Chapter 34. Whisper beneath the ruins
Igetis was training alone, his sword swinging through the air with precision. Each swing cut the wind softly.
He paused for a moment, wiping the sweat from his brow, and caught sight of something amusing: Halfy trailing behind Anazitis, holding two lunch boxes.
Igetis chuckled to himself.
"Hah… they're getting along. Good for them."
He rested his sword on his shoulder.
"I'll train a bit more, then follow them. Something funny always happens around those two."
---
Later, just while after sundown...
Anazitis had dozed off, taking a short nap beneath the ruined stone tree.
He opened one eye lazily—and noticed Halfy had fallen asleep next to him, the lunch boxes resting between them.
With a quiet smile, Anazitis reached over and tapped one of the boxes.
"Thanks for the meal," he muttered. Then he added in a teasing tone, "I'll just forget that you were stalking me."
Halfy was still asleep, completely unaware.
Anazitis stood up, stretching his arms.
"I'll investigate the ruins a bit. Something about this place… feels different at night."
He wandered toward a nearby stone wall etched with strange symbols, glowing faintly in the fading light. He ran his fingers across them and felt a chill crawl up his arm.
"My soul… it's reacting to this writing," he whispered.
A strange pulse ran through his fingertips.
He stepped back, confused.
"I need to learn how to control my soul powers better… I can't keep being surprised like this."
The further he explored, the stranger the ruins became. The carvings didn't make sense. They shifted when he looked away, like they were alive. Even his footsteps began to feel heavier, like each step carried the burden of centuries.
His breathing grew shallow.
"It's like… I'm carrying my entire village on my shoulders," he muttered.
A wave of despair crept into him, slow but suffocating.
Suddenly—click.
He stepped on a hidden plate.
The ground beneath him gave way, and he fell through a trap, tumbling into a deep hole hidden beneath the ruins.
In the darkness, Anazitis groaned and sat up, rubbing his back.
He looked around, muttering in dramatic annoyance,
"What a way for the world to wake you up… Very friendly. Good job, world. Keep it up."
Suddenly, a rat jumped on him.
"AAAAAH!" he screamed, flailing his arms.
Halfy jolted awake above.
"What happened?!" he called out.
Anazitis's voice echoed from below.
"Finally! You're awake! Do something and Get me out of here!"
Halfy rubbed his eyes and looked around.
"I don't see any hole. I just heard your voice."
"It's a magical trap, idiot!" Halfy snapped.
"I go and try to Find the power source!"
Halfy added, did you skip all your classes.
There was a pause, then anazitis added in his usual dramatic voice,
"I'm going deeper into the cave… like a true hero, trying to investigate more."
Halfy sighed and stood up.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming to help you."
But as he stepped forward to search, he too triggered a hidden trap.
The ground beneath him cracked, and he plummeted down.
THUD.
Halfy landed hard.
"...That's really embarrassing," he muttered to himself.
"I hope Anazitis didn't hear that."
He got up, dusted himself off, and looked around the dark cavern.
It was lit by strange glowing moss and floating firefly-like lights.
He took a cautious step forward.
"Okay… this isn't your average cave."
Deeper in the ruins…
Anazitis walked cautiously.
The air was heavier here. Cold. Still.
Old statues lined the walls—some broken, some just… watching.
Every symbol he passed felt like it knew something he didn't.
He touched the wall again.
"My soul keeps reacting to this place. What does it want me to see?"
Then he saw something ahead: a circular platform made of stone, surrounded by faint runes. It wasn't glowing, but it felt like it had once been alive with energy.
He knelt near it.
Nothing moved. No traps this time.
But a strange feeling wrapped around him. A deep chill.
The kind of feeling you get when you're being watched.
He stood quickly and backed away.
"This place… it's not normal. I need answers. But I'll find them carefully."
Meanwhile, in another tunnel…
Halfy was walking slowly through a passage of ancient carvings. He paused when one caught his eye.
"...Is that… i can't understand there's what this referring to ?
Before he can understand, he reached out to touch it —
Rumble.
A hidden stairway opened nearby, leading deeper into the underground.
Halfy blinked.
"Okay… this is getting weird."
He pulled a small soulstone from his pouch and lit it, the blue glow illuminating his path.
"Well, Anazitis is down here somewhere… and I'm not letting him handle the cool stuff alone."
He took a deep breath and stepped down the staircase.
"Let's go."
Back near the stone circle…
The runes sparked faintly.
Then dimmed.
Something shifted in the shadows.
Not a trap.
Not a creature.
Something older.
Still dormant—but aware.
Watching.
Something in The ruins had begun to wake, something should not be awakening.