Chapter 373: The Ruin Knows Him

The ancient creatures stayed on their knees, and for several seconds, the only sound was the faint hum coming from the ruin.

Captain Aria slowly lowered her weapon. She looked at the stone warriors, then at Kai, then back at the warriors. "...Are they actually kneeling?"

One of her Hunters swallowed. "I think so."

"You think so?"

"I’ve never seen a stone monster kneel before."

Another Hunter took a careful step forward, and the nearest creature raised its head. He stopped immediately, but the creature didn’t attack. It only looked at him for a moment before turning back toward Kai.

Aria frowned. "They’re ignoring us."

Lily crouched beside one of the warriors and scanned it again, and her expression only grew more confused. "That’s impossible."

Sera glanced at her. "What?"

"These things aren’t following Kai."

Aria raised an eyebrow. "They’re kneeling in front of him."

"That’s not the same thing." Lily pointed at the creature, whose head was lowered with its weapon laid flat against the ground. "There’s no command structure, no control mechanism, and no magical restraint." She stood up. "And Kai hasn’t used anything."

Sera looked at him. "You didn’t do anything, right?"

"No."

"You’re sure?"

"Yes."

Sera narrowed her eyes. "You have a habit of leaving out important details."

"I didn’t do anything."

"That sounds exactly like something someone who did something would say."

Kai sighed. "I really didn’t."

Lily circled the warrior, scanning it again. Ancient energy moved through the cracks in its stone, but there was something else mixed in with it that her scanner couldn’t identify. "They’re not responding to his power," she said. "Gabriel was right. They recognize him."

Aria frowned. "How?"

"I don’t know." Lily pulled up the readings on her device. "This entire structure is ancient. There are no modern class signatures, no modern equipment, nothing to suggest it was built after Hunters appeared." She looked at the kneeling creatures. "Whatever made these existed long before us."

Aria slowly turned to Kai. "Then why does it recognize him?"

Kai didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on the massive doorway, and the voice was still echoing in his head.

The Candidate has returned.

Not arrived. Returned. That one word bothered him more than anything else, because he had never been here, at least as far as he knew.

"Kai?"

Sera’s voice pulled him back. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

She studied him. "You’ve been staring at that door for a while."

"I’m thinking about the word they used."

Sera’s expression turned serious. "Candidate. And that you returned." She stepped closer. "Does it mean anything to you?"

For a moment, Kai considered telling her everything he knew, but none of it explained this, and he wasn’t even sure what he would be explaining. "No."

Sera didn’t look convinced. "You’re lying."

"I don’t know what it means."

"That wasn’t what I asked."

Kai gave her a tired look, and Sera smiled faintly. "See? You do have tells."

"I don’t."

"You do," Lily said, walking over. "Your expression changes slightly whenever you run into something you already suspected."

Kai paused. "You’ve been watching me too closely."

Lily shrugged. "You’re interesting."

"See?" Sera said. "Even Lily admits it."

Kai looked at Gabriel. "Are all of you like this?"

Gabriel laughed softly. "Unfortunately."

Aria cleared her throat. "Not to interrupt whatever this is, but should we really be standing around in front of the ancient ruin that just called Kai a returning Candidate?" She pointed toward the open gate. "I vote we go inside."

Lily’s hand shot up. "I agree."

Sera looked at her. "You didn’t even hesitate."

"Of course not." Lily’s eyes were practically shining. "This could be the most important archaeological discovery in modern history."

Aria sighed. "You’re enjoying this too much."

"A little."

Gabriel smiled. "Then let’s see what the ruin wants us to find."

Kai walked toward the entrance, and as he passed the kneeling warriors, every one of their heads turned to follow him.

Sera noticed. "...That’s creepy."

"It is," Lily agreed.

Kai looked back. "Stay alert."

"Everyone, formation," Aria said.

Her team moved into position more carefully than before. They still weren’t as coordinated as the Hunters in Mythal, but after what had happened outside, Kai could see they were trying.

Sera fell into step beside him. "So. You’re famous now."

Kai glanced at her. "What?"

She pointed behind them. "Dozens of ancient stone warriors just knelt because they recognized you."

"That doesn’t make me famous."

"Give it five minutes."

