ECHOES OF THE UNKNOWN
Location: Southern Outskirts – Black Zone Dungeon Remnants
Rain pelted the cracked dome of Reina Vārsha's black hunter cloak. The once-scorching portal site was now reduced to a jagged crater of black ash and flickering blue embers. She stood alone, the only one permitted past the second perimeter. Not even S-Ranks from other countries were allowed here.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Zone classified as 'God-Touched' anomaly. Residual divine traces detected.]
Her irises flickered gold for a moment—an unconscious reaction from her Blessing. Reina blinked and focused on the charred glyphs on the ground, still glowing faintly.
"Third one this month… All had identical divine residues. Same glyphs. Same silence."
She knelt and brushed a fingertip along a smoldering rune.
[ANALYSIS: Signature does not match any Pantheon in global databases.]
"That's the terrifying part," she muttered.
She'd seen this type of burn before—only once, deep inside an unranked dungeon that vanished 1.3 seconds after she exited it. No time to scan. No memory of what she fought. Only the glyph remained. That glyph was now here, again.
Behind her, a drone hovered silently, its lenses capturing the site.
"Reina," came the voice of Director Keiko through her earpiece, "our analysts say the residual mana forms resemble divine architecture. The kind we haven't logged. You sure this isn't a fake dungeon?"
"No. It's real. Real enough to leave gods whispering in their sleep."
The drone suddenly spun, its sensors scrambled. Reina turned instantly, hand moving to her sheathed blade—but nothing. The forest was dead quiet. Yet the air trembled.
From the crater's edge, a set of blackened bones disintegrated into dust. The ash swirled, then began forming shapes—letters, as if etched by unseen hands in the storm.
[WORDS IN ANCIENT TONGUE: "He walks again."]
Reina's breath caught. "He…?"
And then the ash fell.
Silence.
She stared into the crater. Something had been here. Something strong enough to erase its own traces. Something that recognized her, even if she didn't recognize it back.
"I don't know who you are," Reina whispered. "But if you're tied to these dungeons… I will find you."
As she turned, lightning struck in the distance—briefly illuminating the sky in blood-red light.