The forest deepened as they followed the worn path laid out on the map. Roots twisted underfoot, and the mist never seemed to lift, curling around their ankles like ghostly serpents.
The deeper they ventured into the Alden Woods, the quieter it became. Even the howls that once echoed like sirens through the fog had long since vanished.
Only the soft crunch of their boots against damp earth accompanied them now. Shin walked ahead, every step deliberate, his crimson eyes scanning the dense, ever-darkening foliage.
Laverna followed close behind. Her senses remained sharp, even as her muscles ached from the battle that had claimed Corrin's life.
Misha clung to her staff, her hands trembling with fear. Grant guards the rear, his hand on its hilt, ready to defend at a moment's notice.
The map had led them to a rocky incline, half-hidden behind thick vines and clusters of twisted roots. At the top, nestled between jagged cliff walls, they found it.
A ruin.
Ancient stone walls jutted from the earth like fractured ribs, their surfaces cracked and overgrown with moss. Time had eaten away much of the structure, but the presence it exuded was unmistakable.
Something had once thrived here. Something tied to the Crown.
Eventually, they came upon a clearing where stone ruins jutted from the earth like broken teeth. Moss and vines clung to crumbling walls, and broken insignias of the Imperial Crown littered the area, some scratched out violently as if in protest.
Laverna brushed away the creeping vines that draped over a stone slab. Beneath the growth was a weathered insignia—one that matched the symbol on the ruined carriage.
"This place…" Misha whispered, clutching her staff tightly. "These are old Crown markings. But why are they defaced?"
"Imperial," she muttered. "You're right, Misha. It was scratched out."
Shin crouched beside her, fingers tracing the marred emblem. "Multiple times. Someone really wanted it forgotten."
Grant knelt near one of the insignias, brushing away dirt. "Something went down here. And it wasn't a peaceful departure."
They moved further into the ruin. Scattered around were more shattered insignias, some smashed completely, others marred by claw marks or deliberate etchings.
The air grew colder the deeper they ventured. Not from any natural chill, but something older—something watching.
Finally, they reached it.
At the far end of the clearing stood a massive stone door embedded into a rock face, smooth and unyielding. Towering, seamless, and without any visible keyhole, knob, or latch.
It was circular and smooth, with a surface that reflected faint traces of moonlight filtering through the cracks in the ceiling above.
Shin approached the door cautiously. Laverna followed, eyes scanning the strange structure.
Laverna approached it cautiously. "No hinges. No handles. Nothing."
"Not meant to be opened the normal way," Shin murmured.
As if responding to his words, the stone trembled faintly.
A low hum, like a heartbeat buried beneath the earth, vibrated through the ruin. The door's surface shimmered, and ancient symbols began to emerge.
They glowed with a soft golden hue at first, before shifting into crimson, pulsing like embers. Words formed—not in the common tongue, but in a script only Shin recognized. The script wasn't just ancient—it was sacred, belonging to a language long buried by history.
Her brow furrowed, a strange pull in her chest. "It feels familiar... but I can't read it."
Shin narrowed his gaze. "It's Kitsune. And Old Crescent. This script shouldn't exist here."
Shin whispered the inscription aloud, her voice reverent. The inscription reads:
"The blood of the fox and the shadow of the moon shall bear witness.
Only they may pass. Only they may judge. Only they may awaken what lies within."
Grant stepped forward, sword still drawn. "What is that language? I've never seen anything like it."
Misha eyed both Shin and Laverna, suspicion flaring. "Who… who are you two, really? That door reacted to you. That inscription appeared for you."
Grant's gaze hardened. "This isn't the first time something strange has happened around you two. First, you took down a monstrous Falzath that took George's life, and now this door reacts to you two like it's been waiting."
His sword raised an inch higher. "Start talking, or I swear—"
Misha gasped and quickly stepped between them, staff held out defensively. "Grant, wait! Let's hear them out first. Please."
Shin didn't flinch. He turned slowly, his red eyes meeting theirs without hesitation. "We're not enemies. We've been trained differently, raised for missions most never hear about. This language... It's from an older order. One that existed long before the Crown we serve today."
Laverna nodded. "We didn't come here to deceive you. But this—" she motioned to the door, "—wasn't something we planned to find either."
Misha looked from Shin to Laverna, her grip tightening around her staff. "So this mission wasn't random, was it?"
"No," Shin admitted. "This was a setup. Someone wants us to open this door. And not just anyone could." Misha couldn't believe what she was hearing, and yet, reality is stranger than fiction. "That's why Corrin died. That's why the monsters were waiting."
Grant scowled but didn't lower his sword. "And you're just walking us deeper into it?"
"I don't like it any more than you do," Shin said, voice calm but resolute. "But running now won't stop what's coming."
The door pulsed again. A soft tremor passed through the ground, and the markings grew brighter. The air around them thickened.
Laverna took a step back. "This ruin... It's tied to you. And to me?"
"Not a coincidence," Shin said flatly. "We were led here. Not by the Crown. Not by luck. This was meant for us."
Without another word, Shin pressed his hand to the stone. The humming intensified, and a rush of warmth flooded through their limbs.
The ground rumbled. The door cracked open down the middle with a deep groan, revealing a dark corridor lit by flickering blue torches.
A gust of cold air whooshed out from the corridor, carrying the scent of dust, decay, and something far older. Something watching.
Laverna drew her jamadhars. Shin's orb pulsed once at his side, faintly glowing. Laverna's tiger eye necklace does the same.
Grant exchanged a glance with Misha, then stepped beside them. "If we're in this, we're in it together. But if you're hiding anything else..."
"You'll know before it kills us," Shin said simply, then stepped into the darkness.
The others followed, leaving behind the ruined insignias and stepping into a mystery far older than the Empire itself.