Chapter 107: Ruin

The word remained on the stone. Rin couldn’t look away.

He didn’t understand what it meant. He didn’t even understand why it affected him so deeply.

The letters were old, almost impossible to see beneath the cracks that covered the pedestal.

Yet the moment his eyes had fallen upon them, something inside him had reacted.

His heart hurt. His vision blurred.

And for one brief second, Rin had felt as though he had heard someone whispering his name from very far away but the feeling disappeared almost immediately.

Leaving him with nothing. Only the word. Only the strange certainty that he had seen it before.

Somewhere. Sometime.

He just couldn’t remember when.

"Rin?"

Kaelith’s voice pulled him back. Rin blinked.

Kaelith was standing beside him, watching him carefully.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

Kaelith’s expression didn’t change.

"You’ve been staring at that word for almost a minute."

Rin looked away.

"I was trying to understand it."

"Did you?"

"No."

That answer was honest. Kaelith studied him for another moment before looking toward the inscription.

The chamber had become completely silent. Even Sol wasn’t making jokes anymore.

Kaan stood near the entrance with the parchment still in his hands. Lucien remained beside the wall, his attention fixed on the ancient writings.

Then the stone beneath them trembled. Everyone looked down.

A deep sound came from somewhere below.

Clink.

A chain.

Kaan’s face immediately changed.

"Again..."

Rin looked at him.

"You recognize that sound?"

Kaan nodded slowly.

"I heard it before."

"Where?"

"In the city."

Lucien looked at him.

"You heard chains beneath the laboratories?"

"Yes."

Kaan’s voice became quieter.

"We used to hear them at night."

Rin frowned.

"Who was chained?"

"I don’t know."

"You never saw them?"

Kaan shook his head.

"We weren’t allowed near that part of the city."

Rin looked toward the floor.

"So there was something beneath the laboratories too."

Lucien nodded.

"There were several restricted areas."

"Why?"

Lucien hesitated.

"Because the Fallen God didn’t trust anyone."

Sol finally spoke.

"That much we already know."

Lucien shook his head.

"No."

Everyone looked at him.

"You don’t understand."

His eyes moved toward the ancient writing.

"He didn’t trust anyone because he was afraid someone would discover what he was doing."

Rin’s expression became serious.

"What was he doing?"

Lucien didn’t answer.

"I don’t remember."

Kaan looked frustrated.

"You keep saying that."

"I know."

"But you were there."

"Yes."

"You knew him."

Lucien looked at Kaan.

"I think I did."

Kaan stared at him.

"You think?"

Lucien closed his eyes.

Fragments were clearly moving through his mind.

"I remember the city before it fell."

His voice was quiet.

"It was beautiful."

Kaan’s expression softened.

"I remember that too."

"Then everything changed."

Lucien opened his eyes.

"The Fallen God appeared."

Rin listened carefully.

"What did he want?"

Lucien looked at him.

"Power."

Rin waited.

But Lucien continued.

"Not ordinary power."

"What kind?"

"I don’t know."

Rin frowned.

"You keep saying you don’t know."

"Because my memories are incomplete."

Lucien touched his forehead.

"But I remember one thing."

"What?"

"The Divine Knights weren’t his first experiments."

The chamber went silent.

Kaan’s face became pale.

"What?"

Lucien looked at the twelve former Divine Knights.

"They weren’t the beginning."

Rin felt a chill.

"Then who was?"

Lucien shook his head.

"I don’t remember."

Before anyone could ask another question, the entire chamber shook.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Kaelith immediately moved in front of Rin.

"Everyone, back."

His magic spread through the chamber. The cracks in the walls began glowing. Rin looked at the floor.

The symbol beneath the pedestal was changing. Three lines became six. Then nine.

A circle appeared around them. Kaan stepped backward.

"What is that?"

Sol stared at it.

"It’s a seal."

"A seal for what?"

Sol didn’t answer. Rin looked at him.

"Sol."

"I don’t know."

Rin sighed.

"That’s becoming a problem."

"I agree."

The seal suddenly lit up. A wave of magic passed through the room.

Kaan dropped to his knees. The twelve former Divine Knights cried out. Rin rushed toward them.

"Kaan!"

Kaan grabbed his arm.

"Something’s wrong."

"What?"

"My body..."

Rin looked at him. For a moment, Kaan’s hand seemed to flicker. Not disappear. Not change.

Just—

flicker.

As though his body couldn’t decide what shape it was supposed to have.

Rin’s eyes widened.

"Did you see that?"

Lucien immediately approached.

"Yes."

Kaan looked terrified.

"What is happening to me?"

"I don’t know."

Rin looked at the others.

The same thing was happening to them. Their bodies flickered for only a few seconds before returning to normal.

Child forms. Small hands. Small bodies.

But for that brief moment—

Rin had seen something else.

A taller silhouette. An adult hand. A different shape.

Then it was gone.

"The curse is reacting," Rin said.

Lucien nodded.

"But to what?"

Rin looked at the seal.

"To this."

Kaelith’s eyes narrowed.

"Then we destroy it."

"No."

Rin stopped him. Kaelith looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because we don’t know what it is."

"And if we leave it?"

