The One Who Slept Beneath The Shrine

Chapter 37 — The One Who Slept Beneath the Shrine

The moment the Bloodline Shrine reached one hundred percent, the world seemed to stop.

The crimson light swallowed everything.

Aether couldn't see the forest.

He couldn't hear Lyra.

He couldn't even feel the ground beneath his feet.

Only the Origin Blade remained visible.

Its silver-black glow pierced through the crimson darkness.

Then—

A heartbeat sounded.

Boom.

The entire Origin Zone shook.

A second heartbeat followed.

Boom.

Aether's expression changed.

“That isn't the shrine.”

The ancient wolf's voice came from somewhere within the darkness.

“No.”

A third heartbeat echoed.

Boom.

“It is what the shrine was keeping asleep.”

The crimson light suddenly collapsed inward.

The forest returned.

But it was no longer the same.

The ancient shrine had disappeared.

In its place stood a massive circular crater.

At its center was a black stone platform.

And on that platform—

someone was standing.

A woman.

She appeared young, perhaps in her early twenties, with long black hair flowing behind her.

Her clothing looked ancient, made from dark material covered with faint silver patterns.

Her eyes were closed.

She stood completely still.

No aura.

No pressure.

Nothing.

That was what frightened Aether.

The system couldn't detect her at all.

[Analysis failed.]

[Target cannot be analyzed.]

[Origin signature: Suppressed.]

[Warning: System authority insufficient.]

Aether tightened his grip.

The woman slowly opened her eyes.

They were silver.

She looked at the ruined shrine.

Then at the massive creature whose broken chain now lay on the ground.

Finally, she looked at Aether.

Her gaze stopped on the Origin Blade.

For the first time, her expression changed.

“After all these years…”

Her voice was soft.

“…the Executioner's Blade has chosen someone again.”

Aether didn't lower his weapon.

“You know this sword.”

“I knew the one who carried it.”

“Who?”

The woman looked at him.

“Someone who failed.”

Aether frowned.

“How?”

“He believed possessing the strongest weapon meant he could control the Origin.”

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She paused.

“He was wrong.”

The woman walked down from the black platform.

Every step she took was silent.

The enormous creature suddenly moved.

Its previously damaged body began trembling.

“You…”

The woman looked toward it.

“You were never supposed to awaken.”

The creature roared.

“You sealed me!”

“Yes.”

“Then die with your seal!”

The creature charged.

Aether immediately sensed the difference.

Its power was far greater than before.

But the woman didn't move.

The creature's fist was less than a meter from her face when—

it stopped.

A thin silver line appeared between them.

The creature's arm began shaking.

The woman raised one finger.

“Return.”

The creature was violently thrown backward.

BOOM!

It crashed into the far side of the crater.

Aether's eyes narrowed.

No visible technique.

No dramatic energy explosion.

Just control.

The woman turned toward him.

“You have questions.”

“A lot.”

“Then ask.”

Aether glanced toward Lyra.

She was standing several meters away, breathing heavily but conscious.

Nyx was beside her.

The Crimson Fang Wolf had gathered her three pups safely behind her.

Everyone was alive.

Aether looked back at the woman.

“Why was this shrine created?”

“To awaken bloodlines.”

“Why was that creature sealed beneath it?”

“To prevent it from consuming those bloodlines.”

Aether glanced at the creature.

“Consuming them?”

The woman nodded.

“It feeds on bloodline origins. Physiques. Ancient inheritances. Anything carrying a powerful Origin signature.”

Aether's expression hardened.

That explained why so many people had been attracted to the shrine.

The creature wasn't the only danger.

Someone had deliberately been searching for these bloodlines.

“Who are the bloodline hunters working for?”

The woman's eyes became colder.

“The hunters you killed were only collectors.”

“Collectors for whom?”

“An organization that has existed since the fall of the Origin Domain.”

Aether waited.

The woman continued.

“They call themselves the Origin Reclaimers.”

The name settled over the crater.

Lyra stepped closer.

“Reclaimers?”

“They believe every ancient bloodline belongs to them.”

Aether looked toward the dead hunters.

“So they're going to keep coming.”

“Yes.”

The woman looked directly at him.

“And now they know the Executioner's Blade has awakened.”

Aether glanced down at his weapon.

Its synchronization remained at 7%.

“What exactly is this sword?”

The woman was silent for several seconds.

Then she answered.

“The Executioner's Blade was not created to rule.”

“It was created to sever.”

Aether's eyes narrowed.

“Sever what?”

“Connections.”

She raised her hand.

A faint silver thread appeared between her fingers.

“Bloodline connections.”

