By the time evening crawled across Grayfall, Arthur regretted every life choice that had brought him to this moment. Every single one. Even the ones that had nothing to do with ruins or eldritch wolf monsters. If someone asked him to list his greatest regrets, "agreeing to come back to the glowing ruin death cave" was now #1 with no competition.
The sky was purple and orange, fading into a heavy indigo that felt like warning colors. The village was strangely quiet—too quiet—like everyone was holding their breath. Even the fields seemed to pause. The birds were gone. The wind had stopped. It was the kind of silence that usually came right before someone in a horror story said, "Did you hear that?" and died immediately afterward.
Leon walked beside Arthur, wearing a determined expression that Arthur wished he could steal. Garran followed behind with his sword strapped tight and his posture tense, like a coiled spring made of steel and anger. Aeloria walked in front, her steps light and controlled, her long braid swaying like a silver ribbon catching moonlight. Her ears twitched occasionally, which Arthur tried not to stare at for too long because it felt rude and somehow dangerous.
Seraphine came too, though she complained for half the walk. "This forest is filthy," she grumbled as she shoved branches away with the disgust of someone touching something sticky. "Why do you all live like this? Dirt everywhere. Rocks everywhere. Air that smells like wet leaves. Do you not have standards?"
Arthur muttered, "Sorry our forest isn't made of gold tiles…"
Ella trailed quietly behind them, hugging a small pouch of herbs and bandages. Arthur had told her to stay behind, but she'd crossed her arms and said, "No," with the kind of stubbornness that could make mountains move, apparently.
Leon glanced at her every few seconds, checking if she was cold, injured, or even slightly uncomfortable. Aeloria noticed this and made a soft, amused sound under her breath that Arthur pretended not to hear.
They reached the elm ring shortly after twilight deepened. The huge old trees stood like guardians, their roots twisting around the stone platform that housed the hidden shrine. The faint blue glow beneath the ground pulsed again—slowly, rhythmically, almost like a heartbeat.
Arthur flinched every time it happened. "I—I hate that glow. I hate it so much."
Aeloria crouched near the entrance, inspecting the stone crack. "It has widened," she said, tracing the lines with her fingertips. "The relic is responding faster than yesterday."
Arthur shot upright. "IT'S GETTING WORSE?!"
"Yes."
"That was not reassurance. Why did you say it like reassurance?!"
Aeloria didn't answer him because she had already climbed halfway down the narrow slope that slanted into the ruin's entrance.
Garran went next. Leon followed. Seraphine dusted off her boots and muttered something about hazard pay. Ella hesitated, but Arthur gently squeezed her hand. She blushed immediately so he panicked and let go, waving awkwardly like an idiot.
"I—it's dangerous," Arthur said. "Stay behind me. Or beside me. But not—don't be in front. Ever."
Ella nodded quickly, clutching the pouch tighter.
Arthur took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness with all the bravery of a man about to faint. The air was cool and metallic, and as he descended, he heard faint humming—like gears turning somewhere beneath stone. The deeper they went, the clearer the humming became. Not mechanical exactly. More like something trying to wake up after a very long nap.
Leon lit a torch. The flame cast long shadows against carved walls—circles, runes, and shapes that Arthur recognized from books he'd skimmed in Aldren's study but never actually understood. Some glyphs glowed faintly, pulsing in sync with the ruin's heartbeat-like rhythm.
Arthur swallowed. "This is horrible. Why does it look like a mage academy and a machine shop had a cursed baby…?"
"That's Lumosys relic tech," Aeloria responded. "Not magic. Not engineering. Something in between."
Arthur sighed loudly. "Great. Hybrid nightmares."
Seraphine snapped her fingers. "Be quiet. I'm trying to observe."
Leon whispered, "My lord, stay close to me."
"I am. Trust me. I am glued to you emotionally right now."
"Emotionally?"
"Yes. Emotionally."
Garran signaled for them to stop. Ahead of them, the narrow passage opened into a massive circular chamber. The ceiling curved up so high it was swallowed in darkness. The air thrummed. The humming was louder here—deep, vibrating, almost like sound waves moving through bone.
A large central structure dominated the middle of the room—like a pedestal of stone intertwined with metal rings. The rings rotated slowly, releasing faint sparks of light every so often. Lines of glowing blue carved into the floor connected to it like veins feeding into a heart.
Arthur stared, jaw hanging open. "I want to leave."
Aeloria stepped forward. "This is the core."
Leon grabbed Arthur's arm. "Stay behind me."
"I AM."
Garran circled the pedestal. "It's activating itself. Something in these lines is channeling energy toward the upper rings."
Seraphine pulled out a small notebook and started scribbling. "A mechanism that powers itself… the potential value is—"
Arthur snapped. "STOP THINKING ABOUT PROFIT RIGHT NOW BEFORE WE ALL DIE."
Ella tugged his sleeve gently. "Lord Arthur… look…"
At the base of the pedestal, the stone had cracked open. Inside, faint light shivered like trapped mist. When Arthur leaned closer—carefully, very carefully—he saw something inside that made his heart stop.
