Chapter 156: The Voice Beneath the Earth
Kael stared toward the western valley.
The voice still echoed inside his mind.
Come.
He didn’t move.
Darius noticed immediately.
"My lord?"
Kael slowly turned toward him.
"It spoke to me."
Darius’s hand moved toward his sword.
"What did it say?"
Kael hesitated.
"Come."
Grom’s expression darkened.
"The thing beneath the ruins?"
Kael nodded.
Darius looked toward the forest.
"Then we proceed carefully."
Kael looked at him.
"You don’t think we should turn back?"
"I think we should."
Darius’s answer surprised him.
"But?"
Darius looked directly at Kael.
"If that thing can communicate with you from that distance, then turning our backs may not matter."
Kael went silent.
He was right.
Whatever was beneath the ruins had already noticed him.
The expedition continued.
Nobody spoke much.
The forest seemed different now.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became.
Kael felt his Ice Power responding again.
A thin layer of frost formed around his fingers.
The system appeared.
Ice Affinity Resonance Increasing
Blood Affinity Resonance Increasing
Kael clenched his hand.
The frost disappeared.
Grom noticed.
"Your power is reacting."
"Yes."
"To the ruins?"
"I believe so."
Grom looked uncomfortable.
"Then perhaps the ruins know what you are."
Kael glanced at him.
"What am I?"
Grom nodded.
"That creature called you the blood of the old ones."
Kael looked ahead.
"I haven’t forgotten."
Darius overheard.
"Whatever that means, we shouldn’t assume it’s connected to your family."
Kael nodded.
"Agreed."
Still...
A small part of him wondered.
They reached the observation post shortly before sunset.
The five scouts were alive.
Barely.
Two were injured.
One had a broken arm.
Another had deep cuts across his chest.
Kael immediately ordered the healers to treat them.
Darius approached the scout who had discovered the ruins.
"What happened?"
The soldier swallowed.
"The creature disappeared."
"What?"
"It went toward the ruins."
"Why?"
"We don’t know."
The scout looked at Kael.
"It saw him."
Kael frowned.
"Who?"
The scout pointed at him.
"You."
The camp became silent.
Kael stepped closer.
"What happened?"
The scout lowered his voice.
"When the creature saw you through the trees..."
He paused.
"It stopped."
Kael’s expression hardened.
"Then?"
"It looked afraid."
Darius glanced at Kael.
The same reaction again.
Fear.
Night fell.
The Black Dragon established a defensive perimeter around the camp.
No one approached the ruins.
Kael sat beside the fire with Darius and Grom.
A map lay between them.
The ruins were marked in black ink.
"The seal is deteriorating," Kael said.
Darius nodded.
"How much time?"
"Five days."
Grom looked toward the darkness.
"Then what?"
"We don’t know."
Kael stared at the map.
"That’s the problem."
Darius pointed toward the southern forest.
"We could evacuate the surrounding villages."
"There aren’t any nearby."
"Then Blackwood."
Kael looked at him.
"If something escapes, we need to be prepared."
Darius nodded.
"I’ll send word to Captain Roland."
Kael thought for a moment.
"Tell him to strengthen the eastern and western gates."
"Understood."
"And double the night patrols."
"Yes."
Grom looked at Kael.
"You expect it to escape."
Kael shook his head.
"I expect nothing."
He looked toward the ruins.
"I prepare for everything."
Hours passed.
The camp grew quiet.
Kael remained awake.
He couldn’t sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes...
He heard the voice.
Come.
Eventually, Kael stood.
Darius, who had been resting nearby, opened his eyes.
"My lord?"
"I’m going to look."
Darius immediately stood.
"No."
Kael looked at him.
"From here."
He pointed toward a hill overlooking the ruins.
"We won’t approach the entrance."
Darius considered it.
Then nodded.
"I’ll come with you."
Grom stood.
"So will I."
Kael smiled.
"I expected that."
The three walked toward the hill.
From the top, the ruins were clearly visible.
The ancient stone structures stood beneath the moonlight.
Nothing moved.
Then—
A faint blue light appeared.
Kael’s Ice Power reacted violently.
Frost spread across the ground beneath his boots.
The system appeared.
Resonance Detected.
Ice Affinity: +1%
Blood Affinity: +1%
Kael stared.
"Again."
The blue light grew brighter.
Then the ancient doorway opened.
Not completely.
Only enough for a thin beam of light to escape.
Darius raised his sword.
Grom lowered his spear.
Kael remained still.
Something moved inside.
A figure.
Human-shaped.
Tall.
Thin.
It stepped toward the doorway.
Kael’s heart began pounding.
The figure stopped.
It looked directly toward the hill.
Toward Kael.
Even from that distance...
Kael knew.
It was looking at him.
Then the voice returned.
But this time, it wasn’t inside his head.
It echoed across the entire valley.
"Asterion."
Kael froze.
Darius looked at him.
"You heard that?"
Kael nodded.
The voice continued.
"The bloodline returns."
Kael’s eyes widened.
"How do you know my family?"
The figure stepped forward.
Only its silhouette could be seen.
Then it spoke again.
"Because your bloodline was born from ours."
Kael’s breathing stopped.
Darius stared at him.
Grom tightened his grip on his spear.
The figure raised one hand.
The ruins shook.
"Come, child of the Imperial Blood."
Kael took one step forward.
Darius grabbed his shoulder.
"No."
Kael looked at him.
The figure laughed softly.
"They kept the truth from you."
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"What truth?"
The figure’s voice became almost gentle.
"Ask your father."
Kael froze.
The figure disappeared into the darkness.
The doorway slammed shut.
The blue light vanished.
Silence returned.
Kael stood motionless.
Darius slowly released his shoulder.
Grom stared at him.
"Kael..."
Kael didn’t answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the ruins.
The voice had said one thing that shook him more than everything else.
Ask your father.
Kael had spent years believing he understood his family.
His mother.
His father.
The Imperial bloodline.
But now...
Something ancient beneath the earth had connected them all.
And Kael suddenly realized there were secrets about his own blood that even he didn’t know.
The system appeared.
Major Historical Revelation Detected.
Imperial Bloodline Investigation unlocked.
Objective Created:
Discover the Origin of the Asterion Bloodline.
Reward: Unknown.
Kael stared at the notification.
Then he slowly closed his fist.
"Then I’ll find the truth."
Behind him, Darius looked toward the ruins.
"Whatever happens..."
Kael nodded.
"I know."
The three returned to camp.
But Kael never slept that night.
Because for the first time...
The greatest mystery in front of him wasn’t the ancient ruins.
It was his own family.