Lily laughed. "She’s probably right."

Gabriel shook her head. "And you haven’t even reached the inner chamber yet."

Kai sighed. "Can we focus?"

Sera smiled. "Sure."

The moment Kai crossed the threshold, the air turned cold and still, and every sound from outside disappeared, leaving nothing but their footsteps.

"This place is enormous," Lily said.

The entrance opened into a massive corridor lined with pillars, each one carved with symbols. Some showed warriors and some showed strange creatures, while others showed people standing beneath enormous structures.

Gabriel ran her fingers along one of the walls. "These aren’t decorative. They’re records." She pointed at one symbol. "This one appears again and again."

Kai looked closer. A figure stood beneath a large circle, surrounded by several smaller symbols.

Sera frowned. "Is that a Hunter?"

"Possibly," Gabriel said.

Lily scanned the carving. "There’s a class symbol. Actually, there are several different ones." She moved along the wall. "Warriors, support, scouts, healers, mages. It’s almost identical to the way modern Hunter classes work."

Aria looked uneasy. "But Hunters only appeared eight months ago."

"So Aegis wasn’t the exception," Gabriel said quietly, looking down the dark corridor. "They had Hunters too. We were never the first."

Aria stared at her, but nobody said anything.

The deeper they went, the more statues lined the walls, small at first and then larger, until ancient Hunters stood on both sides of them. Some carried swords or bows, others wore armor covered in strange symbols, and one held a staff while another raised both hands toward the sky.

Lily stopped beside one and scanned it. "These aren’t monsters. They’re people."

"You’re sure?" Sera asked.

Lily looked at its face. "They’re human."

Aria stared at the rows of statues. "If that’s true..." She didn’t finish.

Kai understood what she didn’t say. If Hunters had existed this long, then why had no one known? Why were there no records, and why had humanity only awakened eight months ago?

He kept walking, and then he stopped so suddenly that Sera almost walked into him.

"What?"

Kai didn’t answer. He was staring at the statue standing alone at the end of the corridor. Unlike the others, it wasn’t wearing ancient armor, only a long, simple coat. Its posture was relaxed, with one hand at its side and the other slightly raised. The face was partly damaged, but the shape of the jaw, the hair, and the eyes were all familiar.

Sera stepped beside him, and her expression changed. "...Kai." She looked from him to the statue and back again. "That’s..."

"I know."

Lily hurried over, and her eyes went wide. "Oh."

Aria joined them. "What?"

Lily didn’t answer right away. She scanned the statue, then Kai, then the statue again. "This is strange. The material is different from the other statues. It has a much higher energy density." She moved closer. "And..."

"And what?" Gabriel asked.

Lily looked at Kai. "Its energy signature is reacting to him."

Sera’s face tightened. "You’re joking."

"I wish I was."

Kai stepped forward and studied the statue. It wasn’t him, not exactly. The face was different enough, it was slightly taller, and its hair was longer. But something about it felt wrong, like looking at a distorted reflection of himself.

He reached toward it, and Sera caught his wrist. "Wait. Don’t touch it."

"Why?"

"Because every time you touch something ancient, something ridiculous happens."

Lily nodded. "That’s statistically accurate."

Kai stared at both of them. "Statistically?"

"You’ve had a very strange week."

Gabriel smiled faintly. "She’s not wrong."

Kai slowly lowered his hand. Nothing happened, and Sera let go of his wrist. "Good."

Kai took a step back, and the statue moved.

Everyone froze as a thin crack spread across its face.

"That’s not supposed to happen," Lily said.

The symbols across its body lit up, one and then another and then dozens, and the entire chamber trembled.

Aria drew her weapon. "Everyone, back!"

Her Hunters raised their weapons, Sera moved to Kai’s side, and Lily stepped behind Gabriel. The statue’s head slowly lifted, and its damaged face turned toward Kai as the cracks across its body began to glow.

Kai stared at it, and his heart stayed strangely calm, too calm. It was the same feeling he’d had when Bahamut appeared, and the same feeling in the deepest chamber of Aegis, the sense that something had been waiting for him.

The statue’s eyes began to glow.

"Kai..." Sera whispered.

Kai didn’t move.

The statue opened its eyes and looked directly at him.