After having breakfast, we packed up and continued our journey. The goal? For me to learn how to control my powers — or at least try to.The forest around us was quiet, almost too quiet, with only the sound of our footsteps and the occasional rustle of leaves.
But honestly? I wasn't focused on the training at all.I kept stealing glances at Althea. The image of her scarred body was burned into my mind. Some of the scars looked ancient, like they'd faded over years. Others were fresh — angry red lines still healing.
Who did that to her? Why would a saintess carry wounds like that?
Sometimes, she caught me staring. She'd smile at me softly — like nothing was wrong, like I hadn't just seen the battlefield written all over her skin. That smile made it worse somehow.
It made me feel like she knew exactly what I was thinking.
We finally reached what Kael called the perfect spot for training. He set up a little area using some stones, cleared out space, even marked out a circle. It was honestly cute, how serious he looked trying to help.But no matter how hard I tried… nothing was working.The power refused to cooperate. Not even a flicker. The pendant glowed faintly — just barely — as if it was trying, but even it felt drained.
Liora looked worried and suggested heading back. I was about to agree when Althea suddenly gasped and pointed."Wait… over there. Do you see that?"She stepped toward the thick vines hanging off the stone wall nearby. Behind them… something was hidden.A shrine.Old, worn down, but very real. Covered in moss and vines like it hadn't been touched in centuries.
We were all curious. Dumb move, I know.One by one, we started heading toward it.
But the moment my foot touched the first stone step, the pendant around my neck burned.Not warm — scorching. It vibrated so hard it was painful. My chest tightened.
And then… it spoke.Faint, distorted, like a whisper traveling through static.
"Don't… trust… shrine… danger… her…"
Her?
I froze.What did it mean? Her… as in Althea?
I turned to stop them, to say we shouldn't go in there — that something felt wrong. But the words stuck in my throat. Althea was already pushing the vines aside, stepping through. Kael followed, then Liora.
I couldn't just stand outside.So I went in too.
And the second I did, the massive stone door slammed shut behind us.Boom.
Liora jumped, startled. Kael rushed to the door, trying to push it open.Nothing.No movement.It was like it had sealed itself.
"I knew it…" I whispered under my breath.I tried calling to the pendant in my mind — begging it to answer me. Nothing. No glow. No hum. It was… silent.
"We'll be fine," Althea said calmly. Her voice echoed in the stone walls. "Let's look around. There must be another way out. No need to panic."
But I wasn't panicking.I just knew — deep down — something about this place was wrong.The silence, the heavy air, the way the pendant had screamed at me and then gone quiet. It wasn't normal.This shrine…It reeked of danger.Of old magic and forgotten warnings.It wasn't just abandoned — it was meant to stay untouched.
And now, we were stuck inside it.
The shrine was swallowed in darkness. We couldn't see a damn thing—not the walls, not the floor, nothing.
"Liora, the bag," I said, and she quickly handed it to me, her fingers trembling just slightly. I rummaged through the traveling kit I had bought and finally found what I was looking for—a Lumos Crystalis.A crystal torch forged from sunstone and enchanted glass. It didn't burn with fire, but with a soft golden light that pulsed like a heartbeat when held by someone with mana.
I whispered the activation phrase, "Lumen flare."The crystal bloomed with light, pushing back the suffocating dark inch by inch.
The walls of the shrine slowly came into view, and my breath hitched.
Ancient carvings twisted across the stone—gnarled figures with hollow eyes, their hands raised not in prayer… but in surrender. They were being pulled apart by shadowy tendrils, their souls drawn into a gaping maw etched into the heart of the wall. Around it, were symbols I didn't recognize, but even looking at them made my stomach churn.
Cursed runes.Dark magic.And unmistakably sacrificial marks.
Blood offerings.Lots of them.
At the base of the sculpture was a faded inscription, half worn away with time, but a few words were still readable:
"Let the false light guide them to ruin… let the marked soul bleed."
I stepped back, heart thundering.This wasn't just some shrine.This was a place of execution for the magically tainted.And we had just walked right into its jaws.
I looked at the three of them—Kael, Liora, and Althea.
"We have to get out of here," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
They nodded silently, eyes scanning the walls.
We all split up, searching the small, suffocating shrine—fingers brushing over ancient carvings, pushing stones, tapping the ground. But no secret passage. No switch. Just the heavy feeling of something watching.
After a while, we circled back to the center.
"Nothing," Kael muttered.
And then—
A voice echoed through the air.
It wasn't loud.It wasn't human.
"Four have entered… three may leave.""To open the path, the answer you weave.""Speak the truth that no one sees…""Lies break locks. Secrets, keys."
The shrine went dead silent.
Then, faint golden symbols began glowing along the curved walls—twisting, ancient runes slowly forming a circle around us.
"What the hell does that mean?" Liora whispered, clutching her dagger.
"It's a riddle," I said slowly. My heart was racing.
Althea tilted her head. "Truth that no one sees… secrets, keys…" she murmured.
And just then—on the far side of the shrine, a piece of the wall shimmered, almost glitched, like something behind it was waiting. Waiting for us to say the right words.
This place didn't need brute force.It needed honesty.
But whose secret would open the path?