Chapter 181 - 176: The Ruins Below
Morning came without ceremony.
The camp on the northern ridge slowly came to life as the first sunlight reached over the mountains.
John had already been awake for some time.
He stood near the edge of the ridge, staring down into the valley.
The ruins were still there.
At this distance, they looked almost insignificant.
A few broken walls.
Several stone structures hidden among the trees.
Nothing that seemed capable of explaining the strange lights from the previous night.
Yet John knew better than to judge something simply by its appearance.
Behind him, footsteps approached.
"You’re going to wear a hole in the ground if you keep pacing."
John turned.
Lythriel was carrying breakfast.
"I wasn’t pacing."
"You were."
She handed him a piece of bread.
"Eat."
John accepted it.
"Thanks."
She stood beside him and looked down at the valley.
"So that’s where we’re going?"
"Apparently."
She studied the ruins for a moment.
"Looks quiet."
"Too quiet."
Lythriel glanced at him.
"You’ve become suspicious."
"I’ve had reasons to."
"Fair."
---
Commander Gareth called everyone together shortly after breakfast.
The mood was noticeably more serious than the previous morning.
He stood beside the map while several scouts gathered around him.
"We’ll descend into the valley today."
A few researchers exchanged excited looks.
Gareth immediately raised a hand.
"Before anyone gets excited..."
"We’re not rushing into the ruins."
"We’ll establish a temporary base outside the site first."
"The guards will secure the perimeter."
"Only then will the researchers enter."
John nodded.
That was exactly what he expected.
Gareth continued.
"We saw unknown travelers near the ruins yesterday."
"We don’t know who they are."
"We don’t know whether they’re still there."
"So nobody approaches them unless instructed."
His gaze moved across the group.
"Understood?"
Everyone answered.
"Yes."
---
The descent began shortly after.
The trail down the ridge was steep.
Loose stones shifted beneath their boots, forcing everyone to move carefully.
John kept one hand near the rock face whenever the trail became particularly narrow.
Lythriel followed behind him.
"You okay?"
"Fine."
"You nearly slipped."
"I said fine."
"You definitely slipped."
John sighed.
"I was testing the ground."
"Of course."
She smiled.
---
The valley floor took nearly two hours to reach.
By the time they arrived, the temperature had risen.
The trees were thicker here.
The ruins were also much larger than they had appeared from above.
John stopped as soon as he saw the first stone wall.
It wasn’t simply one building.
There were dozens.
Some had collapsed completely.
Others remained partially intact.
A narrow stone road ran between them, almost completely covered by vegetation.
John slowly approached the nearest structure.
He didn’t touch it.
Instead, he examined the masonry.
The stones were large and carefully fitted together.
"No mortar."
He murmured.
Darius, standing nearby, nodded.
"Dry stone construction."
John looked at the walls.
"Very old."
"Yes."
Darius pointed toward the foundation.
"Look at the size."
"This wasn’t built by ordinary villagers."
John crouched.
The stones were enormous.
Some were nearly as large as a person.
"How did they move these?"
Darius smiled faintly.
"That’s one of the questions we came here to answer."
---
The guards began establishing the perimeter.
Ropes were placed around several sections of the ruins.
Researchers prepared measuring equipment.
Cartographers started drawing the surrounding terrain.
John took out his journal.
He wrote down the first observations.
**Stone construction.**
**No visible mortar.**
**Multiple structures.**
**Central road.**
**Heavy vegetation.**
**Unknown age.**
Then he added:
**Symbol not yet observed on visible structures.**
That last detail bothered him.
The symbol had appeared everywhere else.
Why not here?
---
"John."
Darius’s voice came from across the ruins.
John looked up.
Darius was standing near a partially collapsed wall.
"Come here."
John approached.
Darius pointed toward the stone.
There it was.
The symbol.
The circle.
Three crossing lines.
But unlike the previous examples...
This one was different.
It had been carved directly into a massive stone block.
John stared at it.
"This isn’t weathered."
"Not as much as the others."
Darius ran his eyes over the carving without touching it.
"Someone may have recarved it."
John frowned.
"Recently?"
"Possibly."
That changed things.
John looked around.
"Then someone has been here."
Darius nodded.
"Recently."
---
Commander Gareth was informed.
He immediately ordered the guards to search the nearby area.
No one found anyone.
There were no fresh footprints.
No discarded equipment.
No campfires.
Nothing.
It was almost as if the people they had seen the previous day had simply vanished.
Lythriel crossed her arms.
"I don’t like this."
John looked at her.
"You’re not the only one."
