The portal was gone.
The temple had fallen silent.
And the only thing that remained was the glowing mark burned into the stone — a jagged circle, still pulsing like a heartbeat.
Nobody spoke for a long time.
Shoto stood there, eyes fixed on the symbol, the figure's voice still echoing in his mind.
"There is something inside you that should not exist…"
Beside him, Elizabeth finally broke the silence. "Are you okay?"
Shoto nodded slowly, but it was a lie. He didn't feel okay. He felt like something had been woken up inside him — something he didn't understand.
KJ shifted his weight, crossing his arms. "So… what was that thing? And how the hell did it know your name?"
"More importantly," Braydon added, his voice sharp, "what did it mean about you not being like the rest of us?"
Shoto turned toward them, defensive without meaning to be. "I don't know. I'm just as confused as you."
"Yeah, well, that makes all of us," Pate muttered, rubbing his arms. "This place is messing with our heads."
The symbol on the ground pulsed again — and this time, it reacted.
A faint line of glowing light stretched from it… directly toward Shoto.
Elizabeth gasped. "It's connected to you."
Shoto took a cautious step forward, and the symbol flared — light bursting outward across the stone like veins of lightning.
Then, with a loud crack, the center of the floor split — revealing a spiraling staircase descending into the earth, shrouded in thick white mist.
"Of course there's a creepy hidden staircase," KJ said under his breath.
Pate peered over the edge. "Guess we're going down there, huh?"
Shoto didn't answer.
He could feel the pull now — something was calling to him from below.
And somehow, he knew…
Whatever was down there had been waiting for him.
⸻
The spiral staircase led them deep beneath the temple, the air growing colder and heavier with every step. Mist clung to the walls, whispering like it had a voice of its own.
At the bottom, they stepped into a vast underground chamber — circular, ancient, lit by floating crystals embedded in the stone.
In the center of the room stood a stone pedestal.
On it rested a long, elegant staff — silver and wrapped in vines of soft green crystal. It shimmered with a gentle, healing light.
Elizabeth stepped forward, drawn to it like something inside her recognized it.
"Wait," Shoto warned, but the staff pulsed.
The light flared and leapt from the pedestal, wrapping around Elizabeth's hands. Her eyes widened as the power flowed into her — calm, warm, alive.
"It's… responding to me," she whispered.
Symbols etched into the stone around her began to glow softly, like the chamber itself was acknowledging her presence.
"This place was made for people like us," she said. "But this staff — it's not just magic. It's ancient."
Braydon circled the room, half-awed, half-suspicious. "If there's one magic stick, maybe there's something more my speed."
He stopped in front of a sealed case built into the far wall.
Inside it sat a strange-looking weapon — part rifle, part crossbow, glowing with blue runes. Its design was mechanical, but far too advanced for anything from Earth.
"Okay," Braydon grinned, "I need this."
Before anyone could stop him, the case snapped open like it was waiting for him. The weapon slid into his hands, perfectly balanced.
"Looks like it likes me," he said, a little too smug.
"You would get the ancient alien gun," KJ muttered.
They all turned to Pate.
He gave a shrug. "Guess I'm just here for moral support."
But something flickered across his eyes — a strange tension, like his body was holding something back.
Shoto noticed it but said nothing.
Because deep down, he felt it too.
A tension in the air.
Like this place was just a beginning.
And the deeper they went… the more they were becoming exactly what this world wanted them to be.
⸻
As the last echo of Braydon's laughter faded through the chamber, the room fell unnaturally still.
Then —
A soft grinding sound echoed through the stone.
Everyone turned as one of the far walls began to shift, ancient mechanisms groaning as it slid open. Behind it, a hidden alcove lit up with a blue glow.
Etched into the wall was a massive mural, carved in strange symbols and swirling lines — a depiction of six figures standing beneath a broken sky. Each one glowed with a different kind of light.
But one figure stood apart — wrapped in flames, surrounded by a storm. His eyes glowed white.
And in his hand was no weapon.
Just power.
The others stepped closer, mesmerized.
"It looks like… us," Elizabeth whispered.
Shoto stepped forward slowly, drawn to the figure at the center.
But as he reached out to touch it, the chamber shook — once, then again.
A distant roar echoed from far above.
The ground rumbled beneath their feet.
And somewhere in the mist behind them…
Footsteps.
Not one.
Not two.
Many.
Heavy. Slow. Measured.
Elizabeth gripped her staff tighter.
Braydon raised his new weapon, eyes narrowed.
Shoto's fists clenched as the air around him thickened with heat.
"They found us," KJ said quietly.
And deep in the shadows beyond the staircase, the Veiled had arrived.