The forest did not welcome visitors.
It tolerated them.
That was the first thing Kael noticed as he stepped past the broken wooden sign at the edge of Ridgewood Forest.
The air changed.
Not colder.Not darker.
Just… older.
Behind him, the road still held the sounds of the world—distant traffic, voices, wind moving through open space.
Ahead of him—
Silence.
Not peaceful silence.
Watching silence.
Kael adjusted the strap of his bag and walked deeper along the narrow trail. Fallen leaves muffled his footsteps. Tall trees leaned inward as if listening.
He smiled faintly.
This was why he liked places like this.
No noise.No crowds.No pretending.
Just truth.
The Wrong Turn
After twenty minutes, the trail forked.
No sign.No markings.
Left looked darker.Right looked older.
Kael chose right.
Ten minutes later, the path disappeared.
He stopped.
"…That's new."
He turned slowly.
The way back looked unfamiliar.
Not different.
Just… not the same.
The trees behind him didn't look like the ones he'd passed.
A faint unease crept into his chest.
"Okay," he muttered. "Either I zoned out… or I'm lost."
The forest did not answer.
The Stone
That's when he saw it.
Half buried beneath roots.
A slab of black stone.
Smooth. Perfectly cut. Covered in symbols.
Kael stepped closer.
They weren't scratches.
They were carvings.
Seven circular sigils arranged in a ring.
Each different.
Each detailed.
Each alive with meaning he didn't understand.
His breath slowed.
"…Whoa."
At the center of the stone—
A long inscription.
Not in any language he knew.
Yet somehow…
He could read it.
Not with his eyes.
With his mind.
The meaning slid into his thoughts like a whisper:
Seven bore the Marks.Seven held the world together.Six stood against the storm.One became the storm.
Kael's pulse quickened.
More words surfaced.
The Betrayer was sealed.The Devourer was silenced.The End was stopped.
His fingers trembled slightly.
But seals weaken.Silence fades.And what was buried… remembers.
A chill ran through him.
When the Seventh awakens—the world will kneel or break.
Kael stepped back.
His heart pounded.
"…Okay. That's not normal."
The Name That Was Erased
At the bottom of the stone—
One final line.
Different.
Carved deeper.
Scratched over.
Erased.
Someone had tried to destroy it.
But not completely.
One word remained visible:
—RAEL
The first half of the name was gone.
But the ending remained.
The Sound
A growl.
Low.
Close.
Kael froze.
Another growl.
Closer.
Branches snapped somewhere behind him.
His body reacted before his mind did.
He ran.
Leaves crushed underfoot. Branches whipped past. Breath quickened.
Something moved behind him.
Fast.
Heavy.
Hunting.
Kael didn't look back.
He ran harder.
Roots twisted across the ground—
His foot caught.
He fell.
Hard.
The world spun.
Darkness rushed up—
And swallowed him.
The Dream
Kael floated in black silence.
Then—
Light.
A symbol burned across the darkness.
Rotating.
Shifting.
Seven broken circles turning slowly around a hollow center.
A voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once.
"You were not chosen."
The symbol pulsed.
"You were hidden."
Heat spread across his back.
"Wake soon… Vessel."
The symbol opened—
Like an eye.
Morning
Kael jolted awake.
Gasping.
Sunlight streamed through his bedroom window.
He sat up sharply, breathing hard, sweat clinging to his skin.
"…Just a dream."
But his heart didn't believe that.
He grabbed his phone and dialed.
Ryn answered first.
"Bro. If you woke me up to ask what day it is—"
"I found something."
Pause.
"…Okay I'm awake," Ryn said instantly.
Kael called Mira. Then Lio.
Within minutes they were all listening.
"There's a stone in Ridgewood Forest," Kael said. "Symbols. Writing. Something ancient. And I swear it reacted when I touched it."
Silence on the line.
For three full seconds.
Then—
Ryn burst out laughing.
"Bro got lost in a forest for one hour and unlocked ancient prophecy mode."
"I'm serious," Kael said.
"Oh, I know," Ryn replied. "That's what makes it funnier."
Mira sighed. "Ignore him. Explain properly."
"I found a stone," Kael said. "Black. Covered in symbols. Seven of them. And there was writing—I don't know how, but I understood it."
Another pause.
Lio spoke this time, voice calm as ever.
"…Did you hit your head?"
"Yes."
"That explains everything."
"I'm not hallucinating," Kael said.
Ryn gasped dramatically. "Guys. He found the chosen-one rock."
"Congratulations," Lio added. "You are now legally required to save the world."
Mira spoke flatly. "If he saves the world, I want official credit."
"You'll get a statue," Ryn said. "Holding a book. Judging people."
"That already sounds accurate."
Kael rubbed his forehead. "Can you all not turn this into a comedy show?"
"We could," Ryn said, "but you called us before lunch. That makes it a comedy emergency."
