Chapter 184 - 179: The Name Beneath the Stone
The word remained in John’s mind long after the glow disappeared.
**Descendant.**
He stood completely still.
The valley had returned to normal.
The wind moved through the trees.
The campfire crackled behind him.
Somewhere in the distance, the river continued flowing as if nothing had happened.
But John couldn’t simply pretend nothing had happened.
Lythriel was still beside him, staring at the temple.
"Did you hear that?"
John nodded.
"Yes."
"It called you a descendant."
"I heard."
She looked at him.
"Descendant of what?"
John slowly shook his head.
"I don’t know."
That was the truth.
For once, he didn’t even have a theory.
---
Darius arrived a few moments later.
He had apparently noticed the disturbance from the researchers’ camp.
"What happened?"
Lythriel pointed toward the temple.
"It spoke again."
Darius’s expression immediately became serious.
"What did it say?"
John hesitated.
Then answered.
"Descendant."
Darius froze.
"Just that?"
"Just that."
The scholar looked toward the temple for a long moment.
"That changes things."
John gave him a tired look.
"You really need to stop saying that."
Darius almost smiled.
"Unfortunately, this time I mean it."
---
Commander Gareth soon gathered the senior members of the expedition.
The meeting took place inside the main research tent.
John, Lythriel, Darius, Sylvara, Aerion, Eric, and several guards stood around the large table.
The map of the ruins covered most of its surface.
Gareth looked at John.
"Explain exactly what happened."
John did.
He described the glowing pattern beneath his feet.
The vibration.
The voice.
And the single word.
Nobody interrupted.
When he finished, Gareth remained silent for several seconds.
"Did it sound hostile?"
"No."
John thought about it.
"It sounded..."
He searched for the right word.
"Observational."
Darius nodded.
"Like it was identifying him."
"Exactly."
Gareth folded his arms.
"And you felt no pain?"
"No."
"Any magical effect?"
"Not that I noticed."
Eric looked thoughtful.
"Could the ruins have detected his mana?"
John shook his head.
"I wasn’t using any magic."
"Maybe it wasn’t mana."
Sylvara said quietly.
Everyone looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
She glanced toward John.
"Maybe it detected something that isn’t magic."
Silence filled the tent.
John knew exactly what she was implying.
His dragon blood.
---
Gareth looked at Darius.
"You’ve studied the history of this region."
"Yes."
"Have you ever heard of a civilization that had dealings with dragons?"
Darius took a breath.
"Legends mention several."
"Legends aren’t enough."
"I know."
Darius walked toward the map.
"There are records of dragon worshippers."
"Several ancient mountain kingdoms claimed to have been protected by dragons."
"But actual evidence is extremely rare."
He pointed toward the ruins.
"Nothing we’ve found so far has conclusively proven that."
John looked at the map.
"What about the symbol?"
Darius shook his head.
"No known civilization uses it."
"Then what do we do?"
Gareth answered immediately.
"We investigate."
John looked at him.
The commander continued.
"But carefully."
"We don’t know what the temple is."
"We don’t know what is inside."
"And we don’t know what happened to the people we saw yesterday."
That last statement changed the atmosphere.
They had nearly forgotten about the three travelers.
---
"We should search for them."
Aerion said.
Gareth nodded.
"At first light."
"We’ll follow the route they took toward the temple."
Darius frowned.
"Assuming they left the temple."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
Darius pointed toward the map.
"The footprints we found yesterday led inside."
"But there were no footprints leaving."
John’s expression hardened.
"So they’re still inside."
"Or..."
Darius paused.
"Something happened to them."
Nobody spoke.
---
The meeting ended shortly afterward.
John remained outside the tent.
The night had become colder.
He looked toward the temple.
Nothing moved.
The entrance remained sealed.
Yet John couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching him.
He heard footsteps.
Lythriel approached.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
She stood beside him.
"You’re lying."
John smiled faintly.
"Maybe."
She looked toward the temple.
"You don’t have to figure everything out tonight."
"I know."
"You don’t have to go inside either."
"I know."
Lythriel looked at him.
"Good."
She paused.
"Because I’m not letting you."
John laughed.
"You wouldn’t be able to stop me."
"I know."
"Then why say it?"
"Because somebody has to remind you."
John looked at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then he nodded.
"Thanks."
---
The following morning, the expedition began searching for the missing travelers.
The guards divided into two groups.
One followed the river.
The other searched the ruins.
John went with the second group.
The forest around the temple was surprisingly quiet.
They found footprints almost immediately.
Three sets.
The same boots as before.
They led away from the central ruins.
John crouched beside them.
"Fresh."
Aerion nodded.
"They’re less than a day old."
The tracks continued toward the northern side of the settlement.
The group followed.
They passed several collapsed buildings.
