The ruin was alive.
Not metaphorically.Not spiritually.
Alive.
The walls pulsed faintly like veins beneath skin, each glow synchronized with a deep, slow rhythm — almost like breathing. The air tasted metallic, ancient, too still to be natural.
Lyn held Rafe's sleeve so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Mara clutched a broken stone shard like a knife.
Selene… tried to appear steady, but her staff flickered, and her exhausted breathing betrayed her.
The voice echoed again through the corridors—not from one direction,not from everywhere,but from inside the stone itself.
"A marked soul enters."
Rafe swallowed.
"Who said that?"
Selene raised her staff toward the ceiling, letting the blue mana illuminate more of the hall.
"The ruin itself," she said quietly. "This place was constructed by the Arathi — the oldest magical civilization recorded. They didn't build walls."
She gestured to the glowing stone.
"They grew them."
The children shuddered.
"Why does it talk?" Mara asked.
"Because," Selene said, "Arath'Sei is a living catalyst. It responds to mana. It responds to intent. And in rare cases…"
Her eyes slid toward Rafe.
"…it responds to those touched by Primordial force."
The ruins pulsed in response, as if confirming her words.
Rafe tensed.
"Great," he muttered. "Another thing reacting to me."
Lyn tugged his sleeve, whispering:
"It… it feels like it's listening."
"It is," Selene said.
A cold quiet spread.
Then the voice returned.
"The catalyst is incomplete."
Rafe blinked. "Catalyst?"
Selene inhaled sharply.
"It's sensing your Awakening."
"Is that… good?"
"No," Selene said. "It means the ruin knows you're unfused."
Mara groaned softly. "What does that even mean?"
"It means," Selene answered, "that Rafe's core is awakened… but his pathways aren't woven. He has power but no structure."She looked at Rafe seriously."This place… may try to fix that."
The ruin pulsed again.
"Correction required."
Rafe stepped back.
"Correction? That sounds—"
A gust of cold air shot through the hall like a great inhale.
Lyn gasped.
Mara grabbed Rafe's arm.
Selene raised her staff aggressively.
"Don't move!"
The floor beneath them shifted—subtly, silently—as if something deep below the surface was rearranging itself.
Then the walls moved.
Not violently.Not collapsing.
They simply… repositioned.
Forming a new corridor in front of them.
A path.
A labyrinth that existed only when needed.
Mara whispered, "I… hate this."
Lyn nodded rapidly. "Me too…"
Selene stepped ahead of them.
"We follow it."
Rafe frowned. "Why? It could lead us into a trap."
"It will," Selene said plainly. "But it will also lead us to the relic."
Rafe hesitated.
"Selene… how much do you know about this place?"
Selene's jaw tightened.
"…Enough to fear it."
That was not reassuring.
But before Rafe could say more, the voice returned.
"The marked soul must walk alone."
Rafe's heart dropped.
"…What?"
Selene's face drained of color.
"No. No, that wasn't part of the ritual—"
The ruin echoed again, louder:
"Only the marked soul may advance."
The walls glowed brighter, shifting.
Stone slid outward, separating Rafe from Mara, Lyn, and Selene.
"No!" Mara lunged for him. "Rafe—!"
Rafe grabbed her wrist before the wall fully rose.
"Mara, wait!"
Lyn clung to his other arm, tears forming.
"Don't leave us!"
"I'm not," Rafe said, pulling them close through the narrowing gap. "I'll come back. I promise."
The wall kept rising, slowly but steadily, forcing their hands apart.
Selene slammed her staff against the stone.
"LET HIM THROUGH! HE IS NOT READY!"
Her mana sparked violently—but the wall didn't react.
It didn't even acknowledge her.
Mara's voice cracked.
"Rafe, please—don't go alone—!"
Rafe's fingers slipped from hers.
Then slipped from Lyn's.
Until only their fingertips touched—
And then nothing.
The wall sealed shut, cutting them off completely.
Darkness.
Rafe stood alone.
The ruin pulsed again.
"Begin correction."
He took a deep breath.
"...All right. Show me."
THE CORRIDOR AWAKENS
The hallway ahead lit up.
Not with warm light—
—but with something like cold lightning running through stone, illuminating a long path that seemed to stretch endlessly forward.
Rafe stepped closer.
The moment his foot touched the illuminated stone—
Something hit him.
Not physically.Inside.
A pressure slammed into his chest, forcing a soundless gasp from his throat. His body felt suddenly heavy—too heavy. His veins burned with heat and cold at the same time.
His dual affinities.
They were reacting.
The ruin whispered:
"Fragmented core detected."
Rafe staggered.
"I—know that—!"
"Stabilization required."
The pressure increased.
Rafe's vision blurred.His pulse thrashed wildly.The light-and-shadow energy inside him clashed again, sparking pain through his ribs.
"Stop—!"
"Begin."
The corridor shifted.
Symbols ignited on the walls—runes of old magic written in spirals.
A pulse of power hit him head-on.
Rafe gasped and dropped to one knee.
"Damn it—!"
Another pulse.
Hot.Cold.Opposing.Violent.
The ruin wasn't trying to hurt him.
It was trying to push him.
Force him.
Forge him.
Rafe gritted his teeth and stood.
"I'm not breaking."
The ruin pulsed again.
"Then endure."
And the next wave hit him like a tidal force—
Burning through his soul.