Chapter 27: Skeptic's Burden
Elias sat at the warehouse table; the notebooks spread before him. His fingers traced the faded ink, his eyes scanning the sketches of symbols and glowing pendants. The silence stretched, heavy, broken only by the hum of the city outside.
Finally, he spoke. "Stories. Legends. Half-truths written by someone who wanted to believe."
Isabella's jaw tightened. "My grandmother didn't imagine this. She saw it. She recorded it. And now the relic has chosen him, just as she said it would."
Elias closed the notebook, his expression unreadable. "I've seen too many people chase legends. They burn themselves out, chasing destiny instead of discipline. Cultivation isn't about fate. It's about survival."
Adrian clenched his fists, pendant glowing faintly against his chest. "But survival isn't enough anymore. The pendant keeps pushing me. It led me to ruins, to caverns, to you. It's not just a tool. It's history. And if I don't understand it, I'll never survive what's coming."
Leah leaned forward, her voice sharp. "You've trained him to fight, Elias. You've taught him discipline. But you can't ignore what this relic is. It's bigger than just cultivation. It's tied to the city, to balance. Isabella's records prove that."
Elias's gaze flicked to her, then back to Adrian. "Balance is fragile. Legends say relics protect it. But legends also say relics destroy it. Which do you think is true?"
Adrian swallowed hard. "Maybe both."
The pendant pulsed brighter, flooding the warehouse with faint emerald light. Elias frowned, the glow reflecting in his eyes. For a moment, his skepticism faltered. He had seen relics before; fragments of power scattered across the world. But none had ever reacted like this. None had ever bound themselves so tightly to a vessel.
He sighed, leaning back. "Fine. Maybe there's truth here. Maybe your grandmother wasn't just chasing shadows. But truth doesn't make it less dangerous. If hunters know this relic is tied to the roots of the city, they won't stop. They'll tear the city apart to claim it."
Isabella's voice was steady. "Then we defend it. My grandmother believed the relic chose vessels to protect balance. If Adrian is the vessel now, then that's his role. And ours, if we stand with him."
Leah nodded. "We've already fought together. We've already survived. If the relic is binding us, then we carry it together."
Adrian looked at them — Elias, skeptical but steady; Leah, fierce and unyielding; Isabella, calm but resolute. For the first time, he felt the threads weaving tighter. The pendant wasn't just binding him. It was binding all of them.
He whispered to himself, voice hoarse. "I'll rise. I'll uncover the truth. And I'll carry this legacy."
The pendant pulsed again, brighter than before, as if agreeing.
Elias rubbed his temples, muttering. "Then we move carefully. No more reckless dives into ruins. If the relic whispers again, we plan first. We prepare. Because if you wake something else down there, it won't just be hunters you're fighting. It'll be history itself."
Adrian nodded, determination burning in his chest. He felt the weight pressing down heavier than ever, but for once, it didn't crush him. It steadied him.
The warehouse smelled of dust and sweat, the echoes of battle still clinging to its walls. Adrian sat there, battered but unbroken, realizing that every step forward wasn't just about cultivation. It was about carrying a legacy that stretched deeper than he could imagine.
And for the first time, Elias admitted what he had always denied: relics weren't just burdens. They were history. And history was waking.