"We might lose the only clue we have."

Kaelith’s expression darkened.

Rin could tell he didn’t like the answer.

But he stepped back.

"Fine."

Rin approached the seal.

The closer he got, the stronger the pressure became. The word on the pedestal was still visible behind him.

The strange word he couldn’t understand. Then he noticed something else. There were symbols beneath it.

Three of them. One was connected to the Divine Knights. Another seemed to represent a soul.

The third—

Rin didn’t recognize. But Lucien did.

He suddenly grabbed Rin’s shoulder.

"Don’t touch that."

Rin turned.

"Why?"

Lucien stared at the symbol.

"I’ve seen it before."

"In the laboratory?"

"No."

Lucien’s face became pale.

"In the records about the Fallen God."

Rin’s eyes widened.

"What does it mean?"

Lucien swallowed.

"It means..."

He stopped. The memory wouldn’t come. Rin waited.

Lucien closed his eyes.

"I can’t remember the name."

"But you remember the symbol."

"Yes."

"What did it represent?"

Lucien looked at the others. Then at the seal.

"A transformation."

Rin frowned.

"What kind?"

Lucien’s voice became quieter.

"Turning a divine soul into something else."

Silence.

Rin looked at Kaan. Then at the twelve others. The experiments. Their souls. Their bodies. The curse.

Everything suddenly seemed connected.

"You said the Fallen God was experimenting on souls."

Lucien nodded.

"What if..."

Rin looked at the seal.

"What if he wasn’t trying to change their bodies?"

Lucien’s eyes widened.

"What are you thinking?"

"The bodies might only be a side effect."

Kaan looked confused.

"Then what was he trying to change?"

Rin didn’t answer immediately. He remembered the way Kaan had described the experiments. More than two hundred years.

Their bodies became children. Their souls remained bound. They couldn’t leave the city. And yet they were still alive.

Rin’s expression became serious.

"He was trying to change something inside them."

Lucien whispered,

"The soul."

Rin nodded.

The room fell silent again. Then a strange sound came from the pedestal. A small crack.

Everyone looked at it.

The stone inscription began to split. Rin stepped backward. Kaelith immediately moved beside him.

The crack spread across the ancient writing.

Then—

something emerged from beneath the stone.

Not a creature.

Not a weapon. A small black crystal.

It rose slowly into the air. Sol stared at it.

"That shouldn’t exist."

Rin looked at him.

"What is it?"

"I don’t know."

"You said that already."

"I know."

Sol’s voice was unusually serious.

"But I’ve seen something similar."

"Where?"

Sol looked toward Lucien.

"Inside the Fallen God’s castle."

Lucien’s eyes widened.

"You’re certain?"

"Yes."

Rin looked between them.

"Then this is connected to him."

Sol nodded.

"I think so."

The crystal suddenly released a pulse of magic. Rin felt something pass through his body. For a second, his vision went dark.

He saw the old city. Not as it was now. As it had been.

Bright. Beautiful. Filled with Divine Knights.

People walking through the streets. Children laughing. Then the image changed. Darkness.

The gates closed.

People screaming. A figure standing at the center of the city.

The Fallen God. Rin couldn’t see his face.

But he could feel his presence. Then— the laboratories.

Rows of chambers. Chains. Divine symbols. And twelve figures. The Divine Knights.

Rin’s vision shook. He saw the Fallen God standing before them.

He heard his voice.

"You will become the foundation."

Rin’s eyes snapped open. He stumbled backward.

Kaelith caught him.

"Rin!"

Rin breathed heavily.

"What did you see?"

Lucien asked. Rin looked at him.

"The city."

Kaan stepped closer.

"What happened?"

Rin swallowed.

"I saw the experiments."

Kaan became pale.

"Did you see him?"

"The Fallen God?"

"Yes."

"I couldn’t see his face."

Lucien looked disappointed.

"But I heard him."

"What did he say?"

Rin looked toward the crystal.

"He called you the foundation."

Nobody spoke.

Kaan’s face slowly changed.

"The foundation of what?"

Rin didn’t know. And that was exactly what frightened him. Because the crystal had not shown them the answer. It had shown them the beginning.

And somewhere in the darkness beyond the sanctuary, something had noticed that they were getting closer.

Kaelith looked toward the entrance.

"We’re leaving."

Rin frowned.

"Why?"

"Because we’re no longer alone."

Everyone became still. Sol’s expression changed.

"You feel it too?"

Kaelith nodded.

A faint sound came from outside.

Footsteps. Slow. Heavy. Approaching the sanctuary.

Kaan immediately moved closer to Lucien.

Rin looked toward the staircase. The footsteps stopped. Silence.

Then someone spoke from above.

"You should never have opened that seal."

Rin’s heart sank. Lucien froze. Kaan stared toward the stairs. Kaelith’s magic gathered around his hand. And Rin realized something.

The voice wasn’t coming from the Fallen God. It belonged to someone who knew exactly what had been hidden beneath the sanctuary.

Someone who knew about the experiments. Someone who knew what the Divine Knights had been used for.

The footsteps began again. Coming down. One step. Then another.

And the person walking toward them said quietly—

"You have no idea what the Fallen God was trying to create."