Lio hummed. "Important question. Did the ancient prophecy stone at least have snacks?"
"No."
"Fake prophecy," Lio concluded.
"Look," he said, "I think it's real. Something about it felt… strange."
Mira's tone softened just a little.
"Strange how?"
"Like it was waiting."
That made them quiet again.
Not joking quiet.
Thinking quiet.
Then Ryn clapped once. "Alright. Official group decision."
"No," Mira said immediately. "I don't trust your decisions."
"Too late," Ryn continued. "We investigate the spooky rock…"
He checked the time.
"…tomorrow."
Kael blinked. "Tomorrow?"
"Yes," Ryn said firmly. "Because today is Sunday."
"And Sunday," Lio added wisely, "is legally reserved for doing nothing."
Mira nodded. "He's right. Even mysteries can wait one day."
Ryn stretched loudly. "Exactly. If ancient evil has waited centuries, it can wait till Sunday."
"That is terrible logic," Mira said.
"That is excellent weekend logic."
Kael exhaled, tension easing from his shoulders.
"…Fine. Tomorrow."
"Good," Ryn said. "Because right now I'm going back to sleep."
"You were asleep?" Kael asked.
"I woke up just to be concerned for you. That's friendship."
"That's laziness," Mira corrected.
"Same thing."
Lio yawned. "Text if you discover more world-ending artifacts."
"Preferably after noon," Ryn added. "I don't deal with danger before breakfast."
Mira's voice came last.
"Kael."
"Yeah?"
"If you're not joking… be careful until we go back."
Something in her tone was serious.
Not curious.
Protective.
Kael nodded even though she couldn't see him.
"I will."
The line went silent.
Kael lowered his phone slowly.
For a moment, the room felt peaceful.
Just the faint hum of his laptop. Sunlight on the desk. The quiet ticking of the wall clock.
Normal.
He turned back to the screen and scrolled through another article.
Ancient Sigil MythologiesSeven Bearers TheoryLost Languages of Pre-Kingdom Era
Most of it was nonsense.
Stories. Theories. Half-translated ruins. Scholars arguing with other scholars from centuries ago.
Still—
One line kept appearing in different places.
Some Marks are not given.They are sealed.
Kael frowned.
A cold unease settled in his stomach.
He didn't know why.
The Door
A loud metallic clatter echoed from the hallway.
Kael froze.
The front door slammed shut.
Footsteps dragged across the floor.
Slow. Uneven. Heavy.
He knew that sound.
His shoulders tensed automatically.
His mother was home.
She appeared in the doorway a moment later.
Hair tangled. Eyes dull. Jacket hanging half off one shoulder. The sharp smell of alcohol reached him before she spoke.
"You're awake," she said flatly.
Kael nodded once. "Yeah."
She stared at him for a few seconds.
Not warmly.Not coldly.
Just… distantly.
Like she wasn't really looking at him.
"You didn't clean the kitchen," she said.
"I was studying."
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Silence.
A dangerous kind.
Her jaw tightened.
"You always have an answer," she muttered.
Her hand moved fast.
SMACK.
Pain burst across Kael's cheek.
His head snapped sideways.
The room rang.
"You talk back now?" she snapped.
Kael stayed still.
Didn't raise his voice.Didn't defend himself.
He had learned long ago—
Silence ended storms faster.
She shoved him hard.
His back hit the wall.
"You think you're better than me?" she said, voice sharp, shaking slightly. "You think you're special?"
Kael didn't answer.
Didn't move.
Didn't even blink.
That only made her angrier for a second—
Then suddenly…
Tired.
Her shoulders sagged.
She turned away, muttering something under her breath, and staggered down the hallway.
Her bedroom door slammed shut.
The lock clicked.
Silence returned.
Alone Again
Kael slid down the wall slowly until he was sitting on the floor.
The sting on his cheek throbbed.
But that wasn't what hurt.
He pressed his sleeve to his eyes quickly.
He didn't like crying.
Not because it was weak.
Because it felt… pointless.
His gaze drifted to the shelf beside his bed.
A thin folder sat there.
Old.
Worn.
He knew what was inside without opening it.
Adoption papers.
He'd read them once when he was younger.
Only once.
There hadn't been much information.
No father listed.No mother listed.
Just a short typed line:
Origin: Unknown
He remembered asking her about it years ago.
She'd told him to stop asking stupid questions.
He never asked again.
Kael rested his head against the wall.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet that didn't comfort.
The kind that listened.
His eyelids grew heavy.
His breathing slowed.
The last thing he saw before sleep took him—
Was the faint reflection of sunlight on his desk…
forming a shape.
A circular shape.
Seven faint lines branching from its center.
Then—
Darkness.
What is the strange symbol that appeared in Kael's dream?And when he returns to the forest… will he and his friends find the truth — or something waiting for them first?