Chapter 13 – Fragments of the Legacy

Silence After the Storm

The mission was over, but its impact on Ethan lingered like an underground current. After returning to the academy, the stone circle was immediately placed under investigation by a group of advanced instructors and researchers. However, few students knew what had happened — it was as if the administration had decided to cover it up.

Ethan, however, couldn't ignore the feeling that he was involved in something far greater than he had imagined.

The Forgotten Notebook

Back in his dorm, he rummaged through his chest. At the bottom, between old notes and first-year books, he found a dark-covered notebook. It was his father's. One of the first he had inherited, but one he had never been able to fully decipher. Many pages were covered in symbols and indecipherable codes.

He flipped through it slowly… until he stopped.

A yellowed page, near the end, showed the same circular symbol with an eye at the center. Next to it, a sentence written in his father's rushed handwriting:

"They exist. Sleeping beneath the veil of ages. The Circles are the keys. Find what I left beneath the gravestone."

The last line made him freeze.

The Ancient Cemetery

On the southern edge of the academy grounds, behind a moss-covered hill, lay an old cemetery where former professors, researchers, and some tamers fallen in service were buried. Most of the gravestones were covered in moss and forgotten by time.

Ethan walked silently among the graves, the Forest Ancestral Deer following closely, alert. Upon finding the gravestone with his father's name, Lorian Ward, he knelt.

He knew what he was looking for — but not what he would find.

Gently removing the vegetation, he found a crack at the base of the tombstone. Between the stones was a small compartment. Inside, an object wrapped in cloth.

It was a piece of a map made of black stone, carved with the same circle symbol. Thin lines crossed the piece, forming a broken path. Beside it, a short scroll:

"This is one of three fragments. Protect it. And if you find them all… be ready to choose."

An Invisible Choice

Ethan held the fragment, feeling the subtle energy pulsing in his hand. It wasn't just a stone. It was a remnant of something ancient, something his father had believed was vital… important enough to hide beneath his own gravestone.

— "You were trying to tell us something, father… but what?" — he murmured.

The Deer watched in silence. Its antlers glowed briefly — as if sensing the energy within the piece.

First Connections

Back in the dormitory, Ethan drew a precise replica of the fragmented map in his notebook. He remembered the circle in the forest… and how the energy had activated in response to the presence of ancient beasts.

— "Maybe these Circles are gateways… or ancient power nodes. And the map shows where they are," he said to himself.

But one question hammered at his thoughts: Why had his father kept all of this hidden?

And… why did no one else at the academy seem to know about it?

Closing

That night, Ethan carefully hid the fragment beneath a loose floorboard. He knew he was being watched — if not by people, then by subtler forces. Something had awakened from the moment he stepped into the Circle. He could feel it.

And deep inside, one certainty was forming:

Finding the other fragments was no longer just a personal mission.

It was a necessity.