"What is buried does not mean it's lost. Sometimes, what is hidden is merely waiting for the right moment... to destroy once again."
Our journey to Gravenshade took five freezing days. Elvira and I rode the black horses of the royal hunters—steeds trained to endure shadows and lightless terrain. We traveled along a rocky path cutting through the mountain's belly, following traces of ancient magic that hung in the air like invisible ash. With every breath, the thin air carried the sensation of iron and death.
Thick fog enveloped the peak of Gravenshade, devouring light and color. The wind whispered faintly, as if unwilling to reveal the truth buried beneath the snow. No bird calls. No rustling of branches. Silence.
"Strange," Elvira murmured, her eyes squinting. "No animals. Not even traces of life."
"They didn't leave... they died," I replied. "Something here drains life."
Our steps halted before a massive cliff. There, ancient magic carvings glowed faintly—red-purple lines forming rune circles that pulsed gently like a heartbeat.
"An underground gate..." I whispered.
"And that means..."
"Something is locked away here. Something desperate to be awakened."
With the magic key from the previous altar, we touched the crystal shard to the carvings. The stone door opened slowly, emitting a roar in a language long forgotten. The smell of scorched earth instantly pierced our senses, mingling with the scent of old blood and rusted metal.
We descended a spiral staircase that seemed endless. The further we went, the more the weight of dark aura pressed down on us. At the bottom, a dome-shaped room unfolded—grand and terrifying. Massive pillars supported the ceiling, which was etched with symbols of demonic magic, and in the center stood a giant figure shackled by black chains with crimson veins.
"Is that... a human?" Elvira asked, half-shouting.
"No. That's a remnant of the Ancient Knight. One that failed," I replied softly.
That body, though seemingly lifeless, still pulsed slowly. Its chest rose and fell like a forced breath. Its skin was silver, yet scarred, and the broken horn on its head was proof of deep failure.
"Long ago, they tried to merge with demonic magic. But some of them... lost control of themselves." "Someone is trying to resurrect it," I said, eyeing the shattered magic stones scattered around.
Suddenly, a purple light flared from the ruins. A masked figure appeared, cloaked in blood-red robes. His voice was cold and filled with contempt.
"Too late, Ascheveil."
The ground beneath us trembled. The black chains binding the giant began to crack, one by one, shattering.
"Rise... Hell Knight: Vaegnir!"
Half of the body exploded, scattering black blood against the walls. But from those shards of flesh, new metallic silver skin grew, gleaming like a freshly forged sword. Two demonic horns sprouted from its temples, and a single purple eye glowed in the middle of its forehead.
"This fragment of the past is unworthy of resurrection," I said, drawing my sword and activating magic.
"We'll make sure it sleeps... forever!" shouted Elvira.
Vaegnir swung its arm. One blow shattered a stone pillar, creating tremors that cracked the ceiling. I dodged, slashing at its wrist—no blood, but the metal melted like flesh. Elvira's red magic blast struck Vaegnir's shoulder, but the creature only growled, sending out a wave of pressure that slammed us back.
"Minato, three seconds! Create an opening!"
I leaped, circling its body, stabbing my sword into an old wound on its chest that had yet to fully heal. Its scream made the room quake.
"Do it now!"
"Structure Break Magic: Collapse Nova!"
A massive explosion erupted in Vaegnir's chest. Red flashes shattered its insides from within. The sound was like hundreds of bones breaking simultaneously.
The giant's body collapsed. From its ashes, a black crystal the size of an egg emerged. It pulsed... like a heart.
I picked it up slowly.
"This... isn't an ordinary magic core. This is... a compass. A guide to something bigger."
In the eastern kingdom, behind the blue veil of the Spirit Priests' palace, a hooded woman sat in meditation. When the crystal was found, she opened her eyes—a pair of golden eyes with snake-like pupils.
"The first fragment has been found." "Ascheveil has touched the boundary between life and hell."
The journey was far from over. Beyond mountains and blood, one by one, the clues would be gathered.
But what Minato did not know was... he himself was being watched.