Then a narrow stone alley.
Then another courtyard.
The footprints suddenly stopped.
John looked around.
"Where did they go?"
There was no doorway.
No tunnel.
No obvious hiding place.
Just a stone wall.
Darius walked toward it.
"Wait."
He touched the air near the wall without actually touching the stone.
"There’s something here."
John stepped closer.
"What?"
Darius pointed.
A faint line ran across the wall.
A concealed doorway.
The three travelers had disappeared through it.
---
Commander Gareth was called.
The wall was carefully examined.
Eventually, they discovered a recessed symbol hidden beneath layers of dirt.
The same circle.
Three crossing lines.
Gareth looked at John.
"Does it react to you?"
John slowly approached.
Nothing happened.
He stepped closer.
Still nothing.
He raised his hand.
The moment his fingers came within a few inches of the carving—
The symbol glowed.
Everyone stepped back.
John immediately withdrew his hand.
The glow faded.
Lythriel sighed.
"Of course."
Darius stared at the wall.
"It responds to you."
John looked at his hand.
"I didn’t do anything."
"I know."
---
Gareth considered the situation.
"Can we open it?"
Darius examined the symbol.
"Probably."
"How?"
Darius looked toward John.
John sighed.
"You want me to touch it."
"I think so."
Gareth looked at John.
"Your decision."
John stared at the hidden door.
He didn’t like the idea.
But three people were missing.
And whatever was inside might contain answers.
He slowly approached.
"I’ll do it."
Lythriel immediately stepped beside him.
"I’m coming."
John looked at her.
"I wasn’t going to ask you not to."
"Good."
Sylvara joined them.
"So am I."
Aerion followed.
John smiled faintly.
"Apparently I’m not getting rid of anyone."
Lythriel grinned.
"Not a chance."
---
John placed his palm against the ancient symbol.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
**Click.**
A deep mechanism moved inside the wall.
Stone shifted.
Dust fell from above.
The doorway slowly opened.
Cold air flowed out.
John immediately recognized the scent.
The same smell from the temple.
Old stone.
Metal.
And something else.
Something strangely familiar.
The passage beyond was completely dark.
Darius raised a lantern.
The light revealed a narrow corridor descending beneath the ruins.
The walls were covered with carvings.
John stepped inside.
Then stopped.
One of the carvings showed a dragon.
Not a normal dragon.
It was enormous.
Its body surrounded the entire mountain.
Beneath it stood hundreds of people.
And in the center of them...
A humanoid figure.
A dragon standing on two legs.
Holding something that looked like a staff.
John stared at the image.
"That’s..."
Darius came closer.
His expression had completely changed.
"What?"
John pointed.
"That’s dragonkin."
Darius looked at the carving.
"Yes."
"But look at the figure beside it."
John’s eyes moved toward the carving.
Another figure stood beside the dragonkin.
It was difficult to make out.
The image had been damaged.
But one thing was clear.
The figure wore a crown.
And above its head was the same symbol.
John’s heart began beating faster.
"These people weren’t worshipping dragons."
Darius whispered.
John nodded.
"They were working with them."
---
The corridor descended farther.
The expedition followed slowly.
No one spoke much.
Every few meters, they discovered another carving.
Dragons flying above mountains.
People building enormous stone structures.
Dragonkin standing among humans.
Ancient weapons.
Magical rituals.
And eventually...
A war.
The carvings changed.
The peaceful scenes disappeared.
Cities burned.
Dragons fought something that wasn’t human.
The final carving showed a massive black shape rising from beneath the mountains.
John stopped.
"What is that?"
Nobody knew.
But the next carving showed something even stranger.
The dragons weren’t fighting the creature.
They were sealing it.
Hundreds of figures stood around a massive circular structure.
At the center was a dragon.
The same dragon appeared repeatedly throughout the corridor.
And beneath it...
Words had been carved into the stone.
Darius carefully translated the ancient language.
His face slowly became pale.
"What does it say?"
John asked.
Darius hesitated.
Then read it.
"Those of the blood shall return."
He looked at John.
"Only then will the seal awaken."
The corridor became completely silent.
John stared at the words.
Suddenly, the warmth returned to his chest.
Stronger than ever.
Somewhere deep beneath them...
Something answered.
A low vibration passed through the floor.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Lythriel tightened her grip on her sword.
"John..."
"I know."
The corridor ahead began to glow.
One symbol after another lit up.
Leading deeper into the mountain.
Like a path.
Waiting for him.
John looked at his companions.
Nobody said anything.
They all understood what it meant.
The ruins weren’t merely showing them history.
They were guiding them somewhere.
And whatever waited at the end of that path...
Had been waiting for John’s arrival for a very long time.
John took the first step forward.
Then another.
Behind him, the ancient doorway slowly closed.