Chapter 24 – The First Seal
The city fell silent.
Not because the horns had stopped.
Because everyone was listening.
The sound had come again.
A single, heavy knock.
Deep beneath Shinokuni-01.
Brook slowly pushed himself to his feet, brushing dust from his cloak. Around him, Watchmen struggled to regain their balance while frightened civilians stared at the massive crack splitting the western district in two.
Pieces of stone continued to crumble into the glowing abyss.
No one spoke.
No one dared.
Prince Henry stepped beside Brook, his eyes fixed on the light below.
"…You saw it too?"
Brook nodded slowly.
"The door."
Henry swallowed.
"I thought I imagined it."
"You didn't."
Captain Mercer was already barking orders.
"Get every civilian back!"
"Move!"
"Engineers, secure the surrounding buildings!"
"Archers, take the rooftops!"
The Watchmen sprang into action.
Within minutes, the western district became a controlled frenzy. Families were escorted away, barricades were erected, and soldiers formed a defensive ring around the enormous fissure.
Brook noticed Crowley hadn't moved.
He still stood near the edge, staring into the glowing depths.
"Crowley."
No response.
Brook walked over.
"What are you looking at?"
Crowley blinked, as if returning from a distant thought.
"…The stone."
Brook frowned.
"The stone?"
Crowley knelt near the edge and picked up a small fragment that had broken away during the quake.
It wasn't ordinary rock.
Faint blue lines ran through it like veins.
Crowley rubbed his thumb across one of the markings.
"It wasn't carved."
Brook crouched beside him.
"What do you mean?"
"It grew."
Brook gave him a confused look.
"Stone doesn't grow."
Crowley quietly dropped the fragment back into the crack.
"…Not anymore."
Brook opened his mouth to ask another question.
Before he could—
Another tremor rolled beneath the city.
Smaller than before.
But enough to send another shower of dust into the air.
"The King is coming!"
The shout echoed through the western district.
Moments later, King Aldric arrived with nearly fifty Royal Guards surrounding him.
He surveyed the destruction without saying a word.
His eyes eventually settled on the glowing fissure.
For the first time since Brook had met him…
The King's composure cracked.
"It really exists…"
The old traveler stepped forward.
"You doubted your ancestors."
"I doubted fairy tales."
"They were never fairy tales."
Captain Mercer folded his arms.
"Then start explaining."
The traveler sighed.
"I suppose I've delayed this long enough."
He looked around at everyone gathered.
"Long before the Twelve Shinokunis existed…"
"There was only one kingdom."
Brook listened carefully.
"The world was different."
"No Walls."
"No Watchmen."
"No kings."
"Then something appeared."
Henry stepped forward.
"What appeared?"
The traveler slowly looked toward the glowing crack.
"A gate."
Silence.
"A gate to where?" Brook asked.
The old man smiled faintly.
"That…"
"…is the question your parents tried to answer."
Brook froze.
"My parents?"
"They weren't searching for a cure."
"They were searching for the truth."
The words struck harder than any blade.
Brook remembered every story he'd ever been told.
Every official report.
Every explanation.
"Your parents died looking for a cure."
Had all of it been a lie?
Henry noticed Brook's expression.
"You alright?"
Brook didn't answer immediately.
"My whole life…"
"I believed I knew why they disappeared."
He looked toward the traveler.
"If you're lying…"
"I'm not."
The traveler met his gaze.
"Your father asked questions that frightened powerful people."
"And your mother refused to stop helping him."
Brook's fists clenched.
"Who frightened them?"
Before the traveler could answer—
A young Royal Guard came sprinting through the crowd.
"Captain!"
Mercer turned.
"What is it?"
"We found something!"
"Where?"
"Inside the old watchtower."
Mercer looked toward the damaged tower leaning beside the fissure.
"Show me."
The tower had partially collapsed during the quake.
Broken beams and cracked stone littered the ground floor.
Engineers had already begun clearing the rubble.
One of them waved Mercer over.
"It was hidden beneath the staircase."
Brook squeezed past several Watchmen to get a better look.
A section of the floor had broken away, revealing a narrow stone staircase descending into darkness.
It looked ancient.
Far older than the tower itself.
The walls weren't built from the same stone as Shinokuni-01.
They were smooth.
Almost polished.
Blue markings covered every surface.
Henry lit a lantern.
"No one knew this was here?"
An elderly engineer shook his head.
"The tower is nearly a hundred years old."
"This passage…"
He ran a trembling hand across the wall.
"…is much older."
Captain Mercer turned toward the King.
"Your Majesty."
The King stared at the hidden staircase for a long moment.
Then he made his decision.
"No one enters."
Brook looked at him in surprise.
"Sir?"
"Seal the tower."
Henry frowned.
"But Father—"
"That's an order."
The King's voice left no room for argument.
"Until we know what lies beneath us…"
"No one goes down those stairs."
Brook understood the caution.
But as he looked into the darkness below…
He couldn't shake the feeling that something was looking back.
Far beneath Shinokuni-01…
Beyond the hidden staircase…
Beyond the colossal stone door…
A tiny crack spread across one of the glowing blue seals.
It was almost invisible.
Almost.
From somewhere deep in the darkness…
A low, distant laugh echoed through the ancient chamber.
No one on the surface heard it.
Not yet.