Chapter 60: The First Piece of the Truth

The drawing remained on the table.

Rin stared at it, two figures.

One surrounded by golden light. The other surrounded by red.

Their faces were hidden, but beneath them was the sentence:

When they meet again, the forgotten choice will awaken.

Rin had read it at least ten times. It hadn’t changed. Unfortunately, neither had his understanding.

"Wonderful," he muttered. "Another mysterious sentence."

Selena stood across the table.

"You’re taking this surprisingly well."

"I’ve had practice."

Kaelith was still near the doorway. His eyes remained fixed on the drawing.

Rin noticed.

"Kaelith."

"Hm?"

"You said you’ve seen this before."

Kaelith nodded.

"I don’t know where."

"Do you remember what it was?"

"No."

Rin watched him carefully.

The bell remained silent. Kaelith wasn’t hiding anything. He truly didn’t remember.

That meant whatever connection existed between them was buried somewhere even deeper than Rin’s memories. Rin looked back at the drawing.

"Then let’s stop trying to remember."

Selena raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Let’s investigate."

Kaelith stepped closer.

"Investigate what?"

"The ruins."

Selena shook her head.

"We already searched them."

"Not properly."

"We searched every room we could find."

Rin pointed at the drawing.

"Then why was this hidden?"

Selena became quiet. That was a good question. The records had been buried. The painting had been hidden and the mysterious object had been sealed away.

Someone had wanted this information forgotten. Rin folded his arms.

"People don’t hide things for no reason."

Kaelith nodded.

"Agreed."

Selena looked between them.

"So we’re going back."

Rin smiled.

"Yes."

A voice came from the doorway.

"No."

Everyone turned. Lucien stood there. Rin blinked.

"Why?"

"Because the last time we went there, the ruins reacted to you."

Rin shrugged.

"That’s why we should return."

Lucien stared at him.

"That’s exactly why we shouldn’t."

Vorak appeared behind him.

"I vote yes."

Lucien sighed.

"Nobody asked you."

"I know."

"Then why are you voting?"

"Because I wanted to."

Rin smiled.

"Good enough."

Lucien looked exhausted already.

"Fine."

They returned to the northern ruins before noon. This time, Rin noticed something different.

The entrance looked ordinary but the moment he stepped across the threshold, the strange warmth returned to his chest.

He stopped. Kaelith noticed immediately.

"What is it?"

"I can feel something."

"Where?"

Rin looked toward the floor.

"Below us."

Selena glanced at Lucien.

"We searched underneath."

Lucien nodded.

"We did."

Rin frowned.

"How deep?"

"About three levels."

"Then there must be another."

Vorak raised his hand.

"How do you know?"

"I don’t."

Vorak nodded.

"Excellent."

Rin sighed.

"Can we please stop questioning my terrible instincts?"

"No," Lucien answered.

"Fair."

They descended.

One level. Two. Three. Nothing.

Rin continued. At the fourth level, the air changed.

The walls were covered in old symbols not the same ones as before.

These were smaller, more delicate, almost like writing.

Rin moved closer. He could recognize only fragments.

Soul. Choice. Ascension.

His heart tightened. Selena looked over his shoulder.

"Can you read it?"

"Some."

Rin traced the inscription with his finger. Then stopped. There was a word beneath the others.

A name. Not Aelion. Only part of it remained.

...RIN.

Rin stared.

"That’s strange."

Kaelith looked at the inscription.

"Is it your name?"

"I don’t know."

Rin looked at the rest of the writing. Most of it had been damaged but one sentence remained intact.

He read it slowly.

The one who carries the chosen soul shall ascend when the bond is broken.

Everyone became silent. Rin read it again.

"The chosen soul..."

Lucien frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Rin shook his head.

"I don’t know."

Kaelith looked at him.

"The bond is broken."

Rin swallowed.

"Yes."

Something inside his chest hurt. He didn’t know why but the words felt familiar.

Too familiar. They searched the room. Selena found several old tablets. Lucien found a sealed box.

Vorak found what he claimed was "the most important discovery."

Rin looked at him.

"What?"

Vorak held up a mushroom.

Rin stared.

"That’s a mushroom."

"A rare mushroom."

"Put it down."

"No."

"Vorak."

"It’s important."

Selena took it from him.

"Stop eating unidentified things."

Vorak looked betrayed.

"You’re cruel."

"I’ve kept you alive this long."

"Exactly."

Rin laughed. Even Lucien smiled. The tension in the room eased.

Then Kaelith called:

"Rin."

Rin turned.

Kaelith was standing beside the sealed box.

"There is something here."

Rin approached. The box was made of black stone. A golden symbol had been carved into the lid.