---
The researchers began documenting the first structures.
John worked with Eric, carefully measuring the foundations.
The more they examined the ruins...
The stranger they became.
The buildings weren’t arranged randomly.
They formed a pattern.
Several structures surrounded a large open courtyard.
Beyond that courtyard stood a much larger building.
A temple.
Or perhaps a hall.
Eric sketched the layout.
"Look."
He pointed.
"Every road leads toward the center."
John studied the map.
"You’re right."
Darius joined them.
"The entire settlement was designed around that building."
"What does that mean?"
Eric asked.
Darius looked toward the central structure.
"We don’t know."
John smiled faintly.
"That’s becoming a common answer."
---
By midday, the expedition had established a proper research camp.
Tents surrounded the safe area.
Guards maintained watch.
The researchers began documenting everything they could without disturbing the ruins.
John found himself enjoying the work more than he expected.
There was something satisfying about slowly piecing together the past.
A broken wall.
A faded carving.
A foundation.
A road.
Each was a small piece.
Together, they formed a story.
---
Then John found something unusual.
He was examining a collapsed building when he noticed several small grooves carved into the floor.
At first, he thought they were cracks.
But they were too straight.
He crouched.
"Eric."
The surveyor came over.
"What is it?"
"Look."
Eric knelt beside him.
The grooves formed a pattern.
A circle.
Three lines crossing through it.
The same symbol.
But this time...
It wasn’t simply carved.
It appeared to be part of the floor.
John carefully traced its shape with his eyes.
"Maybe this isn’t a symbol."
Darius approached.
"What do you mean?"
John pointed toward the surrounding stones.
"Look at the position."
"The grooves continue beneath the rubble."
Darius’s expression changed.
"You think there’s something underneath."
"Possibly."
The three looked at the collapsed structure.
---
Commander Gareth arrived.
"What’s happening?"
Darius explained.
Gareth listened carefully.
Then he shook his head.
"We aren’t digging yet."
John nodded.
"I understand."
"First we document the area."
"Then we determine whether excavation is safe."
John smiled.
"Exactly."
Gareth looked pleased.
"Good."
"You’re learning."
---
The afternoon passed slowly.
The researchers continued their work.
Nothing else unusual happened.
The unknown travelers remained missing.
The strange lights from the previous night didn’t appear.
The mountains remained silent.
For a while, John wondered whether they had simply imagined the entire thing.
Then...
The ground trembled.
It was barely noticeable.
A vibration.
A faint shudder beneath his boots.
John froze.
Around him, several people looked up.
"What was that?"
Someone asked.
Commander Gareth immediately raised his hand.
"Everyone stay where you are."
The trembling stopped.
Silence returned.
John looked toward the central building.
Nothing had changed.
Or so he thought.
Darius suddenly pointed.
"John."
John followed his gaze.
A thin line of dust was falling from the temple entrance.
The massive stone doors had shifted.
Only slightly.
But they had moved.
Lythriel drew her sword.
"Did those doors just open?"
John stared.
"Yes."
The guards immediately moved toward the entrance.
Gareth stopped them.
"Wait."
He approached cautiously.
The doors were still.
No further movement.
One of the guards inspected the ground.
"Commander."
He pointed.
There were footprints.
Fresh ones.
Several pairs.
Leading into the temple.
Gareth’s expression hardened.
"Nobody goes inside."
The order was clear.
The researchers reluctantly stepped back.
John looked at the footprints.
They were recent.
Very recent.
And they belonged to the same type of boots as the travelers they had seen in the valley.
Someone had entered the temple.
Perhaps only minutes ago.
---
Then John heard it.
A faint sound.
Coming from somewhere beneath the ruins.
*Clink.*
His eyes widened.
The same metallic sound.
Again.
*Clink.*
Lythriel looked at him.
"You heard it too."
John nodded.
Then the Soul Raven suddenly appeared above the temple.
It landed on the highest remaining pillar.
Its gaze was fixed on the entrance.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then the raven suddenly spread its wings.
A deep, almost inaudible vibration rolled through the valley.
The symbol carved into the temple entrance briefly glowed.
Just for a second.
John stared.
The light vanished.
Nobody spoke.
Even Darius looked genuinely stunned.
John slowly reached toward his chest.
That same strange sensation returned.
Warmth.
Recognition.
Something inside him seemed to respond to the ancient symbol.
He didn’t understand it.
He couldn’t explain it.
But deep down...
He knew one thing.
The ruins weren’t simply abandoned.
They had been waiting.
And somehow...
Something within them had recognized him.
---
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