Into the Unknown

Roy stood at the cave's entrance, his breath slow and steady. His eyes narrowed as he studied the opening before him. The jagged rocks framing the mouth of the cave looked like the fangs of a beast, waiting to swallow anything foolish enough to step inside.

He exhaled, scanning the area around him. The wilderness stretched behind him, broken buildings scattered like skeletons of a forgotten world. He had fought beasts, hunted his food, and survived his first night alone in the ruins. But this? This felt different.

The cave was unnaturally dark—as if the light itself refused to enter. Even standing right in front of it, Roy couldn't see more than a few feet inside. It wasn't the usual darkness of a shadowed place. It was deeper. Heavier. As if something was absorbing the light.

A faint warmth lingered in the air, unnatural against the cold stone. It wasn't the heat of the sun or the warmth of the wind. It came from inside. A slow, pulsing warmth, as though the cave itself was alive.

The silence was unnerving. No wind. No rustling of leaves. Just the occasional slow drip… drip… of water from deep within, echoing softly.

Roy felt his instincts flare, a deep-rooted warning in his gut. He wasn't scared—but he was cautious.

Even Mimi, usually full of energy, had gone quiet.

"Pi Pi…" she finally spoke, her voice unusually small. "User… this place is weird."

Roy smirked faintly. "That's obvious."

"Pi Pi! It doesn't feel natural. The warmth—there is no fire, but it's there. Maybe this place is haunted?"

Roy rolled his shoulders, ignoring the way the weight in his chest grew heavier the longer he stood at the entrance. "I came all this way," he muttered. "Not turning back now."

He took a step forward.

Nothing happened.

Another step.

Still nothing.

Roy exhaled and finally walked inside.

First Steps into the Unknown

The moment he crossed the threshold, the air changed. It was like stepping through an invisible barrier—the warmth intensified, wrapping around him like unseen hands. The silence pressed against his ears, and the sound of his own breathing felt too loud.

He reached out, running his fingers along the cave wall. Smooth. Unnaturally so. Not shaped by nature, but by something else. Something that had been here long before he arrived.

The deeper he went, the heavier the air became. It wasn't suffocating, but it felt thick, like moving through something unseen.

Mimi hovered close to his shoulder. "Pi Pi… this is a bad idea."

Roy smirked. "You always say that."

"Pi Pi! Because user always does dangerous things!"

Roy chuckled but didn't slow down. His senses were on high alert, scanning for anything unusual. He had expected a damp, rough cavern, maybe a nest of small beasts. But this wasn't like any cave he had seen before.

Then he saw something—faint, ancient markings on the walls.

He stepped closer, brushing off a layer of dust. The symbols were carved with precision, their edges smooth despite the passing years. They weren't random scribbles—they told a story.

And among them, a lion's head.

His eyes widened. The Fire Lion.

This cave… had a connection to the beast whose memories he had seen.

His heart pounded. He was on the right path.

Then, just a few steps ahead, something crunched under his boot.

He froze.

Slowly, he looked down.

Bones.

Some scattered, some piled together. Some clearly animal remains, others…

His stomach twisted as he spotted a human skull, half-buried in the dirt.

Mimi let out a small, horrified beep. "Pi Pi… user, maybe we should—"

A sound echoed from deeper within the cave.

A low, distant rumble.

Roy tightened his grip on his weapon, his pulse quickening.

He wasn't alone.

The Voice in the Darkness

Roy's fingers curled tighter around his weapon as the low rumble faded into silence. His heartbeat was steady, but his senses were sharp, scanning for movement. The bones beneath his feet, the eerie warmth in the air, the unnatural smoothness of the cave walls—everything about this place was wrong.

Then, from the depths of the cave, a voice called out.

Soft. Steady. Human.

"Don't be afraid. There is no danger. It's safe."

Roy tensed. His instincts screamed at him—no voice in a place like this could be trusted. But there was no hostility in the tone. It wasn't commanding or threatening. It was simply… waiting.

"The bones you see are not of those who died here," the voice continued, as if sensing his hesitation. "They were brought by the Fire Lion."

Roy's breath caught. The Fire Lion?

His eyes flickered toward the ancient carving of the lion's head on the wall. The voice carried on, smooth and unwavering.

"That symbol… It is not just any lion. It is its mother."

Mimi beeped softly, her tiny body hovering close to Roy's ear. "Pi Pi… user, this is creepy."

Roy didn't disagree.

"Come," the voice urged, echoing softly through the cavern. "I suppose it was you I have been waiting for. It has been a long time since a human entered this cave."

Roy swallowed, his mind racing.

Who—or what—was waiting for him?

And more importantly…

Why?