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Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Whispers Beneath the Dust

The forest was quiet. Too quiet.

Kael's eyes snapped open. He sat up quickly, the damp grass pressing into his back. A few dying embers glowed where their fire had once been, but the morning sun had not yet risen. Pale light filtered through the canopy above, casting long shadows that shifted as if watching.

Something had changed.

Kael reached for the knife under his cloak, every sense alert. Mira was already awake, crouched low, her hand resting near the hilt of her short sword. Her amber eyes were sharp, watching the woods.

"You feel it?" Kael asked in a whisper.

She nodded. "Like the ground moved."

Tarn groaned, still half-asleep, rubbing his eyes. "You two wake up too early. It's probably just an animal or something."

Kael didn't answer. He wasn't sure what it was, but it hadn't felt like a simple tremor. It had come from below, deep and strange, like something had shifted in the bones of the earth.

The map still sat in Mira's pack, hidden in the folds of her cloak. She hadn't looked at it again since the night before. They had agreed to wait until morning, but now Kael wasn't so sure.

"We need to check it," he said.

Mira hesitated. Then she pulled it out carefully. The parchment crackled as she unrolled it. The symbols on the edges still glowed faintly, like a dying flame. But there was something new.

"There," Mira whispered, pointing near the center.

A faint line had appeared, one that hadn't been there before. It curved through empty space and stopped at a small circle drawn in black ink. Beside it, a single word had formed, written in old script.

Narthir.

Kael frowned. "That wasn't there yesterday."

Tarn peered over their shoulders. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know," Mira said. "But if the map changed, maybe something really did move."

Tarn stood and stretched. "Well, we came here for answers, didn't we? Might as well follow where it leads."

Kael looked at Mira. She nodded.

They packed quickly and moved out. The forest around them seemed darker than before, even as the morning sun climbed the sky. Birds were silent. The wind was still. Only their footsteps broke the quiet, crunching leaves beneath boots.

They traveled for hours, following the path drawn on the map. At times it took them through thick woods, other times down steep hills covered in moss and old roots. The air grew colder the farther they went.

Eventually, the trees thinned out, revealing the broken remains of a stone wall half-buried in the earth.

"Is this Narthir?" Tarn asked, stepping over the crumbling stones.

Kael didn't answer. He was staring at the ground.

Beneath the dirt, worn flagstones formed a path leading toward the hill. Small symbols were carved into the edges the same ones that glowed on the map. He ran his fingers over one, and it shimmered faintly beneath his touch.

"Whatever this place is," Mira said, "it remembers the map."

They followed the path in silence.

The trail led them to a sunken courtyard, surrounded by broken pillars and statues worn down by time. In the center stood a round platform, covered in moss. Vines curled around its base. Something pulsed gently beneath it, like a heartbeat.

Mira stepped onto the platform.

The moment her boot touched the stone, a faint hum filled the air. Light rippled through the carvings on the floor. Slowly, a pattern emerged a triangle surrounding a circle, with three lines stretching outward.

Kael stepped beside her. "It's reacting to us."

Tarn didn't move. "I don't like this."

Neither did Kael, but he wasn't about to turn back. He looked around the ruins. Some of the statues were shaped like figures in armor, others like creatures with wings or many eyes. One statue had no face at all, just a smooth mask of stone.

Suddenly, the platform sank an inch into the ground. The humming grew louder.

From the edges of the courtyard, a gust of cold air rushed past them. Leaves scattered. Dust rose. And somewhere below, something turned.

A low sound echoed through the ruins not a voice, not a growl, but something in between. A whisper stretched thin over time.

Then the platform shook.

A section of the floor slid aside, revealing a staircase spiraling into darkness. The air that came out was dry and old, like it hadn't been touched in centuries.

Mira drew her sword. "Well, we found something."

Kael gave her a look. "Or something found us."

Tarn groaned. "You two are insane. We're actually going down there?"

Kael nodded.

Without another word, they descended the stairs. The stone was cold beneath their feet. Walls lined with runes glowed faintly, just enough to see by. The air grew colder with each step, pressing on their skin like a warning.

After what felt like minutes or hours they reached the bottom.

The chamber they stepped into was vast and hollow. Pillars stretched into darkness. At the far end stood a door, unlike anything they had seen before. It shimmered like water, though it was made of stone. In its center, three hand-shaped indentations glowed with dim light.

Kael stepped forward.

And then he heard it.

A voice, soft and broken, not from the air, but inside his head.

"Return…"

He froze.

Mira looked at him. "Did you hear that?"

He nodded slowly. Tarn was pale.

Then the door pulsed once. The lights in the room flickered. From behind them, the stairs began to seal the way out, closing.

Mira reached for Kael's hand. "Whatever this place is… it knows us."

Kael swallowed. "Then it's time we knew it too."

He reached for the glowing handprint.

And the door began to open.

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