It was a sphere.
Floating.
Turning slowly.
Made of layered crystal and metal.
And it glowed with the same blue light as the projection that had said ERROR yesterday.
Aeloria stiffened. "It's an echo core."
Arthur blinked. "A what?"
"A memory fragment," she said. "A piece of something—maybe the god, maybe the relic—stored for safekeeping."
Garran's jaw tightened. "Aldren knew something like this was here."
Arthur felt sick. "So… so that projection yesterday… that was this thing trying to… contact us?"
"It was trying," Aeloria said. "But it is damaged. Corrupted. It may restore with time."
Arthur tugged at his hair. "I don't want it restored! I want it de-restored! I want it turned off! How do we turn off a dead god's glowing memory marble?!"
"No idea," Aeloria said calmly.
"WHY ARE YOU SO CALM?!"
Seraphine leaned in, ignoring him. "If this could be repaired—"
Garran cut her off with a glare sharp enough to cut stone. "If this is repaired, it might destroy this entire region."
Seraphine cleared her throat. "Well. That is also a potential outcome, yes."
Leon kept staring at the core. Arthur saw something in his expression—curiosity mixed with worry. "My lord… yesterday it reacted to you. Maybe it needs contact."
Arthur shook violently. "NO."
Aeloria nodded thoughtfully. "Possibly."
"NO!"
Garran sighed. "Unfortunately… yes."
"WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT ME TO TOUCH THE RADIOACTIVE GOD BALL?!"
Ella stepped forward, timid but firm. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Don't listen to danger."
Aeloria raised an eyebrow. "His father left him instructions. If Arthur touches it carefully—"
"NO!!!"
They ignored him and kept planning.
Arthur panicked. His breath came faster. The humming grew louder, vibrating in his ribs like invisible fingers tapping through bone.
Then the core pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The metal rings around the pedestal spun faster.
A sudden burst of light shot upward like a pillar, illuminating the entire chamber.
Leon shielded Arthur with his body. Aeloria drew a blade made of strange silver bark. Garran raised his sword. Ella gasped and clung to Arthur's sleeve. Seraphine ducked behind a pillar, scribbling notes even as she cursed loudly.
The pillar of light flickered—then snapped outward like a wave.
Arthur felt it hit him full in the chest.
The room warped. The edges blurred. He smelled burning stone. Saw shapes—figures—ghosts—echoes of something ancient moving through a war that wasn't his. Heard distant voices speaking a language that knotted itself around his skull.
Everything twisted.
Everything turned white.
And he heard a voice—clearer than before, no longer glitching.
"Grayfall heir…
You awaken what was forgotten…"
Another pulse.
Arthur stumbled backward, screaming. "NO—NO I DIDN'T—I DIDN'T MEAN TO—STOP TALKING TO ME—"
Leon dragged him away as cracks spread across the pedestal.
Aeloria shouted, "THE CORE IS OVERLOADING— MOVE!"
Garran roared, "RETREAT NOW!"
Seraphine yelled something unintelligible but definitely rude.
Ella grabbed Arthur's hand tightly and pulled.
The ruin screamed—if stone and metal could scream—and the entire chamber erupted with cascading sparks of blue that flew off the walls like stars breaking free.
Arthur's heart pounded so hard he thought it would explode.
Leon pulled him up the slope, nearly carrying him. Garran blocked falling debris. Aeloria guided Ella out. Seraphine ran faster than Arthur would ever admit.
They burst out of the ruin just as a blast of light shot from the entrance into the sky like a beam.
The trees shook violently. Animals scattered. The earth trembled beneath them.
Arthur collapsed onto the ground panting, trembling uncontrollably.
Aeloria stared at the glowing ruin with shock. "This is… impossible."
Garran wiped sweat from his brow. "It's awakening faster than I thought."
Leon crouched beside Arthur. "My lord… can you breathe?"
Arthur sucked in air. "I want to go home. I want to sleep. I want my blanket. I want— I want—"
Ella sat beside him and held his hand, trying to stop his trembling. "You did good," she whispered. "You're alive."
Seraphine leaned against a tree. "Barely. But alive."
Aeloria looked at Arthur then spoke quietly, almost reluctantly:
"The relic chose you."
Arthur stared at her in horror. "UNC H O O SE ME BACK."
Aeloria shook her head. "There is no undoing. Whatever lives inside that core… it recognizes your blood. It will keep seeking you."
Arthur screamed into his hands, "I HATE THIS WORLD."
Leon patted his back awkwardly. "We're here. We won't let anything take you."
Arthur sniffled. "Promise?"
Leon nodded. "I promise."
Garran added, "You're not alone."
Ella squeezed his hand. "Never alone."
Seraphine shrugged. "You die, I lose money. So no dying."
Aeloria finally said, "Rest now. Tomorrow, we prepare for what comes next."
Arthur looked at the ruin again. The glow pulsed soft… like it was watching.
He whimpered miserably.
Tomorrow was going to be terrible.