The sun had barely risen when the bells of Duskfall Mine rang across the valley.
The sharp clang of metal echoed through the misty morning, followed by the familiar murmur of men and women preparing for another day beneath the earth.
Ryn Altair tightened the strap of his worn-out gloves and glanced at the pale light stretching across the horizon. The mountains glimmered faintly—tiny specks of crystal dust floating in the air like stars that refused to fade.
"Another day, another swing," he muttered, hoisting his pickaxe over his shoulder.
Duskfall Town was built on the back of the mines. Everyone here—blacksmiths, traders, even the innkeepers—depended on the glittering veins of energy crystal buried deep below. Those crystals powered lamps, engines, even the weapons of the city guards.
But for miners like Ryn, they were more curse than blessing.
He walked past rows of miners gathering by the shaft, most of them older men with faces carved by years of dust and sweat. His best friend, Lira Vale, waved from the supply cart. She was small, quick-witted, and always somehow cleaner than anyone else in the mine.
"Morning, Ryn! You're late again."
"Nah. The sun's just early," he grinned.
She rolled her eyes, handing him a small chunk of dried bread.
"You keep saying that. One day, you'll oversleep and the guild'll dock your pay again."
"They already do. So technically, I can't get poorer."
Her laugh was short but genuine, and Ryn smiled despite the weariness in his bones.
Into The Deep
The elevator creaked as it descended into the abyss. The faint hum of crystal veins pulsed through the walls—soft, rhythmic, alive. Ryn could feel it through his boots. The air grew cooler, denser, and faintly sweet.
"Depth fifty-two reached," called the foreman above the din.
This was Sector 9, one of the oldest tunnels in Duskfall. It was said to connect to ruins that predated the mining guilds themselves. Superstitious miners whispered about "voices in the walls," but Ryn had never believed in ghost stories.
At least, not until that day.
The first few hours passed in monotony—hammer, crack, dust, repeat. But as Ryn swung his pickaxe against a stubborn patch of rock, a strange vibration rippled through the ground. The sound was unlike the usual crystal hum. It was deeper. Resonant. Like a heartbeat.
"Did you feel that?" Ryn asked.
"Probably a cave tremor," Lira said, wiping her brow. "Let's move back. It's not stable."
But Ryn stepped closer instead, pressing his hand against the stone. The pulse was clearer now. There was something alive beyond the wall.
A faint blue glow leaked through a crack.
"Lira… there's light coming from inside."
Before she could stop him, Ryn struck the wall again—harder this time. The rock shattered with a resonant boom, revealing a narrow passage lined with glowing veins that pulsed like blood vessels.
At the end of the corridor stood a vast chamber of crystal pillars, each one humming softly in rhythm with his heartbeat.
"This isn't on any map," Lira whispered, eyes wide.
Ryn stepped forward, drawn by the center of the chamber—where a single crystal floated in midair, suspended by unseen energy. It wasn't blue or red or any known color. It shimmered with all colors, constantly shifting like oil on water.
He reached out.
"Wait—Ryn!"
Her voice echoed too late.
The crystal pulsed—and exploded in a burst of light.
The Bond
Pain. Light. Then silence.
Ryn's body convulsed as energy surged through him. Images flooded his mind—mountains crumbling, skies burning, a colossal figure made of crystal reaching toward him with a hand that spanned the stars.
Then… darkness.
When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the cavern floor. The crystal was gone.
"Ryn! Are you okay?"
Lira was shaking him, panic in her voice.
He coughed, clutching his chest. "Yeah… I think so."
But when he lifted his hand, faint prismatic light flowed across his skin like liquid. The crystal wasn't gone—it had merged with him.
The hum in the air was no longer distant. It was inside him.
He could hear the crystals—each one singing in its own tone, their voices weaving a chorus that filled the abyss. He could feel their heat, their sorrow, their hunger.
"Lira… I can hear them."
"Hear what?"
"The crystals. They're… alive."
Before she could respond, the ground shook violently. The pillars began to crack. Energy surged toward the surface as if the mine itself had awakened.
"We need to go!"
They sprinted toward the tunnel entrance as the chamber collapsed behind them, shards of glowing crystal falling like meteors. The air burned with light.
They reached the elevator just as the ceiling caved in.
Ryn looked back one last time at the collapsing chamber, feeling the new pulse within him synchronize with the dying hum of the mine.
Something ancient had just awakened—inside him.