ch 32

Chapter 32: The Stone That Waited

The night was long.

Elric didn't return to his bed until the moon dipped behind the trees. But even then, sleep never came.

The growl in the woods haunted his thoughts.

Not because he was afraid. No.

Because it had felt familiar.

The next morning, he woke early. The village was still quiet. Chickens clucked. A few birds returned. Smoke rose from chimney pots.

But something in the air had changed.

A weight. Like the ground itself was waiting.

Elric skipped breakfast.

With a nod to Feli and Yui, and a lie about collecting herbs, he vanished behind the barn and into the forest path. Only Boneclaw followed, silent and stiff like a sentinel.

He reached the clearing, kneeling before the bone-patch.

It had grown wider.

More pieces buried in careful circles. Charcoal lines, ash, smooth stones, melted wax—all arranged like his body remembered a ritual he'd never learned.

He closed his eyes.

He didn't speak a spell.

He just listened.

Main Menu

[Golem Summon: Ritual Activation — 1st Layer]

[Requirement: Bone Dust | Earth Core | Named Thread]

[Requirements: MET]

[Begin?]

Elric whispered, "Yes."

The wind stopped.

The trees froze.

Even Boneclaw took a step back.

The circle of bones began to shake—just slightly, at first. Then violently. Like something beneath the earth was trying to claw its way out.

Elric gritted his teeth, palms pressed into the soil.

From the center of the ritual, a lump of dark soil cracked open.

A hand emerged.

Stone fingers.

Then an arm.

Then—a creature.

It was small. Half his height. Rounded shoulders, jagged teeth made of broken pottery, glowing white lines across its chest like veins of light through rock.

It didn't roar.

It breathed.

Alive.

Stone that breathed.

[Summon Successful — Golem Type: Clayborn Sentinel]

[Link: Weak | Growing…]

[Name Not Assigned]

[Abilities Locked | Needs Time to Awaken]

Elric stared.

It stared back.

He smiled, wide and greasy.

"You're... kinda ugly," he chuckled. "I like you."

He stood, brushing dirt off his knees.

"I think I'll call you... Rocky."

The golem blinked once.

Then twice.

Then nodded.

Boneclaw gave an irritated rattle.

"Don't get jealous," Elric said. "You're still my favorite creepy corpse."

He didn't tell anyone about Rocky.

Not Grandpa. Not his sisters. Not even the System.

This one felt... personal.

Made from the earth he lived on. The bones of forgotten animals. The whisper of a dungeon's heart.

He had called something ancient.

And it had answered.

That night, as the stars came out, Elric sat with Rocky beside the garden wall.

He didn't summon any more beasts.

He didn't check the menu.

He just watched the sky.

But far off, near the edge of the village, something moved again in the woods.

Only this time—it didn't growl.

It laughed.