Chapter 24: Whispers Beneath the Ruins
The night had deepened. Silver moonlight crept through the trees, spilling like liquid over the ruins ahead. The moss-covered stones felt ancient, even more so than the crumbling temples they had passed before. Something about this place made the air heavier, the silence more profound.
Arin, now more attuned to the magic of this realm, placed a hand on the earth. It pulsed faintly beneath his fingertips. Not with raw power, but memory—long, layered memory. He could feel it: this land remembered.
Behind him, Elira scanned the dark with narrowed eyes, her bow half-drawn. The others, Lior and Kaen, followed silently, each burdened by their own thoughts since their encounter in the Whispering Grove. They were stronger now—but also more uncertain.
"What is this place?" Kaen whispered. "I feel like we're being watched."
"You are," a voice answered.
The four froze. From behind a fractured archway stepped a cloaked figure, hunched with age yet unmistakably alert. A glowing amber pendant swayed at his chest. His voice was gravel—like time grinding over stone.
"I've been expecting you."
Their hands moved to weapons, but the figure raised his palm.
"If I meant harm, you would already be unmade."
Arin narrowed his eyes. "Then why are you here?"
"Because you need me. And because I remember the last time the sky bled red."
The group exchanged glances.
"You've seen the signs," the old man continued. "But you don't understand them yet. That mark on your hand…" he pointed at Arin's glowing symbol, "...is not just a key. It is a scar. One left behind by something ancient, something broken."
Lior stepped forward. "Who are you?"
"I go by many names. But you may call me Vaerin. I was once the Keeper of Rains."
Elira frowned. "What does that even mean?"
Vaerin chuckled. "It means I stood where you now stand. I too was brought from elsewhere. Not from your time, but another."
The weight of his words settled in. Another traveler—another chosen.
"You were chosen?" Arin asked.
"No," Vaerin said, his smile fading. "I was stolen."
He led them deeper into the ruins, to a chamber lit by faintly glowing crystals embedded in the walls. Symbols lined the floors—familiar, yet too old to read.
"You came looking for answers," Vaerin said, "but the real answer is buried. Beneath this temple. Beneath all of them."
Arin's heart beat faster.
"There is a name you must remember," the old man continued. "It will appear again and again. Etch it into your bones: Zurein."
"Who or what is Zurein?" Kaen asked.
"Not a who. Not anymore."
Vaerin lifted a crystal from his pouch and placed it at the center of the symbol-carved floor. It pulsed once, twice… then flared.
The chamber trembled. The floor beneath them split—not to collapse, but to reveal a staircase spiraling downward into utter blackness.
"This is where your journey truly begins," Vaerin said. "Below is the First Echo. A memory of a memory. The past encoded in magic. But beware. Not all memories wish to be seen."
The air around them felt different now—charged, like a storm waiting to break.
"And remember this," Vaerin added, his voice low. "You are not the only ones searching for the truth. Some wish to find it. Others wish to bury it forever."
—
The descent took hours. The walls shimmered faintly, the magic growing stronger with every step. Arin felt the mark on his hand burn and cool, burn and cool, in rhythmic pulses. It was like it was syncing to something.
At last, they stepped into a vast underground cavern. Before them stood a library—massive, circular, and seemingly untouched by time.
"This is…" Elira gasped. "Impossible."
Kaen approached the nearest shelf. "It's all in the old tongue. But this isn't just history—it's prophecy."
Lior drew closer to Arin. "This place… it's real. And it knows us."
Suddenly, one of the books began to glow.
Arin reached out—and it opened on its own. The pages flipped rapidly before settling on a single illustration.
It was him.
Or at least, someone who looked exactly like him.
Standing in the center of a battlefield.
Facing a shadow with red eyes.
And behind him… a white monkey with four tails, its eyes aglow.