The night outside the cave darkens.
Settling the day like a curtain on the forest. It was quiet, the cold wind was carrying sweet aroma of flowers as well as the strange smells of plants, muds and rotten branches, and many more.
The air was breathless.
Rin and Gaja were already fallen in deep sleep. They were wrapped in the thick leaf bedsheet, which rin made in afternoon with leaves and thick branches by sewing them together.
The small fire arround them flickers lowly. It was emitting orange light on the uneven walls of the cave covered in vine.
But,. Limbo was still awake.
Lost in deep thoughts of the strange dream he had... That strange mysterious voice, that strange unclear warning...
He still couldn't forget that.
This wasn't the first time when he had this type of dream, he encountered this type of dream before starting the journey.
Peace is the lover of death...
...but, the chaos will never allow it...
The earlier words were repeated in mind.
While they also echoes in the chest like a heavy thunder roars.
It didn't sound like a nightmare though.
But rather..
It felt like someone was speaking with wifi call directly into his mind.
Limbo rubbed his head, while thinking
Why does it feel like this sound is familiar to him, but he didn't remember anyone he met before.
Unconsciously he touched the pendant with his hand.
It become cold by the wind.
And was still silent.
Just like completely ordinary again.
Like nothing had happened ever.
He stared at it for a long moment.
"...you protected me back there," he said while whispering. Thanks buddy.
The Pendant didn't glow.
Didn't react.
But deep down in Limbo's chest something vibrated faintly.
... unknown... Unfinished.
But then, something grabs his attention pulling him towards it.
A invisible thread of pull.
A strange sensation.
It was faint but he didn't make mistake to sense.
It was more like something was calling him.
Limbo leave the bed and stood up slowly. He try not to wake others.
The cave was large in size which he noticed now. The root were hanging from the ceiling like a twisted vines.
The cave was embedded with small tiny shining rocks in some places, they were giving the cave beautiful and different look with vibe.
His eyes were searching something, and then.
He felt a stronger pull.
Limbo thought,
"Where was it coming from..?"
He just follow the direction of pull almost instinctively.
Every step after step, his footsteps echoed softly against the stone floor.
He was taking step carefully while sensing the pull.
Suddenly a thought comes in Limbo's mind.
He opened his system.
Run scanning...
—system activated.
Searching...
Scanning the area....
No result detected.
Strangely system shown nothing.
But Limbo inner gut feeling doesn't slow down a little, they were screaming loudly.
His instinct didn't care about what system's results showed.
The pull only grow stronger.
And then...
He reached a certain a far part of the wall.
Rin's vines were convered that area also.
They were thick.
Multilayered, bulid to block even tiny insects and also the beast. Rin prepared this because Limbo was unconscious after sometime as they arrived, she had do something for protection.
Only Limbo knew how to draw the circle —by his parents.
But something shines through the cracks.
A faint golden glow. A tiny sparks like.
Limbo bend to take a closer look.
There... You are.
There was .... Something strange.
Not... Just a symbol.
He gently brushed aside the vines around the area.
As the area become visible, what he saw made his breath hitch.
There was,
A lotus petals shape...
With a peacock feather pattern carved on the stone.
It was beautiful...
Full of ancient vibe, Limbo thought.
Or who would come to carved something like this in the cave.
Impossible no one will come?
Limbo whispered,
"...what is this?"
He gently raised his hands and touched the surface.
Suddenly a reaction.
The air around trembled, like something was sleeping and woke up slightly.
System also suddenly reacted.
[WARNING: Unknown Artifact Detected]
[Classification: Forbidden]
[Access denied.]
Limbo's heart jumped with excitement and curiosity.
"Denied...?"
He tried again, this time he placed his both hands on it.
But, same result.
[ Access denied.]
More vines were blocking the rest of the symbol.
Maybe there is more symbols behind them. Limbo thought in mind.
"Are these keys...?"
Or some kind of map..
"Maybe a door?"
His pulse quickened.
The symbols flickered once but they went back to as they were.
Limbo felt the faintest warm under his palm.
Like a heartbeat.
Why here...?
Why me...? Limbo was confused many strange things were happening.
Limbo tried the scan again.
[Scanning...]
[Search incomplete.]
[Authorization insufficient. User lacks the ability.]
So I'm not ready, that's what are you saying.
But what's hidden in there, that needs a eligibility.
Limbo stepped back.
It was disappointing.
But there was another feeling too.
A promise.
This time wasn't to use force.
The symbols would be there also present even later.
Waiting...
He covered the walk again, carefully not to disturb the rest of others.
And he returned to the campfire.
But he decided to come here once again after he completes the Alpha.
To try again...
Rin's sleeping face was glowing faintly reflecting the light, and her bag under head.
Gaja was sleeping on back like a child carefree.
Limbo checked of there sleep was disturbed or not by him.
And he lay and relax, just a little.
Limbo suddenly recall the moment before their sleep.
They talked about the battlefield.
About the pendant and the beast cores..
Until the exhaustion finally shut their eyes into the sleep.
But some how Limbo wasn't able to sleep, maybe due to he was asleep for more than twenty hours.
...you reacted to something today, huh.
He closed his fist, while talking to pendant.
"And you responded again just now.
...But not earlier when I trying hard..."
He remembered a moment from the dream, where mysterious voice asked or tell...
"Why did you choose a child to bear it..?"
He swallowed hard.
Who was he speaking?
His parents? The pendant? The Alpha?
Or something even deeper?
He lay down with many questions on head.
But he fell in sleep.
The system flickered once more.
[ Unknown presence near host's subconscious ne detected. ]
[ Monitoring initiated. ]
Limbo ignore, whatever remind me tommorow.
For now he decided to rest.
Somewhere far far away...
A roar was answering the silent night.
Not the Beta nor the minions, it was something older watching while waiting.
The stone symbols glowed faintly again...
Only for a second.