The path kept climbing, and the higher he went, the clearer the ruins became.
Up close, the pillars weren't just carved — they were part of a much bigger pattern.
Every twenty feet or so, another one stood, or lay broken across the ground, on either side of the path. Each pillar had the same border running down its edges: circles inside circles, layered over one another like someone had stamped the same design onto every piece of stone on purpose.
Kairos slowed as he passed one.
He'd seen a rougher version of that same symbol before.
Stitched onto the uniforms back at Titanfang.
He crouched beside the pillar and brushed away a layer of dirt that had gathered inside one of the grooves. The symbol beneath it was worn, but still recognizable.
"Summoning sigil," he said.
His fingers followed the circular pattern.
"So whoever built this knew what they were doing."
He straightened and looked toward the dome.
