The sun hung low over the mountains as Chen Yu wandered beyond the village's familiar paths. He wasn't sure what pulled him that day—perhaps it was boredom, perhaps the quiet whisper of something he could not name.
His feet carried him deeper into the forest than he had ever dared to go.
The air grew cooler here, shaded by ancient pines whose towering trunks swallowed the sunlight. Moss-covered stones littered the narrow animal trails, and tangled roots snaked across the ground like sleeping serpents. As he pushed through a dense thicket, something caught his eye—a path he had never seen before.
It was faint, half-hidden beneath fallen leaves and creeping vines, but it was there—a trail that veered sharply away from the familiar woods, winding toward the cliffs.
Curiosity sparked in his chest. Where does this lead?
Without hesitation, Chen Yu followed it.
The path twisted and climbed, leading him to a place forgotten by time—a stone platform, cracked and overgrown, resting at the edge of a towering cliff. At its center sat a strange mechanism—a circular stone disk covered in intricate carvings, faintly glowing as if still alive after countless years.
Chen Yu brushed away the vines and dust, tracing the patterns with his fingers.
Click.
The stone beneath him shifted.
Before he could react, a brilliant light erupted from the carvings, encircling him in a web of symbols. The ground beneath his feet gave way, and he plummeted into the darkness as the ancient mechanism activated.
When the light faded, Chen Yu found himself no longer in the forest.
He stood in the heart of ancient ruins—a forgotten place deep beneath the earth, where broken pillars stretched toward a cavernous ceiling, and distant flames flickered in stone lanterns that should have long been cold.
His heart thundered in his chest. He stumbled forward, drawn by something he could not explain.
The moment I stepped through the crumbling archway, everything changed.
The forest disappeared behind me, replaced by cold stone walls and shadows that seemed to breathe. The air tasted different here—thick and charged, like the calm before a storm.
Then, I heard it. A voice. Neither angry nor kind, but filled with weight and authority.
"You have entered the trial of the ten legacies. Only one shall be granted now. The rest will remain sealed, waiting for you to prove your worth."
A figure shimmered before me—neither fully human nor machine—an ancient guardian bound to this place.