Chapter 3 : The Secret of Emerald City

The air in the bronze tunnel was heavy, filled with the damp scent of rusting metal. Every seven steps Leo took, new words of confession emerged on the walls:

"May salvation descend upon me."

"I should not have peered into the forbidden."

"Emerald City... purification failed..."

The words flickered dimly, as if an abandoned soul were whispering its regrets. Leo frowned, gripping his broken sword instinctively. Luna's cries for help echoed from deep within the passage, urging him forward.

After navigating the dark corridor, he reached the central chamber—an empty stone hall etched with ancient runes. Luna was bound to a stone platform, chains wrapped tightly around her, while a faint blue light pulsed from her mechanical core, resonating with the runes on the walls.

A deep voice echoed through the chamber:

"You cannot leave the town."

From the shadows, an ancient suit of armor emerged. Blackened metal was entwined with threads of foul energy. Inside the helmet, there was no face—only a hollow void, yet it spoke with a low, solemn tone. Slowly, it raised a long spear, pointing directly at Leo.

"…Good," Leo muttered, his voice steady as he pulled free his cloth-wrapped broken sword.

The battle erupted instantly.

The guardian's spear thrust like a violent gust of wind. Leo dodged, parrying with his sword as sparks flew. The armor moved with unnatural precision, unbound by the limitations of a living body. Realizing brute force was futile, Leo feinted to the right before rolling away, creating an opening.

In a swift motion, he leaped toward Luna's chains, slashing downward.

Clang!

The chains shattered, and Luna landed lightly, quickly analyzing the situation. Observing the guardian's movements, she spoke calmly, "It's driven by some kind of corrupted energy. It has no true body—destroying its core will stop it."

They fought side by side, Luna calculating the guardian's weaknesses while Leo delivered precise strikes. In a final decisive moment, Leo drove his sword through the armor's core.

A twisted phantom flickered inside the empty shell, murmuring in a hollow voice:

"Emerald City... a failed specimen of purification..."

With those last words, the armor collapsed into dust. A streak of shimmering data shot into Luna's body, and as her mechanical core processed the information, she opened her eyes and whispered:

"…This is a three-dimensional map of Emerald City."

Everything was pointing them in the same direction. Exchanging a glance, they silently reached a decision.

After several days of travel, Leo and Luna arrived at Emerald City, a metropolis surrounded by cascading waterfalls. The city walls shimmered in the water's reflection, glowing with an emerald brilliance. The streets were bustling, and every citizen wore a five-pointed star pendant around their neck—a peculiar symbol that emitted a faint glow, as if representing some kind of faith.

Blending into the crowd, they carefully observed their surroundings. The city appeared peaceful, yet Luna's mechanical core detected residual traces of corruption in the air.

Just then, a small child bumped into Luna and fell, their pendant slipping from their neck and hitting the ground with a crisp clink, forming a tiny crack.

"I-I'm sorry!" The child panicked and scrambled to pick it up.

Luna crouched down, picking up the pendant first. Examining it closely, she brushed a fingertip over the crack, attempting to repair it—but the moment she made contact, a hidden mechanism activated.

"…This isn't an ordinary pendant," she murmured.

Inside the pendant was a micro-container of corrupted energy, and through it, she glimpsed a vision—memories of the child's parents in a bitter argument, their anger and sorrow locked away.

A troubling realization settled in her mind.

As night fell, the citizens gathered by a stream flowing through the city, dipping their five-pointed star pendants into the water. The moment the pendants touched the surface, distorted images appeared—fragments of painful memories, all dissolving into the current.

The people's expressions softened, as if they had been relieved of their burdens.

Leo and Luna exchanged wary glances. It seemed the people of Emerald City were "purifying" themselves—erasing unwanted memories.

To uncover the truth, they needed answers from the city's ruler.

However, their repeated requests to meet the city lord were refused. Left with no choice, they decided to infiltrate the lord's manor under the cover of darkness.

Navigating past patrols, they slipped into the manor and found the lord's private chamber. Inside, an elderly man lay in bed, his body partially crystallized, transparent formations creeping across his skin.

Above his bed, an old, tattered banner of the Silver Pentagram Adventurers hung on the wall.

Hearing their footsteps, the man slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze fell upon Leo, and for a brief moment, a mixture of shock and recognition crossed his face.

"…It's you." His voice was hoarse and weak.

Leo froze. A distant memory surfaced—an old man sitting by a campfire, telling him stories of the Silver Pentagram Adventurers.

"…You?" Leo murmured.

A faint smile appeared on the lord's face as he weakly lifted a trembling hand, removing the bandages covering his face. Beneath them, half of his features had crystallized completely, yet his eyes remained sharp.

"You want to know the truth about Emerald City, don't you?" he rasped. "All the answers… are hidden at the roots of the Great Tree."

With his final strength, he whispered an incantation—

"Silent Forest, Shadowed Thorns."

At that moment, Leo and Luna realized they were about to uncover the deepest secret of Emerald City.