan said faintly.
The box came to rest in Xie Lian's hands with the gentleness of a butterfly landing on a flower. The moment it touched his skin, the golden light faded, leaving them in ordinary daylight once more.
"It's warm," Xie Lian said wonderingly. "And it's... humming. Like it's happy."
*A happy magical box. That's not ominous at all.*
"Can you open it?" Devran asked, moving closer.
Xie Lian turned the box in his hands, examining it from all angles. "I don't see a latch or a keyhole. It's seamless."
"Try pressing something," Riku suggested. "Or maybe it responds to touch like the door did."
Xie Lian ran his fingers over the surface, but nothing happened. The box remained stubbornly closed.
"Maybe it's not time yet," Vihaan said quietly. "Maybe it will open when you need it to."
"Need it for what?" Xie Lian asked, but Vihaan just shook his head.
"I don't know. But I think... I think this is important. More important than we realize."
*Everything is more important than we realize lately. I'm starting to miss the simple days of just worrying about bandits and bad weather.*
"So what do we do now?" Wei Zhan asked. "We've got a magic box that chose Xie Lian, a door that opened for him specifically, and absolutely no idea what any of it means."
"Now we figure out why," Saanvi said firmly. "And we make sure that whatever's in that box doesn't fall into the wrong hands."
"Speaking of hands," Riku said cheerfully, "you might want to hang onto that thing pretty tightly. I have a feeling it's going to be important."
Xie Lian clutched the box closer to his chest. "I still don't understand why it chose me."
"Maybe that's the point," Tianlan said softly. "Maybe it chose you precisely because you don't seek power or glory. Maybe it chose you because you're... you."
The look that passed between them was soft, almost tender. Wei Zhan's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
*Oh, that's going to be a problem.*
"Well," Devran said, clearing his throat, "whatever the reason, we should probably get moving. Standing around in the open with a mysterious celestial artifact doesn't seem like the best long-term strategy."
"Agreed," Saanvi said, though part of her wanted to stay and study the door more. "Riku, is there somewhere safe we can go? Somewhere we can figure out what we're dealing with?"
"I know a place," Riku said. "Hidden cave system about two hours from here. Used to be a hermit's retreat. Perfect for lying low and contemplating mysterious magical boxes."
"Lead the way," Saanvi said.
As they gathered their things and prepared to leave, she caught Xie Lian staring at the box in his hands with an expression she couldn't quite read.
"You okay?" she asked quietly.
"I think so," he said, but his voice was uncertain. "It's just... this feels like the beginning of something. Something big."
*It always does,* she thought. *The question is whether we're ready for it.*
"Then we'll face it together," she said aloud. "Whatever comes next."
Xie Lian smiled, the first genuine smile she'd seen from him since the door opened. "Together. I like the sound of that."
*So do I,* she realized. *More than I probably should.*
As they walked away from the ruins, the door grinding shut behind them, none of them noticed the figure watching from the treeline. Or the way the shadows seemed to follow them as they disappeared into the forest.
The box in Xie Lian's hands pulsed once, a gentle warmth that only he could feel, and then settled into quiescence. Waiting.
*This is just the beginning,* Saanvi thought, glancing back at the now-sealed door. *Whatever that box contains, whatever drew it to Xie Lian... we're in something much bigger than we realized.*
*And I have the feeling that's exactly what someone wants.*