Another thread appeared.

“Energy connections.”

A third.

“Contracts.”

A fourth.

“Seals.”

The woman closed her hand.

All four threads vanished.

“And, under the right conditions…”

Her eyes met Aether's.

“…even Origin itself.”

Aether looked at the blade again.

So Origin Severance wasn't merely an attack.

It was the beginning of the weapon's true function.

The system suddenly reacted.

[Weapon function information obtained.]

[Origin Severance compatibility increasing.]

[Current effectiveness: 12%.]

[Synchronization: 7%.]

[Further functions remain sealed.]

Aether nodded slowly.

Then he remembered something.

“You said the previous wielder failed.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

The woman's expression became unreadable.

“Because he tried to sever the Origin.”

Aether understood.

The weapon could sever connections.

But that didn't mean everything should be severed.

“What happened to him?”

“He became part of what he tried to destroy.”

Before Aether could ask anything else, the woman looked toward the Crimson Fang Wolf.

The wolf immediately became alert.

The third bloodline symbol appeared above her.

Unlike before, it was no longer unstable.

It had become a single silver-crimson mark.

[Bloodline Evolution Trial.]

[Path Three confirmed.]

[Phase Two completed.]

[Protection Progress: 100%.]

[Final Phase unlocked.]

[Requirement: Discover the meaning of the chosen bloodline.]

The Crimson Fang Wolf stared at the notification only she could see.

The woman smiled faintly.

“Interesting.”

Aether looked at her.

“What?”

“That bloodline shouldn't still exist.”

The wolf growled.

The woman didn't approach.

Instead, she looked at the three pups.

“Her evolution isn't about becoming stronger.”

Aether understood immediately.

“Then what is it about?”

“Identity.”

The wolf's bloodline had rejected the first two paths.

It hadn't chosen destruction.

It hadn't chosen simple protection.

It had chosen something unknown.

Something belonging only to itself.

The woman turned back toward Aether.

“And yours is doing the same.”

Aether frowned.

“Mine?”

She pointed toward his chest.

“The Infinite Origin Physique isn't simply increasing your strength.”

Aether's eyes narrowed.

“What is it doing?”

“Changing what you can become.”

Before she could explain further, the ground shook.

The massive creature beneath the crater slowly stood.

Its broken chain had disappeared.

The crimson energy around its body was gone.

But its eyes were brighter than before.

The woman turned.

“You should leave.”

Aether didn't move.

“Why?”

“Because I can suppress it.”

She looked at the creature.

“But I cannot kill it.”

“Why not?”

“Because it is bound to this Origin Zone.”

The creature smiled.

“And you…”

Its gaze moved to Aether.

“…are bound to something much larger.”

The Unknown Origin Blade suddenly vibrated.

[Unknown Origin signal detected.]

[Distance: Unknown.]

[Direction: Unknown.]

Aether's expression changed.

Another Origin signature.

Not in the forest.

Not beneath the shrine.

Somewhere far away.

And it had just noticed him.

The woman looked toward the horizon.

“They know.”

“Who?”

“The Reclaimers.”

She turned toward Aether one last time.

“And this time, they won't send collectors.”

Aether's grip tightened around the blade.

“What will they send?”

The woman answered quietly.

“An Origin Lord.”

The forest became silent.

Aether looked toward the distant horizon.

His Origin Points remained at 179/200.

His cultivation was still Origin Awakening — Stage 3.

His Infinite Origin Physique had reached 0.31%.

His Unknown Origin Blade had reached 7% synchronization.

He was still far from the strength he wanted.

But for the first time, Aether wasn't simply being dragged into someone else's ancient conflict.

He had finally found something worth pursuing.

The truth behind his Origin.

He looked at the woman.

“Then I'll be waiting.”

She smiled.

“Good.”

Her body gradually faded into silver light.

“Because after an Origin Lord comes…”

Her voice echoed through the forest.

“…those who stand above them.”

The light disappeared.

Aether remained silent.

Lyra walked beside him.

“So…”

She looked toward the horizon.

“What are we doing now?”

Aether looked at the ruined shrine.

Then at the Unknown Origin Blade.

Then at Nyx.

Finally, his gaze settled on the Crimson Fang Wolf and her pups.

He had no intention of becoming anyone's guardian.

He had his own path.

His own goals.

His own answers to find.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“We leave.”

Lyra blinked.

“That simple?”

“No.”

Aether turned away from the ruined shrine.

“We're going somewhere stronger.”

Behind them, the ancient crater slowly began closing.

But deep beneath the earth—

a single silver eye opened.

And something whispered Aether's name.

“Draven…”