Rin recognized it. The same symbol that had appeared on the feather. He reached toward it.

Kaelith caught his wrist.

"Wait."

Rin looked at him.

"You’re becoming predictable."

"So are you."

Rin smiled.

"Fair."

Kaelith released him. Rin carefully touched the symbol.

The box opened. Inside was a single piece of parchment.

No magical explosion. Just paper.

Rin picked it up. There was only one sentence.

He was not meant to become the God of Love.

Rin froze. Kaelith read it over his shoulder.

"So..."

He looked at Rin.

"...someone changed your fate."

Rin stared at the parchment.

"Maybe."

The System appeared.

[STATEMENT VERIFIED.]

Rin’s eyes widened. This was different. The System was confirming it.

Not a memory. Not an old story. A truth.

Someone had changed the path that led to Aelion. Rin looked at the others.

"Then becoming the God of Love wasn’t my original destiny."

Lucien frowned.

"Can you know what you were supposed to become?"

Rin shook his head.

"No."

He looked at the parchment again.

"But someone knew."

A second line appeared beneath the first. Rin stepped back. Everyone saw it.

He chose someone.

Rin’s heart stopped. The next line appeared.

The choice was rejected.

Another.

The bond was broken.

Then—

nothing.

Rin stared at the parchment. That was it. No name, no explanation, but now the pieces were beginning to connect.

Before Aelion... Rin had chosen someone. That choice had been rejected. Something had happened and the bond had broken.

And afterward, Rin became the God of Love.

The God had called it a betrayal. The ruins called it a broken bond. The System had confirmed that becoming Aelion wasn’t his original path.

Rin looked at Kaelith. For one brief second, the strange feeling returned but Rin immediately pushed the thought away.

He wasn’t going to accuse Kaelith of anything. He didn’t know. And neither did Kaelith.

Then Rin noticed something else. The parchment had one final mark at the bottom.

A symbol. It looked like a circle split into two halves.

One half was gold. The other red.

Rin stared.

"I’ve seen this."

Kaelith looked at it.

"So have I."

Rin looked at him.

"When?"

Kaelith frowned.

"I don’t know."

But then something strange happened. The red half of the symbol began glowing. Kaelith stepped backward.

The light suddenly moved from the parchment toward him. Rin reacted instantly.

"Kaelith!"

He grabbed his hand. The moment their hands touched—

everything disappeared.

Rin saw the tree.

The same tree, the same red sky, the same two figures but this time, the memory lasted longer.

He could hear them. The younger Rin was smiling. The other person stood beside him. Still no face.

Rin heard himself say:

"Whatever happens..."

The other person answered:

"I know."

"Don’t break your promise."

"I won’t."

Rin smiled.

"I trust you."

The memory shook. The sky became darker. The voice changed. A distant sound echoed.

Something was coming. The other person reached for Rin’s hand. And Rin heard himself say:

"If fate separates us, I’ll find you again."

Then the memory shattered. Rin opened his eyes. He was back in the ruins.

Kaelith was still holding his hand. Neither moved. Rin’s heart was pounding. Kaelith looked equally confused.

"What did you see?"

Rin swallowed.

"The same tree."

Kaelith’s eyes widened.

"I saw it too."

Rin stared at him. The memory had been shared. Something had connected them nut it still didn’t explain everything.

It didn’t reveal the betrayal. It didn’t reveal why Rin became Aelion.

It only revealed one thing. Before all of that...Rin and the unknown person had trusted each other qnd they had promised to find each other again.

Rin slowly released Kaelith’s hand. Neither mentioned how naturally their fingers had fit together.

Neither noticed Selena watching them from across the chamber. She didn’t say anything. Neither did Lucien.

Even Vorak, surprisingly, remained quiet. Rin looked at the parchment.

The gold and red symbol had disappeared. Only the first sentence remained.

He was not meant to become the God of Love.

Rin finally understood the first piece of the mystery. He hadn’t been born to become Aelion.

Something had happened. Someone had been chosen. A bond had existed.

That bond had been broken and the betrayal had changed Rin’s entire destiny.

But the identity of the person...remained hidden.

Rin looked at Kaelith. He felt that strange familiarity again but this time, he didn’t chase it.

He simply smiled.

"One mystery solved."

Kaelith raised an eyebrow.

"Which one?"

Rin looked at the parchment.

"I know now that becoming Aelion wasn’t supposed to happen."

Kaelith nodded.

"And the next mystery?"

Rin looked toward the dark corridor ahead.

"Who changed my fate..."

He paused.

"...and why?"

Far beneath the ruins, something answered with a faint pulse of golden light.

And somewhere, very far away, an old seal cracked for the first time.

Not enough to reveal the truth.

Just enough to let the past breathe.