Hina and I walked through the dense thicket, the canopy above filtering the sunlight into fragnted beams that danced on the forest floor. The path seed endless, but I knew we were close. My mind was locked on the source of energy I could sense—pulling closer like a moth to a fla.
As we neared the north edge, the trees thinned, and the ground sloped steeply downward. Suddenly, we stood at the edge of a towering cliff. Below us, the earth seed to yawn open, revealing a massive cave entrance that goes deep into the ground.
"This must be the place," I said, my tone certain.
"Woah!" Hina exclaid, peering over the edge. "That's a big entrance... and it's leading underground! How far do you think it goes?"
"Let's find out," I said, already searching for a way down.
"Wait, wait," she said, catching up to . "Can we really trust that old friend of yours? The one who told you about this place?"
"Yes," I said without hesitation.
"You're awfully sure about that," she said, crossing her arms as we made our way down a narrow, rocky path.
"Because I can sense it too," I said.
That got her attention. "What? Sense what?"
"Imnse energy," I replied. "An artifact."
Hina stopped in her tracks, her expression shifting from curiosity to astonishnt. "How imnse are we talking here?"
"Too imnse," I said simply, the weight of the energy already pressing down on .
"More powerful than ?" she said, flexing her arms in a mock display of strength.
I shot her an awkward, disgusted look. "Ughhh..."
"Hey!" she said, pouting as she hurried to keep up with . "Why'd you make that face?! You're supposed to say no!"
The descent grew steeper, the air warr. The cave seed to breathe, the faint orange glow ahead growing stronger with each step.
"Is it just , or is it getting hotter?" Hina said, rubbing her arms. "Oof, this place feels weird. Like... I don't know... heavy."
I didn't respond. My senses were on high alert, the artifact's energy pulling at like an invisible tide.
Finally, we stepped into a large ending, the orange glow illuminating the walls. At the center of the cave was a flat stone pedestal adorned with intricate white markings. Symbols radiated outward in spirals, glowing faintly to the oval stone i.e:- an Artifact resting on top.
As I examined the markings more closely, a strange familiarity struck . So of the symbols bore a striking resemblance to those etched into the trees outside on the island—the very ones the elves had inscribed to ward off negative energy.
The artifact was a stone—grey and unassuming on the outside, but its core radiated a dark orange light that seed almost alive. The energy it emitted was suffocating, yet srizing.
"Woah..." Hina whispered, her awe evident as she approached the pedestal. "That's... beautiful."
I didn't reply. My eyes were fixed on the stone, my mind overwheld by the whispers I could hear it...hear the countless voices screaming in pain thatwas emanating from it. They were extre but persistent, like the loud cries of lost souls trapped inside hell.
"Esther?" Hina called, her voice breaking through the whispers.
I sighhh and turned to her. "Nothing... Let's break the stone and leave this place," I said, my tone clipped.
Hina frowned but didn't press further. Instead, she wandered around the cave, her curiosity leading her to inspect the scattered items littering the floor.
"Look at this," she said, picking up a crumpled bag of chips. "People have been living here. There's food, towels... even blankets. So travelers were here."
"Hmm, most probably." I said, my attention still on the artifact.
"They didn't even clean the place.." Said Hina feeling disgusted looking at the trash around.
"That's definitely not of their concern as they aren't here for picnic but to destroy this place and people." I said shrugging.
"Yeah true, but that's like basic manners.." Hina sighh.
"Guess they don't have one." I said, inspecting the stone closely.
As Hina was walking around, her shoe stepped on a slight bump on the ground, she looked down in curiosity and saw a partially buried cloth sticking out of the sand.
"Hmm?" Hina crouched to inspect. "What's this?" she muttered, tugging at it.
She removed a little bit of sand from the layer and her face turned paled as a pale hand erged from the sand.
"Esther!" she called, scrambling back. "Look here.."
"What is it?" I walked over and knelt beside her, only to see the hand coming out.
I placed my hand and released the aura to push away the sand covering it, brushing it away as much as I could and what it revealed shocked and Hina.
"What the fuck?" Hina expressed, pressing her hand on her lips
—A lifeless body of a man. His skin was cold and pale, his neck bruised and discolored.
"Strangulated," I said, examining the marks. "He's human. Not an elf. One of the travelers, I guess."
Hina looked horrified. "Who... who could've done this?"
Before I could respond, the air grew colder, the artifact's glow dimming for a mont.
A slow clap echoed through the cavern, followed by a voice dripping with mockery.
"Ohhoo! What's going on here?"
I turned myself slowly, my hand inside my pocket but ready to release it if necesarry.
Hina held her chest in sudden response and her eyes wide in suspicion as she stood up to see the people coming inside.
Standing at the entrance to the cave was the tall man who was glaring at in the cell, his smug grin illuminated by the artifact's glow. Beside him stood the woman from before, her eyes cold and calculating, and a third figure—a thin man with long hair obscuring most of his face.
The tall man stepped forward, his presence filling the cavern like an oppressive shadow.
"Well, well, well," he said, his voice laced with amusent. "Looks like we've got ourselves so uninvited guests."
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