The road from Varyn Reach stretched into a barren valley — wide, cracked plains lined with jagged stone ridges. Wind howled through them like whispers from an older world.
Daniel and Mira had been walking since dawn, the horizon nothing but dust and mirage.
> [Codex Report: Residual essence density increasing. Underground fluctuation detected.]
Daniel paused, frowning. "There's something beneath us."
Mira squinted. "Please don't tell me we're camping on top of a grave again."
Before Daniel could reply, the ground trembled — a dull, rolling quake that scattered dust and split the earth nearby. A faint beam of light shot upward, carving through the mist.
They both stepped back. From within the rift, a silhouette rose — not a monster, not a cultivator radiating killing intent… but a young man brushing dust off his sleeves, muttering irritably.
"Of course," he sighed, "my light tunnel collapses right when I almost perfected the landing."
Mira blinked. "Did he just say light tunnel?"
Daniel said nothing, watching the stranger carefully.
The newcomer was striking — tall, lean, dressed in traveling robes laced with faint gold patterns. His hair was midnight-black streaked with subtle silver, and his eyes — pale gray with traces of warmth — seemed to reflect the world like a mirror. A faint glow clung to his hands, the shimmer of condensed light essence, and when he moved, the ground beneath him hummed faintly — earth resonance.
He looked between them, then grinned lazily. "Ah, I didn't fall on your heads, good. That's a first."
Mira crossed her arms. "Who digs himself out of the ground smiling?"
"Someone who miscalculated," he said with a slight bow. "David. Traveling scholar. Future legend. Currently lost."
Daniel's lips twitched. "Lost underground?"
David chuckled. "It's called research. I was tracing old light resonance paths beneath this valley — seems your storm friend there just walked over one of them."
At that, Daniel's Codex pulsed faintly.
> [Resonant frequency match: 27%. Unknown pattern— compatible with Primordial Glyph energy.]
Daniel's gaze sharpened. "You were studying resonance lines?"
David tilted his head, curious. "You know about them?"
"Enough to know they shouldn't still be active."
David's grin widened. "Then it seems we both like impossible things."
Mira groaned. "Perfect. Another cryptic genius."
---
They made camp before sunset near a ruined obelisk, its carvings half-buried by sand. David quickly proved talkative — far more than Mira liked — but his insight was sharp. He identified glyph remnants in the stone Daniel hadn't noticed, and even guessed their function — energy stabilization sigils used by ancient artificers.
Daniel listened closely, his eyes thoughtful. "You've studied this before."
"Studied?" David smirked. "I was born surrounded by people who hate it. That makes you curious."
"Where exactly are you from?"
David stretched lazily. "Somewhere that prefers not to be named. But let's just say… they don't like storms or old symbols. Too messy for their perfect order."
Mira rolled her eyes. "So you ran away from home."
He winked. "I prefer exploring destiny at my own pace."
---
That night, Daniel tested a small glyph pattern on a broken metal shard, channeling lightning essence to restore its stability. To his surprise, Rio leaned forward, observing every motion.
When Daniel finished, the glyph glowed faintly, a symbol of reinforcement forming across the shard's surface.
David's eyes glimmered with light essence. "That's not just inscription. That's alive."
Daniel blinked. "You can see it?"
"Not see — feel," David murmured, his tone suddenly serious. "Your lightning carries harmony, not destruction. It doesn't just burn — it resonates. I've never seen anything like that."
The Codex pulsed again.
> [Subject: David — compatible essence pattern detected. Elemental core type: dual (Light–Earth).]
Daniel stared at him. "Light and earth?"
Rio shrugged. "Most people think they cancel each other. I prefer to think they keep me grounded."
Mira smirked. "You mean they keep you from floating away with your ego."
David placed a hand dramatically on his chest. "Wounded. Deeply."
---
By dawn, the three of them had an unspoken agreement. Rio's knowledge of runes and ruins was too valuable, and Daniel's glyph understanding fascinated him. They decided to travel together until the next city — or at least until Rio found "something more interesting than dying alone."
As they set off, David turned to Daniel with a grin.
"You ever get the feeling the world's been waiting for you to find something — and it's just beneath the surface?"
Daniel looked at the horizon, lightning whispering faintly through his veins. "All the time."
And somewhere, beneath the shifting sands, the ancient resonance line pulsed once more — faint, rhythmic, and alive — echoing the union of storm, shadow, and light that had just begun.